Without a doubt, the Mac OS X Lion represents significant improves to the Mac platform – at $29. The upgrade became available Wednesday morning through the Mac App Store as a downloadable upgrade for Snow Leopard users. Lion is version 10.7 of Apple’s desktop operating system.

One of the biggest improvements to the operating system is that it re-opens all applications to their state at power down. No longer will you need to wait while the OS slowly loads, delaying all the services you need to access. The upgrade also includes built-in Apple apps designed to work seamlessly with Lion’s Auto Resume features.

Together with features such as Auto Save and Version which preserve document history as you work, the Lion user base is sure to grow. Other key features include the Launchpad and Full-Screen apps, both of which are new in Lion. Full-screen apps help to compartmentalize work and leisure activities. For instance, instead of keeping Facebook in a separate tab, you can make Facebook its own Fluid app, keeping it out of the browser.

Another of Lion’s biggest changes was to the one we all use the most, Mail. The overhaul allows for full screen support as well, primarily copying the iPad Mail app. It has a horizontal three-column design that gives you loads of information at a glance.

As with previous incarnations, inevitably some will welcome the changes and other won’t.
Although the Finder and other core apps could have been better re-designed, Lion is a major improvement to the overall experience.

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