I came to OS X from a Linux/BSD/X-Windows environment back in 2002. At first I had an iBook and used it as a portable work computer while using a Linux system as my "main" system. Eventually, the iBook, started getting a keyboard, mouse, and monitor connected to it and ended up being used as an "interim" main computer. Finally, I just acknowledged the the user interface in OS X (back then it was Jaguar and Panther) was simply better than anything any of the open source systems had to offer and so I switched. That was in 2002/2003, and by 2003 I was pretty much using OS X for everything.
I recently installed Lion. My reaction: Go out and start pricing other systems and evaluating Linux/BSD systems again to see if they can be used as my "main" system again. Translation: LION SUCKED!!!!!
After calming down, it became clear that Lion wasn't that bad, but saying something "isn't that bad" does not equate to high praise.
Lion is annoying to many. Lion can be made to function almost identically to Snow Leopard, but it's an annoyance. The "improvements" made to Lion aren't something that a user by default has the option to switching to, but rather they're "in your face." You have to accept the way Apple has decided you now need to think and handle data, or you have to change it, which means you now have find out HOW to change it. It isn't impossible, but it's annoying.
My chief gripes:
1. Gestures vs. Old Basic Trackpad use: I prefer the old way. It works similarly on all operating systems. The "natural scrolling" is a freak that will likely turn new users completely off as they go into an Apple store and find out that via Apples Holy Grail, they must now relearn something that essentially had nothing wrong with it in the first place. A computer isn't an iPhone, and most people won't make that mistake!
2. The Launch Pad, IMHO, is just plain stupid looking. It's easy enough to just ignore it, but once again, what was the dock for? Is the future going to do away with the dock so the computer acts like a phone? ReallY?? I place this right up there with Microsoft's "Bob", for those of you who remember that.
3. Modification to the way Finder presents data. I used to sort my files alphabetized by type. All of a sudden the files are subdivided into new types by broken segments, with a squirly looking "paging icons" that force the user to "page through" what isn't shown. This was, without a doubt, the most ridiculous looking thing I've ever seen on any operating system. When I visited a MicroCenter recently and went to their Apple section and there were a couple of boys, probably in there late teens, using a demo MacBook Pro, and ridiculing it loudly and openly. "Wow!! Look how stupid this is!!" I went over to look over their shoulders to see what they were looking at, and indeed, it was this "improvement" that had turned what was once the most respected OS on the planet into, apparently, a source of ridicule.
Once again, this can be overcome by clicking on some of the new arrangement options, but why did I need to "relearn" this anyway??? I used to be able to open a Finder window, scroll through it since the icons themselves typically identified the type, and find what I needed. A few clicks. Using this "improved" interface, I need to scroll through the types, find the type, and then scroll through the files or expand the "paging icon" to see the full list of files. It makes no sense. Finding what I wanted used to be quick and obvious, now it's annoying, stupid looking, and often takes numerous selections and clicks. This has got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever seen on an OS. My first reaction was "Are these guys actually trying to annoy me???"
4. Shades of gray vs. color. Selections aren't highlighted in color any more, they're grayed out. It's not a big deal, but normally graying something out represents it being disabled.
I could go on and on with a list of grievances. Lion does have some useful, even good improvements, but the list I've provided above illustrates only a few of the bad points I find annoying, if not flat out stupid (and I didn't even touch on lack of support for PPC programs!!). Many of the changes should have been presented to users as options they could adopt if they so desired (like using "natural scrolling") but instead they chose to hit the users over the head with a baseball bat.
If this is truly the future of Mac, then it will be a future without me. I'm not alone, either.
"....Have you seen that new operating system from Apple? Lion? Oh my God, it's horrible!!!"
... a paraphrase of Joe Scarborough on the "Morning Joe" news/politics show.
