Apple calls Lion, it’s newest Operating System for Macs, the ‘most advanced OS’. With growing penetration of Macs, even in countries like India, it’s no surprise that Apple sold 1 million copies of Lion on the first day. For now, Lion is available as a download on the Mac App store. But if the almost 4 GB download is too much for your broadband limits, you can wait till August, when you can get the software on a USB stick. The features that make Lion the leader, are:
1. Mission Control
Apple calls it the ‘hub of the Mac’. It brings full-screen apps, Dashboard, Expose and Spaces together, to show all open windows, grouped by application with a designated icon. Accessed by a single upward swipe on the trackpad.
2. Launchpad
When Apple said it is going to bring iOS features to Mac, this is what they meant. This brings iPad feel to the Mac screen. Launchpad shows all installed apps on your Mac instead of the desktop, if you wish. You can move around the apps and put them in folders just like on iPad.
3. AirDrop
One of the coolest features of Lion, this lets you share files over Wi-Fi with other Macs running Lion. Does not need any setup, just open AirDrop and start sharing. What is cooler is, you don’t need a router for the sharing. If two Macs are within 30 feet of each other, you can do a transfer of any size over peer-to-peer WiFi.
4. Resume and Autosave
With Resume, say goodbye to quitting apps and re-starting them when you start up your Mac again. Now, when you restart, all apps will be open where you left them when you switched off. With Autosave, you can forget about saving your work—it automatically saves all programs you are working on. With Versions, it shows you all backdated versions of your work for you to choose from.
5. Mail
A revamped Mail offers iPad-esque views in full screen. It boasts of threaded messages and improved search strings.
Apart from these, fullscreen apps, multi-touch gestures, and 250 other features for security and stability, make Lion a must-have upgrade for Mac users.