We Finally Installed Lion OS X! Review & Tips
So after 7 months we finally, and a little hesitantly I might add, upgraded to Apple OS X Lion from Snow Leopard! This upgrade was for a Macbook Pro, 4 GB RAM, 2007 model and an iMac. NOTE: we didn’t upgrade on our digital video editing systems and a couple other laptops, as you may have read in other posts in this blog the release of Final Cut Pro X has thrown the entire Mac-based HD post-production world into a tizzy, and if we upgrade to Lion on our Mac Pro towers we won’t be able to use Final Cut Pro 7, or access previous projects for clients…read all about our comparison between Avid, FCP 7 and FCP X here.
So back to the Lion upgrade. I’ll have to say, downloading through the iTunes App store was a pain. The file is 3GB and took a long, long time. A tip however, once you download the file, you can save it on a USB drive or network and use it for all your other devices, which was helpful when I upgraded our iMac to Lion. I did a Time Machine backup and also, just for safety, transferred most of my information over to an external hard drive before upgrading. Even though I’m sure it’s been downloaded in numerous Apple updates since July 2011, I also installed Migration Assistant for Snow Leopard users just for kicks. If you’re coming from a PC, well first of all: Welcome! you’ll never look back, and secondly here’s the Migration Assistant for Windows to help transfer your files. After loading Lion OS X, I think I could’ve avoided the time-wasting backups because (segway) it was very easy to install!
EASE OF INSTALL After doing all of these steps, once the computer restarted I really was surprised how little looked differently from before; I remember in the old days going from Windows 98 to XP to Vista it felt like you were starting from scratch and had to relink many programs, or simply start anew. With Lion, this is more like just an update…the computer took about 30 minutes to load the program, I restarted, and voila everything was back just fine.
AESTHETICS The first thing you notice about Lion OS X is how much the interface looks exactly like Snow Leopard. If you’re a design type, you’ll notice most of the changes in Mac’s core productivity programs: iCal, Address Book, Mail. The other additions of iCloud, Mission Control, and Launchpad are modern-looking with a shiny silver surface and silhouetted icon looks. Other programs like Mail also look sleeker, but some programs like iCal and Address Book look a little more “app-like” and cartoon-ish. Address Book for some reason has an interface that looks like you are thumbing through a book, albeit a cheesy computer-generated book. I haven’t yet found a way to turn this off and go back to my minimalist-looking and easier to use Address Book. The same goes for iCal: there now is a brown leather graphic top bar which is supposed to look like the old tear-away desk calendars. Not awful but interesting why in our post-modern age the look needs to go back to cartoon representations. Again, these are just aesthetics, more on other functions later.
COMPATIBILITY Let’s face this question head-on; the only real question people care about when upgrading an Operating System (OS) is if all their programs, files, photos, music and networks will work on the new system. Besides Apple’s decision to make the aforementioned Final Cut Pro 7 not compatible with Lion, everything else…all of my programs, files, folders, networks, emails, photos, music and even my Time Machine settings were exactly as before. Lion gets an absolute A+ in this category, this couldn’t have worked any better or more seamlessly.
TRACKPAD First impression of Trackpad when I bought two of them for the office last year: hated it! Now, with the features available in Lion, I’ve changed my tune. If iOS 5 is the future of mobile computing, Trackpad is the future of Mousing. You no longer have to navigate near the amount of real estate (meaning from the bottom of the screen to the top left corner, etc.) that you would with a mouse. Instead of having to go to the top left corner of your web browser to go back and forward, you simply use two fingers to swipe left or right. Instead of having to look up a word’s meaning by copying and pasting in a browser or thesaurus, you simply double-tap with three fingers on any word and voila…it’s meaning or thesaurus functions. Instead of manually zooming in and out, or using keyboard shortcuts, you simply use two-fingers and pinch in to zoom, pinch out to zoom out. Instead of using your mouse and wrist to go to the bottom of the screen and click on another application window, you simply swipe left or right to go between applications. These are just the basic Trackpad functions, but the future of mousing is here and I personally am excited to see what new functions will come next!
iCLOUD In the business of professional digital video production, the decisions on how/where to store video files are ever-changing targets. Some companies use Digital Tape systems, some are still using old analog (called digital but still analog in reality) tapes, some entirely digital as 0’s and 1’s on hard drives, but all of these solutions require a physical copy or server on location. Ultimately the future of video storage and what everyone in the high-definition video editing industry is waiting for is a cloud solution available cheaply to the masses. Large production houses and studios already use these services at a steep, steep price. But iCloud is what I would consider a free, easy, fun way to experiment and train you to think in terms of off-site storage. And at a free 5GB for all users, iCloud is coming in the market fairly strong.
To the average retail user, here’s how it works: say you’re like me and have a laptop, an ipad, and an iphone. Before you had to use iTunes as the hub to sync and keep all your contacts, calendars, mail, apps and music organized. Let’s face it though…iTunes is great at music, not so great at being the hub. The ever-changing licensing, sharing and networking issues when working between machines, Apple IDs, etc. have everyone confused and put-off (hey, it’s MY music library why is Apple telling me I can’t share with my wife…we have joint banking accounts but can’t have a joint Apple account?). Now, you sign-up for iCloud using your Apple ID (use the same one associated with your iTunes library; trust me), and make sure you sign up for iCloud on all your other devices with the same Apple ID (see below for more on Apple ID). Next, you have the ability to turn on, or off, programs like Address Book, iCal, Mail, and Reminders. By doing this, your information is then stored securely and available to your devices (in my case an ipad and my iphone.) The best part? You don’t have to even mess with syncing through iTunes anymore…iCloud updates automatically in the background.
If you turn on “Photo Stream”, a photo you take on your iphone will automatically appear in the photo streams of your ipad, and in iPhoto on your desktop or laptop. Another great touch is the files are also available for download and editing online at www.icloud.com on any device, even PCs at the airport or hotel, or like me on my wife’s iMac that is associated with another Apple ID. iCloud does have some issues with being almost too simple, some might say it’s Apple being too controlling, but I’d like to have more editing capabilities…especially with Photo Stream when you want to delete photos they still are online. You can read more about Photo Stream here, and you can read how to reset your Photo Stream here!
If you’re a creative business with digital storage needs, and someone who might go on location to take photos or video, iCloud is preparing you for an amazingly streamlined future. Imagine taking photos in a studio, or video on location, and the files you take are immediately sent to the Cloud, and then downloaded instantly to any laptop or editing computer. Photographers have been doing this for a short while, but video professionals, producers, directors, and DPs would have a process that saves uber-time in the post-production process for editors. You could even edit footage moments after being shot, where currently you lose at least a day when you have to take footage after a shoot, transfer and backup the digital HD video files, and then load into your editing program. Right now, video files are too big at 1080p or higher (2K or 4K) to use this solution, but as compression advancements allow for smaller files and bandwidths get bigger, this Cloud storage workflow for video professionals is coming soon! Overall I’m giving iCloud a thumbs-up.
APPLE ID A quick note on your Apple ID: you’ll not only need an Apple ID to use the new Lion, it will need to be an email of some sort. You’ll have an opportunity to convert your old non-email Apple ID to a new email Apple ID when first starting the new Lion OS, and it does keep all of your itunes associations, purchases, apps, music seamlessly. However, you might be like me and run into an issue: my Apple ID was not an email, but the email I needed to convert it to already had an Apple ID associated with it. What I found is that through a weird quirk, Apple cannot (or at least they say they can’t) delete an Apple ID. I’m sure this is because they don’t want to deal with accidentally deleting anyone’s iTunes purchases and dealing with the nightmare of restoring those. A quick way around this if you run into the issue is to go to https://appleid.apple.com, login your Apple ID that is associated with an email (but may have never been used, have no purchases associated with it, etc.). Change your Apple ID to a different email address, freeing up your ideal email address to be used when you convert your old Apple ID to a new one that has to be an email address. A quick recap: your old Apple ID is johnsmith. All of your music, apps, movies, and other iTunes purchases are associated with this Apple ID. When starting Lion, it says you must convert this old Apple ID (johnsmith) to an email. In my example, the email I wanted to go to was johnsmith@hotmail.com. But when I tried this, Apple said that the email was already associated with another Apple ID (a mistake when signing up for Mobile Me or another Apple product in years past). You simply login to the Apple ID at the website here, and then change the Apple ID of johnsmith@hotmail.com to another email. This frees up that email to be used now to convert your old Apple ID (johnsmith) to your new Apple ID (johnsmith@hotmail.com) without losing any of your purchases in iTunes. Confused? email me…
THINGS I LOVE Swiping with Trackpad has redefined the mouse, plain and simple, and may redefine your carpal tunnel future. iCloud is imperfect, but a great start to having your own network, but a better network that is located in the cloud so you don’t have to be at your laptop to access that document or calendar or song; it’s on your phone, your ipad, and your laptop all at once, without you worrying about the sync part. And it’s available on any device with an internet connection at www.icloud.com. Launchpad where you can buy apps and navigate them like on an iPad is still a ways away, but will be the future of computing. Think of all the fun you can now have on your laptop or desktop using those innovative apps made for an iPad or iPhone! Upgrading from Snow Leopard to Lion OS X was a snap, and the compatibility of most new programs now, seven months after release, is truly a non-issue.
THINGS I’LL MISS I do miss the old Address Book, it was easier to navigate and recently I had been using it more and more to keep notes and info about practically anything. With it’s instantaneous load time and search capability, I can put keywords in the notes of any contact, giving me the ability to find what I need to find much quicker than with a spreadsheet or online CRM. The new address book takes a step backward in my opinion with it’s cheesy book-like graphical interface, and is a little clunkier to use; still better than spreadsheet or CRM, but I’ll miss the old Address Book. It’s also going to take me some time to get used to the “Search” function in Mail. It’s not nearly as easy as the old “Search” in Snow Leopard Mail, where just by typing in part of a name it automatically would pull up any mail that matched those letters. You can still get there, but you have to take an extra step.
Overall, as an Indiana video production company specializing in custom digital HD productions & television commercials, Lion is a logical upgrade and one which allows our team at Explore Media to use our creativity more freely between all of our devices. As a director and producer, I’m always on the go between rooms, offices, and locations so iCloud is a game changer. And as a company who leans heavily on images and words dreamed up, acquired, edited, color-corrected, finished and posted digitally, Mac Lion OS X is the way to go. Happy directing & producing your next project, contact us to begin the dreaming process!
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