What is Lion's weakest new feature?

[Lord Appleseed]

Launchpad, with being unable to delete anything but AppStore apps.
It would be perfect if Launchpad was just an avatar-utility for apps and folders that reside in the application-folder, without actually affecting the application-folder.

 

[talmy]

For big and/or multiple display use, the new feature full screen feature combined with Mission Control is a big lose with no way to go back. I don't like the missing scroll bars (because they gave a visual indication of document size and position) but that can be shut off. "Natural scrolling" is a lose if you have to use a Windows system half the time. And Lanchpad is worthless but can be ignored.

 

[Nuck81]

Launchpad

Here a great easy to use place to launch all your favorite apps. But you can't add your favorite apps to Launchpad unless we've already put it in there for you. Also you can't delete all the apps that you never use, you'll have to drag them together into a folder and label it "useless" so you know never to use them. For your favorite apps that you use daily that you can't add to launchpad you'll still have to use Finder, spotlight, the App folder or your Dock. Which is exactly what you had to with Snow Leapord.

Enjoy the innovative and user friendly Launchpad!!

 

[MartiNZ]

Most annoying: Rubber-band scrolling.
2nd most annoying: "New look" for Address Book & iCal
3rd most annoying: scale-up zoom in Safari

Least useful*: Launchpad
I mean... I find Apple's own description baffling:

"Launchpad gives you instant access to all the apps on your Mac."
So does Spotlight!
Or the dock.
"Just click the Launchpad icon in your Dock."
I could just as well click on the Applications folder in my dock.
Or even faster, I could just click on the Application icon in my dock.
"Your open windows fade away,..."
Wait, who said I actually wanted my windows to fade away?
"...replaced by a display of all your apps."
Why should I want to display ALL of my Apps?
I have lots (!) of Apps.
"Arrange your apps any way you want, group them together in folders, or delete them from your Mac with ease."
Do you know, how long this could take me?
And it's not like I couldn't do any of this before.
Arrange app icons in my dock - done.
Make a few aliases, put them in a folder - done.
"And when you download an app from the Mac App Store, it automatically appears in Launchpad, ready to blast off"
So I "just click the Launchpad icon in my Dock" to open Launch Pad and then open that app?
If you put the app icon right into the dock itself, I'd be even readier to blast off!

In a nutshell: There's now a new app (Launchpad) that sits right next to a list of my most frequently used apps (in the dock). I can launch it to launch other apps.

Previously, Mac OS X used to have two "places containing" applications that you could launch:

1. The Dock (selected apps sorted manually)
2. The Applications folder, whether accessed from Finder or the dock (all of your apps sorted automatically, usually alphabetically)

Launchpad is a third - with yet another grouping mechanism and sort order. I think that's too many competing solutions just to launch apps to be included in a default OS install. And we still have Spotlight on top of that, too.

However, it might just be the start of a transition that will make the Applications folder inaccessible to the user in some future OS X release. Similar to how the Library folder is now hidden. You could probably unhide it, but it would not be intended to be user-accessible and launch applications from. Newly installed apps are added to Launchpad. Which is, by the way, not too unlike like Microsoft Windows.

Also, Launchpad in concept quite reminds me of the Windows "Start" menu from ten years ago:

"Traditionally, the Start Menu provided a customizable nested list of programs for the user to launch" (Wikipedia)

One accesses it by clicking on a button/icon called "Launch..." err, I mean "Start", which is (by default) always visible on the bottom left of your screen. See the similarity?





* Limiting my choice here to the dozen or so features which Apple most prominently advertise. Strictly speaking, things like...

1. "the Nanum font family for Korean language support"
2. "vertical text display for the Japanese dictionary"
3. "new fonts and keyboards with support for Bengali, Kannada, Khmer, Lao, Malayalam, Myanmar, Oriya, Sinhala, Telugu, and Urdu"

... seem even less useful to me personally.
But I'd guess, they might be an absolute boon for somebody else.

Way too hard to edit the quote in iOS so there's the whole thing ><. Specifically on your likening LP to start menu though, does 'resize from any side' remind you of another OS perchance ? At least as Apple Windowsifies it is taking metaphors of the more useful things - no sign of Snap, the worst ever UI feature. Snap-to would be awesome though, possibly my favourite thing about Windows! I'm figuring that with Lion it is all about easing the switch-back over the next few years as OS X becomes i only.

 

[tkermit]

Launchpad in concept quite reminds me of the Windows "Start" menu from ten years ago

Except that Launchpad gives you an overview of all of your applications, whereas the Start menu only shows a selection that may or may not include all of your apps, but possibly includes apps that don't even exist on disk anymore.

I like that I don't have to manually keep Launchpad in sync with my app folder.

Lion's weakest new feature though? This one:

Address Book features a new look. Browse your contacts without the clutter of a sidebar or status bar. As you scroll, your contact list displays alphabetical dividers so you always know where you are.

 

[nec207]

my personal weakest 'feature' is that apple realized the market of computer illiterate people is larger then the power user market and is gearing their product towards that new area. it was visible with fcpx and now with lion, they are taking the power out of power-user and making an o.s. suitable for the masses. very smart in a business and $$ perspective but it is annoying the heck out of me, i want my library files visible , spaces, expose, save as, scroll bars, fresh restarts ..... not this grama friendly iOS+

Not sure but from what I read here http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2011/07/mac-os-x-10-7.ars/15

Library folders are now invisible in the Finder, removing the temptation for novice users to go mucking around in directories they don't understand

The folder is hidden one must use coomand line to get to the folder.



Other

Aesthetically speaking, the Finder, like the rest of Lion, has been visited by the color vampire. The Finder sidebar doesn't even honor custom folder icons, showing them as generic gray folders instead. That seems a little tyrannical, even for Apple.

Only way is to run a scrip code.

And other things change in the Finder that one will have to unlearn how to use Snow Leopard and learn how to use Lion.

 

[Takuro]

Launchpad.

I think everybody else has sufficiently stated the numerous reasons why it's utterly useless. It's just random eye candy in an effort to bring iOS to the Mac when it serves no real function on the platform.

 

[nec207]

Launchpad

Here a great easy to use place to launch all your favorite apps. But you can't add your favorite apps to Launchpad unless we've already put it in there for you. Also you can't delete all the apps that you never use, you'll have to drag them together into a folder and label it "useless" so you know never to use them. For your favorite apps that you use daily that you can't add to launchpad you'll still have to use Finder, spotlight, the App folder or your Dock. Which is exactly what you had to with Snow Leapord.

Enjoy the innovative and user friendly Launchpad!!

Yes you can remove apps .

And the Launchpad is not start manue like windows with favorite or shutcuts but all your apps.

Some times in windows you looking for program and you do not know where it is that one problem.

 

[nec207]

For big and/or multiple display use, the new feature full screen feature combined with Mission Control is a big lose with no way to go back. I don't like the missing scroll bars (because they gave a visual indication of document size and position) but that can be shut off. "Natural scrolling" is a lose if you have to use a Windows system half the time. And Lanchpad is worthless but can be ignored.

Sorry no idea what you trying to say with scroll bars .

But from I understand the scroll bars are still there.

 

[basher]

Launchpad
...But you can't add your favorite apps to Launchpad unless we've already put it in there for you...

You can drag an apps icon to the Launchpad icon in the dock. This will add the application to Launchpad. Next time you go in to Launchpad you'll see the app.

 

[stefan1975]

God I really HATE this mentality! People have been saying this for YEARS about Mac OS. All the advanced features are still accessible! If you really know what you're doing you can go into a terminal and do ANYTHING. Why do some people consider it a negative that Apple decided that it makes more sense to make a UI user friendly?? I don't see why you should have to fight with a computer to change simple settings. I say, the easier the better! I do very complex things on computers and even program in Unix when I need to and I think Mac OS is the best UI on the market!

And what do you mean you want your library files visible?? They are perfectly visible! If you don't know how to access your root volumes you are NOT a power user!

i know how to use the terminal, i have been a SUN solaris UNIX sysadmin for 14 years now. I just don't like the new defaults in lion where they hide the advanced stuff in the GUI. if i wanted to tinker on the command line to make my desktop usable i would have stuck with Slackware and FreeBSD on my desktops and laptops and not buy this EUR2000,- MBP.

I know i can make the library files visible, reverse that odd scrolling, ignore the existence of launchpad and mission control, turn off application state resume, turn back on the traffic lights in my dock, untick 'restart apps' at every shutdown and 'really' close apps using the keyboard ...... but it's just that if i do all that then what am i left with?

yes indeed .... with SL again, just without spaces and with some serious memory issues.

 

[nec207]

I'm going to actually say the new colorless sidebar. While the monochromatic look cleans things up a bit it prevents me from targeting some icons via their color. With

Snow Leopard I could instinctively cursor over to the purple Desktop icon or the Downloads folder with the green

Now I'm confronted with a sea of gray and I must pay more attention to the icon rather than looking for icon + color.

Not sure why apple did this ?

But there may be skins you can download of the internet .

I know i can make the library files visible, reverse that odd scrolling, ignore the existence of launchpad and mission control, turn off application state resume, turn back on the traffic lights in my dock, untick 'restart apps' at every shutdown and 'really' close apps using the keyboard ...... but it's just that if i do all that then what am i left with?

I think the launchpad and mission control is good thing apple did and too bad they did not do that before.
As for turn back on the traffic lights in my dock what do you mean.

 

[gentlefury]

i know how to use the terminal, i have been a SUN solaris UNIX sysadmin for 14 years now. I just don't like the new defaults in lion where they hide the advanced stuff in the GUI. if i wanted to tinker on the command line to make my desktop usable i would have stuck with Slackware and FreeBSD on my desktops and laptops and not buy this EUR2000,- MBP.

I know i can make the library files visible, reverse that odd scrolling, ignore the existence of launchpad and mission control, turn off application state resume, turn back on the traffic lights in my dock, untick 'restart apps' at every shutdown and 'really' close apps using the keyboard ...... but it's just that if i do all that then what am i left with?

yes indeed .... with SL again, just without spaces and with some serious memory issues.

so the problem is....OH NO!!! Apple advanced their product!! And you are stuck in the past....don't worry, when the next version comes out I'm sure you will be complaining how its nothing like Lion and you hate it.

btw, I never even said anything about terminal. You can access root level files from finder very easily then set Macintosh HD as a shortcut...it took all of 2 seconds and I didn't cry about it.

 

[jamesarm97]

I think the lack of a way to use another / keep another app on a second monitor while the main app is full screen. I really do a lot of looking at one page while updating another, for example a spreadsheet on one screen while updating a pages document or keeping mail on the second monitor while using the main. When an app goes full screen they basically disable the use of the second monitor and change the background to the linen wallpaper.

 

[HelterSkelter]

Launchpad is useless, but it ain't harmful either.

The biggest pain is Mission Control: not that it is that bad of an idea: with the fullscreen apps coming in, they just *had to* find a way to handle in along with Spaces.

The biggest issue with Mission Control is that you can't do much with it, and you definitely can't do what you could do with the former Exposé.

You can't move between your apps, windows with the keyboard
You can't see your minimized windows
You have to "scroll" to "expand" to see the contents of the "background" windows a bit better.

And there is no real benefit.

I don't mind Mission Control staying if they improve what I mentionned.
But what I want the most is the option of the good old Exposé that only show all windows of current space.

-The new color layout, and button style is a visual detail, so I don't care.
-Library not visible is actually visible (ls ~/Library /Library shows it all)
-The scrollbars "add more space" (yeah.... can't see the difference that much honestly), and apart from that: visual detail so I don't care
-The fullscreen apps are cool, but much room for improvement: no posibility to write a mail in Mail and be able to check the contents of other mails in backgorund, when having two screens, one is lost when using fullscreen app
- The embedded VNC is broken, that sucks

 

[nec207]

Mission control's replacement of spaces preferences. I hate that you can't have multiple rows of desktops and the new way of assigning applications to desktops is awkward. However the ability to give each desktop it's own wallpaper is a very welcome enhancement.

What do you mean by can't have multiple rows of desktops ? There is only one desktop.

And applications do not get added to the desktop.

 

[talmy]

What do you mean by can't have multiple rows of desktops ? There is only one desktop.

Multiple rows of desktops with Spaces and a single row with Mission Control.

 

[iMikeT]

I didn't realize there would be so many of you guys who would also agree with Launchpad being useless, definitely surprised me a little.

 

[ThePimento]

Mission control's replacement of spaces preferences. I hate that you can't have multiple rows of desktops and the new way of assigning applications to desktops is awkward.

+1. I absolutely HATE Mission Control. At least give me an option of Mission Control or Spaces.

With Spaces, I had a 2x3 setup where I could easily get to each application. iTunes? That's down and right. Safari? That's left from there, etc. etc.

Now with Mission Control, iTunes is 5 desktops to the right. Need to go to Safari? That's now 4 desktops to the left.

Why Apple thought this would simply things is beyond me. Horrible.

*edit* Oh, and don't get me started on the inability to move desktops around in Mission Control. Why can't I drag a desktop to the second space? Stupid!

 

[Jenni8]

My only issue with Launchpad is its randomly rearranging the icons on restart. Other than that I really like it is a quick way of accessing a list of games especially, but really anything not docked, or even things docked given it can be inconsistently difficult to get to the dock from fullscreen apps. I also really like the gesture for invoking LP, just wish magic mouse could handle it.

Weakest in terms of implementation I would have to say autosave/versions. I've already argued it to death so will save you all the upset .

I agree, I have been avoiding any restarts no my icons don't get rearranged, not that's it's always necessary, but I like to turn it FULLY off every now and then. And in fullscreen apps I miss the exit, minimize and maximize buttons. Sometimes it's easier to JUST use the mouse rather than moving to the keyboard or using the drop down menus with the mouse. But I only have the magic mouse and in using BetterTouchTool makes it easy to add any gesture I want. Especially in activating the launchpad which I do with a simple 3 finger touch. I now have my dock showing only the apps which are open now. Or I'll use Quicksilver to launch certain apps. I also added in a small plugin to make full screen apps work for almost ANY app. Makes the full screen apps much more useful.

 

[GoKyu]

Least useful*: Launchpad
I mean... I find Apple's own description baffling:

Sorry to cut your post short, but others have already quoted it in full...

+1 to the entire thing, but the best line in the whole post is bolded above

I understand why Apple did this - to take advantage of all the iOS users that are coming on board in droves - and yes, I *do* own an iPhone and iPad 2, and am very happy with both - but I also like my file system and don't care to have my UI look like a giant 27" iPad on my Mac Pro's monitor.

Launchpad is worse than useless to me - and WHY do all the new apps downloaded from the Mac App Store get thrown directly into Launchpad without *ASKING*?? Is there a way to disable that? (Or preferably the entire program...)

Next is Mission Control - Yes, I still MUCH prefer Spaces as they were in Snow Leopard, but I'm able to get a similar effect with multiple desktops open, so I can still get around nearly as fast...but it's just not ELEGANT like Spaces was. I wish we could *at least* change the desktop names to something other than "Desktop 1" or "Desktop 4".

I have to also agree with the poster who said Apple's moving so much more to gestures (appropriate, I guess, since they sell WAY more laptops than desktops at this point, I'm sure...), but even in their literature it's all about the gestures and full screen. Hello, a full screen app on a 27" screen (Mac Pro in my case, 27" iMac in any other random consumer's case) is a GIGANTIC waste of space (double that if you actually use multiple monitors.)

Gestures just make much more sense on a laptop's small screen versus using a mouse on a desktop machine.

Safari's Reader is about the only app you MIGHT have use for the extra space with the sidebar...

One app I do like having full screen is Terminal - I keep that in its own Space, er, Desktop.

 

[iMikeT]

+1. I absolutely HATE Mission Control. At least give me an option of Mission Control or Spaces.

With Spaces, I had a 2x3 setup where I could easily get to each application. iTunes? That's down and right. Safari? That's left from there, etc. etc.

Now with Mission Control, iTunes is 5 desktops to the right. Need to go to Safari? That's now 4 desktops to the left.

Why Apple thought this would simply things is beyond me. Horrible.

*edit* Oh, and don't get me started on the inability to move desktops around in Mission Control. Why can't I drag a desktop to the second space? Stupid!

I've had similar thoughts about Mission Control since upgrading to Lion. I completely agree with your observation about not being able to move around/re-order a desktop/space while in Mission Control and having the option between Mission Control or Spaces. At this point, I'm just that glad that Apple kept Exposé for application windows in Lion.

My biggest pet peeve about Mission Control is in conjunction with Full Screen Apps. Why couldn't the full screen application just take up the desktop/space it's currently in rather than adding an entirely new one at the end of the chain? I currently have nine spaces set up and use control+number (1,2,3...etc.) to switch around from space to space. With nine spaces, if an application goes into full screen, it automatically makes it a tenth space. Meaning that you can't get to it directly by using control+number.

 

[marsonist]

i know how to use the terminal, i have been a SUN solaris UNIX sysadmin for 14 years now. I just don't like the new defaults in lion where they hide the advanced stuff in the GUI. if i wanted to tinker on the command line to make my desktop usable i would have stuck with Slackware and FreeBSD on my desktops and laptops and not buy this EUR2000,- MBP.

I know i can make the library files visible, reverse that odd scrolling, ignore the existence of launchpad and mission control, turn off application state resume, turn back on the traffic lights in my dock, untick 'restart apps' at every shutdown and 'really' close apps using the keyboard ...... but it's just that if i do all that then what am i left with?

yes indeed .... with SL again, just without spaces and with some serious memory issues.

If you can't be bothered to go through a level of settings to change your scroll wheel direction, or learn command+shift+g "~/Library" A) You're not a power user B) You need to get over yourself and realize that you will never get to a point where you can say checkmate, I win, I know everything about a computer there is to know. They are changing and evolving and to an extent the users have to change and evolve too. Swallow your pride and learn to use something slightly newer/ slightly different.

 

[nec207]

Not sure why apple did this ?

But there may be skins you can download of the internet .



I think the launchpad and mission control is good thing apple did and too bad they did not do that before.
As for turn back on the traffic lights in my dock what do you mean.

I've had similar thoughts about Mission Control since upgrading to Lion. I completely agree with your observation about not being able to move around/re-order a desktop/space while in Mission Control and having the option between Mission Control or Spaces. At this point, I'm just that glad that Apple kept Exposé for application windows in Lion

But why is it some people do not like the launchpad .

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

so the problem is....OH NO!!! Apple advanced their product!! And you are stuck in the past....don't worry, when the next version comes out I'm sure you will be complaining how its nothing like Lion and you hate it.

just because it's new doesn't mean it's more advanced or somehow better. The old implementation of Spaces was more versatile and feature rich than the current laughable virtual desktops. I do enjoy mission control, but it could use some more options and consistency, for example for some reason when I made new desktops in Lion it arranged them 1,3,4,2. Why it did that I cannot determine. The way to assign applications to desktops has been neutered, but you can now set different backgrounds for each space (although you can't name them!).

I do enjoy Lion, especially the animations --something I never thought I would care about, but there are many features that have been lost that I really miss. The removal of Spaces really made me hesitate on updating.

btw,

I never even said anything about terminal. You can access root level files from finder very easily then set Macintosh HD as a shortcut...it took all of 2 seconds and I didn't cry about it.

you can't get to your user library without the terminal or the Go to folder option. There's no reason to blindly and annoyingly defend Apple's decisions. It's much more enjoyable to have a civil and information backed discussion rather than, y'know, go on the way you have.