Apple Mac New Lion OS X is a Roaring Success this Summer

Apple is set to let loose another beast of an operating system this summer with the release of Lion OS X, which supersedes the very popular Snow Leopard OS X. While this new operating system has been available as a beta Lion to developers for a while, the rest of us will have to wait a few more months until we will get our paws on the alpha version of Lion.

A Hybrid Lion?

Mac OS X 10.7 codenamed Lion is Apple’s first move to take the Mac interface closer to that of the iPad. Apple’s future could well be a hybrid version of a Mac featuring both a touch screen interface and the traditional keyboard and trackpad. A combination of an iPad and Macbook or Macbook Air could be on the cards in the next couple of years. Of course, only those close to Apple’s core have a taste of what the future holds.

Lion : A Marriage of iOS and OS X

Apple's Lion is basically a marriage of iOS and OS X, but is this a good thing? Apple seem to think so, but they also busy testing the next version of Snow Leopard 10.6.7. However, Apple’s Lion could well turn out to be a bit of a love hate relationship, but one of the the theories is that iPad users looking for a bit more could upgrade to a Macbook or Mac Air with easy as the software is very similar.

A Taste of Apple’s New Big Cat : Lion’s Main Features

More advanced use of multi-touch gestures

A Mac App Store

The ability for apps to auto-save work and auto-resume to their last-used point when relaunched

Apps that operate in full-screen mode rather than in windows

A feature called Launchpad with functionality similar to an iPad's home screen

A feature called Mission Control that combines elements of Exposé, Dashboard, Spaces and full-screen apps

Emphases on Facetime chat

Let your fingers do the walking :

Apple believe that people don’t want to touch the screen of their Macs and Macbooks, so they are introducing a whole raft of multi-touch gestures for your trackpad. This will basically make your trackpad into a mini type of blind touch screen with similar to the gestures you use on an iPad without getting your mucky prints on the laptop screen. The latest Macbook Air and Macbook Pros feature larger trackpads, which will make the whole operation a lot easier.

The new Mac App Store with much more!

The Mac App Store will not only be for finding and purchasing Mac software, But it looks as if both iPad-style full-screen apps as well as more traditional applications are going to be supported. This opens the Mac user to many new options that were only available on iPad.

Blast off with Launchpad!

Basically, Launchpad makes your Mac desktop into a hybrid version of the Mac with an iPod interface overlay. You will either love it or hate it depending if you like a clean, uncluttered desktop or a feast of icons under your finger tips.

Houston, We Might Have a Problem….

Apple’s new Mission Control could be a love hate thing for many people. This new feature combines elements of Exposé, Dashboard, Spaces and full-screen apps. In simple terms, mission control is a type of navigation which groups all the items that you have open into neat screen so you can simple move from one app to another or from space to space with great ease. You are going to either really like this new feature or just hate it.

A Small Bite of Apple’s Lion..

Well, this was only a briefest of looks at Apple’s new beast. It’s a break away from Apple’s traditional operating system, and many people will be tempted to upgrade to Lion. The question is do you want to stick with the traditional Mac look or change yours into a hybrid Mac / iPad?

© David Lloyd-Jones 2011