Apple Releases First Developer Preview of Mac OS X Lion

[vvebsta]

so is it true that there are no more hard drives on the desktop? and no more saving files on the desktop? i'm just judging from the pictures on apple's website. it looks like the desktop is now clean and everything is accessed via a finder window or a stack... is this true???

 

[xxhellfirexx]

I for one am looking forward to Launchpad like on iOS. Means I can consolidate down what is in my dock. Notice my dock and my folders. Some of the items in my dock cannot be grouped into a folder - as the library dependency will make the app crash if not in the Applications folder (but moved to a sub folder).

Not sure why my method is not gaining much attention, but it is possible to have dock stacks WITHOUT ALIASES just like the original application stacks (although a little more complicated).

http://maxchung.deviantart.com/art/Dock-Stack-No-Aliases-183476671

 

[me4502]

If i buy dev program...

if i buy the dev program(the mac one as i already have the iOS one) will i get Lion for free when the final is released?

 

[xxhellfirexx]

if i buy the dev program(the mac one as i already have the iOS one) will i get Lion for free when the final is released?

Unfortunately...no you won't.

 

[Ropie]

Dock still there like an elephant in the corner

I would like to see the dock go - they still use it on the screenshots but it looks like a massive, anachronistic and ugly thing (as it has done for years). Surely there are better ways to access programmes?

 

[hollerz]

so is it true that there are no more hard drives on the desktop? and no more saving files on the desktop? i'm just judging from the pictures on apple's website. it looks like the desktop is now clean and everything is accessed via a finder window or a stack... is this true???

No.

 

[MRU]

Does Apple refresh their hardware when they release a new Major OS?

Am still deciding about getting the refrshed MBP 15", but wanted to check if its worth waiting till Summer to see if the MBP or MBA gets a refresh along with Lion.

MBP just refreshed. Expect it to be updated next year.
MBA - only last October, so expect it for the holiday season
iMac possibly - but only with the sandy bridge updates, nothing too radical
MacPro - who knows ? It's the one thats refreshed the least

 

[me4502]

Unfortunately...no you won't.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Mac OS X Lion 10.7 - Resume

A nice preview. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHGYkioxdBM

 

[Bregalad]

You know, honestly. I hope not.

I mean no disrecpect and dont want to be rude but C'mon. Why do you need PPC apps in 2011? PPC Died SIX years ago. SIX. That is an un-comprehendible amount of time in the Tech industry.

Clearly you don't play Starcraft, Rise of Nations or any of the other great games from the PPC era.

You probably don't have any interest in data from that era either. If your response is that data can be converted then you haven't been around very long. Most files from the previous century are in proprietary formats, many of which cannot be read without the original software that created them.

I know Steve Jobs agrees with you and thinks anyone who holds onto old computers is crazy, but we're the only ones keeping grass roots history alive. If Douglas Adams' family stumbled upon a cache of previously unknown disks they wouldn't be able to go to Apple for help. Instead they'd have to turn to some "lunatic" with a collection of old Macs in his basement to find out what was on the disks.

History is being lost not because we're actually losing it but because we can no longer read the electronic files it was recorded in. 5000 years from now archeologists will find little evidence that 21st century man knew how to read and write.

 

[iEdd]

I would like to see the dock go - they still use it on the screenshots but it looks like a massive, anachronistic and ugly thing (as it has done for years). Surely there are better ways to access programmes?

Hide the dock?

Edit: Or make it transparent http://itomizer.com/2007/10/31/leopard-transparent-dock/
I'm gonna try this actually. The two default dock themes are hideously un-Apple.

 

[Ropie]

Hide the dock?

Edit: Or make it transparent http://itomizer.com/2007/10/31/leopard-transparent-dock/
I'm gonna try this actually. The two default dock themes are hideously un-Apple.

Nah. I've tried all the options from Butler to transparent docks but it would still be there.

I don't mind the way it looks as such (although it looks old-hat now) - it's just having two places on the screen where programmes are accessed and interacted with (the menu bar and the dock) has always irked me With the advent of launchpad, the neatening up of the interface and an even closer move to the iOS thing, why not streamline the dock operations by incorporating them into the menu bar?

 

[MrNomNoms]

And they're right to do so! Come on folks, I know it's hard to admit it (especially for those of us working in IT) but the enterprise market is going to decline from here on out. Local servers and the cost of maintaining them are going to get less and less important with services moving to the cloud and support being outsourced. You'll probably maintain a local file server for a long time to come yet but that's about all for the majroity of companies. For those that need serious kit on-site a Unix-based system or, dare I say, Windows is the obvious choice and pretty much dominate that market. Even desktops are going to head that way, heck a modern netbook has enough grunt to run the vast majority of business apps these days.

Apple has seen this coming, has looked at the miniscule market share it has in this area and backed away. While a painful decision it's probably the right one in the long run and allows them to focus on the growing consumer market. Why throw more money and time at developing their share of a market that's shrinking and that, most of the time, demands lower and lower prices?

I think the big changes will occur in the area of video production. I went to the launch of Azure and there was a particularly interesting scenario when it came to a video production company who, instead of spending millions to setup a massive rendering farm instead rent out capacity on the 'cloud' on demand when they need it. The net result has been a lower start up cost and lower on going costs so I wouldn't be surprised if as part of 'Final Cut Pro' that Apple start offing such a rendering service to end customers - purchase the software and in one click send it to the cloud to get rendered.

With that being said, I don't share the opinion that some how the 'cloud' will magically replace desktops or laptops - it'll just mean that in the future there is the option for those who need it, to tap into extra power when they need it but have a modest desktop or laptop with a low up front cost when 90% of the time they're doing something fairly basic that doesn't need the extra gruntiness.

 

[Loudwater]

Looking forward to this. I wasn't that excited in the first announcement, but these newly released features look interesting. Maybe it'll be my time to get a MacBook Air with Lion.

 

[Yamcha]

I'm really impressed with the new look of OSX Lion, I know the differences aren't the most substantial, but still nice improvements, I really like how the traffic lights look now, before they were very pixaly.. I also like the overall theme for the finder window.. can't wait to download and try it

 

[Cougarcat]

Clearly you don't play Starcraft, Rise of Nations or any of the other great games from the PPC era.

Play all the RoN you can now, because it's true. Rosetta is gone.

I hope Apple reverses this decision, because I love that game. How ironic would it be if I had to play it in crossover.

 

[KnightWRX]

Nah. I've tried all the options from Butler to transparent docks but it would still be there.

I don't mind the way it looks as such (although it looks old-hat now) - it's just having two places on the screen where programmes are accessed and interacted with (the menu bar and the dock) has always irked me With the advent of launchpad, the neatening up of the interface and an even closer move to the iOS thing, why not streamline the dock operations by incorporating them into the menu bar?

The dock is fine. The menu, aside from Spotlight, doesn't let you access your applications at all. Also, I hate the concept of launchpad and won't be using it. I have never like "icon grids" to launch applications.

Apple needs to keep the dock. What is it with people wanting to remove everything ? At least ask for the "option" of removing something, not for its straight removal based on grounds that you don't like it.

I would support you people each time you ask for something like this if you'd ask for it to be optional, not a "everyone else be damned, my way or the highway".

 

[rdlink]

AirDrop looks pretty cool, no more fumbling around for a big enough flash drive or enduring the insane slowness of bluetooth. And Lion Server being built in is awesome. I may have to look at the new mini's once they get thunderbolt as well. Hopefully they stick 2 ports in those since you will always have a monitor.

Doesn't matter. Thunderbolt will allow you to use the port for multiple devices simultaneously.

 

[Littleodie914]

What still has me a bit confused (even as a pretty tech-savvy guy) is the purpose of all these new "launch points." We now have:

1) Desktop
2) Applications Folder
3) Dock
4) Launchpad

The obvious confusion stems from the Dock and Launchpad existing together. The Dock is a great way to manage running applications and open documents/windows, but in terms of launching Applications it is completely and absolutely replicated by Launchpad.

Will we see the Dock lose the ability to launch apps, and instead see it become a tool for managing running applications and open documents? Right now there just seems to be a lot of redundancy.

 

[zedsdead]

What still has me a bit confused (even as a pretty tech-savvy guy) is the purpose of all these new "launch points." We now have:

1) Desktop
2) Applications Folder
3) Dock
4) Launchpad

The obvious confusion stems from the Dock and Launchpad existing together. The Dock is a great way to manage running applications and open documents/windows, but in terms of launching Applications it is completely and absolutely replicated by Launchpad.

Will we see the Dock lose the ability to launch apps, and instead see it become a tool for managing running applications and open documents? Right now there just seems to be a lot of redundancy.

I agree. I like the Launchpad idea, but I don't want the dock gone unless Apple has a solution for launching documents. I love the "list" feature in my document stacks.

 

[sniffies]

oh

but couldnt thay register my mac...

No, the Mac is not registered in someone's Dev Account. It's actually authorized, the same way you authorize your new computer in iTunes. Have you ever done that?

 

[Burger Thing]

What, no sign of tabs in Finder for 10.7?

A month ago I purchased one of the commercially available apps that adds tabs to Finder, thinking "Well, this will feel like a waste of money when Lion hits..."

I'm very happy with my tabbed Finder, so I suppose I can look forward to a Lion version of the app in question. But it would have been nice to have native Finder tabs in 2011.

Could tabs be added before release? Is it possible Apple is withholding Finder tabs (and other goodies) from the developer build?

Re. Lion's iOS-style autosave-as-you-go feature for documents, it does work and it does feel natural - after a period of adjustment - in a full computing environment.

I've been using a freeware text editor called Notational Velocity for a while. It uses autosave-as-you-go. It's very odd at first. I found myself deliberately quitting and restarting to make sure that, yes, it really does save as you go, reliably.

Whilst using it my fingers still itch to reach for CMD-S from time to time, but its live autosave really works. It makes sense for this to be the new paradigm in computing. It'll become the norm. 5 years from now, having to manually save documents will be just another thing we won't be able to believe we ever actually did. I'm looking forward to it. Shame about those tabs in Finder, though.

I emailed Steve a while ago and asked him, if he thinks Tabs in finder was a good idea. His reply was short: Nope...

I have to disagree though. I use Total Finder and it has been a really useful add on. Love it

 

[dethmaShine]

I emailed Steve a while ago and asked him, if he thinks Tabs in finder was a good idea. His reply was short: Nope...

I have to disagree though. I use Total Finder and it has been a really useful add on. Love it

I think he is right. As much as the power user needs them (not really, actually), the normal user can't get his head across a single tabbed finder. Good thing, Apple didn't get rid of it.

Also, if you were a power user, you'd stay in terminal rather than multiple tabs in a finder.

 

[KnightWRX]

I think he is right. As much as the power user needs them (not really, actually), the normal user can't get his head across a single tabbed finder. Good thing, Apple didn't get rid of it.

Also, if you were a power user, you'd stay in terminal rather than multiple tabs in a finder.

Anytime I have to use multiple instances of Finder, it's to drag and drop stuff. This is much easier accross Windows than tabs. I haven't really seen the need for a tabbed finder, but I guess some people do. It would be nice as an option for them.

 

[Tulse]

I haven't really seen the need for a tabbed finder, but I guess some people do. It would be nice as an option for them.

But they do have that as an option, via PathFinder and TotalFinder. There is no need for Apple to include all functionality in the OS if it can be ably provided by third parties. (And, of course, if they did add tabs to the Finder, there are those who would complain that Apple is ripping off PathFinder and screwing small developers.)