Apple’s new Mac OS X Lion is in town, what you should know about it?

Just recently we saw Apple unveil its new Mac OS X Lion, a successor to the Mac OS Snow Leopard, and after much wait, the roaring new Mac OS X Lion is finally here for you to begin your exploration. Lion is now available at the Mac App Store as an upgrade to the Snow Leopard users. With the new OS, things have changed a bit as now there is no need to get a disc for installation, all you need to do is just purchase the unit from the Mac App Store and you are good to go.The new Mac OS is laden with more than 250 features covering all facets of the Mac operating system. As soon as the new OS was unveiled with features such as AutoSave, Mission Control, AirDrop, Internet Restore, revamped Mail app and Full Screen, everyone has been looking forward to get their hands on Lion.

Apple’s new Mac OS X Lion

Pricing and availability

Mac OS X Lion is available exclusively at the Mac App Store at a price tag of $29.99. And this is the first time that Apple is not providing any upgrade disc. It is also interesting to note that once you have downloaded Lion from the App Store, you can install it on all of your authorized computers with a single purchase.

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Apple’s new Mac OS X Lion

Apple has announced that their latest desktop operating system Mac OSX Lion will have around 250 new features and will hit the stores next month. Though everyone expected Steve Jobs to be the star of the keynote speech, he handed the reins to Phill Schil

What's great

* With more than 250 features on board, Lion really seems perched to impress its owners. Mission Control, AutoSave, Versions, Resume, AirDrop, FaceTime, Internet Restore and full screen apps have been the most talked about features of the new OS from Apple. While there are many more nifty modifications and improvements that remain to be seen.

* Prior to Lion, dragging the corners of a window was the only way to fill as much of your screen as you wanted, however, things will change with Lion. Now you can have all your apps, including the ones that come bundled with the OS X, run in full screen mode. And there's also an easy way to toggle between full-screen apps by just swiping three fingers to the right or left on the trackpad.

* Our computers are meant for multitasking and we sure do put them to a lot of multitasking but getting to each of them gets a little difficult. Mission Control is the answer to this, through which you can get a quick preview of all that is currently running on your system including the apps, windows and widgets. So, switching between different apps and documents would be a breeze while multitasking.

* Finding apps on Lion is going to be much more easy and quick. With just a pinch gesture on the trackpad, all the applications installed on your system would show up on the screen. The same can be done by clicking the Launchpad icon. It's a great way to browse through all your applications.

* There are times when while working the system crashes, or you have to shut down the system immediately to rush off somewhere important and once you resume your work you want those windows back, but can't. To address those issues and make your life more convenient Lion comes with Resume, AutoSave and Versions. So, when you launch an app it will start from where you left off. From documents to apps everything keeps auto saving, which means you would be less frequent with the Cmd+S. And Versions lets you back in the history of a document in case you want to change anything at any point of time.

* Mac OS X Lion comes with the built in Mac App Store and now Delta updates feature. This means, you wouldn't have to download huge chunks of updates in future. You will only be required to download the Delta updates, making it easier for you to patch.

What's not so great

* Apple has tried to give its new Mac OS X Lion some of the features and looks of iOS. Many of the new features such as the Launchpad is similar to the iOS like app grid or Resume which is such an integral part of iPod touch, iPhone and iPad. All these changes might take some time for you to adjust to the new OS while some of you might find the similarities to the iOS a bit irritating.

Verdict

We have already seen, experienced and loved Cheetah, Puma, Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, Leopard and Snow Leopard and now we have the new Lion which promises to hold more than 250 features in it. Lion is truly different from its predecessors and comes with some fabulous features that you wouldn't want to miss out on. The new OS is inspired by the iOS, especially that of the iPad, which is much loved tablet around the world. The trackpad now supports all types of multitouch gestures so there's nothing to not like about the OS. Now if you are sitting contemplating whether to download the upgrade or not, believe me the new beast would definitely not cause you any disappointment. Lion at $29.99, is a great steal and a must have for any Snow Leopard user.

Word around the web

Appleinsider

The technology used in the making of a mobile version of the Mac OS X for the iPhone is coming back to the Mac, whereas the iOS features are coming to the Mac now.