While the new MacBook Pro line-up delivers the Sandy bridge update consumers have been clamoring for, Apple has something for developers too. The new developer preview of Mac OS X Lion has been released, adding full-screen app support, pinch and double-tap zoom in Safari – some of the multitouch gestures borrowed from OS X – a document saving system called Versions (which automatically saves successive versions of documents as you work on them) and AirDrop, a wireless file transfer system for drag & drop moving of documents between Macs.
There’s also Resume, which automatically brings you back up to speed with the apps and documents you had open after a reboot, along with Mission Control, a bird’s-eye view of of open windows grouped by app, thumbnails of full-screen apps, and Dashboard. Mail 5 has an updated UI to take advantage of widescreen displays, and there’s Conversations (Apple’s name for threaded messages).
“With AirDrop in Mac OS X Lion, you can send files to anyone around you — wirelessly. AirDrop doesn’t require setup or special settings. Just click the AirDrop icon in the Finder sidebar, and your Mac automatically discovers other people nearby who are using AirDrop. You’ll even see contact photos for those who are already in your Address Book. To share a file, simply drag it to someone’s name. Once accepted, the file transfers directly to the person’s Downloads folder. When you’re done with AirDrop, close the Finder and your Mac is no longer visible to others.” Apple
Apple has also integrated OS X Server into a single SKU; Lion Server is built into the client version of the updated OS. If you’re a developer you can check out all the changes and new features here at the updated checklist; the release itself will be seeded through the Mac App Store.