Mac OS X Lion Review: What Roars, What Snores

I'd be lyin' if I said the new Mac operating system isn't a total success in terms of early adoption: On the first day that OS X Lion was available, more than 1 million people downloaded the newbie from the App Store and installed it on their computers. According to Apple, this makes it the fastest selling operating system it has ever released -- a fine superlative, but with the caveat that this operating system is much easier to purchase than operating systems in the past (more on that a moment).

I was one of the million Mac users to upgrade to OS X Lion from Snow Leopard, and I've been using it for about a full day now. A couple of disclosures:

1. I use a Mac as my work computer, and a PC as my personal computer.
2. I come from a family of lifetime Windows users (Hello, Windows 95!).
3. I am familiar with previous Mac operating systems, but I am not some kind of Snow Leopard wizard.

Basically, I am not Tom-Cruise-in-Minority-Report when it comes to Mac operating systems, nor am I a complete neophyte. This review is more about essential, barebones user friendliness and immediate impressions rather than any under-the-hood or power-user concerns.

Without further ado, here is what I like and do not like about OS X Lion. Or, to be more poetic about Lion, here's what roars, and what snores:

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ROAR: The Price

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The upgrade to OS X Lion from Snow Leopard is $30. The upgrade to Windows 7 from Windows Vista is $119.99. It's not that the Windows 7 upgrade is too expensive, I don't think, but rather that OS X Lion is surprisingly, incredibly cheap. To upgrade your entire operating system for less than the price of most pieces of software is terrific.

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The upgrade to OS X Lion from Snow Leopard is $30. The upgrade to Windows 7 from Windows Vista is $119.99. It's not that the Windows 7 upgrade is too expensive, I don't think, but rather that OS X Lion is surprisingly, incredibly cheap. To upgrade your entire operating system for less than the price of most pieces of software is terrific.

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martymartymarty said on 22 Friday 2011 pm31 5:04 pm: You need to put some more fiber in your diet, bub.

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Comments

[mirza]

05:06 PM on 09/20/2011

Rosetta is gone in Lion--a major loss and a major reason to keep Snow Leopard

[tarzan322]

03:07 AM on 08/03/2011

I still can't figure out what makes Apples so great other than it's fancy artsy fartsy look. There are people even stripping out the insides and putting in standard PC insides just to make a Hackingtosh, As for image editing, PC's caught up and even surpassed them long ago in that field, though the industry still likes it's artsy fartsy look. There really isn't anything special about them, they use the same components as a PC, although only a certain set that the OS is written for which means you can't upgrade squat, because the OS won't support it. And this OS upgrade doesn't look like it's going to support much either. Most of Lion's tweaks have been in Windows for years. It can't be virus protection, because people write viruses for them too. All computers work off the same principles, so the brand name isn't going to save you. I just don't get what's so great about them. it's a computer with a high end brand name attached that means you pay extra for the name, the fancy case, and the attachments. Frankly, I don't see a reason to buy one unless you drink the cool aid.

[DarkAlchemist]

01:41 AM on 07/31/2011

Lion is the beginning of the end of the Mac OS. Been using Apple since it was just Finder. This OS is the worst ever. If I wanted to have a special needs operating system I'd buy it. I tried out Lion at the Apple Store and was astonished at how Apple has decided their users are children. Hide the Library folder. That's a brilliant idea. Make the server and pro tools a separate download, and then neglect to include server tools in that download. Basically, you have to spend hours undoing all the stupid "tweaks" Apple has added to reverse years of progress in operating systems. Apparently Apple cares far more about the soccer mom consumers than they do about the people who built their base.

[onlythetruthcounts]

06:09 PM on 07/26/2011

It's worth it just for 64-bit Cocoa iTunes alone. Yes I do have a large music library and can tell a difference.

[onlythetruthcounts]

05:56 PM on 07/26/2011

It's $30! I know the economy is bad but $30 every few years ain't bad compared to Windows and its crazy pricing and different levels of features. Plus no silly drm, just install it on all your macs that are 64-bit Intel. Have a 5 year old Mac, just keep SL on it and be happy, life is short.

[dennishastings]

01:54 PM on 07/25/2011

I don't know about this 'update'. Think I'll stay with Snow blower. I don't have a trackpad on any device, I just have an iMac home computer. I've also been burned by upgrading. I had an app that I used called Soundtrack. After updating to Snow Leopard it didn't work anymore. Tha's 150 bucks that I could have used for food or something. I searched the net ( just to stop those who think that I didn't) and many other folks were bemoaning the loss of this application. It's something that they will never tell you about, either.

I will wait a couple of months and then search for 'apps that don't work with Lion'. I recommend the same for other Mac users... unless you just have to have the trackpad updates.

[NerdyStudent]

02:37 AM on 07/25/2011

Funny, Fedora has used multiple desktop (the cube) for a while now...

[moflard]

01:58 PM on 07/25/2011

Was thinking exactly the same thing....

[Sean E Smith]

08:03 PM on 07/25/2011

So has OSX, it's just done better now, and uh, the writer is not really keen on where OSX has been.

[zatonoichi]

09:03 PM on 07/24/2011

I had to drop my Adobe CS2 suite into the trash. It's not supported in Lion. Oh well. Time to buy some expensive new software.

[Sean E Smith]

08:04 PM on 07/25/2011

Ummm, thats Apple's fault?

[JohnTheMac]

10:01 PM on 07/25/2011

yeah, every 6 years it's probably a good idea, especially for a hobbyist.

[4TJefferson]

04:55 PM on 07/24/2011

How excited can we get by an OS developed in the early 1990's (BSD Unix)? 2gb or RAM to install? Apple still feuding with Adobe? No Rosetta? USB 3? Blue Ray? More Gestures? Oh well.

[JohnTheMac]

10:03 PM on 07/25/2011

I'm so glad I don't have BluRay!
Optical disks are a dead end.

[4TJefferson]

10:23 AM on 07/27/2011

Oh. Well good for you.

[alex segal]

02:53 PM on 07/24/2011

Important SNORE: Rosetta is left out of this OS, so many of your old non-native apps ( for me, like Quicken) are not going to work.

[JohnTheMac]

10:09 PM on 07/25/2011

after 6 years, it's time to cut the umbilical cord.
And yes, Intuit sucks, but it's what most accountants use for small businesses.
They warned me about Quickbooks not working on Lion. I'll have to check the latest info before I upgrade.

[HelloAndrew]

01:20 PM on 07/24/2011

This is a classic sign of a product released prematurely. Unfortunately the marketing department at Apple determines the release dates of new products, not the technical support or product design teams. (heavy sigh)

[zatonoichi]

08:59 PM on 07/24/2011

Aren't you glad we can get weekly (or even daily) software updates?
Seriously, Apple is very good about responding to the commentary, complaints, and suggestions of Mac users. I bet they'll fix that counter-intuitive track pad thing very soon.

[HonestJohnnis]

02:11 AM on 07/25/2011

I find the constant updated to be the most annoying part about OSX.. They push at least 250mb of updates to me a week, that's somewhat concerning.

[HelloAndrew]

01:20 PM on 07/24/2011

This whole thing seems based on the idea that as apple states, this will make computers "as convenient and modern as a smartphone"

Smartphones are surely a convenience, but does anybody out there really find them to be more "convenient" and "fast" than a computer?

If you agree with Apple's claim that smartphones are quicker and easier to use than computers, then perhaps this OS is for you.

While I covet many of the new features and speed of the new OS, I will not install until these foolhardy design mistakes are fixed, or my pro software suppliers force me to switch.

Another point to bear in mind, I am reminded by my own last sentence that if you use professional software, beware, it is not compatible with Lion yet!!! So you must not switch until the software makers catch up.

Even Evernote, which appears prominently in all of Apple's advertising for the app store, does not work with the new update of Safari released the other day to make it more compatible with Lion.

I contacted Evernote about this, they didn't believe me at first, but then a few hours later they sent out a bulk email to all their users admitting Apple has broken their Evernote web clipper, and claiming that this is a "Small inconvenience" and they are "excited" about bringing us a new version in "a few weeks".. which is an eternity for anyone who actually uses Evernote as intended.

[HelloAndrew]

01:19 PM on 07/24/2011

4. Launchpad

Instead of a nice, organized, small window showing a list of your apps, apps are listed in a full screen view similar to the way they are displayed on an iphone or ipod.

Apple claims this is part of their efforts to make their computer OS "modern" and "easy to use" like their phones and pods and pads.

Does anybody out there find this approach more "easy to use" than a nice alphabetical list of applications in a nice little window, a window that can be easily navigated with other windows still visible?

Apple says your convenience will be greatly enhanced when you "don't have to look up your apps alphabetically" but you can instead "see them in a full screen graphic layout just like your iphone"

How is this an improvement?!!! The same graphic icons appear in the old version of the apps folder. This forces you to scroll through full screen windows, one finger gesture after another until you eventually locate the app you want, just like an iphone instead of the previous method of seeing them in one window with one click.

This is not an improvement, especially for users like me who have hundreds of applications installed. It requires many more finger movements than the old way, eliminates the ability to compare or see the list of apps alongside any other window, and will certainly make the process more clumsy, inconvenient and time consuming than the old way.

[Dwayne Teague]

02:32 PM on 07/24/2011

I use a MacBook Air and I really do like Launchpad. Launchpad flows just like my iPhone and iPad with the same gestures that I am already used to. I like the fact that I can organize my applications in folders and access Launchpad quickly via a "hot corner." That's efficient and can be easy to use, once customized. I will admit, it will take a little bit to get used to.
You can still view your applications the many way(s) that you are used to so no loss there.
To me, Launchpad is more of a cool, logical addition more than an improvement.

[TheFarLeft]

12:37 PM on 07/25/2011

You're not being forced to use it. It's an option. Why are you complaining about an optional alternative?

[HelloAndrew]

05:40 PM on 07/25/2011

if it's optional, I have no problem with that. Apple's videos led me to believe the old way was gone from the os. All my info comes from their promotional and explanatory material, not from actual use of the OS... I sincerely hope all this stuff is optional, but the Apple videos said the old ways were replaced by the new features... if that's not true, then I'm all for it

Thanks for any corrections from people who have actually used Lion

[HelloAndrew]

01:01 PM on 07/24/2011

3. INVISIBLE SCROLL BARS!

For no apparent reason, with no beneficial effects, seemingly just to create change for it's own sake, all scroll bars are invisible until you attempt to scroll.

This is very poorly thought out. There is absolutely no conceivable benefit to this other than changing the look of open windows to a different look.

Meanwhile there are innumerable harmful effects of this change.

For one small example, what about when you are checking a window with a long list of files, a set of files that extends beyond the visible section of the window.

The user has no way to know that there are unseen items at the bottom of the list unless one tries to scroll That means instead of instant visual feedback telling you whether to scroll down to see more or not, one has to attempt to scroll in every window, and only by such an experiment can you know whether or not there is anything to scroll down to.

This will definitely mean slower more cumbersome navigation through file windows, and in many cases will lead to user errors when we are fooled into being unaware of items hidden by the invisible scroll bar "feature"

I challenge any Apple employee or boss to explain what possible benefit this "feature" could offer.

[theveggiedude]

12:11 AM on 07/25/2011

You are still thinking in terms of mouse and cursor. Lion is a gestural OS, and it takes a bit of relearning, but it is better - once you get used to it. If you don't have a MacBook less than a couple years old, then you can take advantage of the gesture features with a 'magic trackpad'.

[HelloAndrew]

05:42 PM on 07/25/2011

I don't mind the gestures, what bothers me is the lack of visual feedback, forcing me to take extra time to see what's in any given folder rather than being able to see in an instant whether it does or not.

[TheFarLeft]

12:33 PM on 07/25/2011

"The user has no way to know that there are unseen items at the bottom of the list unless one tries to scroll."

Sounds like a personal problem.

[HelloAndrew]

12:54 PM on 07/24/2011

2. Another major problem is files with multiple versions. There is no "save as", replaced by a "duplicate file" function. Backing up is a vital function, and when you have multiple backups of thousands of files over decades of time as I do, you wind up with many copies of the same project on various different hard drives. In order to figure out which one is the most current, I check the dates on which the files were last saved. Sometimes though, to be certain I need to open the versions and check their progress to figure out which is the most current. When I do this, I always close the project version after examining it and I always choose the "don't save" option to preserve the old previous date of last opening. This is impossible in Lion.