Quite a while ago, Steve Jobs, the CEO of
Apple at that time, held a keynote titled "Back to the Mac" At that same keynote, he gave us a sneak preview of the next generation of Mac OS X, called
Mac OS X Lion.
Although Mac OS X Lion is still a while away, software developers signed up for Apple's Developer Program got an early look. OS X Lion is coming sometime in summer 2011, so the version of the operating system the developer's go is still in it's early stages. Still, what the developer's saw had some cool features.
This new version of OS X brings the best features of the
iPad onto the big screen size and more powerful specs of the macs.
Apple integrates the elegant home screen of the iPad onto the Mac, and allows you to click the little black Launchpad icon on the dock a the bottom of the screen. Any open Windows fade away, and an iPad like grid of icons appear. This is where you can find all of your apps. The apps can be dragged into folders, which look and open just like the folders on the iPad and iPhone.
Apple also apparently likes how all iPad and iPhone apps open full-screen. The new iPhoto, Mail, iCal, and Preview apps all can open full-screen. This allows you to concentrate on one thing at a time, or so Apple says. The apps can be changed to full-screen with one click, and open apps can be swiped through with multitouch gestures on the trackpad. The Developer platform also allows third-party apps to take advantage of the full-screen capabilities.
 |
| Launchpad |
A new and funnily named feature in Mac OS X is Mission Control. Mission control allows you to see everything that's running on your Mac, from a birds eye kind of view. It shows little icons of running apps, the dashboard, and the desktop.
OS X Lion also integrates a new auto-save feature. This automatically saves your work, and allows you to revert back to previous versions of a document. Similarly, you can see all previous versions of a document in the order that you edited it.
The new version of he OS also allows you to resume exactly where you left off when you restart your Mac. There is no more need to save and close everything, and then restart it all when you turn on your computer again.
A few new features come in the new Mail app, Mail 5. Mail now supports conversations, which groups a conversation of emails in one group, rather than showing ten emails separately. The layout of the app is also redesigned for the Mac's widescreen. It shows the one line preview on the left side of the screen, as well as a full height preview at the right.
 |
| Mission Control |
The last main feature is called AirDrop. AirDrop allows you to share files with others wirelessly. To use AirDrop, you click the icon in the Finder, and you then see any Macs around you also using AirDrop. If they are in your contacts, you can even see their profile picture. To share a file, just drag a file to the other users profile. They can then accept the file, and it will start to download.
Overall, this seems like a very exciting update to the Mac operating system. The fact that Apple is bringing it's Macs closer to the iPad scares some. The iPad is a very closed platform. Any apps must be approved by Apple to be included in the App Store. With the recent launch of the Mac App Store, it seems that the Mac platform is getting less and less open, giving Apple more control. The end user thinks that the closed platform of the iPad is great, but overall it gives more control to Apple, which isn't necessarily a good thing.
Posts
3 comments:
As a developer and a user of iPad and iPhone apps, I've (at first reluctantly) completely embraced Apple's distribution model. The "wild frontier" model of software on Windows, Mac and Unix has resulted in untold millions of viruses, spyware, system corruption (usually accidental), extreme system slowdown and unexplained crashes. And that's just the OS issues. Users also have to deal with difficulty getting software updates, copy protection preventing them from using an app they bought on another machine in their household, and especially developers not protecting credit card information sufficiently in online transactions.
Developers have had to deal with inventory issues, credit card chargebacks, other apps corrupting or interfering with their installations, upgrading software online, making money producing freeware/shareware, offering any kind of subscription model, and especially rampant software piracy (even among normally law-abiding citizens - the criminals will always find a way to steal).
Lion and the Mac App Store together aren't going to completely eliminate all of these issues, but it's making huge steps in the right direction and they WILL eliminate many of those problems with App sandboxing, mandatory 5 machine licensing for all App Store purchases, and the App Store distribution model. Yes, Apple's going to start making money off Mac software, but honestly, I think that's great! The more they look at Mac OS as a revenue stream (outside of hardware sales) the more they'll throw features into it to draw in more people. I've been afraid that Apple was going to stop putting resources into the Mac and put everything they had into iPad/iPhone/iPod where they've been making their money. I'm happy to see that instead of abandoning the desktop/laptop market they're choosing to evolve it into something Apple, their users, and their developers will all benefit from. There will always be opposition to change, but sometimes change is needed and this is one of those times.
To Timothy Tripp:
I am not the best one to argue this case, but I can say that although right now the fact that Apple's in control with things like the iPad is not a bad thing. The business model is fine, a developer makes an app, Apple aids them in selling it, and then Apple gets it's cut.
What may happen though, and is already starting to happen, is that Apple sees how much control they have, and begins to see how that can bring in more money. Once Apple has complete control, who says they won't change the cut they get from 30% to 60%. If they have a monopoly in the business, the developers can't go anywhere else.
An example of this is the recent controversy over Apple's new subscriber guidelines. In short, Apple wants 30% of any subscriptions made on the iPhone or iPad. This is exactly what could happen, but in more extremes, later on. If Apple had a monopoly in the business, the developers would have no choice but to go with the rules.
That's where Android, Windows, and other operating systems come in. The fact that Apple is slowly losing market share to Android and other operating systems makes there be competition, and competition means that Apple won't make crazy rules. As long as there is competition, developers should not worry too mch.
More Developers Get Early Look at Next OS X
http://devicegadget.com/apple/developers-early-os/1049/
Post a Comment