Month: July 2011

OS X Lion 10.7 is the latest version of Apple’s operating system for Mac and possibly one of their most telling about the way Apple are heading. Coming just 18 months after the release of Snow Leopard, Lion brings OS X closer to the iPhone’s and iPad’s iOS operating system, making full use of Trackpads and gestures to use your Mac. The move towards iOS should be no surprise. Steve Jobs has already talked of a “Post PC World” now that Apple’s biggest revenues come from the iPhone and iPad. The risk with this strategy is that it isn’t clear that Mac users really want to move towards a more “phone-like” experience in OS X. Those that don’t may feel Lion is the first sign that OS X is gradually being “abandoned” by Apple to focus on iOS.

Firstly, before you rush to upgrade, don’t forget to check out our advice and words of caution beforehand. Some older applications simply won’t work on Lion due to Apple’s decision to drop Rosetta support. This means you will have problems running applications like Quicken 2007, Microsoft Office 2008 and other apps which supported Power PC Macs. PPC support is gone forever in Lion which will be the first bone of contention for many dedicated long-term Mac users.

According to Apple, Lion comes with more than 250 improvements and new features although many of these are minor tweaks. The biggest change however is far closer integration with iOS, the operating system of the iPhone and iPad. To take advantage of the many new finger gestures to navigate OS X however, ideally you’ll need either a MacBook Pro with Magic Trackpad or an external Trackpad (around $69) although a Magic Mouse will also suffice.

For those used to using an iPad and iPhone, the gestures will come more naturally but for others, there will be some learning to do although there are some excellent video tutorials included in the new Trackpad preferences pane:

While many will no doubt love the new way of navigating OS X, others may not want their Mac “turned into one big phone or iPad” – in which case you can always still use the mouse as normal.

Continue reading “Reviewed: Lion OS X 10.7”

I must confess I’m a sucker for wallpapers. I have hundreds of them, both in my office Windows computer and my home Mac, and I like changing them quite often. But sometimes I have so many beautiful images, that it’s hard to choose just one. Fortunately there are a couple of ways to fix this problem, so if you’re in the same situation as me, read carefully!

The first trick for multiple rotating wallpapers on your desktop with no hassle is using special apps. There are dozens of tools that allow you to select several wallpapers and have them rotating as desktop background images automatically. Some of the most popular ones on Softonic are Adolix Wallpaper Changer, Free Wallpaper Changer and Cyclone Wallpaper Changer, but you can find many more in our Wallpaper Utilities category.

The second trick only applies to Windows 7 users. This operating system lets you choose multiple wallpapers for your desktop, and changes them automatically without any third-party software. To set it up, simply right click on the desktop and select Personalize in the context menu. Then click the Desktop Background link at the bottom of the Window

In the next window, select as many images as you want to use as wallpaper. Remember that to select multiple files you need to hold Ctrl while clicking on the images. When you’ve selected all your wallpapers, adjust the time interval for image changing at the bottom of the window, and you’re done!