WWDC 2011 - Mac OS X Lion

Apple introduced the next iteration of OS X back in October and demonstrated the many popular features of iOS which would make it's way to Apple's desktop platform.

During the WWDC 2011 Apple re-introduced the progress they have made with OS X Lion and promised to have it available July, for download from the Mac App Store for $29.99.

To run OS X (10.7) Lion you will need:

1. Mac which is powered by a Core 2 Duo processor or above. You can find this by clicking the Apple icon on the top left of your screen and selecting 'About this Mac'.
2. Latest version of OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Ensure you have the latest version by running Software Update and updating your software.
3. Download OS X Lion using OS X App Store. You can download the latest version of OS X as soon as it is made available.

The OS X (10.7) Lion update will have the following features:

Multi-Touch Gestures - The new version of OS X offers a whole new way of interacting with your Mac. You can Tap, scroll, pinch and swipe with a slew of new gestures allowing you to interact better than ever before with your computer. You can use three finger swiping to scroll between open apps and windows, two fingers for general scrolling, tap or pinch to zoom and swipe to navigate among many more features.

With OS X Lion, Apps on your Mac can now be viewed in full screen. This allows you to make use of the screen real estate optimally, especially on your large Apple displays. While you are in full screen mode, you can easily switch between your open application with a couple of swipes.

OS X Lion also introduces Mission control, a new feature that allows a birds eye view of full-screen apps, Dashboard, Expose and Spaces. You can access Mission Control with a swipe, allowing you to manage everything on your system.

The Mac App Store was introduced as an update to OS X 10.6, and now makes its way as part of OS X Lion. The App store allows you to easily download, update and manage your applications. While the Mac App Store is still in a growing phase and does not contain every app you need. I am sure it will get further populated with the release of OS X Lion.

All your apps will not be stored under Launchpad. A full screen interface similar to that on your iOS devices. You can arrange your applications within pages, group them together in folders or even delete them.

 The Resume feature on OS X 10.7 allows apps to reopen where you left them running. ensuring that you can always start where you left off. You no longer need to save or close your apps. Your Mac will restart at exactly what you were last doing.

You no longer need to worry about saving your work. The Auto Save feature on Lion ensures that you work is automatically saved all the time. Lion will maintain versions of your work, so you can always go back to a version of the file you have been working on.

The Versions feature on Lion, maintains a history of the document or file you have been working on. You can compare your versions side by side, restore a previous version or paste content from an old version of your file.


Airdrop is a fast way to share your files with peers on other Macs near you. Simply drag a file to the person's name and it will be dropped into their downloads folder. No complicated settings needed.

The Mail app receives a welcome update with OS X Lion. With full screen mode, Conversations and search improvements. A favorites bar is available for quick access to what you use most often.

Mac OS X is a stable platform. But we found that the features presented on the 8th update to OS X are warmly welcome.