Lion, Apple's eighth version of its OS X computer operating system released Thursday for developers, is taking "some of the best ideas" from the iPad, says the company, including the tablet's "auto save" feature, Multi-Touch gestures, and a program that displays all apps in a full screen layout.
Mac OS X Lion, announced last fall by Steve Jobs, and due out this summer, has these iPad-like elements:
Launchpad, which "makes it easier than ever to find and launch any app," said Apple. With one click, Launchpad, like the iPad, "displays all your Mac apps in a stunning full screen layout where you can launch, re-order or organize apps into folders. You can also arrange apps into multiple pages and swipe between them."
Mission Control unifies Apple's Exposé, Dashboard and Spaces programs, and also has "full screen apps to give you a bird’s eye view of every app and window running on your Mac," Apple said. "With a simple swipe, your desktop zooms out to display your open windows grouped by app, thumbnails of your full screen apps as well as your Dashboard, and allows you to instantly navigate anywhere with a click."
A new version of Mail, with a "widescreen layout inspired by the iPad. Conversations, which automatically groups related messages into one easy to read timeline; more powerful search; and support for Microsoft Exchange 2010."
Lion will also incorporate the Mac App Store, a sibling to the popular App Store for the iPhone and iPad for one-click downloading of programs. The Mac App Store became available in January, and can now be downloaded to computers.
"The iPad has inspired a new generation of innovative features in Lion,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing in a news release. "Developers are going to love Mission Control and Launchpad, and can now start adding great new Lion features like full screen, gestures, Versions and Auto Save to their own apps.”
More about Apple on Technolog:
- New MacBook Pro twice as fast, includes FaceTime HD cam
- Apple's iPad 2 unveiling next Wednesday
- Apple reveals MacBook Air, Mac OS X Lion, iLife '11 and more
Check out Technolog on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney, who wishes her iPad could be morphed into the new MacBook Pro today. Dang!
