So I wrote a review on Mac OS X Lion, Apple’s latest operating system. I can’t really condense 2300 words, but, in short, it’s good. While Lion is part of the transition of the current computing metaphors to future ones, it does a pretty good job straddling the two ideas.
My conscious introduction to Mac OS happened in the summer of 2009 with my then-new MacBook Pro. I say “conscious” because I did have a run-in with Mac OS 9 on those colorful iMacs back in middle school; for all intents and purposes, let’s say that my journey into the world of Mac started in 2009, OK? And with Leopard, and Snow Leopard shortly thereafter, I began my life as a Mac user.
It was unlike anything I have ever used.
I found the Snow Leopard (10.6) trackpad gestures to be borderline mind-blowing. Swiping with two, three, or four fingers made things happen that I have never seen in Windows before: Exposé, show desktop, pinch-to-zoom and backward/forward, just to name a few. What’s more, the trackpad had more functionality than the mouse metaphor we’ve all been accustomed to.
Now, with the introduction of Lion, the importance of gestures are more prominent than ever; possibly signaling a change in Apple’s definition of computing. How is the trackpad — and by translation, touch — becoming the cornerstone of computing? How much better is Lion over Snow Leopard? Make the jump after the break, and all questions will be answered. I promise.
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