Inside Mac OS X 10.7 Lion: Safari adds iPad-like Downloads menu
Safari 5.1 in Mac OS X Lion adds a new window-integrated downloads popup menu with behavior that appears to be borrowed from iPad.
Safari's existing Downloads window, which lists every document, disk image or other file you've downloaded through the browser, is still there can be displayed using the Windows/Downloads menu option.
However, after your first download in the new version, a new icon appears to the right of the URL and Search fields in the Safari toolbar. Clicking the button reveals a list of previous downloads and the current progress of each active download, which are displayed in an iPad-like popup menu.
The icon itself presents a progress bar that fills in as downloads complete. As with the conventional Downloads window, the integrated new popup control provides links to file or disk image downloads that have completed, including a "find" icon that reveals the item in the Finder.
Popup menus were added to iOS to support an efficient way to present a variety of options or controls which might appear in a desktop application's floating palette windows.
On the iPad, this makes options easy to select via touch gestures, and easy to open and dismiss palettes of selections, without requiring a complex multi-windowing environment more suited to a mouse-based interface.
In Mac OS X Lion, the same types of popup menus are being used to similarly simplify the interface while still making the presentation of a variety of options possible. Apple previously adopted popup menu panels in iCal, which tie event settings and details directly to the event's scheduled time in the calendar.
Safari's existing Downloads window, which lists every document, disk image or other file you've downloaded through the browser, is still there can be displayed using the Windows/Downloads menu option.
However, after your first download in the new version, a new icon appears to the right of the URL and Search fields in the Safari toolbar. Clicking the button reveals a list of previous downloads and the current progress of each active download, which are displayed in an iPad-like popup menu.
The icon itself presents a progress bar that fills in as downloads complete. As with the conventional Downloads window, the integrated new popup control provides links to file or disk image downloads that have completed, including a "find" icon that reveals the item in the Finder.
Popup menus were added to iOS to support an efficient way to present a variety of options or controls which might appear in a desktop application's floating palette windows.
On the iPad, this makes options easy to select via touch gestures, and easy to open and dismiss palettes of selections, without requiring a complex multi-windowing environment more suited to a mouse-based interface.
In Mac OS X Lion, the same types of popup menus are being used to similarly simplify the interface while still making the presentation of a variety of options possible. Apple previously adopted popup menu panels in iCal, which tie event settings and details directly to the event's scheduled time in the calendar.
Comments
2) I don't think this means tomorrow Macs will give up the trackpad and mouse so you can touch your vertically placed display all day. It's just a crossover of effective AND familiar design.
3) There is a lot of finer lines and text in the UI over SL which leads me to believe high DPI displays will come out not far from the Lion released date.
Here's my only Apple-esque idea I've ever had...
if you highlight a word and right click; in the drop down menu should be a simple definition! Instead of making you open the dictionary program. I know it's brilliant!
Anyway.
Best
1) I like these popovers, especially for Safari Downloads window which I hated being a separate window.
2) I don't think this means tomorrow Macs will give up the trackpad and mouse so you can touch your vertically placed display all day. It's just a crossover of effective AND familiar design.
3) There is a lot of finer lines and text in the UI over SL which leads me to believe high DPI displays will come out not far from the Lion released date.
I still want resolution independence. We haven't heard anything about this at all in these betas, unlike with the past three OS upgrades.
1) I like these popovers, especially for Safari Downloads window which I hated being a separate window. ...
Agreed. I am so sick of clearing the downloads window and closing the downloads window. I know why the behaviour exists, but it sure ain't any fun managing that window.
Now if they just gave us an option to automatically clear the list when we want to, I'd have no complaints about Safari downloads at all.
Agreed. I am so sick of clearing the downloads window and closing the downloads window. I know why the behaviour exists, but it sure ain't any fun managing that window.
Now if they just gave us an option to automatically clear the list when we want to, I'd have no complaints about Safari downloads at all.
Agreed. I always thought the downloads window was somewhat clumsy.
Wow, this is turning into more than just a new coat of UI paint. There are some substantial changes coming in Lion...
What did you think was going to happen? Snow Leopard was just the start of the foundations being rewritten and advanced.
Lion is about gutting the legacy crap and provided a stream lined infrastructure with advanced APIs to make OS X and iOS Developers code reuse as broad and deep as they choose.
http://www.macrumors.com/2011/05/02/...pp-store-apps/
What I like about what Apple is doing in bringing all of this over from iOS is that there are a lot more people buying iOS products than Macs so far. But it's also known that people who do buy an iOS device sometimes do buy a Mac later on. This will help make people who have iOS devices feel more comfortable using a Mac, and so may persuade more of them them to buy one.
This is a bigger deal than many people realize, and I believe that is one reason why Apple is doing it. And I still firmly believe that the two will someday merge. From what I see, it looks more and more as though Apple has figured out how to do it.
I still want resolution independence. We haven't heard anything about this at all in these betas, unlike with the past three OS upgrades.
I don't think it's coming. I think doubling the resolution will be their ticket for that.
Lion doesn't even activate the AppleDisplayScaleFactor option found in previous versions of Mac OS.
What did you think was going to happen? Snow Leopard was just the start of the foundations being rewritten and advanced.
Lion is about gutting the legacy crap and provided a stream lined infrastructure with advanced APIs to make OS X and iOS Developers code reuse as broad and deep as they choose.
Or... Lion is about bridging osx and ios. Lion is about facilitating the famous halo effect. Selling ios to OSX users is easy, the other way is more challenging but Apple is doing a brilliant job of it. IOS and OSX may never merge but jumping between the two will become ever easier for the newbie.
Oh, and yeah, the separate downloads window has been a pet hate of mine, too, for seemingly ever.
I don't think it's coming. I think doubling the resolution will be their ticket for that.
Lion doesn't even activate the AppleDisplayScaleFactor option found in previous versions of Mac OS.
This is the whole problem. The higher the resolution, the MORE you need RI. It doesn't solve the problem. It makes it much worse.
I like it! Typical Apple...sweating the details!
Here's my only Apple-esque idea I've ever had...
if you highlight a word and right click; in the drop down menu should be a simple definition! Instead of making you open the dictionary program. I know it's brilliant!
Anyway.
Best
Gee golly gosh! Whowouldathunkit?
Here's another one guys.
http://www.macrumors.com/2011/05/02/...pp-store-apps/
What I like about what Apple is doing in bringing all of this over from iOS is that there are a lot more people buying iOS products than Macs so far. But it's also known that people who do buy an iOS device sometimes do buy a Mac later on. This will help make people who have iOS devices feel more comfortable using a Mac, and so may persuade more of them them to buy one.
This is a bigger deal than many people realize, and I believe that is one reason why Apple is doing it. And I still firmly believe that the two will someday merge. From what I see, it looks more and more as though Apple has figured out how to do it.
This seems like a good time to restate my prediction that Apple is going to make iOS apps run on Lion. "Mac" will become a new device idiom that you can target along with "iPad" and "iPhone." The app will then display a Mac-optimised UI (designed for mouse/trackpad operation). Developers will be able to create x86/ARM universal binaries (although I think they'd have to make it so the App Store only downloaded the part of the package relevant for the device - so the Mac only gets the x86 binary and iOS devices get the ARM binary - in order to save space on iOS devices). Eventually I'm sure they'll add an "Apple TV" device idiom so you can create one application that targets the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV.
This is the whole problem. The higher the resolution, the MORE you need RI. It doesn't solve the problem. It makes it much worse.
I don't see how or why you've come to that conclusion.
If they design the OS specificially for higher DPI panels then it will look and feel natural. RI is a not a requirement for changing the dot pitch, it's just an option that makes it work universally regardles of the PPI and size. But it has it's problems, too, which is probably why Apple is years late with RI and their I code in Lion for double res displays, 1024x1024 icons and 3200x2000 wallpapares.
Gee golly gosh! Whowouldathunkit?
Rather than being a smart arse why don't you just tell the poster that you can control this action via the preferences of the dictionary.
I don't see how or why you've come to that conclusion.
If they design the OS specificially for higher DPI panels then it will look and feel natural. RI is a not a requirement for changing the dot pitch, it's just an option that makes it work universally regardles of the PPI and size. But it has it's problems, too, which is probably why Apple is years late with RI and their I code in Lion for double res displays, 1024x1024 icons and 3200x2000 wallpapares.
Not everyone will be using the same size monitor, or will have the same resolution.
Do you think a 13" Macbook will be the same as a 27" iMac? Of course not! There is no way that Apple can accommodate all of their computers with a high Rez display. And those of us with Mac Pro's are not likely going to be using Apple monitors for any serious work.
Apple will need to have resolutions based on the size of the monitor, as they do now. And with all the developers out there, there will be the same confusion as before when looking at something at the misnamed "100%". 100% of what? We never know that, and we won't know now either, except that it will be smaller on the screen than before.
RI is supposed to allow us to size the screen elements as WE like them, not as Apple likes them. That's the whole point. What may look good to your eyes, won't necessarily look good to mine.
I'm mostly glad that Lion is getting rid of most of the ugliness of Aqua. I've long been a proponent of killing that ugly beast. I still do think they should rethink the window control buttons. Something less-Aqua would be great for them. I like the new progress bar and I'm terribly glad they aren't going to go with that 'slide-y-button' idea in System Preferences and other places. I think the back/forward buttons in Snow Leopard are nicer than the toggle-sytle we see in the current build (and likely the release build) of Lion. There really should be a line the full way down the button to show they are separate buttons.