Apple updates Mac OS X Lion preview page, lists new features

Apple’s new Macbooks have arrived. Earlier today, the store went down whilst Apple employees furiously set about readying its store to feature the new Thunderbolt-enabled Macbook notebooks. It came back up a couple of hours later, much to the joy of Apple fanboys.

One thing that people might have missed is the preview page for Apple’s upcoming operating system refresh; Mac OS X Lion. That page received an update too, featuring new screenshots of mail.app, Auto Save, Versions, Resume and the new Air Drop.

• A new version of Mail, with an elegant, widescreen layout inspired by the iPad; Conversations, which automatically groups related messages into one easy to read timeline; more powerful search; and support for Microsoft Exchange 2010;
• AirDrop, a remarkably simple way to copy files wirelessly from one Mac to another with no setup;
• Versions, which automatically saves successive versions of your document as you create it, and gives you an easy way to browse, edit and even revert to previous versions;
• Resume, which conveniently brings your apps back exactly how you left them when you restart your Mac or quit and relaunch an app;
• Auto Save, which automatically saves your documents as you work;
• The all new FileVault, that provides high performance full disk encryption for local and external drives, and the ability to wipe data from your Mac instantaneously; and
• Mac OS X Lion Server, which makes setting up a server easier than ever and adds support for managing Mac OS X Lion, iPhone®, iPad and iPod touch® devices.

If you didn’t know, Apple has done away with its separate Server and Desktop products, combining them into one standard OS X product, bundled as Lion Server.

Members of the Mac Developer Program can download Lion from the Mac App Store using a special code obtained from the Mac Dev Center. Developers will need an Intel-based, 64-bit Mac running Mac OS X v10.6.6 Snow Leopard to redeem their code.

A full list of Lion’s new features can be found on the Mac OS X Lion page on Apple’s website. The operating system is expected to launch in the Summer, breathing new life into your now defunct (we kid!) Macbook.