Mac+OS+X+10.7+Lion

= Mac OS X 10.7 Lion = toc Then years ago Apple reshaped its company with the introduction of Mac OS X. While the first iteration was an immature operating system. Then finally with OS X 10.4 Tiger the operating system grew into a robust and unique implementation of UNIX. Ten years and several big cats later Apple has introduced Mac OS X 10.7 Lion (Lion) and Apple’s operating system is on the verge of great change. Lion carries on the Apples move away from optical drives by only offering lion through the App store.

Lion first debut in October of 2010 at the “Back to Mac” event. Apple introduced the latest iteration as bringing iOS features back to the Mac operating system. Touches of iOS can be seen all over Lion. The graphical user interface (GUI) has taken on many of the feature of iOS including the scroll bars, and the linen texture. The user interface is still Aqua but it has been toned down significantly. The jelly look continues to be muted. Scroll bars are reminiscent of iOS with flat grey floating “ghost bars”. The address book and iCal also had some GUI enhancements. Both mimic real world counterparts but don’t function as their real world counterparts. You still have to use it as a program. You cant turn the pages you have to use the software buttons. This makes the change in appearance cosmetic only. This was intended to simulate iOS’s touch interface but does not go far enough. The changes to the GUI are understated as a whole but continue the general trend of OS X to further emulate iOS.

One of the larger carry overs from iOS is the Launch Pad which organizes the apps in a iOS fashion. In many ways it feels tacked on and not fully implemented. Though it does offer a view of what a fully intergraded OS X and iOS would look like. With better implementation Launch Pad could be very useful feature. Misson Controll combines Expose and Spaces for a better view of what is going on at one time. Lion also further integrates gestures to simulate iOS. Lion offers many improvements and an interesting look at where the Mac OS will go in the future.

OS X Lion Major Features
The following chart provides a quick reference to the some of the major features from Lion.

OS X Lion and the Future of the Mac Operating System
Lion is the seventh Iteration OS X and if it follows Apples established patterns It maybe the last before Apples next major operating system. Lion shows some major shifts in design to keep OS X fresh but it is undeniable that Mac OS X is showing its age. Lion also adds Apples Cloud computing and though limited to a backup service at this time the Mac OS will only continue to integrate with the Cloud. Lion is an amalgamation of iOS and Mac OS and it looks as if a Lion marks a great change in Apples operating system.

OS X Lion and Information Centers
Macs have become one of the major personal computers and information centers must question if the upgrades are necessary. Lion has had some stability and compatibility issues that may prevent information centers from upgrading. Also it has discontented support for any PowerPC applications and computers that doe not have a 64bit processor. Library and Information Centers should consider if the advantages are worth Upgrading.

Examples
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**References**
Apple. (2011). OS X Lion. []

Diaz, J. (2002). Mac OS X Lion Review: This Is Not the Future We Were Hoping For. //Gizmodo//. Retrieved from []

[|Peckham, M. (2011). How I dislike thee, OS X Lion, let me count the ways. Time: Techland. Retrieved from] []

Siracusa, J. (2002). Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar. //Arstechnica//. Retrieved from []

Siracusa, J. (2003). Mac OS X 10.3 Panther. //Arstechnica//. Retrieved from

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Siracusa, J. (2002). Mac OS X 10.7. //Arstechnica//. Retrieved from []