More Features of Mac OS X Lion Revealed

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Apple seeded developers with a preview of the next iteration of Mac OS X, dubbed Lion. They also put up a nice site for the rest of us to start drooling over.

Some of this we saw at Apple's media preview in October, and some of it is new. For instance, Launchpad, Mission Control, and full screen apps are things we knew about. Heck, the Mac App Store is listed as a feature, which is something we have now on Snow Leopard.

But the new stuff looks equally great.

Auto Save & Versions

Lion is bringing a system-wide ability to end manually saving a file. This is just one of those quality of life features. Here's how Apple describes it:

Say good-bye to manual saving. Auto Save in Mac OS X Lion automatically saves your work — while you work — so you don’t have to. Lion saves changes in the working document instead of creating additional copies, making the best use of available disk space. The lock feature prevents inadvertent changes from being saved and automatically locks documents after two weeks. And the revert feature returns you to the state the document was in when you last opened it, so you can feel free to experiment with confidence.

Tying into Auto Save is Versions, which records the evolution of document as you create it. It's kind of like Time Machine for an individual document. I like the idea of reverting to a previous state, but more so, being able to copy and paste from a past version. This would have been amazing to have in college for research papers.

Resume

You know when you install an update that requires a reboot, and you have to stop everything you are working on, save, quit apps, reboot, then reopen all those apps and documents back up? Yeah? Annoying, isn't it? Lion's Resume feature lets you restart your Mac to the state it was when you turned it off, with all your apps exactly where you left them.

In an even finer grain detail, Resume works for just closing an relaunching an app. Close Safari, reopen it, and it starts on the page you were on when you closed it, not back at Top Sites or your homepage. (I also noticed from the photos, the "active app" lights on the Dock are gone. It doesn't look like quitting an app will be a thing in Lion).

Mail 5

Can we say "hallelujah"? Mail is getting a major overhaul, losing a lot of visual bloat, and becoming a lot like the iPad Mail app. Looks absolutely stunning, especially in full screen mode.

I'm also digging the conversation view.

AirDrop

AirDrop lets you send files to anyone with Lion on your network. Click an AirDrop button in Finder, your Mac shows you who is around, then you drag a file onto their name. They are notified, and when they accept, the file zips to their computer wirelessly.

Lion Server

Typically, Mac OS X comes as either a client version (what most of us use) or a Server version. In Lion, Server is included, so anyone can set up a Mac as a server without anything extra.

New Gestures and Animations

I love gestures in Snow Leopard. The multitouch trackpad in my MacBook Pro is amazing. So amazing, that I immediately purchased the Magic Trackpad when it was released. Lion is what the Magic Trackpad was made for. Gestures are a huge focal point of Lion.

I am loving the idea of being able to tap or pinch to zoom content in my browser. Swiping between Spaces looks fantastic, and the animation of swiping back and forth between pages in Safari looks stellar. See for yourself. If you use a Magic Mouse now, I highly recommend moving to a Magic Trackpad for Lion.

All in all, Lion is shaping up to be amazing. I can hardly wait until summer.

FaceTime for Mac Officially Released

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FaceTime for Mac is out of beta as of today. Honestly, I didn't think it would leave beta until Mac OS X Lion's release this summer. The big new feature is HD video calling if you have a FaceTime HD camera (currently exclusive to the MacBook Pro line that was refreshed today).

FaceTime for Mac comes with the new MacBook Pro, or is available for 99¢ on the Mac App Store for the rest of us.

Some folks I've spoken with that had the beta installed say they are sticking with that. Your mileage may vary. Me? It's a buck, and I use it quite a bit.

MacBook Pro Updated, Thunderbolt Included

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Today Apple did a refresh of their MacBook Pro line, something that has been due for some time, as the previous refresh was in April of 2010.

Processors & Graphics

The entire MacBook Pro line is on the latest Intel processors. The 13-inch models have finally graduated from the Core 2 Duo processors to dual-core Core i5 on the low-end and Core i7 on the high end. Apple says the new 13-inch model is twice as fast as the previous generation. The 15- and 17-inch models all sport Core i7 processors instead of i5 processors, and they are quad-core!

All models have shifted to Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics. I am unsure how I feel about this as Intel's integrated graphics have never been known as fantastic. However, Intel blocked NVIDIA from making integrated chipsets for the Core i-Series of processors (this is why Apple stuck with the Core 2 Duo for so long on the 13-inch MacBook Pro. They preferred NVIDIA's chipsets).

Whereas the 13-inch model relies solely on the Intel graphics chip, the 15- and 17-inch models can automatically switch to higher-end AMD discrete graphics when some extra horsepower is needed. The low-end 15-inch sports the AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256MB GDDR5, and the high-end 15-inch and the 17-inch models have the AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 1GB GDDR5. Nice.

FaceTime HD

The new MacBook Pro's have a new HD camera in the monitor bezel. These used to be called iSight's, but since the iPhone 4 was introduced, Apple has been rebranding with FaceTime. The MacBook Air was the first Mac to receive the FaceTime Camera moniker, and the MacBook Pro now has FaceTime HD.

Thunderbolt — One Port to Rule Them All

This section quite possibly deserves a post all in itself. Thunderbolt is a new port that handles, well, everything. It was a project by Intel to create a port that just about anything can plug into. Intel and Apple worked together to make this port, which has taken on the form-factor of Apple's mini-DisplayPort plug.

Thunderbolt can transfer data at 10 Gbps (USB 3.0 does 5 Gbps), connect storage devices, storage arrays, displays, and even connect to networks. It even supplies 10-watts of power to power devices.

So, what does this mean for future Macs? Well, one of the things I was hoping for in this refresh was that the MacBook Pro would become more like the MacBook Air. Especially in adopting the thin wedge profile. There are four main things that stand in the way of the MacBook Pro getting much thinner: hard drive, optical drive, Ethernet, and FireWire.

The hard drive will eventually go solely SSD in portable Macs, I am convinced of this. The optical drive can go the way of the floppy, and users who need it can have an external drive, like we see with the MacBook Air today.

But Ethernet and FireWire are large ports that aren't going away in the near future — or at least weren't, since there wasn't a viable replacement. Thunderbolt is that replacement.

Apple and Intel designed Thunderbolt to continue to support existing USB, FireWire, Gigabit Ethernet, and Fibre Channel networks using simple adapters. And since Thunderbolt is based on mini-DisplayPort, users can still use existing adapters to connect DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, or VGA displays.

Thunderbolt literally wraps all the ports on the side of the MacBook Pro into one connector. This is just the first step.

As Thunderbolt takes off and is included with other devices natively, Apple (and other manufacturers) could offer a bunch of Thunderbolt ports on their computers, and retire ports such as Ethernet, FireWire, and maybe even USB.

Imagine if thumbdrives had a Thunderbolt plug instead of USB. This one port design could very well be the future.

Conclusions

This is an impressive update to the MacBook Pro line. If you've had your eye on a new MacBook Pro, now is the time to get one. Mine is doing fine, and I am honestly waiting for the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air to hook up. Not to mention that the inclusion of Thunderbolt has me waiting to see a simplified I/O and thinner designs.

Apple Holding Second-Gen iPad Event

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The Loop just posted an invite from Apple for an iPad event in one week, on March 2nd. If I had to guess (and I don't really think I have to), we'll see an announcement of the second generation iPad, and likely the release of iOS 4.3, which has been in beta for the past month and a half or so.

As a left-field guess, maybe we'll get a preview of iOS 5, though Apple usually previews that as a separate event, however, the timeframe would fit judging from past preview events.

iPad 2011 Event Invite

The all-new, almost-the-same Apple.com

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Apple gave its website a little facelift overnight, adding a darker navigation bar, and quite a few animations. You'll need Safari or Chrome to see the animations, as they don't work in Firefox. I'm not willing to warm up my Windows 7 VM to test the site in Internet Explorer. So, do us all a favor and go view it in Safari, the way Apple intended.

The most notable thing I'm noticing is the speed of the site. It has clearly been optimized to be lightning fast for Safari, because it's even just a tick slower feeling in Chrome.

Overall, it is a nice update that leaves Apple's site familiar, but completely refreshed. Also, go click in the site's search bar, it's a nice little animation (in Safari or Chrome).

P.S. The Apple Store iOS app prompts users to download an as-yet unavailable update to the app. I'd expect it soon.

iPhone 4 + Verizon

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Verizon just wrapped up its press conference where they announced a CDMA iPhone 4. Some highlights:

  • $199/$299 for 16GB/32GB, respectively. Not surprising.
  • Mobile Hotspot Included. Impressive! AT&T has some competition now. (Where’s my free Mobile Hotspot, AT&T?)
  • CDMA iPhone 4 Doesn’t Do Simultaneous Voice/Data, just like other CDMA Phones. Not surprised. Not a necessary feature, but it is one I do like on AT&T. Of course, free Mobile Hotspot would be better.
  • Verizon’s iPhone is not LTE. I’m not surprised at all. LTE isn’t ready for showtime in Apple’s book. I’d be surprised if the next iPhone on Verizon supported LTE. After that, maybe.
  • The CDMA iPhone is a mutli-year, non-exclusive agreement. Can you say Sprint iPhone? Not an if, but a when.
  • Existing Verizon customers can pre-order on 3 February, everyone else on 10 February from Verizon and Apple Stores. Nice to see Verizon taking care of their own first. A lot of folks have been waiting for a long while.

That’s about it. Verizon has an FAQ page.

Sidenote: Still not going to switch, but that Mobile Hotspot sure is tempting.

Looks Like the iPhone is Getting a New Coverage Map

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So, Verizon sent out some invitations to an event next week in new York. Of course, the Internet lit up with rumors of a Verizon iPhone, and I promptly dismissed them as I figured such an announcement would be made by Apple and not Verizon. Then the Wall Street Journal threw in its two cents saying the event is indeed about the iPhone coming to Verizon.

That certainly caught my attention, as the Wall Street Journal has a great track record with Apple-related rumors. But I was still hung up about who the announcement was coming from.

The Chairman Gruber convinced me. Of course Apple can’t host it. Verizon is going to bash AT&T, and AT&T is still Apple’s partner.

So yes, things are definitely looking like a confirmed Verizon iPhone announcement. iPhone owners: will you be switching from AT&T to Verizon as soon as possible?

Me? I don’t have many issues with AT&T. I have great coverage here Lincoln, Nebraska, and only have troubles when traveling, which is only a few days per year. I may consider when my contract is up in Summer 2012, but I’m not going to shell out termination fees on two iPhone 4’s just to switch carriers when AT&T is doing just fine for me.

The Mac App Store Opens for Business

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Finally, the Mac App Store opened for business today (though far earlier than the rumored noon release). It is bundled with the Mac OS X 10.6.6 update, so you’ll need to run Software Update. Once you reboot after the update, you’ll have a shiny new blue icon in your Dock — App Store.

You’ll have to log in with your Apple ID — the same credentials you use for iTunes — and then you can be on your merry way to purchasing apps. And it has never been easier.

Say Goodbye to the .DMG

Installing apps has never been, well, all that easy. That’s not to say one couldn’t learn the procedure and just go through the menial steps, but there has been room for improvement for quite some time. I have seen many people running their apps from inside disk images (.dmg) because they didn’t know they needed to move the app into their Applications folder. Also, try explaining what a disk image is to someone that doesn’t know much about computing. Yeah, that’s what I thought.

The App Store makes installing apps as easy as two clicks. You click Install (or if the app is paid, you click its price), enter your password, click Buy to confirm, and the app literally zooms off the App Store page and into your Dock. It is also automatically delivered to your Applications folder. Honestly, installation doesn’t get a great deal simpler than this.

Updates

Another great feature is the App Store will notify when any of your apps have updates available, along with a list of the changes. Many third-party apps prior to today utilized Sparkle to notify and install updates, but Sparkle requires that a user opens the app for the updater to run. (By the way, it appears the developer of Sparkle “designed and implemented exciting new technology for the Installer that will be employed throughout Mac OS X” when he interned at Apple a while back, according to his resume).

Fact is, it’s easy to go for some time without an app, and you could miss out on some updates, even ones that introduce new features that might interest you in using the app again. The App Store should help mitigate those lapses. Either way, update notifications are welcome in my book.

The Future

I have no doubt about the Mac App Store being a wild success. I imagine the App Store will be the way most folks (read non-techy) discover new apps from here on out. Especially switchers. They’ll be introduced to it when they buy a new Mac at the Apple Store, and may not ever know that there is another way to get apps on the Mac (kind of unlikely, but you never know).

At the end of the day, I am all for making user experience easier.

Apple Introduces Support Profile

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This morning Apple provided a new service for users to make things easier if support and service is ever needed. The Apple Support Profile is a central hub of information for you to keep track of your past and current Apple computers and devices, their serial numbers, warranties, and records of any service performed on those products.

Another nice feature is VoicePass. If you register your phone number(s) with Apple and allow them to use the number for VoicePass, the next time you need to call Apple, they will know who you are straight away.

Also, if you choose, you can have Apple send you a text message for service updates.

All in all, Support Profile looks to be a great resource for both the user and Apple.