Very disappointed with lion

[willmiz]

I tried so hard to like Lion but it just does nothing for me. Apple seemed to change way too many things that didn't need to be changed in the first place for the heck of it. The scrollbar, "leather calendar", etc. really aren't necessary to me and I feel like these are a small step back. Things like mission control follow suit and at the same time drastically change the interface for the worse.

Everything feels so unpolished and buggy. The gestures are cool, but nearly all of the major ones are already available on SL. Safari runs really well, but little things added like having the page move when you scroll up make it seem more beta-like rather than a refined program. I understand that they wanted it to be like the ios safari, but why would they choose to essentially draw inspiration from their watered down version of safari?

Again, the inverted scrolling is another thing that seems unnecessary to add. It works great on touchscreen devices in ios but whats the point? It seems much more unnatrual but I suppose it takes getting used to.

Too many other pointless changes have made the experience feel lacking. I feel like I upgraded when going from Lion to SL.

I guess your mileage may vary but I was extremely disappointed to see how poorly it ran on my 2011 MBP 13 inch. I understand I am running integrated graphics, but I had to disable the (new and inferior) dashboard to make it run at a reasonable rate and not be jumpy when I scrolled on webpages. These are their best selling MBP models by far and they can't even run osx lion the way it should?

Not everything is terrible. I like the launchpad function, and the new mail app works really well and is probably the only thing from ios I am happy to see ported over. Full screen apps are nice too.

Overall, I feel like Apple really dumbed down the interface and is clearly a little too concerned with the ios platform. It's a shame as I was very excited at first for Lion. We are beginning to shift from the charming and pleasing osx interface we have come to love to an interface that looks like a glorified phone. I hope that Apple retains quality control and fixes the various bugs and problems Lion is riddled with. I see that plenty of people are enjoying their experiences on here, and good for them. Hopefully your experience and opinion differs from mine.

 

[Cinder6]

I've been using the GM today, and I'm loving it so far. My only complaint with Mission Control is that the windows are smaller, and larger windows can't (apparently) be shown at 100% by hitting the spacebar (they only increase somewhat, while smaller windows WILL show 100%).

I initially thought that "natural" scrolling was anything but, but after using it for a few hours, I'm surprised to find that I actually like it. The rubberbanding effect is a nice visual cue that you've reached the top of a page.

Really, aside from my Mission Control complaint above, the only other things that I find irritating are some of the default settings (such as restore windows), but you can change those.

I really don't understand what you mean by "watered-down". Watered-down would mean, to me, the removal of features. That's not what's happening with Lion. Some things are changing and becoming different from what we traditionally expect with a computer, and you need to give them time in order to see how they fit in your workflow. I was pretty skeptical about some of the design choices at first, but I'm a believer now. To each his own, I suppose.

 

[munakib]

I got used to many of the issue the OP has written, maybe you need to just give it a lil more time and get used to it. I personally think Lion is actually pretty good.

As for inverted scrolling, hmm am I the only one foreseeing apple making touchscreen iMacs? I think they intentionally want their customers to adapt to this before launching their next big thing. I actually have difficulty going back to my work laptop with XP - scrolling in the wrong direction of course!!

 

[Daiden]

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Inverted scrolling was certainly added with touch screens in mind. As for Lion, I like it a lot. Sure, there are a few bugs, but it's not even out yet. Apple could either a) release a more recent version when Lion hits the App Store (it is digital distribution, after all) or b) release a point update soon after to address the small issues. Either one would work out just fine.

And just for the record, I really like the UI changes (especially the scroll bars, the aqua bars were so ugly).

 

[Kariya]

Yup agree with the OP. Hopefully things get better with updates.

 

[AnthonyHarris]

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Inverted scrolling was certainly added with touch screens in mind.

I personally think inverted scrolling has been implemented in OS X so you can switch between your Mac, iPad and iPhone without having to change how you use the 'touch' interface of the screens and touch pad. I feel, after 3 days of use it is actually a really natural transition.

Am I right in thinking that Apple said they were probably not going to introduce touch screen Macs because they thought holding your arm in the air is going to get uncomfortable? Plus, why would they when they have the Magic Trackpad?

 

[DKZ]

My biggest complaint so far is that mission control clumps windows from apps together. So it is much harder to distinguish individual, safari for instance, windows.

I realize that I can still use expose for seperate apps, but it does add an extra maneuvre when switching windows.

 

[nanosour]

Ok, bit the bullet and installed Lion GM on 2 of my 4 macs. I'll be purchasing it when released for the other 2. I have to say that I like most of the changes in Lion and I'm definitely seeing an increase in overall performance. Note: did not do a clean install. Just loaded it over my current 10.6.8.

As for bugs, haven't really seen any yet. Altho on my iMac with a magic mouse I'm not getting any 3-finger swipe action. I may be missing something here as I thought 3-finger up would invoke mission control, but it does nothing. The video on preferences says a 2-finger tap is for mission control and that works. Maybe this was a change after the flub up at WWDC.

One thing I noticed is that gestures don't seem to be universal. My other install is on a late 2007 Macbook, and again, very limited gesture action on its trackpad. One of my iMacs has a recently purchased trackpad, but I'm not going to go out and buy 4 trackpads at $70 a piece so I can have the same interface on all my computers. I will say the reverse scrolling is taking some time to get used to, but not a big deal.

I'll also admit that mission control is not nearly as useful as Spaces if you knew how to set Spaces up in Leopard/SL. I ran 16 spaces with each assigned a particular app and it kept my desktops neat and orderly which is important in keeping my OCD in good karma.

Another thing that may be important for some is the loss of PPC apps. I had to give up Quicken and Office for Mac 2004, which I like much better than the 2008 version. Apple roped me into Quicken as it was pre-installed on my first iMac back in 2005. Not happy that I had to fork over $50 for an alternative to continue tracking my finances with Lion. Oh well, the price of progress I guess.

Overall assessment: Thumbs Up!

 

[Cripps]

I
As for inverted scrolling, hmm am I the only one foreseeing apple making touchscreen iMacs?

The thought of reaching out to touch things on a 27 inch iMac screen boggles the mind!

 

[Soliber]

I had to give up Quicken and Office for Mac 2004, which I like much better than the 2008 version.

You do realize there is an Office 2011, which has been available for quite some time now?

 

[Jamie0003]

I
As for inverted scrolling, hmm am I the only one foreseeing apple making touchscreen iMacs?

The thought of reaching out to touch things on a 27 inch iMac screen boggles the mind!

Apple have already stated that this won't happen, didn't you watch the Lion introduction? They said that touchscreen desktops and laptops are a user accessibility nightmare, so they're keeping the gestures on the trackpad/mouse as it's much more user friendly.

 

[DKZ]

I'm excited for Lion on my laptop, not so much on my iMac.

Lion definitely is iOS coming to Mac, which works great for my 11" Air. But I can easily see how power users with big multi screen setups, are having a hard time seeing the positives.

For them whether Lion will be better is a matter of time, to see if the, under-the-hood changes Apple have made will result in better apps. Which I believe it will, but of course it isn't a given.

 

[iammike1]

disable the (new and inferior) dashboard to make it run at a reasonable rate and not be jumpy when I scrolled on webpages.

What exactly do you mean by this? How do you disable dashboard anyway?

 

[xgman]

Why would anyone complain about inverted scrolling being added? If you don't like it, turn it off, , , done. As far as the rest of it, the problems for the moment lie with a good deal of the 3rd party apps needing updates. Beyond that, there are a few features missing that people are used to in SL and a few nice new ones and a few pointless new ones, but really, there is no wow factor in this upgrade. It might as well have been called 10.6.9. Do big deal either way. At least it will get more people over to 64 bit.

 

[paulsalter]

Why would anyone complain about inverted scrolling being added? If you don't like it, turn it off, , , done.

the only possible thing I read somewhere on here

If you invert the scrolling (back to SL way), it also inverts the horizontal scrolling, not sure if this is true or not

That would be bad if that happens

 

[imacken]

I'm excited for Lion on my laptop, not so much on my iMac.
Lion definitely is iOS coming to Mac, which works great for my 11" Air. But I can easily see how power users with big multi screen setups, are having a hard time seeing the positives.

Not at all! Lion is superb on my 27" 2011 iMac.
With a Magic Trackpad, the whole thing is just so intuitive. Superb!
In fact, there are so many things now that I miss on my iOS devices. Swiping back and forward pages in Safari for example.

 

[paulsalter]

With a Magic Trackpad, the whole thing is just so intuitive. Superb!
In fact, there are so many things now that I miss on my iOS devices. Swiping back and forward pages in Safari for example.

Should have got a Magic TrackPad sooner

I have been swiping back/forward in Safari for months in SL, It's one of the best uses for the trackpad, fantastic

 

[Phil A.]

OP, it seems that the majority of your complaints are around the different way of scrolling. If that's the case, then just switch it back to the original way. You can also turn the scrollbars back on if you want.
I've seen a lot of people complaining about Mission Control, but IMO a lot of that is just because it's different. Personally, I love Mission Control and find it much more useful than the old Exposé was

 

[BlackMangoTree]

The only problem people seem to be having with Mission Control is it doesn't deal with minimised windows otherwise Mission Control is pretty good.

 

[urkel]

I got used to many of the issue the OP has written, maybe you need to just give it a lil more time and get used to it. I personally think Lion is actually pretty good.

No offense, but "getting used to it" isn't the same as "it's a necessary change for the better". And I believe that's the point being made by the OP (and many others labeled as whiners). I moved from Chicago to SoCal to the Desert so obviously I can get used to a lot of things, but it doesn't necessarily mean im now in a better place.

As for inverted scrolling, hmm am I the only one foreseeing apple making touchscreen iMacs? I think they intentionally want their customers to adapt to this before launching their next big thing.

if Apple never moved on to touchscreen macs they'd be stupid. And Apple ain't stupid.

I actually have difficulty going back to my work laptop with XP - scrolling in the wrong direction of course!!

As for the scrolling thing. So many people claim that they "got used to it" but like you said, when you go back to a non reverse scrolling device then now your mindset is reversed. I already question how this decision is good for current users, but how is this good for attracting switchers?

There's nothing "Natural" about scrolling with a mouse, trackpad or ball because, unlike a touch screen where you physically emulate tactile feel of movement, they are devices meant to interpret commands and translate to an external screen (which is why my mom has so much trouble understanding the right-click/left-click metaphors. It's learned behavior of an associated task). So reversing an established gesture just adds to the confusion of both established and new users.

 

[Cinder6]

As for the scrolling thing. So many people claim that they "got used to it" but like you said, when you go back to a non reverse scrolling device then now your mindset is reversed. I already question how this decision is good for current users, but how is this good for attracting switchers?

There's nothing "Natural" about scrolling with a mouse, trackpad or ball because, unlike a touch screen where you physically emulate tactile feel of movement, they are devices meant to interpret commands and translate to an external screen (which is why my mom has so much trouble understanding the right-click/left-click metaphors. It's learned behavior of an associated task). So reversing an established gesture just adds to the confusion of both established and new users.

I disagree. It depends on how you think about it--whether you're moving a scrollbar or moving a page. Moving a page, reversed makes sense. Moving a scrollbar, standard makes sense.

As for getting tripped up, I don't think that's an issue. As I type this, I'm using two computers--Macbook with Lion, and iMac with SL. Going back and forth I'm not having any issues with scrolling, and I'm not even thinking about it. Hell, my Macbook is Dvorak and the iMac is QWERTY. That's a MUCH bigger difference, and I have no problems there, either.

But once again--if you don't like it, just change it.

 

[xgman]

"getting used to it" isn't the same as "it's a necessary change for the better".

good point..

 

[doug in albq]

Apple have already stated that this won't happen, didn't you watch the Lion introduction? They said that touchscreen desktops and laptops are a user accessibility nightmare, so they're keeping the gestures on the trackpad/mouse as it's much more user friendly.

I hope you are ready to be wrong about no touch screen Macs in the future...

 

[jacg]

You do realize there is an Office 2011, which has been available for quite some time now?

I have all three versions and I still use 2004. It's smoother and is customisable and more efficient. 2008 is a waste of time, but 2011 is no faster (scrolling is much clunkier) and the ribbon is a huge waste of time compared to the brilliant formatting palette if you like to have a few windows open at once.

Not sure what I'll do when lion comes as Microsoft haven't fixed all the bugs and usability issues i reported in 2011 yet.

 

[urkel]

The thought of reaching out to touch things on a 27 inch iMac screen boggle the mind!

Yet it exists. Your "independent" thought process relies far too heavily on the words of the worlds greatest salesman and not enough on logic.

Touch screens do not REPLACE anything, they add an alternative input device that offers unique benefits that mice or keyboards don't necessarily have. The future of computers isn't 100% Mouse, Keyboard, Voice or Touchscreen, but a combination of all of them in order to efficiently perform unique tasks.

The reason Jobs says "No Touchscreens" isn't because it will never happen, it's because he doesn't want it to happen yet. I'm sure he has a vision of touch interaction with a computer that will be amazing so it would be wise for you to not take a businessman at his word because his job is to sell, not to preach gospel.