Lion Sucks
After using Lion since the day it was released (about a month ago) I feel the need to warn others! First off the install/purchase process is all handled through the Mac App Store*, which is interesting. No real opinion on that. Once the file was downloaded the installation is like any other OS X install, until you get to the part where Lion loses your account profile (sometimes) and locks you out of you own damn machine.
Now you better have another internet connected device because you need to Google and find the fix. Then wait about an hour for your profile to be recovered. Once you have everything ready you get to watch some of your apps get removed and locked away because Lion removed support for PPC, without any warning that I saw (other than release notes). For me the only app that got removed was Dropbox, but others have lost much worse.
At this point you should be back to using your computer as you were before upgrading, but wait, things seem “iOS like”. Thats correct, Lion is a “iOS++” and it sucks. iOS does convert to desktop usage all that well. Starting with the “natural-scrolling” which is a great thing to argue with other Mac fans.. but I don’t like it. Then comes the “hidden scroll-bars” but the worst part is the fact Lion is a memory and resource hog. I get the “beach ball” more now than I did before. Not being happy with performance I upgraded my MacBook Pro with 8GB of ram and its still not as performant as Snow Leopard was.
I’m sure you are asking, why post this? Simple, after a quick comment on Twitter this morning it got me thinking that Apple really doesn’t care about the desktop market or computers like they once did. Apple is all focused on mobile which is great for iOS but not so much for OS X users.
I guess desktop users are like the dinosaur to Apple, only problem is desktop development and usage is still as popular for actual users. Not “smartphone users” that need to check-in to the local McDonalds. It will be interesting to see how the next couple of years shift developers away from OS X. Which honestly will suck since their are some awesome apps, Transmit, Versions, 1Password, Things and TextMate, to name a few.
* Well I do have one bitch, that being Apple gets a cut of the sale and doesn’t offer trial versions. Not to mention soon they will drop the hammer on “forbidden apps” just like they did with iOS.
Prescott Perez-Fox
August 21, 2011 11:51 amI agree, Lion is crap. I wrote a blog post about _some_ of the features I’ve been able to wrestle back from the hands of Apple – https://www.perezfox.com/2011/07/30/lion-taming/
There’s also this cool little tool that allows you to switch off many of the Lion-specific features which Apple deemed so necessary as to make them hidden options. https://osxdaily.com/2011/08/19/lion-tweaks-customizes-mac-os-x-features-easy
Here’s my problem: When we got Leopard, we were introduced to a number of cool features — Spaces, Time Machine, the 3D Dock, etc., and while some users may ignore some features, you could still get on operating as you did before. Nothing was taken away from you. Lion, on the other hand, takes away tons of UI and workflow features that we’ve had for years, and seemingly without a rationale.
The missing Library folder, the monochrome icons, the support for older apps, scroll bars, and lots of other little things. Why, I wonder, is the Spaces indicator removed from the Menu Bar? I found it convenient to see a small number “1” or whatever, but now it’s gone.
A lot of Windows weenies are praising the long-awaited addition of resize via any edge (rather than just the lower-right corner). The trouble is, with this feature and the new tiny scroll bars, I often end up resizing the window when all I wanna do is grab the scroll bar! Fucking annoying.
The fact that everyone is posting Lion tweaks everywhere is evidence that they’re messed up. Hopefully, they’ll listen a bit.