I was so so worried Mac OS X was being dumbed down. Having tried Lion,
I can say emphatically it's not.
Lion is more complicated, more inaccessible, more powerful and more
geeky than Snow Leopard ever was.
Take mission control. It's hugely complex compared to Expose or Spaces.
I'm loving getting to grips with it, but someone needs to write a book
so ordinary folk can use it.
Take versions. It's a brilliant and completely profound alteration of a
fundamental aspect of working with files. I can easily remember which
programs use versions and which don't. Will the ordinary user be able
to recall the difference? Will they remember that if they use app X they
need to duplicate first, but if they use app Y, they can "save as..." after?
I'm not so sure. But what do I care. That's their problem
Look at this:
That's the same file open in Preview twice. Time is reversible in Lion
with versions, Memento-style, and now we're branching time, too. Each
of those images is projected from a parallel universe. Cool.
Natural scrolling. Great idea. I've adapted already. Like most power users
I love change. I love adapting and learning new things, all the time, every
time, constantly adapting and changing and learning anew. Change, change,
endless change, layering the memories one thousand deep. Exhilerating.
Launchpad. Great idea. Previously we could launch from the Dock, or by
clicking on icon on the desktop, or within a Finder window, or by hitting
the return key in Spotlight, or by using Recent Items under the Apple menu,
or by having '/Applications' in a stack in the Dock, and so on, und so weiter.
But that's not enough. That will never satisfy a power user. Why have 9 or
10 methods of launching an app when you can add 1 more? That's the power
of launchpad. It the powerful plusoneness of Lion, that adds more and more
and takes nothing away. Layer upon layer of complexity and flexibility rising
up into the lofty reaches of the intellosphere.
I'm standing at the top of this stack of complication. I see some little people
below. They look up, and their faces are small in the distance. What are they
thinking? How it's going for them, the novice users?
Riding the Lion and loving it,
Infra.
I can say emphatically it's not.
Lion is more complicated, more inaccessible, more powerful and more
geeky than Snow Leopard ever was.
Take mission control. It's hugely complex compared to Expose or Spaces.
I'm loving getting to grips with it, but someone needs to write a book
so ordinary folk can use it.
Take versions. It's a brilliant and completely profound alteration of a
fundamental aspect of working with files. I can easily remember which
programs use versions and which don't. Will the ordinary user be able
to recall the difference? Will they remember that if they use app X they
need to duplicate first, but if they use app Y, they can "save as..." after?
I'm not so sure. But what do I care. That's their problem
Look at this:
That's the same file open in Preview twice. Time is reversible in Lion
with versions, Memento-style, and now we're branching time, too. Each
of those images is projected from a parallel universe. Cool.
Natural scrolling. Great idea. I've adapted already. Like most power users
I love change. I love adapting and learning new things, all the time, every
time, constantly adapting and changing and learning anew. Change, change,
endless change, layering the memories one thousand deep. Exhilerating.
Launchpad. Great idea. Previously we could launch from the Dock, or by
clicking on icon on the desktop, or within a Finder window, or by hitting
the return key in Spotlight, or by using Recent Items under the Apple menu,
or by having '/Applications' in a stack in the Dock, and so on, und so weiter.
But that's not enough. That will never satisfy a power user. Why have 9 or
10 methods of launching an app when you can add 1 more? That's the power
of launchpad. It the powerful plusoneness of Lion, that adds more and more
and takes nothing away. Layer upon layer of complexity and flexibility rising
up into the lofty reaches of the intellosphere.
I'm standing at the top of this stack of complication. I see some little people
below. They look up, and their faces are small in the distance. What are they
thinking? How it's going for them, the novice users?
Riding the Lion and loving it,
Infra.
Think Different.