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Mac OS X Lion: the multi-touch offspring of Windows 7 and iOS
It's no surprise, then, that OS X Lion looks like the lovechild of Windows 7 and iOS. White box-thumping purists will claim, somehow, that this is revolutionary, world-changing, pivotal. Realists will acknowledge that, for the first time in at least a decade, Apple might be following Microsoft's lead.
Hyperbole aside, though, we should be excited: more than anything, OS X Lion is a glimpse of the future of tablet computing.
iOS on the desktop
Yes, batten down the hatches and lock up your daughters: Mac OS X Lion will support real maximizing. Very soon now you'll be able to run your favorite iOS apps on your OS X PC without being confused by that troublesome menu bar at the top.
Mac OS X meets Windows 7
Launchpad doesn't seem to include a search feature like Windows, either: you just get a huge screen full of icons that you have to sort through. Fun -- especially if you like to indulge in hundreds of apps from the Mac App Store. Let's hope that some sorting and filtering options are added before launch.
Mission Control, another new feature in Lion, is basically a riff on Windows' Aero Flip -- and let's not talk about maximization, which has been a part of Windows for a long, long time.
Originality
Then there's Versions, which automatically saves documents as you work on them, and gives you Time Machine-like access to previous versions if you need to revert. Again, this will only work with apps that have been programmed to work with OS X Lion. There's FileVault, too, which sounds like a very easy convenient way to back up important documents to the cloud.
Finally, multi-touch gestures will play a huge role in Lion's interface. You'll be able to swipe to zoom out to Mission Control, or swipe to maximize your current app. It sounds like a lot of fun, and anything that removes the necessity of using your keyboard is a good thing.
Windows 8
The ultimate irony, however, will probably originate from software megalith Microsoft, which is currently working on a next-generation tablet-oriented and ARM-supporting version of Windows.Windows 8, like OS X Lion, will be based on the best bits of Snow Leopard and Windows 7, with features from successful tablets, like the iPad.
Who wants to wager that it will look like Windows 7, feature an app store like OS X, an app drawer (read: a desktop with icons on it), and have the ability to maximize apps to full screen?
Comments
72
Subscribe to commentsTom BentonFeb 25th 2011 8:47AM
This article is terrible, the comparisons drawn on windows 7 are tenuous at best.
Did the author ever use OS X before this review? Launchpad is merely a convergence of existing OS X features. I highly doubt apple engineers looked to Windows 7 for inspiration.
Do some research in future.
Sebastian AnthonyFeb 25th 2011 8:54AM
@Tom Benton What the... you doubt that Apple looked at one of the most successful/fastest selling OSes of all time?
Or are you going to now suggest that Microsoft only looks to Apple for inspiration, but that Apple is somehow elevated to a divine, infallible state, its creations handed down from The Jobs himself?
How is Launchpad a convergence of OS X features? (Which features?) The Apple page itself says it comes from iOS: "Launchpad gives you instant access to your apps — iPad style. "
KarlWFeb 25th 2011 12:42PM
@Tom Benton
Totally agree. This guy must have never used OSX.
"There's FileVault, too, which sounds like a very easy convenient way to back up important documents to the cloud." - LOL! filevault is filesystem encryption and has been in OSX for ages. It just got tougher security. He means AirDrop, but that's LAN only, so he's got that wrong too.
Mission control (and Windows flip, in fact!) come from Expose, which has been in OSX for nearly a decade now.
Full screen apps are not like maximised apps. Fullscreen apps have no chrome and completely hide the OS. They're like iOS apps, run on their own desktops, and can be switched between with iOS 4.3-style gestures. Lion's big improvements are about workflow: window management has been completely rethought, as have application lifecycles.
shash450Feb 25th 2011 8:54AM
What a farce of an article...
I'm no Mac fanboy, but calling Lion a Windows 7 offspring is just ludicrous!
Mission Control is more of an extension of Spaces and Expose, and bears little to no resemblance to Aero Flip.. Hell then we might as well say they've both ripped off Compiz + Fusion on Linux if we're pulling at crazy straws...
And Lion is pushing FULL-SCREEN apps not fully maximised..... I didn't realise full-screen software was a patented Windows 7 feature......
MartinFeb 25th 2011 9:00AM
@shash450 So if there isn't a patent then it doesn't exist? Try pressing F11 on any Windows-machine. BAM. Fullscreen.
Tom BentonFeb 25th 2011 9:04AM
@Sebastian Anthony
Launchpad is a combination and evolution of Stacks and Spaces, introduced in Leopard.
Its just another layer to show applications.
You called it wrong on this one I'm afraid.
shash450Feb 25th 2011 9:21AM
@Sebastian Anthony
Wow defensive much? No need to make Tom out to be some sort of Jobs-worshipping fanboy.. He's merely stating a point - in fact he never implied that Microsoft stole anything from Apple.. Of course Apple looked at Windows 7 - that's just called good business, but I honestly don't see how one can claim that they've stolen anything from the Windows 7 more than they might've been inspired by Linux distros, or building from iOS.. iOS is clearly where they drew most of their inspirations from..
And how is launchpad a rip of Window's Start menu!? You quoted it yourself that its CLEARLY an inspiration of the ipad app drawer, as well as an extension of Application Stacks - which as Tom rightfully mentioned is an evolution from Snow Leopard/Leopard....
great.alexander.1234Feb 25th 2011 9:33AM
@Sebastian Anthony
This article is so poorly researched it's not even wrong. Have you ever used OSX before? You're aware that Expose came out years before Aero Flip? When Vista came out, everyone thought that Aero Flip was a poor man's clone of Expose, so now you're trying to rewrite history by saying that Mission Control (which is Expose + Spaces + Dashboard) is a rip-off of Aero Flip? Also, Apple pioneered Multi-Touch technology. It was only after the success of the iPhone that Microsoft decided to include it in Windows 7, so that's not a fair comparison there. What's more, Full-screen mode isn't the same as maximising. Full-screen mode is a gateway to new customised full-screen UI's for apps that choose to include it. You even got it wrong in that you called Versions to be an original feature in Lion. Windows has had support for Previous Versions for years, Lion's Version is just an improvement on this feature (all versions are saved as one file, instead of different files) plus a better, more intuitive UI.
Again, I can pick your article apart point by point, and show that every single comparison that you've made is just down right wrong. Next time, please do some research first instead of just writing some sensationalism-grabbing piece of random shite.
Cheers.
FezFeb 27th 2011 3:48AM
@Sebastian Anthony
Oh you, :) You made me choke on my coffee and frantically search for the OS X Lion page to confirm that THEY said "Power of Windows 7" on their image.
Congrats,
Epic Chop is Epic.
shash450Feb 25th 2011 9:14AM
@Martin
patented as in it isn't a feature that Windows 7 is particularly famous for..
Apps can also be full-screened on Snow Leopard as well at the discretion of the app maker, but Lion provides a platform for developers to implement a more iOS-que full-screen interface...
great.alexander.1234Feb 25th 2011 9:33AM
@Martin Just to be clear, you've always been able to 'maximise' the windows in OSX by clicking the green button. Full-screen apps are a different thing altogether, they present a customised full-screen UI to an app that has chosen to include this feature to maximise the use of full-screen. Pressing F11 in Windows doesn't really bring you into this special mode. Also, wasn't Aero Flip a rip off of Expose? So Mission Control is just Expose + Spaces combined and improvement on both of these features. Windows still doesn't have any native virtual desktop support. And lest we forget, OSX has had support for multi-touch since forever (two finger scrolling as an example). Microsoft only built in support for multi-touch after the success of the iPhone.
I call this article poorly researched, and the author either has never used OSX and only ever seen it from Apple's advertising, or just another one of those sensationalism-and-desperate-page-view seeking bloggers. Could be both...
JoeADFeb 25th 2011 9:04AM
I'm a fan and user of both OS X and Win 7 - both great OSes, but I'm sorry I have to agree the feature comparisons in this article are farcical!
Sebastian AnthonyFeb 25th 2011 10:14AM
@shash450 I didn't say Apple stole anything from Windows -- don't put words in my mouth :)
It is obviously more heavily inspired by iOS, but I still think there are Windows elements in there.
I was more aiming to suggest that the Launchpad is quite a deviation from the Dock. It's much more of a kitchen sink -- ala the Windows Start Menu.
Thanks for the input!
areesFeb 25th 2011 9:26AM
Lion copies Windows Vista & 7? WTF?
EPIC FAIL Mr.Sebastian Anthony. Epic Fail. Good job!
Sebastian AnthonyFeb 25th 2011 9:27AM
@arees Thank you, fine sir! *tips hat*
PrestonFeb 25th 2011 10:24AM
@Sebastian Anthony
Dude, you are the man at pissing off the people who read your blogs. I can't help but wonder why you're still employed here.
Sebastian AnthonyFeb 25th 2011 10:30AM
@great.alexander.1234 Don't forget to read the bits that don't compare Windows 7 to Lion! Believe it or not, there's actually only 2 or 3 paragraphs of Windows-related stuff in there.
Thanks for the input, though. (There's some comments about Expose/Aero Flip further down.)
RickFeb 25th 2011 9:37AM
This is the most erroneous article I have read... EVER
To state that Lion is "a lovechild of Windows 7 and iOS" holds no reasoning what soever.
Mission Control is clearly a logical evolution of Spaces, Dashboard and Exposé... All features of previous versions of OS X.
The writer of this article has clearly no experience of the Mac OS and should not have been given the go ahead to even publish this tosh.
mrk13Feb 25th 2011 9:53AM
Worst article I have ever read.
Search: There is spotlight search and you can search in Finder
Rip off of Aero Flip: Aero is just a glorified alt+tab that was made to aesthetically mimic Expose
This article is troll filth. The author has no credibility in tech for me now having read such a terribly written and researched article. I'm surprised DS would hire a troll like you.
Sebastian AnthonyFeb 25th 2011 10:16AM
@mrk13 I think Aero Flip came before Expose -- Aero Flip came with Vista, which was released in January 2007.
I don't know the exact timeline of Expose, though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Vista