Mac OS X Lion – one week on what do we think?
So here at iTek we’ve been using Mac’s newest OS release – OS X Lion for a week now and thought it high time we shared our first impressions.
Let’s start by saying that in OS X Lion Apple really have created the ultimate operating system. It includes hundreds of major improvements and minor tweaks that together make this is the most convenient, powerful and easy to use OS ever. In other words WE LOVE IT.
In this post we’ll just be looking at the headline features and changes that make this such a great upgrade. Over the coming weeks we’ll dig deeper and show you just how to get the most out of it.
There are a few things you should know about OS X Lion – it’s more powerful, and much more flexible than previous operating systems. It’s also and easy to learn – no steep learning curve, and come with literally hundreds of new features.
Here are some of the new things we really like about Lion.
More powerful flexible and feature packed.
OS X Lion comes built-in apps that let you hit the ground running as soon as you start using it.
Preview app – Lion now lets you display and print Microsoft Office and iWork documents in addition to PDFs and most other graphic formats, without having to install specific third party software.
AirDrop – a great new feature that allows you to copy files to other nearby Macs wirelessly – even if both machines are on different networks.
Copying folders and files – when you copy one folder over another with the same name, Lion now lets you choose whether to merge or replace the existing folder instead of simply overwriting the existing folder and all its contents. This is also now the case with copying files with the same name.
Easier to use and more flexible interface – The interface now includes some really useful and easy to use features taken from the iOS operating system used in the iPhone and iPad.
Full-screen apps - At long last, OS X Lion now lets you go full screen, something that Windows has had for years. So if that was why you resisted the move to a Mac you now have no excuse!
Auto save- Lion’s has borrowed this feature from iOS, it automatically saves and resumes your applications exactly where you left off, so you never have to worry about losing your work.
Versions – keeps a history of your document as you work and presents it in a timeline you can browse. A really useful feature, especially for designers!
Resume – reopens an app exactly as you left it.
Multitouch gestures- used for navigating between windows and within documents, just like with the iPad and iPhone.
Learning curve is almost flat
If you’re upgrading from OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard there is almost no learning curve to worry about.
Making it easy
Apple’s most obvious goal in Lion was making things easy for beginners. Two new features go a long way toward achieving that goal – Mission Control and Launchpad.
Mission Control – is an easy to use feature that gives you a single-screen overview of everything that’s happening on your Mac. You can now also create as many virtual desktops as you can keep track of. You can also bind apps to a specific desktop – a great feature to improve organisation and work efficiency.
LaunchPad – This is a simple grid-like display of icons that can launch all your applications. This works just like the home page and subsequent pages of the iPad or iPhone.
Are there any issues upgrading from Snow Leopard to Lion?
The only issue we’ve found will be for anyone who uses apps originally written for the old PowerPC (pre 2005). These ran on a compatibility layer called Rosetta which has now been completely dropped in Lion. As a result PowerPC -only apps no longer run. We can check your software prior to upgrade and will let you know if this is an issue for you.
So in summary:
The good bits
- Easier to use and more powerful than any previous Mac OS.
- Packed with loads of great new features like automatic file-saving and resume.
- LaunchPad and Mission Control add really useful functionality.
- Multiple versions of documents saved automatically.
- View and print Microsoft Office documents with no extra software.
- Interface improvements throughout.
- Well-designed trackpad “gestures” for navigation.
- Full screen apps… at last!
- Airdrop
- Price – £20.99
The not so good
No support for old PowerPC-platform apps.
What should you do now – upgrade of course!
Unless you have very strong reasons for using anything else, you really ought to use OS X Lion. Get in touch with us and we can talk about updating your system with this great new upgrade from Apple. OS X Lion really has reset the bar as the best operating system ever.
Call us on 01539 898125 or email us at info@itekcomputersolutions.co.uk to arrange your upgrade.