Ondrej Holzman Apple presented a new line of MacBook Pros on its website, but it also prepared another surprise for fans. He made available to developers the first test version of the new Mac OS X Lion operating system and at the same time revealed some new features. So let's summarize what we know so far about Lion…
The basic idea of the new Apple system is quite clearly a combination of Mac OS and iOS, at least in some aspects that they found in Cupertino to be usable on computers as well. Mac OS X Lion will be available to the general public this summer, and Apple has now revealed some of the most important features and news (some of which were already mentioned on autumn keynote). Thanks to the first released developer version and server macstories.net at the same time, we can look at how things will really look in the new system.
Launchpad
The first clear port from iOS. Launchpad gives you quick access to all applications, it is the same interface as on the iPad. Click on the Launchpad icon in the dock, the display will darken and a clear grid of installed application icons will appear. Using gestures, you will be able to move between individual pages, icons will of course be able to be moved and organized into folders. When you download a new app from the Mac App Store, it automatically appears in Launchpad.
Full-screen application
Here, too, the creators of the computer system were inspired by colleagues from the iOS division. In Lion, it will be possible to expand individual applications to the entire screen so that nothing else distracts you. It's actually automatic on the iPad. You can maximize the application window with a single click, and you can use gestures to easily move between running applications without leaving full-screen mode. All developers will be able to implement the function in their applications.
Mission Control
Expose and Spaces have been essential elements in controlling Macs until now, and Dashboard has also served well. Mission Control brings all these three functions together and provides an overview of everything that is happening on your computer. Practically from a bird's eye view, you can see all running applications, their individual windows, as well as applications in full-screen mode. Again, multi-touch gestures will be used to switch between individual windows and applications, and control of the entire system should be a little easier.
Gestures and animations
Gestures for the trackpad have already been mentioned many times. These will be used to control a long series of functions and at the same time will undergo several changes themselves. Again, they are inspired by the iPad, so by tapping two fingers in the browser, you can zoom in on text or an image, you can also zoom by dragging, in short, just like on an apple tablet. Launchpad can be launched with five fingers, Mission Control with four, and full-screen mode can also be activated using a gesture.
An interesting fact is that in Lion, inverse scrolling is set by default, i.e. as in iOS. So if you slide your finger down the touchpad, the screen moves in the opposite direction. So it is clear that Apple really wants to transfer the habits from iOS to the Mac.
You can find a demonstration video and more information about Mac OS X Lion on the Apple website.
autosave
Autosave has also already been mentioned on Back to the Mac keynote, but we will remember that too. In Mac OS X Lion, there will no longer be a need to manually save work-in-progress documents, the system will take care of it for us, automatically. Lion will make changes directly in the document being edited instead of creating additional copies, saving disk space.
versions
Another new function is partly related to automatic saving. Versions will, again automatically, save the form of the document every time it is launched, and the same process will take place every hour that the document is being worked on. So if you want to go back in your work, there is nothing easier than to find the corresponding version of the document in a pleasant interface similar to that of Time Machine and open it again. At the same time, thanks to Versions, you will have a detailed overview of how the document has changed.
DESCRIPTION
Those who speak English probably already have an idea of what the next new function of Resume will be for. We could loosely translate the word as "continue what was interrupted" and that's exactly what Resume provides. For example, if you're forced to restart your computer, you don't have to save all your files, shut down applications, and then turn them back on and restart. Resume immediately starts them in the state you left them in before the restart, so you can continue working undisturbed. It will never happen to you again that the text editor with written (unsaved) style work crashes and you have to start all over again.
Email 5
The basic email client update that everyone has been waiting for is finally coming. The current Mail.app didn't meet users' demands for a long time, and it will finally be improved in Lion, where it will be called Mail 5. The interface will once again resemble the "iPad" one - there will be a list of messages on the left, and their preview on the right. The essential function of the new Mail will be conversations, which we already know from, for example, Gmail or an alternative application Sparrow. Conversation automatically sorts messages with the same subject or those that simply belong together, although they have a different subject. The search will also be improved.
AirDrop
The big news is AirDrop, or the wireless transfer of files between computers within range. AirDrop will be implemented in the Finder and no setup is required. You just click and AirDrop will automatically search for nearby devices with this feature. If they are, you can easily share files, photos and more between computers using drag & drop. If you don't want others to see your computer, just turn off Finder with AirDrop.
Lion Server
Mac OS X Lion will also include Lion Server. Setting up your Mac as a server will now be much easier, as well as taking advantage of the many features that Lion Server offers. This is, for example, wireless file sharing between Mac and iPad or Wiki Server 3.
Samples from redesigned applications
The new Finder
New Address Book
The new iCal
New Quick Look look
The new TextEdit
New settings for Internet accounts (Mail, iCal, iChat and others)
New Preview
The initial responses to Mac OS X Lion are overwhelmingly positive. The first developer beta is installed via the Mac App Store, and while some have complained about various issues during installation, their moods have generally changed after the process is complete. Although it is far from being the final version, the new system works quite quickly, most applications work on it and the new functions, led by Mission Control or Launchpad, run practically without problems. It can be expected that there will be a lot of changes before Lion reaches its final version, but the current previews clearly indicate the direction the system will take. Now all that remains is to wait until the summer (or for the next developer preview).
Hmmmm, I have to admit it looks very good. I especially like mission control and the full-screen system. The combination can be very interesting.
In any case, launchpad seems a bit pointless to me already in 10,6 it is quite clear, I mean specifically the Applications folder in the dock :)
Does anyone know how much it should be sold for in the Czech Republic?
I would say that it will be a similar price to the SL, i.e. around CZK 800
And how did you arrive at this price? Previous upgrades cost $129, the SL was an exception, costing $29.
That Mail is fine for a 10-inch iPad, but not for those of us who have Cinema Display 24, 27, 30. I have Cinema 24 and I work on Mail + the Widemail extension and it's great, I have a perfect overview in the three main fields, the fields on the left with all accounts, the field in the middle with all emails from the selected account and the field on the right with the selected email conversation. Everything is cool and the large area is perfectly used. I hope that they will soon make a Widemail extension for the new Mail in Lion, otherwise it will be very impractical on large displays. Open question - is it possible to install Lion but keep the old Mail from Snow Leopard?
Mail from Snow Leopard does not work on Lion.
Fortunately, in OS X Lion da Mail switched to a flood layout.
For the expression "from all over" I would go back to primary school....
I deliberately looked into the rules of Czech spelling and Czech does not know "again" or "again", so I don't know where you think the problem is...
But it is not at all right to place these words behind each other. Again/again is an adverb, from a preposition to be followed by an inflectional part of speech. The correct binding is "from the beginning".
I hope that the full-screen display of individual applications can be turned off, or at least set so that it is displayed normally in the window. Apart from exceptions, full-screen display mostly just gets in the way.
mmm.. I'm really looking forward to it. I won't use full screen, because I don't like it, but I think the launchpad will be luxurious. I'm used to expose and dash as it is, but I'm curious how it will work in lion, it must be better. :)
I don't know, I don't know what to think about him. I personally like snow leopard better and I will definitely not upgrade it to lion.
a big plus for my 13 mbp will be a 64-bit system, fullscreen apps and a new mail... I think, well, we'll see in the summer... :-)
I have lion since the release of the test version and I have to admit a step forward. At first, the system did not want to play sounds, but it was only about setting the audio midi setup (the sound format is 32bit). The Mission Control interface sometimes has bad graphics, sometimes it does not display the running apps on the right desktop. For the time being, it contains minor, mainly graphical errors, which will be fine-tuned for release. Work with windows, functionality is improved. I am curious about the full screen implementation of the applications. Progress can be seen, but it is not yet possible to judge whether it is a revolution. The system already offers regular updates, more mail.
I personally was not interested in Mac OS X Lion, on the contrary. I don't like them mainly because I think they took too much inspiration from their iOS counterparts. I will definitely stick with Snow Leopard.