So, you’ve read our first 5 “unsung features” of OS X Lion, and have come back for more? You shall not be disappointed. Unsung features 6 through 10 can be found below in all their glory.
6 – Screen Sharing
Screen sharing is useful for so many things – managing multiple computers in your own home, helping your friends solve their computer problems (or getting some assistance yourself), or showing someone what you’re working on remotely have all gotten better. New for Lion is a great new full screen view for Screen Sharing, the use of an Apple ID to authenticate, and a new “observe only” mode, so you can show someone what you’re doing without granting them control (or check on what someone else, like an employee, is doing without them having to know). There’s also a new toolbar for Screen Sharing which controls clipboard access, screen captures, and so forth.
7 – Safari
Safari 5.1 looks as though it will really be a “wham, bam, pow” kind of upgrade. It will include better (and faster) HTML5 support, as well as better support for many other formats, a new stealth browsing mode to keep your sensitive data out of your browser history, and a vastly improved (iOS-inspired) downloads list that pulls down from the address bar. You can also now drag and drop your downloaded files to the desktop, or anywhere else you choose, right from Safari.
8 – Preview
Preview has gained some awesome full-screen action, incorporates support for Versions and Auto Save, and can now open, search, and even print iWork or Microsoft Office documents without switching to another app! Other cool new additions are the ability to use your built-in FaceTime camera to add your signature to documents, copy and paste (formatted) images and text in PDF documents, and gain greater control over shadowing and highlights.
9 – Photo Booth
Photo Booth was mentioned and demoed during the WWDC 2011 keynote, but enough has changed that I feel it’s worth another mention, plus there are some features that the keynote did not highlight. Photo Booth has gained a LOT of enhancements, making the funnest out-of-box part of your Mac even funner. In addition to excellent full-screen support (designed to make you feel like you’re in an actual photo booth), the new Photo Booth includes new effects, support for higher-resolution photos, the ability to trim your video clips, and enhanced support for gestures.
10 – Address Book
Apple has left no stone unturned in OS X Lion, addressing and redesigning even the most seemingly “background” portions of the OS. The Address Book app now has taken the sleek and sexy route. Address book has dropped it’s “sterile” interface, and looks like an actual book. The contact cards now look much cleaner and neater than before, and it still supports all the great features that you have come to love about the previous version of Address Book for iOS. It’s also been updated to work with iCloud in place of MobileMe.
There are far more great features of OS X Lion that I could have mentioned, but I had to stop somewhere! If you’re still thirsty for more, I’ve included the link to Apple’s OS X Lion features page below.
Click here to view the first half of our Top 10 unsung features of OS X lion – features 1-5!
Official OS X Lion Features Page
