Mac OS X Lion adds new iOS-like About this Mac app

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  • Reply 21 of 38
    noirdesirnoirdesir Posts: 1,027member
    But is the old System Profiler still there? Or how do I get information such as 'Hardware UUID'? Only via the command line would be a step back in usability.
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  • Reply 22 of 38
    I agree, "Videos" is much better than "Movies." I have a lot of TV shows and videos I took with my camera, and so on. Clearly these are not feature length movies!
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  • Reply 23 of 38
    Great simplification of a confusing amount of information. Easy to find and basically matches the specs the user saw on the box or in the store before purchase. It's wonderful for the user and tech support workers everywhere!



    Nit #1: The battery view needs to show the battery vertically. The green "liquid" inside the battery is defying gravity if it's horizontal and still a green cylinder inside the "glass" battery. Yes, the whole thing is a gross abstraction of a battery (the contents don't physically get smaller, like a gas tank), but if it's all an abstraction, at least make it respect gravity.



    Nit #2: [Nevermind: the "System Report" button in the opening screen will open "System Profiler". So this simple panel shows the basics like reading specs on the box in the store, but being a way to go deeper when on the phone with a tech support worker.]



    Nit #3: [Nevermind: the yellow minimize button won't minimize to be lost among the morass of Finder windows, but to a "System Information" app icon.]



    Nit #4: They need to go back to the nostalgic days of System 7, and put an easter egg in as well. My suggestion: Command-Option clicking on the Apple menu changes "About this Mac" to just "About the Mac" and brings up a history of the Mac, or the development teams, or whatever. Artists sign their work, and this easter egg used to be a way to see something about the Blue Meanies or whoever trudged through the never-ending bug fixes. Heck, I'd be happy with just the Ridley Scott commercial if nothing else.



    But overall, I love the simplification and attention to detail of this window. Nits aside, it's great stuff!
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  • Reply 24 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post


    Brilliant!



    As the tech support guy for my family and friends, I second that!
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  • Reply 25 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macslut View Post


    I'd LOVE to see a button that allowed you to send the profile information as an email. Put it on the first panel and all admins would need to do on the phone is say "Go to About this Mac, and click on the send email button".



    Good idea because your regular family admin doesn't typically own full ARD.
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  • Reply 26 of 38
    I always liked the system profiler especially compared what you get on the windows end of the world. But this new app is just awsome and it's exactly what I like about apple. They really care about the enduser and effectively try to make life easier for us. Well done!!
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  • Reply 27 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hyperpunx View Post


    so its just a flashier front end?



    Its an integrated approach, did you bother reading/understanding the article.

    Try finding any information about a windoze pc, bloody impossible.
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  • Reply 28 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post


    I'm impressed and would not make fun of this.



    This is the attention to detail that sets Apple above the rest. And I mean way above the rest!



    There's only one way to do things and that's the right way.



    Best



    Agree, although not all can fathom such an approach.

    They would rather have the m$ way, 10 different ways to arrive at the same answer, but take you hours to find. Try finding information about a windoze pc. Its FU%^%#G impossible.

    Thats why I love Apple, they do things properly.
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  • Reply 29 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DeputyRob View Post


    Cool stuff. It recognizes that I have an SSD and all my RAM slots are filled (16GB total).











    Thanks for the post, looks great.
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  • Reply 30 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macslut View Post


    I'd LOVE to see a button that allowed you to send the profile information as an email. Put it on the first panel and all admins would need to do on the phone is say "Go to About this Mac, and click on the send email button".



    Yes, good point. Maybe Apple will do this soon.
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  • Reply 31 of 38
    I like all these simplifications.
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  • Reply 32 of 38
    zephzeph Posts: 133member
    It looks sleek and well thought out, but I can't shake the feeling that this is another step in dumbing down and bloating the OS.



    One thing I like about SL is the smaller footprint compared to Leopard. I hope Lion won't bring that right back up.
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  • Reply 33 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bartfat View Post


    Not exactly. The old System Profiler to get more information about the system is a bit intimidating to users. It's something only a technician or a tech-savvy user would be comfortable in. This app definitely wraps it up in a nice GUI, but it also is more approachable and plus, it has the AppleCare warranty upsell built-in



    It would be even nicer if, upon purchasing AppleCare and registering your details, that page showed you a summary of your coverage, the length of coverage remaining, and a custom link to Apple support based upon which model of computer you have. Hopefully it only shows the up-sell info when you don't have Applecare!



    Also, when you go into About this Mac, I'm really surprised that "Documents" isn't one of the specified types of files!
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  • Reply 34 of 38
    am8449am8449 Posts: 392member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by noirdesir View Post


    But is the old System Profiler still there? Or how do I get information such as 'Hardware UUID'?



    I have the same concern.



    Although I like the friendlier face of "About This Mac", it seems to lack some of the information that the System Profiler had. Such as an hdd's S.M.A.R.T. status and USB device tree, just to name two.



    Hopefully, the GM version of Lion will include all of the System Profiler information in the new graphical interface.
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  • Reply 35 of 38
    Is it too hard for you to read the article???



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    ... (which launches the existing System Profiler for more detailed information).



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  • Reply 36 of 38
    chabigchabig Posts: 641member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macslut View Post


    I'd LOVE to see a button that allowed you to send the profile information as an email. Put it on the first panel and all admins would need to do on the phone is say "Go to About this Mac, and click on the send email button".



    The even easier way is to share the person's screen and see their machine. But did you know there is already a way to do this (but not quite so simple). In System Profiler you can save your computer's profile as a text file. Then you can paste it into an email or just attach the file.
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  • Reply 37 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by am8449 View Post


    I have the same concern.



    Although I like the friendlier face of "About This Mac", it seems to lack some of the information that the System Profiler had. Such as an hdd's S.M.A.R.T. status and USB device tree, just to name two.



    Hopefully, the GM version of Lion will include all of the System Profiler information in the new graphical interface.



    If you press the system report button you get everything that was available in Snow Leopard.
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  • Reply 38 of 38
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by captmark View Post


    If you press the system report button you get everything that was available in Snow Leopard.



    This was answered months ago in the posts right above yours.
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