For the most part I stick to the things I know best. My iPhone and my iPad. However for once I decided to take my Mac to the next level and try something out that was a little different for me. For the most part, I leave the testing to my iPhone or iPad because it isn’t the end of the world if something doesn’t work perfectly. That isn’t the case with my Mac, I need it to function in the perfect way without too many hiccups. Yet this time I couldn’t stop myself. I saw that the GM build of Lion had been released, I couldn’t stop myself from loading it up on my laptop. I know for a fact that GM editions of the Dev softwares are pretty much the final release, so I really didn’t feel like I was taking too much of a risk.

Installing it was insanely easy. Letting the installer run took even less time than the snow leopard install and was twice as clean. In under a half hour, the new OS was loaded and up and running. No silly gimmicks either. I was happy to find that the OS installed without going through a silly ‘welcome’ screen or anything like that. The changes to the visual appeal are excellent. Apple did an exceptional job with the changes that were made in Lion.

I can easily say that my favorite feature of Lion is Launchpad. Having a customizable grid similar to the iPad actually makes me feel more at home than ever on my Mac. Switching back and forth between the two has never been a more seemless experience. Apple does not lie when they talk about wanting to have a perfect experience between their devices. Seemless is really the word. I have organized a few folders for myself that makes it easy to get from App to App. The experience between all the products really becomes a complete picture when you move from the iPad to OSX 10.7. Apple has done a mighty fine job in making the entire experience worth it. Rather than being content with just one of the devices and that being enough, it is easy to see that the devices are all meant to work together. Seeing the devices fall in sync really makes me feel like Apple is stepping up to the plate in a big way.

Mail is also a step in the right direction. Making it very similar to the Mail App on the iPad again forces user to really see the similarities in the devices they are using. For years now, iOS and OSX have had a lot of differences in between them, but now that gate is closing. There are differences to be sure, but they are more in function than in feel. For the most part, when you used an iPad, you felt like you were using an iPad, and when you used a Mac, you felt that too. They were different. The functions were different, but so was the feel of the OS. Now, the functions are different, but the feel is not. You can feel that they are from the same family. Maybe different children, but all part of the same family. The devices are getting closer and closer together and it is plain to see that Apple is creating a complete solution for any user.