Mac OS X 10.7 Lion A Guided Tour – Inside Developer Preview 3
By David W. Martin • 1:03 pm, May 17, 2011
My most favorite feature of Mac OS X Lion, Mission Control, now has a separate control panel in System Preferences in Mac OS X Lion Developer Preview 3. However, this isn't the only new thing you'll find in the latest release of Mac OS X Lion.
Mission Control now has its own control panel in System Preferences. It replaces the old Expose and Spaces control panel by combining the old control panel features with new ones that support Mission Control so you can take control of your Mac desktop. You can also now add extra Spaces (virtual desktops) or remove them via the Mission Control screen — you don't have to go to the control panel to do this now.
Mac OS X Lion Developer Preview 3 includes new wallpapers, but currently lacks some of our old favorites. Hopefully they will return before Lion is released. You can see these wallpapers by visiting this story on Cult of Mac.
Finder File/Icon Arrangements
Finder is updated to include a handy new drop down menu that gives you rapid access to the "Arrange by" option in a Finder windows toolbar. You use it to quickly select how you want to arrange your icons in a particular folder or if you prefer you can access the same options via a right-click to bring up a contextual menu in Finder.
iCal Reminders
The To-do feature of iCal has been changed. Items on your To-do list are now called Reminders. The look and feel of iCal reminds me of the Calendar app on the iPad 2. The new "leather" look is nice.
Safari Reading List
Reading list is a new feature in Safari that isn't hidden like it was in prior versions of the Mac OS X Lion Developer Preview. It's front and center and accessible from the Safari toolbar, contextual menus, etc. Reading List is just like having Instapaper integrated into the Safari web browser. You can use it to save (or bookmark) web pages and individual articles on a web site for reading later. The word on the street is that this feature will be integrated into a future version of iOS allowing you to sink your Reading List to Mobile Safari on your favorite iOS devices.
Adding an article to your reading list is easy with a right-click.
Click the eye glasses on the Safari toolbar and you'll see all the sites and articles you marked for reading later.
New Lion Login Screen
Mac OS X Lion Developer Preview 3 has introduced a new login screen. The new screen displays information that includes current battery levels on portables, login information, Wi-Fi connectivity information, the time, etc.
There is no doubt on my mind that Mac OS X Lion will be the best Mac OS X yet. I'm excited about its release this summer and I hope we don't have to wait to long to get it into everyone's hands. Go Apple go!
Have you found something else new in Developer Preview 3? Tell us all about it by leaving a comment.
Posted in: News Tagged: developer, lion, Mac, OS X, Preview 3