With the release of the Lion Developer Beta, many have had a chance to play around with it..
Here is a brief look into some of the great [and not so great] features coming in the Summer!
"Time-Machine-like" Backup Saves
A cool new featured implemented throughout the OS is the ability to never lose or accidentally overwrite a file again!
Now Time-Machine currently offers a similar service, but it can't save you every time.
Every time you save a document "Version Control" keeps the old copy you just overwrote, and you can scroll through them like you would in Time-Machine!
Full Disc Encryption
It will now be possible to encrypt your entire OS and HDD/SSD from the get go. Built right into the Operating System!
There isn't much more to say other than that, but more security as standard and easily implemented like Apple are good at can't be anything but a good thing.
Mission Control
Mission control is a simplified, more advanced combination of Expose, Spaces and Dashboard all rolled into one.
Spaces sits neatly at the top, and Windows are grouped by application, rather than making a mess everywhere! How dashboard is included in this screen I'm unsure, but there don't seem to be any improvements to it.
Other Bits
The main point of Lion is apparently to make OS X more like iOS, I imagine within a few years the two will merge further in unique and possibly disappointing ways..
Therefore, scrolling has now been reversed, so down is up and vica-versa a la iOS.
Mail has been widened and lengthened and is now more the it's iOS counterpart.
And there is an extra effort to support more full screen applications like Final Cut and Front Row!
There will almost certainly be a few more interesting additions to come, and I for one can't wait!