The Big Bite

So while Rival No. 1 Microsoft is still trying to come up with an OS dedicated to tablets,Apple has launched an OS that lets you choose the ecosystem. The Lion has the trademark clutter-free dock-based desktop that initially made Macs popular with millions of users,but it also lets users switch over to an environment very similar to their iPads and iPhones if that’s what they are comfortable with,complete with multi-touch and downloadable apps.

Launchpad

The Launchpad can be activated by just pinching the trackpad with all your fingers. This new feature lets users swipe through pages of apps that they can now download from the inbuilt app store. Anybody who has used an iPad or iPhone knows where this idea has come from.

Fullscreen apps

Most of the new apps now open in full screen,as if to garner your undivided attention. But that does not mean you cannot open multiple apps — just swipe with three fingers to switch through these full screen apps. In another revolutionary change,the scroll bar has been literally pushed aside. Users can now scroll through content by just pushing the page up or down. But this switch over is not going to be that easy for we have gotten so used to pulling down the scroll bar.

Mission Control

Push three fingers up on the trackpad and you are on mission control,the one-stop-shop for all your running apps,widgets and pages. One click and you bring forward the app you want. Very handy for users who tend to keep all their apps running and never close an internet page. This is also a handy tool to organise your stuff. You can open multiple desktop spaces and move apps or pages there,so that you no longer get lost in a clutter of your own making.

Other highlights

Lion also brings to an end the Save command,for it automatically saves all your work — either during pauses or every five minutes. This is a welcome relief for those of us who live in constant fear of losing our work due to an unexpected crash,but it’s still going to take some time to get rid of the habit of saving your work every few minutes. As a spin-off of this,the OS now creates multiple versions of all your work. You can later browse through all versions and even compare them.

The Lion also kills the USB pen drive to an extent,by introducing the AirDrop. This file sharing function lets you select other users with Lion within a 30 feet radius and transfers files to them securely without connecting to a Wi-Fi network.

The mail is also much-improved,in a very iPad kind of way. The new app organises mails into conversations and also introduces preview and keyword searching. There is a message for Microsoft here,for an inbuilt mail programme is something we still miss on Windows and Outlook is just not the answer.

For me the greatest feature of OS X Lion is the price,a full operating system for just $29.99,about Rs 1,400,and one purchase is enough for all your personal Macs. It is as if Steve Jobs got inspired by the Joy of Giving movement. For the cheapest Windows will cost you at least three times more and you can forget about using the same purchase to upgrade your old laptop. Interestingly,there will be no DVDs of the OS X Lion and the operating system is available online and is a 4GB download. This beast has just killed many demons of the computer’s past.

What is Microsoft up to?

There are some touch devices already running the regular Windows 7,but those featuring the Microsoft Touch Pack are still a bit hard to come by. However,rumours suggest the next version of Windows,or Windows 8,will be optimised for touch,especially since they could be running on most new Nokia smartphones. Yes,it will work with the mouse too,but the large applications tiles expected to replace the Start menu have “touch me” written all over them. But for the real thing we will have to wait for 2012. Maybe,some of us will be holding a real Windows tablet next year.