Ryan Cushley

When Apple announced Snow Leopard to the 2009 WWDC audience, attendees were shocked by the announcement of ‘no new features.’ So then, in July 2011, many newer Mac users are getting ready for their first real taste of an OS X upgrade, with a whole new feature set to learn and adjust to.

Waiting four years since the release of Leopard for a significant new feature set to make its way to OS X, users have often hypothesised what would become of Apples desktop operating system. Many, however, at the announcement of Lion in 2010, were stunned to find that the features that were included, were not the new user interface rumoured, nor were they as notable as some had hoped. Instead, Apple again has taken an evolutionary approach to OS X, offering up only a few dramatic, but many minor changes.

Pricing this time is $29.99.  This is ninety-nine cents more to the US customer than Snow Leopard, however, for the international customer will come out slightly cheaper. For example, in the UK, the $29 USD price for Snow Leopard translated to £25. At the time of release, a direct exchange rate, plus tax, puts the price at around £21. So, UK customers were getting charged significantly more for the same product. This time around, that is changed. Distribution is via the Mac App Store only (more on that in Part 2), and through this storefront, Apple charge roughly the same amount regardless of the territory. Pricing in the UK is £20.99 for Lion.

The announcement of Lion was done at a special ‘Back to the Mac’ event, held last October. However, little of what was seen at this event, or can be seen in the final version of Lion is original work. In fact, many of the new features are directly lifted from iOS. Multi-touch, Resume, Launchpad, the Mail interface and the Mac App Store all have their roots on iOS. So, rather than Apple returning to the Mac, Lion can be seen as an attempt to translate some of the massive success seen in iOS onto the Mac platform.

Lion features have seen intense debate on the Internet; more intense than has been witnessed with any other OS X release. Users are divided as to whether the new features signify a dumbing down of the operating system, or even an abandonment of the power user. However, using the operating system on a daily basis for over five months, this debate has become redundant. Whether this is the first step of an iOS-OS X blur remains to be seen, as it must be noted that the user can ignore almost all iOS-type functionality in this release.

With over 250 new features, Lion changes a huge amount for the end user. Thus, this is by no means a fully comprehensive review. Reviews of the smaller changes will come at a later date. However, all of the main features of Lion are covered within, with all being covered to a good level of detail. Enjoy the review, and please do not hesitate to comment or contact me with feedback, errors or omissions.

Without further ado, is Lion the King of OS X, or is the operating system close to reaching endangered status? Read on.

In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 1: Introduction
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 2: Installation
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 3: New Visual Changes
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 4: Launchpad and Mission Control
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 5: Full Screen and Mail
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 6: Auto-Save, Versions and Resume
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 7: Multi-Touch and AirDrop
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 8: Conclusion

Google+, the new social networking service from Google launched as a limited, invite-only beta on Tuesday. However, despite the ‘field trial’ receiving generally positive feedback, there are some distinct, and in one case, substantial problems. This article looks at the service as it stands, focussing on several pivotal issues.

On receiving an invitation, my initial enthusiasm was soon dampened by an all too obvious omission on the part of Google. Customers of Google Apps are locked out. As there is (still) no way to create a Google Profile for Google Apps customers, there is an inability to create a Google Plus account, as Google Plus appears to be reliant on the ability to have a Google Profile. So, after logging out of my own Google account and creating a new one, I was presented with the interface. It is obvious that Google took much of the inspiration for the UI from Facebook. Everything is positioned in a similar way to Facebook, and so there is only a very minor learning curve. Praise must be given to Google for creating such an intuitive service, regardless of whether that derives itself from prior experience elsewhere.

However, it becomes apparent when leaving Google Plus and accessing another Google service that the platform is deeply, deeply integrated as soon as account creation is complete. Google Plus appears to be literally everywhere. It’s in Search, it’s in Gmail, it’s in Documents. It also appears to allow itself – without expressly asking permission – access to any contacts stored through Gmail. Something about the whole core integration seems unnerving – almost unnatural for the social to be so deeply integrated in what are in many cases productivity applications. Google really needs to rethink the immediate and uncontrolled integration elsewhere. Furthermore, permission must be asked for access to contacts, regardless of whether this is another Google service or not. This deep integration is quite rudimentary at present; it in itself does not have workflow implications, but with notifications, or even chat system-wide in Google, the possibility for negatively affecting workflow is there. Or worse; in the case of Search, Gmail or Calendars, Google could end up bloating previously aesthetically clean services.

Despite this deep integration, and the unfortunate flaw with contact data access, Google must be commended for their pleasantly simple approach to privacy. From an easy to access Privacy menu, Google Plus allows easy deletion of the service. However, further to this, Google also includes a service called ‘Data Liberation’. This is very similar to a largely unknown Facebook feature, allowing a quick and easy zipped download of all information associated with an account. Here’s hoping that lots of other web applications, and particularly social networks follow this trend.

Similar to the privacy options, Google offers up a novel way to control profile access. Called ‘Circles’ it is a method for ring fencing different groups of people. As such, close friends could be granted full profile access, whereas Followers (similar to Twitter followers) could be granted only certain access. This amalgamation of the functions of both Facebook and Twitter is a uniquely positioned approach to social networking, and one very welcome indeed. It appears that Google Plus is a two-front attack on both social networks, and for the most part works great. In saying this, however, Circles is not without flaws. The system itself is fairly complicated to manage, particularly as there appears to be no way to ‘group’ Circles together for quick sending to those. For example, Friends and Acquaintances should be able to be grouped together. Additionally, managing more than a few Circles is cumbersome, much for the same reason. Google will need to work hard in streamlining this feature to promote uptake, but it undeniably works well, particularly for a first-look beta.

Much like Twitter, it is not made clear enough by Google Plus when you are added to a Circle of another user. There appears to be no notification made, and so reciprocating this, particularly if it is a friend or acquaintance must be done through direct-contact notification. Redacted: It appears that there is a notification that has either been implemented today (Sunday 3rd July), or for some teething reason I was not receiving them previously.

It does appear that Google are pitching Google Plus to be a direct competitor to Facebook and Twitter. While Google have a huge user-base, coaxing these users away from Facebook may be a difficult task. Google also don’t have a great track record of inter-service communication, and so this must be improved upon to make Google Plus a success. However, these improvements must be done in a sympathetic way to the user, rather than the present implementation of one-size-fits-all – ignoring boundaries between productivity use of Google services and personal. Certainly Google has both the money and the staff to develop and promote Google Plus, but there is a distinct possibility that Google has arrived too late to the social networking party. For an initial look, Google Plus appears to be a good platform with good prospects, but service capacity issues must be overcome within days, and a larger scale launch must be initiated if Google want to retain the important early adopters, who, today, are largely friendless on the service.

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A notably absent feature in iOS 5 beta 1, iTunes Sync, has become available for use in iOS 5 beta 2. This feature allows an iOS device to be synchronised with iTunes using a local Wi-Fi network. I offer some initial thoughts, a demonstration video, and some quirks.

Actually setting up iTunes Sync is remarkably convoluted at present. It appears as though the implementation is unfinished, with the initial setup taking a considerable amount of trial and error to get working. Requiring iTunes 10.5 beta 2, an option must be enabled through iTunes to allow sync over Wi-Fi. Once this setting has been enabled, the iOS Device remains in perpetuity in the sidebar in iTunes. If the device is ‘ejected’ through the sidebar, it will need to be re-synced with iTunes via USB to allow for Wi-Fi synchronisation to take place again. However, if the device is left to reside in the sidebar, syncing is simple, reasonably  quick and flawless.

As shown in the video, from the iOS side, syncing throws up no problems. Simply tap ‘Sync Now’ and the device handles the rest of the work. The sync can also be initiated from the iTunes side through the normal sync options. The iTunes side, though, has a few issues. Right now, regardless of the status of the sync, iTunes will throw up an error stating a connection could not be established. If this is ignored, the sync still completes. I have tested this with both an iPad and iPhone, with each throwing up the same error.

When selecting the iOS device through iTunes, the user is informed to connect via USB to initiate a software update. This is a smart move by Apple, to retain some form of tethering for when things go wrong, however, it would be nice to see the option listed for Over The Air (OTA) updates in iTunes also, with a link explaining how to do this through the iOS device.

As I posted on MacRumors last night, the implementation of iTunes Sync is incomplete, and requires more work. Increasing data security is evidently a new priority for Apple, with both iCloud backup and iTunes Sync in iOS 5. It seems most likely that further development will take place, linking an OS X Lion or Windows iCloud user directly to the iOS device. Thus, eventually it would make sense for iTunes Sync to be available automatically if another computer on the local Wi-Fi network is using the same iCloud credentials. This would help mitigate the rumoured 50% of users never syncing issue, while further tying different platforms. Seamlessly creating both a local and cloud backup of iOS contents would certainly be a smart move, but it remains to be seen whether this approach will be taken by Apple, or whether iTunes Sync will be left as a semi-redundant feature, only activated at the request of the user.

Ignoring current issues with iTunes Sync, it is certainly a nice-to-have. Used in the way Apple advertise – an automatic sync when connected to a power source – it will be a useful addition to iOS, with less emphasis on user intervention for backup control. The feature may come as somewhat of a disappointment to power users, with no ability to sync through a remote connection, but for the casual user who may not understand the importance of backing up, it makes the whole experience more seamless. Overall, iTunes Sync does work well for what it is, but for those of us regularly updating large amounts of content, or those using pre-N wireless hardware, USB will likely remain first choice.

This is part of a series of articles I will be publishing leading up to the release of iOS 5 in Autumn 2011. Check the Articles page regularly for updates. Subscribe via RSS to keep track of new posts.

In showing off iOS 5, Apple chose only to highlight the most important new features. However, aside from the focal points of iOS 5 there are close to two hundred other new features. Finding these has largely been left up to the user, and so, two weeks since the release of the beta I’ve discovered quite a few. Here I provide a summary of some of my favourites.

For many, the weather is an important deciding factor in how to structure daily activities. It should come as no surprise then, that one of the first changes I noticed when exploring iOS 5 is the reworked Weather app. In its first change since 2007, Weather is considerably improved, adding location awareness and hourly weather updates. By default, Weather now automatically finds the closest weather station and provides a reading. I have already found this extremely handy during a recent trip to London, travelling from Belfast to Liverpool to London. Previously, to discover the weather at these locations I would have had to manually add the locations as new panes in the app; now they come and go as I pass through them. Further to this change, weather for the current day is broken down into hourly forecasts. This is extremely useful in planning further in the day – particularly in the meteorologically unpredictable United Kingdom. Again, pre-iOS 5 Weather shows only a daily breakdown, which is only a broad, and thus fairly inaccurate measure.

A simple change is the new ability to select from 500 and 1000 recent Mail messages shown. Previously the maximum amount stored locally was 200. I have had 1000 set since the release of the beta, and have noticed only very slight lag. This has proven great for on the go emailing, particularly when offline or in an area with spotty cellular signal. Also notable in the Mail app is a commendable improvement in the handling of working offline. Previously, as any country-dwelling Mail user should know, the app constantly harassed about the lack of connection. Now, Mail will (usually) quietly load, and silently move sent mail to the outbox for sending when signal has resumed.

Although only partially implemented at present, a feature shaping up to be one of the most useful for the regular traveller is the inclusion of an AirPort utility for managing AirPort Express, Extreme and Time Capsules directly from iOS. Accessed from the Wi-Fi settings screen, this allows all regular options to be customised. This feature is a work in progress right now, with the option disappearing after the initial configuration, but the expectation would be for it to be complete by the iOS 5 release in the Autumn. Travelling with an AirPort Express and Wi-Fi only iPad could become a reality. One has to wonder, however, why Apple doesn’t simply create a web interface for administering AirPort devices?

While it should have been a feature shipping with the original iPhone, fully customisable alert sounds are an extremely welcome addition to iOS. Any regular Mail user will know the pain of putting an ear up to the speaker grill in a noisy environment to hear if a message sent. Similarly, the days of not hearing the sounds of email received are now gone. Default sounds can now be swapped out for ringtone, text tone, new voicemail, new mail, sent mail and calendar alerts. Further to this, more tones can now be purchased from iTunes directly from the phone – further adding to the ‘PC Free’ nature of iOS 5.

Several other minor features have also proven to be useful and intuitive. Swiping to the left while in Camera brings up the Camera Roll. While this could already be done through tapping the photo at the bottom left, swiping is an easier gesture while holding the device in one hand. Maps now provides up to three routes, allowing the user to choose the best one. This is handy, but the implementation is awful – requiring tapping directly on the route on the map to choose it, rather than any way to swipe through the routes. An extremely minor change (possibly, although hopefully not a mistake) is the inclusion of the current volume level when switching off silent. This is arguably negligible in importance, especially for the many who have disabled changing the ringer volume through the buttons, but it is helpful nonetheless.

The minor changes in iOS 5 will always be dwarfed by the major features. However, it would be wrong to suggest they are any less important. Everything feels more refined in this release, largely down to the increased user preferences and improved first-party apps. Apple have tried hard, and gone a long way in making iOS 5 feel like a full blown operating system, and while not quite there yet, the minor changes make all the difference.

If you’re using iOS 5 or following development, share in the comments what your favourite small features are.

This is part of a series of articles I will be publishing leading up to the release of iOS 5 in Autumn 2011. Check the Articles page regularly for updates. Subscribe via RSS to keep track of new posts.

With each new iteration of iOS, Apple has slowly chipped away at the list of criticisms – often valid – of their mobile operating system. Four years after the release of iPhone OS 1.0, Apple announced a feature of iOS 5 would be ‘PC Free.’ But have we really reached a point where the smartphone becomes itself an independent computing device? I explore the viability of a self-sufficient iOS device, while addressing continued limitations.

Starting with iOS 2.0, Apple have brought push, the App Store, copy and paste, multitasking and a rudimentary file system to their mobile operating system. However, despite these improvements, many criticisms of iOS – particularly since the release of the iPad – have centred around its dependency on iTunes; the lack of independence of the hardware from a host device. With iOS 5, Apple attempt to change that. Two new features in particular – PC Free and iCloud – are to lead this final disconnect.

What exactly, then, will PC Free and iCloud do? PC Free is less of a feature, and more of a complete overhaul of any iTunes-dependent part of the operating system. This means that right out of the box, day one, an iDevice will never need to be connected to a computer to function. Right now, upon opening the box, all mobile iOS-driven devices must be synced with a computer before they are usable. This is gone. And too, any aspect of the operating system requiring synchronisation with iTunes has been improved and made independent. This ranges from the ability to create new folders in Photos, or delete music in Music (formerly iPod), to renaming the device through Settings, or updating the software over the air.

The new features that will be available through iCloud then compliment the considerable changes present with PC Free. iCloud itself is not a feature just for iOS devices; it is a synchronisation solution bet

ween all iOS, OS X and Windows. Storing all your documents, photos, contacts, calendars and music on the cloud, it will synchronise these automatically between all your devices. Right now iCloud is only partially implemented, due for release in the Autumn, but already iOS 5 beta users are able to synchronise notes, bookmarks, contacts, mail and calendars. Further development of iCloud will see other features become realised before the final release.

Both PC Free and iCloud are then further complimented by another feature Apple calls Wi-Fi Sync. This is an alternative to USB based connection to iTunes, and will synchronise an iOS device while it is being charged, done over the local Wi-Fi network. Unfortunately this is yet to be implemented in iOS 5 beta 1, and so there has been no opportunity to test the feature, but one would imagine the implementation will be quick, simple and automatic.

These new features together take iOS a huge step in the right direction. It would be difficult to overstate the importance; going from a tethering-dependent operating system, to one of complete independence makes the experience much more real. Much more like working on a conventional PC rather than a mobile device. However, despite the positivity I have exp

ressed thus far, there are several fairly considerable limitations still evident in iOS 5.

Perhaps the most significant of the issues is a lack of any universal external connectivity; no iOS device has an ability to drive common USB-powered devices, bar a few that can be connected through a peripheral for the iPad. This barrier is unlikely to be breached by Apple, who, to their credit, have made some effort in alleviating this issue. Wireless printer access, and Bluetooth access for keyboards is a good move, but more needs to be done for even the most casual user to leave the computer behind. Furthermore, in typical Apple style, iOS 5 offers very little customisation. So little, in fact, that for many, adjusting workflow to an iOS-centric environment would be an almost impossible task. Until Apple offers deep levels of customisation – which may never happen – iOS will remain, in the eyes of many, a content-consumption platform, rather than creation. Tied into the lack of customisation, is the lack of externally available apps. Everything third party comes through Apple – and unfortunately Apple are picky about what is allowed in their Store.

As mentioned, an important aspect of disconnecting is the ability of iOS to be a content-creation device, rather than a just a content-consumer. Particularly since 2010, Apple has made huge strides in both appealing to content-creators, and marketing their iDevices as such. Starting with iWork, then iMovie, and now GarageBand, Apple has made a shift in the marketing of iOS and likely significantly altered the usage patterns of users. With iOS 5, this creation is taken a further step with built-in photo editing.

The evolutionary approach to disconnecting and giving independence to iOS has thus far taken four years. But in that time, Apple has now dealt with almost all major criticisms of iOS. Indeed, this can be witnessed by the inspiration (choice wording – can be substituted for feature plagiarism) Apple takes from the jailbreak community; replicating many of the solutions users jailbreak for as first party features.

Aside from all discussion of feature development, however, the greatest decider on whether iOS 5 achieves the final disconnect is from user experience. Two weeks on from installing the iOS 5 beta, what is it really like to become untethered from iTunes? Well, with the general ‘feel’ of the operating system, a sense of robustness is evident. Small changes, such as the aforementioned ability to delete songs through Music go a long way in changing the feel of the operating system. iCloud removes the worry of regularly backing up; knowing that all my contacts, emails and notes are safe gives me, as a user, an increased sense of liberty in using my device as I choose. This is distinct, and will become more and more important once iOS 5 hits consumers – with third party apps also able to back up data easily, wirelessly and automatically.

However, in using iOS 5 on both my iPad and iPhone for two weeks, there is certainly still an apprehension in leaving the MacBook Pro at home. Something feels restrictive, almost child-proofed about the chunky GUI (somewhat acceptable for a touch-based platform), no file system and few options. Changing these will be necessary to turn iOS from an entertainment device to a full-blown productivity platform.  Maybe I’m wrong in suggesting this is where Apple is heading; when the iPad was released I saw time and time again mentions of the iPad not being a computer replacement. However, it’s impossible to neglect the evidence; in the long term it appears this is what Apple is aiming for, particularly with Steve Jobs repeatedly referring to the iPad 2 as a ‘post-PC device’.  Right now though, iOS sits in an awkward limbo between the restrictive platform we saw in 2007, and the vision Apple presented of iOS 5 at WWDC. Despite my reservations, of all the versions of iOS Apple has developed since 2007, iOS 5 by a long stretch goes the furthest in providing a final disconnect, but regrettably it is not yet the final disconnect.

This is part of a series of articles I will be publishing leading up to the release of iOS 5 in Autumn 2011. Check the Articles page regularly for updates. Subscribe via RSS to keep track of new posts.

Since news of an Apple and Twitter partnership leaked two weeks ago, much has been written about the significance of such a move. But, from the perspective of an end-user, what is new and how useful is this integration? I explore iOS 5 to find out.

While Twitter appears fairly ubiquitous, putting a figure on the number of active users is distinctly more difficult. Nicholas Carlson had a good go at it a couple of months ago, putting the number of accounts that follow one or more other accounts at around 120 million. Twitter themselves release only the number of ‘registered accounts,’ without any context of activity. Regardless, Apple has partnered with Twitter, and the integration of the service is coming in iOS 5.

Navigating to the Settings app in the iOS 5 beta, a new link to Twitter settings is available. Expanding this menu, the user is first shown a link to install the official Twitter app. Interestingly, tapping ‘Install’ does not redirect to the App Store, but through the magic of official integration, begins the download immediately. It is worth mentioning at this point that while it is not a requirement to load any Twitter app to use the integration, iOS 5 itself offers no way to use any Twitter functionality other than a few options to Tweet. Further to this first page is an option to add an account, and a link to update phone contacts with Twitter usernames.

Adding an account to the system is as simple as it should be; the user logs in once, and the Twitter integration is immediately available system-wide. After logging in, a couple more options are available through the Settings app. Most importantly, the ability to attach your geographic location to Tweets has a toggle switch here. A second option allows for the user to turn on or off a setting that allows Twitter users to find your account by searching for your email address. Options are also present to delete the account from iOS integration, and to change a description of how the account is known to the operating system, which by default is simply the registered Twitter account name.

Several of Apple’s own apps support direct Twitter integration. Likely to be of most interest is the ability to Tweet directly from Photos and Safari. However, also available to Tweet from in the beta are the abilities to share location from Maps and videos from YouTube. Notably missing is any integration to Calendar, Voice Memos and Notes.

For Photos, Safari and YouTube, integration is just as it should be. Simple, beautiful and fast. Just select the ordinary context-aware options button on a photo, page or video and select Tweet. Up pops a beautiful page-like box, with a character count and a small screenshot of what is being shared. Also present is a new keyboard, specifically for Twitter, which includes both an @ symbol for referencing a user, and a # symbol for sending a hashtag. Nothing is difficult, nothing is missing, and it just works.

However, integration in Maps is so poor at present that it is redundant. First, the feature is cumbersome to access. It requires selecting the current location through the blue dot, tapping the next blue arrow, selecting share location, and finally tapping Tweet, before manually having to tap ‘Add Location.’ The next flaw is the complete inaccuracy of the feature, which only appears to allow the local city name as the location, rather than an address. It really is difficult to consider how this could have been worse done. After doing such a stellar job elsewhere in iOS 5, it would be a huge let-down if Apple left this aspect of Twitter integration in such an unfinished and mediocre state.

Returning to the previously mentioned inclusion of the @ symbol on the keyboard for Tweets, the integration pleasantly goes further. After tapping the symbol, instant search of followed users is available, allowing for autocomplete of their username. Apple have really gone out of their way here to make the experience as user-friendly as possible.

There are some limitations of the integration at present, however. As mentioned, the integration only extends to Photos, Safari, YouTube and Maps. Furthermore, despite the ability to sync Twitter names to contacts in iOS, there is no way to message a friend directly from the Contacts app. Tapping on their username opens the official Twitter app. And even then, the Twitter app opens at their profile page, rather than opening a new Tweet to the selected user.

Twitter in iOS 5 is an unusual move for Apple. Integrating a third-party product so deeply into their mobile operating system, particularly one with a relatively small user-base is unique for Apple, and a move for which I am cautiously optimistic. Twitter is the perfect companion for iOS; as a microblogging site it flourishes from quick and seamless integration. Certainly it is functionality I will be using, and may it let Twitter grow. However, I can’t help but express the feeling that this sets an unpleasant precedent for every social networking start-up creeping into iOS.

This is an example Tweet from iOS 5. Note that Twitter realises it is sent via iOS.

This is part of a series of articles I will be publishing leading up to the release of iOS 5 in Autumn 2011. Check the Articles page regularly for updates. Subscribe via RSS to keep track of new posts.

On June 6th, Apple announced the immediate availability of the iOS 5 Beta SDK for developers. That evening, I installed the software to my iPhone 4. One week later, I explain the workflow implications, usefulness and quirks of the biggest iOS 5 feature – Notification Centre.

As a user of iOS all the way from the first incarnation of the iPhone back in 2007, the idea of a radically new notification system was – perhaps predictably – welcomed with open arms. Message board rants, fan-made concept videos, and a plethora of jailbreak apps certainly highlight myriad problems with the pre-iOS 5 system. But, having used the beta software for a week, is the new system an improvement over the old, and is it the best we can hope for?

The task of assessing whether the new Notification Centre is an improvement was a difficult one, because I found it impossible to distinguish how it was affecting my workflow. After much deliberation, it became apparent that the greatest aspect of the new system is simply that it does not affect workflow. If I am writing an email, an event notification will not disrupt my thought. If I am playing Fruit Ninja, I won’t miss a six fruit combo because of a new text message. The discreet, unobtrusive nature of the new notifications prevents interruption with other tasks, while quietly notifying me of a change. However, this aspect of improvement only affects me when using my phone, so what about when it’s locked?

Apple has followed the lead of other mobile operating systems – namely Android – in applying a notification interface to the lock screen. The implementation is robust, considered and beautiful. Being able to see an overview of all notifications on the lock screen, and to jump straight into the App sending the notification is a great improvement. Gone are the times when several texts, a couple of emails and a missed call are all piled on top of one another in the blue box. Instead, the overview aspect to the lock screen has already on many occasions allowed me to take a quick glance at my screen to see anything of importance.

Where Apple has absolutely excelled is in the attention to detail with the Notification Centre. Apple has certainly put a huge amount of time and thought into different options users will want for applications. In the image shown of the Messages application, attention must be drawn to the ability to hide individual Apps from the lock screen. This, for example, allows me to have Facebook and Twitter notifications turned on – seeing the notifications through the swipe-down interface, but preventing my lock screen being clogged. Similarly Apple allows notifications to be cleared altogether on a per-application basis, useful for times when, for example, emails inundate the Notification Centre first thing in the morning. Furthermore, Apple has allowed users to customise whether a banner or alert is displayed per-application. I have the alert set up for the new Reminders App, so I am purposely interrupted for something of considerable and immediate importance.

No discussion on the Notification Centre would be complete without discussion of the new widgets. One hopes in the future these are extendable through APIs to third-party developers, but right now, the choice of Weather and Stocks is a welcome addition to iOS. While a view from the lock screen would be nice, this is a step in the right direction. Weather works exactly as it should, including use of the new location-aware weather updates, nestled nicely wherever in Notification Centre the user chooses. Stocks too is a nice-to-have, with a scrolling ticker of stock updates a la Bloomberg right in the Notification Centre. I have found this to easily slip into my morning routine of checking notifications, but as mentioned, it should be available directly from the lock screen.

Despite the positive words I have given Apple thus far, there are several problems I have encountered with the new notification system, ranging from mildly annoying to downright infuriating. The worst of these problems is the inability to dismiss a banner from the top of the screen. A simple swipe right should dismiss the banner. Instead I have to wait for it to disappear itself. This problem would be fine if, like WebOS, the notification ‘pushed’ the current App downwards. But in the iOS 5 implementation the banner simply floats on top of the interface, which is extremely annoying when navigating an App through top buttons, as the OS will interpret this as a tap on the banner.

Linked to this is another problem, albeit significantly less annoying, with the new notifications. There appears to be no way to dismiss or delete a notification from the lock screen. This, naturally for iOS, should be done by swiping right, but this gesture has been taken over by the gesture to jump into the application, much like the Swipe to Unlock feature. Certainly credit is due to Apple for working with such a small screen, but a method to dismiss a notification must be found.

Furthermore, there appears to be no way to mark a notification as read from the lock screen. This has implications for, most importantly, the Messages and Mail Apps. Tapping on a text or an email should enlarge the notification, making it fully available to read, right from the lock screen.

So, all in all then, what do I think of the Notification Centre? Well, it is important to stress that it has proven itself, even over a short time, to be a radical improvement over the alert-based system of old. Quirks aside, I have naturally and organically adjusted to its use with little or no disruption to my workflow. While there are problems – the two biggest of which I have outlined – for a first beta, the Notification Centre is remarkably fully featured and stable. I look forward to continued development of the feature in the run-up to the release of iOS 5, particularly resolution of the two most considerable problems.

Of more importance than the Notification Centre feature itself, however, its inclusion signifies a distinct shift in the ethos of Apple. The ‘we know what’s right’ attitude perpetuated by Steve Jobs is gone, replaced by a new ears-open policy towards customer feedback. In recent months this has been seen through the orientation lock/mute switch on the iPad, the new Pulse customer feedback program, and now through Notification Centre, PC Free and WiFi Sync on iOS 5. Whatever criticism there is of the catch-up nature of iOS 5, one thing is for sure; Apple listens.

This is the first in a series of articles I will be publishing leading up to the release of iOS 5 in Autumn 2011. Check the Articles page regularly for updates.