Gallery > Mac OS X Lion
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Default Desktop
The new default desktop and familiar menu-bar and dock.
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The Finder
The new Finder, faster and with a cleaner user interface.
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Applications
As always, applications are available directly from the Finder. To delete simply drag to the trash.
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AirDrop
AirDrop, a new feature in Lion allowing you to quickly and easily exchange files with another Mac.
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System Preferences
System Preferences remains mostly unchanged from Snow Leopard, however now includes options for Mission Control.
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System Preferences - Security & Privacy
For the first time in Mac OS X, Lion includes the option to enable full system encryption. This can enabled or disabled at anytime from "Security & Privacy".
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System Preferences - Touchpad Gestures
New gestures can be found in the System Preferences. This includes the option for the new "natural" scrolling. Initially this can be confusing, however I recommend you persevere as this will be the default for all Apple products moving forward.
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System Preferences - Mission Control
Mission Control has a number of customizable options, including the ability to disable the dashboard (which I never use).
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System Preferences - General
Under "General" you will find the option to enable or disable "Resume". This is the feature that restores windows to their previous state when as application is closed and restarted. Unfortunately this is a universal setting only.
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Mission Control
The new Mission Control, providing a system wide summary of all your open applications (basically a combination of Expose and Spaces).
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Launchpad
The new "iOS style" application launcher. It even allows you to create folders, just like iOS devices. Personally, I don't see power users using this feature, but I do see potential for people that are new to the Mac.
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Safari - Full Screen Mode
The new full screen mode. Supported by the majority of Apple applications, including Safari, iCal, Pages, Keynote, etc. Expect this to become a standard feature for future App Store applications
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Versions
Never loose a document again. Versions automatically saves every past version of a document, allowing you to travel back to any point, "Time Machine" style.
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Spaces
I have always been a fan of Spaces, but it's even better in Lion. You can now quickly switch between Spaces using a swipe gesture and full screen applications also appear as a new space.
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Mac App Store
The Mac App Store, the best way to get Mac applications. Expect previously installed application to get "Lion Updates" to take advantage of the new features such as Full Screen mode and Versions.
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Quick Look
Quick Look has been enhanced in Lion, with better support for documents. It also includes a new white user interface.
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Address Book
Overall I am a big fan of the Lion "iOS" user interface, however both Address Book and iCal have taken a different approach. Address Book has a strange "real life" look, which in my opinion feels out of place with the rest of the operating system.
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iCal
Just like Address Book, iCal takes on a "real life" style, which immediately feels out of place when compared to the elegance rest of the operating system.
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Mail
One area where the new user interface works very well is mail. This has clearly borrowed the design style from iOS, but offers much better support for third party accounts, such as GMail.
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iTunes
For the first time iTunes is now a fully Cocoa application running 64bit, which should offer better overall performance. Beyond that the Lion version of iTunes is almost identical to its predecessor.
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Activity Monitor
Activity Monitor clears shows that Lion has finally gone "full 64bit". Also, you can see the "Sandbox" field, which is part of the new Lion security model. As it becomes more widely used by third party applications it should significantly improve the operating systems security and reliability (which were already market leading).
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Disk Utility
The Disk Utility application remains unchanged from Snow Leopard. However, it does allow you to create a Lion backup image on a USB drive or optical media.
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Java
Lion does not come pre-installed with Java, however it can be automatically downloaded from "Applications > Utilities > Java Preferences".
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About This Mac
The "About This Mac" feature has been given an overhaul, now offering a simpler interface and providing on potential upgrade options (for example RAM).