I am glad to see others mentioning these problems on the Apple Support Forums. These forums have saved myself and others from all sorts of issues in the past.
If the Apple engineers fail to read this free feeback that is their loss, and it is a BIG LOSS.
Of course I always encourage everyone to file their problem reports at:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html
Here is my list of issues with Lion: (I have quoted others who have nicely expressed the issues)
- Autosave slows down computer when using large files.
- Versions takes a lot of hard drive space when working with large images.
"My reason for hating it and wanting it off, is I'm an amateur photographer and graphic designer. Aperture uses versions and saves MULTIPLE copies of the images I'm working on, with each image in approx 15MB each "version" it saves. This unacceptable in my opinion and clogs HD space in a big way. Not to mention the time it takes to "autosave" in the background, which bogs down the computer. It's a simple fix for Apple to do and they need to address it."
"I did some testing before I started writing. Example I rotated one image two times in preview if I look in the folder /.DocumentRevisions-V100 I have 2 images 1 is 5.7 and 1 is 2.4 mb, the original file is 2.4 mb, so it doesn't take up any space? Now lets say I rotated 600 images from a wedding which I shot last week?"
"In just two weeks with only 17 different files (i.e., minimal use), Versions has used up about 50MB on my hard drive. Not much, but look again in a few months times, files with graphics etc, and you'll see a different picture.
"I'm not sure what the definition of a small file is. But if you look in .DocumentRevisions-V100, you'll find plenty of full backups for files over 1MB."
"No need to believe me, but if you're working on files of various sizes, just go and have a look. You can decide for yourself whether the file is 'too small' or not."
- Security issues with Versions
"I do not like the idea that previous drafts are accessible from inside the document by anyone who might access my machine."
- Resume
"I don't want all the same apps open every time I log in! If you don't have SSD, it takes forever for apps to open if you're not patient and wait for OS X to completely load the desktop and menu bar items. Resume forces the very thing to happen that I try to avoid.
"If Auto Resume is turned off, the user should not have to uncheck the box asking "Reopen windows when logging back in". Un-selecting this feature each time is a pain. More serious is the bug that under certain circumstances, e.g. an installer forces the restart, you don't get that dialog and so you get no choice. And the result is that Installer app opens again after the relaunch, totally inappropriately!"
"However, every time you shutdown or restart your system, you are presented with an option which defaults to having your system restart with all of the currently running applications. However, if I'm restarting my machine for some reason, I typically want it to start clean. Granted, unchecking a box isn't that difficult... but it is annoying and there should be a way to make the election permanent."
Please see:
http://www.reghardware.com/2011/09/07/apple_mac_os_x_lion_the_nanny_os/
SAVE AS:
"The loss of ordinary Save / Save As is an accident waiting to happen, as the bug with editing remote files clearly shows."
"There is a good reason why "save as" was (or is) a standard command in basically all serious GUIs since many years: It is easy to understand, easy to use and it covers several purposes in one very simple command. To get similar functionality with "Versions", more commands are needed (Duplicate, Export...) which makes it less intuitive and results in lower workflow."
"There is a reason the "save as" has lasted as long as it has; IT IS THE RIGHT METHOD! I generally use one file as a template and save it under another name. Now this process just became unintuitive and aggravating to do."
Auto Termination:
"Give the user the ability to disable Automatic Application Termination. This feature is really confusing beginners and irritating power users. Clients frequently open up programs such as grab and preview and switch to them as necessary via the dock or command tab. These programs frequently don't have an open window, however, they are used for a minute or two several times an hour. Beginners are really confused when their program just disappears, power users are irritated. On iOS, you can use only one application at a time, so it makes sense that the system can quit an application you’re not using. With iOS this is not overly burdensome because most apps are small and the speed of flash memory results in the app being quickly loaded back into memory. This unfortunately, is not the case with Macs. Applications are considerably larger and they must be loaded from hard drives. In addition, many programs check for external drives which slows the process down even more."
Colored Icons in Finder:
"Colored Icons in Finder - I have been helping clients and students now for over 15 years with computers. If there is anything that I have learned over this time period, it is that color is very important to help users select the right icon. You can describe the icon as much as you like, but the user will frequently select the wrong icon. However, when you say click on the green icon, the communication problem disappears."
"All people really want is a selectable option for color or greyscale icons and to be able to re-arrange the sidebar categories - hardly difficult to implement in System Preferences. With about 14 devices attached, and 5 shares the current default layout is quite unintuitive and cumbersome."
Scrollbar Arrows:
For those who work with a Waccom Tablet, have trembling hands or arthritis the loss of the scrollbar arrows is a major blow to functionality. Scrollbar arrows may not be useful for Web pages and reading emails but they are very useful for small movements in graphic arts.
Rubberband Scrolling:
"The issue is when scrolling beyond the end of a document or a web page. It bounces like a trampoline. Even disabling scroll inertia does not stop this "feature", which is IMO one of the most irritating things about Lion.
"Like Apple’s iOS for iPhones and iPads, when you scroll beyond the boundary of a page, Lion would give you an elastic “snap.” It’s a minor point, but when I get to the end of a document, I want it to end. Not jump around."