LION OR IS IT A STRAY ALLEY CAT

I usually upgrade my operating system soon after a new version has been released and the discovery of any problems have been reported. Even so, I did have a problem with Snow Leopard OS 10.6 because the install instructions failed to warn users to turn off Time Machine before installing and my result was a burned out Mac and external hard drive. Apple replaced the Mac, but I am still inclined to upgrade to at least keep up with my readers, or ahead of them. But with Lion after reading all of the Apple documentation as well as respected expert commentary, I am not going to upgrade to OS 10.7.

I think I have good practical reasons. One is that most older software applications without Intel processor support that rely on Rosetta to run, may not be useable; and even many more applications may have serious problems including quite a number of Adobe recent versions, not to mention problems even with Microsoft’s Office Suite for the Mac. The second reason is that Apple’s obvious interest and OS design of Lion was to integrate iOS for iPhones and the iPad and the desktop computer system. Well that makes business sense because that would make an Apple desktop computer a lot friendlier and more attractive to the millions of iPhone and iPad users. Interestingly as iPhones and iPads are becoming more popular in business use, experts in the IT industry are writing the most favorable comments about the Lion 10.7 Operating System. My third reason is that many of the internal utilities in the new Lion OS 10.7 are radically changed and more like their counterparts in the iPhone and iPad. This is superficially sensible, but does Apple Mail need to be made simpler and less useful compared to the current 10.6 version users. And finally, do I want or need the navigation “style” of an iPhone that favors use on the run, when my computer never leaves my desk? No I don’t want to re-learn the navigation habits I have refined over the last 20 years.

The one exception of course is if you need to purchase a new Apple Mac you will get Lion like it or not. But there are some reasons then to like it because all the performance advantages in Lion like the more efficient Thunderbolt connectivity system are supported by new hardware improvements that make Lion more truly an advantage.

But still, the majority of iPhone and iPad users are a younger population then the more established Apple desktop computer users. So, is a marriage between a 20 year old and a 40 year old a good match for a happy, stable life? No, it’s even a cultural mismatch. There used to be obvious generation gaps between the young and the old, but that conflict has disappeared because today each generation lives in a different universe.