Three of the more interesting updates coming in the summer release of Mac OS X Lion include Mail.app 5, Air Drop, & Versions.
OS X lion will inherit a lot of the features and characteristics of the iOS operating system used on the iPhone and iPad.
Just like Mail on iPad, Mail 5 in Mac OS X Lion features a new layout that takes advantage of the widescreen display on your Mac. You see the messages in your inbox as well as a full-height preview of the selected message. The new Mailbox bar gives you one-click access to your favorite folders. Mail 5 also includes a powerful new way to search that makes finding what you’re looking for quick and easy, even in the largest of inboxes.
Mail 5 also introduces Conversations, a natural new way to read and manage email that automatically groups messages from the same conversation — even if the subject changes along the way. Just click a conversation in your inbox to reveal a streamlined feed of individual messages in chronological order, and easily file or delete an entire conversation.
With AirDrop in Mac OS X Lion, you can send files to anyone around you — wirelessly. AirDrop doesn’t require setup or special settings. Just click the AirDrop icon in the Finder sidebar, and your Mac automatically discovers other people nearby who are using AirDrop. You’ll even see contact photos for those who are already in your Address Book. To share a file, simply drag it to someone’s name. Once accepted, the file transfers directly to the person’s Downloads folder. When you’re done with AirDrop, close the Finder and your Mac is no longer visible to others.
Versions records the evolution of a document as you create it. Mac OS X Lion automatically creates a version of the document each time you open it and every hour while you’re working on it. If you need to revert to an older version or retrieve part of a document, Versions shows you the current document next to a cascade of previous versions — in an interface similar to that of Time Machine — so you can see how your work looked at any given time. You can revert with a click, or quickly copy and paste work from a previous version into the current version.