Lukas Mathis On Lion’s Fullscreen Mode

Apple has added «systemwide support for full-screen apps» to Lion. While I agree that the window management system we currently have often causes huge usability issues, simply doing away with it altogether is not solving the problem. It’s capitulating.

There has got to be a way of managing windows that gets rid of the problems caused by overlapping windows, while still giving people the ability to see more than one app at a time. How often do people write text while referring to a webpage? How often do people drag a picture from iPhoto into a Word document, or a file from a Finder window into an email message? Even the most basic tasks commonly require people to see more than one app at a time.

While I don’t mind making the Mac easier to use and learn, I feel that simply switching to full-screen modes isn’t a good way of doing that.

But Apple is not thinking about users who constantly jump back and forth between OmniFocus and Chrome. By making the experience “immersive” and letting you concentrate “on every detail”, they’re clearly trying to appeal those users fascinated by iOS’ way of dealing with applications. Frankly, I don’t think I’ll use fullscreen apps that much.