Lets say your mac can't update to OS X Lion. Or maybe you're not planning to join the Lion bus because you want to keep Snow Leopard. Well, I've got good news: you can get many of Lion's features in Snow Leopard using some third-party apps, awesome simple tweaks and a few downloads. We've got the rundown on the best of the best!
Launchpad
Lion’s Launchpad provides an easy way to access every app on your system. The closest thing to this on Snow Leopard is an app called QuickPick. QuickPick also has a few extra things that Launchpad doesn’t, such as the ability to launch files, and the ability to launch apps with keyboard shortcuts.
EDIT! If you want to get it for free, just download the trial, go to the app itself, Right click, Choose "Show packaged contents". Open the contents file, Go to "Resources", open the "English. Iproj" file and delete the file called "Registration.nib". This should take away that pesky Register now opening box and leave you with the awesome app. If you want to make it more convincing, change the application's name and replace the icon with the standard Apple icon.
Lion’s Launchpad provides an easy way to access every app on your system. The closest thing to this on Snow Leopard is an app called QuickPick. QuickPick also has a few extra things that Launchpad doesn’t, such as the ability to launch files, and the ability to launch apps with keyboard shortcuts.
EDIT! If you want to get it for free, just download the trial, go to the app itself, Right click, Choose "Show packaged contents". Open the contents file, Go to "Resources", open the "English. Iproj" file and delete the file called "Registration.nib". This should take away that pesky Register now opening box and leave you with the awesome app. If you want to make it more convincing, change the application's name and replace the icon with the standard Apple icon.
Reverse Scrolling & Custom Gestures
In Lion, scrolling is reversed, so you push content the way you want it to go, like on iOS. There’s a free app called Scroll Reverser that reverses the scrolling on Snow Leopard, so you can get a feel for this before it arrives. Don’t worry, even if you can’t get used to it, Apple offers a way to reverse it in Lion.
Edit! In an attempt to find out of an app that would open other apps with simple gestures (three finger swipe down to open Quickpick), I found MagicPrefs which also allows the user to to implement reverse scrolling. Moreover, MagicPrefs allows to user to create custom gestures in Mac OS! For example, I set a three finger swipe down to open QuickPick which is just like the three finger swipe to open Launchpad in Lion.
Airdrop
Lion’s AirDrop integrates into the Finder and makes it easy to share files with other users on your wireless network. There’s a free app called DropCopy which provides much of the same functionality. DropCopy doesn’t integrate with the Finder like AirDrop does; instead, it places a movable “ drop zone” on the user’s desktop. The user simply drags a file to the drop zone, where they can choose to share it with any Mac on their network that’s also running DropCopy.
DropCopy has some advantages over the minimalistic AirDrop. There is a DropCopy app available on the app store, so you can share files with your mobile devices. DropCopy doesn’t require a password to transfer files, and it also has the ability to send text messages to each Mac it’s connected to, which is pretty handy.
Indicator-less Dock
If you want the indicators back, select the indicator files from the backup location you copied them to, and copy them back to the location where you first found them, enter your password, and then restart the Dock with the Terminal again.
In Lion, scrolling is reversed, so you push content the way you want it to go, like on iOS. There’s a free app called Scroll Reverser that reverses the scrolling on Snow Leopard, so you can get a feel for this before it arrives. Don’t worry, even if you can’t get used to it, Apple offers a way to reverse it in Lion.
Edit! In an attempt to find out of an app that would open other apps with simple gestures (three finger swipe down to open Quickpick), I found MagicPrefs which also allows the user to to implement reverse scrolling. Moreover, MagicPrefs allows to user to create custom gestures in Mac OS! For example, I set a three finger swipe down to open QuickPick which is just like the three finger swipe to open Launchpad in Lion.
Airdrop
Lion’s AirDrop integrates into the Finder and makes it easy to share files with other users on your wireless network. There’s a free app called DropCopy which provides much of the same functionality. DropCopy doesn’t integrate with the Finder like AirDrop does; instead, it places a movable “ drop zone” on the user’s desktop. The user simply drags a file to the drop zone, where they can choose to share it with any Mac on their network that’s also running DropCopy.
DropCopy has some advantages over the minimalistic AirDrop. There is a DropCopy app available on the app store, so you can share files with your mobile devices. DropCopy doesn’t require a password to transfer files, and it also has the ability to send text messages to each Mac it’s connected to, which is pretty handy.
Indicator-less Dock
- By default, Lion’s Dock hides the indicator lights that show which apps are running, signaling a shift to the way multitasking works on iOS. Removing the indicators in Snow Leopard is fairly straightforward:
- Open /System/Library/Core Services/ in Finder and find the file named “Dock”.
- Right click on the file and choose “Show Package Contents”.
- Open the Contents folder, and then the Resources folder.
- Copy every file that has “indicator” in its name to another folder for safe keeping, then move them to the Trash. You can do a spotlight search in the Finder window to find them.
- Restart the Dock by opening Terminal (/Applications/Utilities) and running the command “killall Dock”. The Dock will disappear for a second, then come back up with the indicators gone.
If you want the indicators back, select the indicator files from the backup location you copied them to, and copy them back to the location where you first found them, enter your password, and then restart the Dock with the Terminal again.
Lion Theme and Wallpapers
If you want the new look of Lion, there are already several themes for Snow Leopard that mimic it. My favorite is one from Deviant Art user bodik87. His theme is the most Lion Like. Check it out here! One from deviantART user Lukeedee is also very popular. To use the theme, or any other theme of your choosing, you’ll need to install ThemePark, a free theme editing app for OS X. You’ll also need to download the theme itself, of course. To apply the theme, open the “Aqua Lion” or other theme file in ThemePark and hit the “Apply Theme” button, and then log out and log back in. To get the old look back, open ThemePark, go to “Theme “in the menu bar and choose “Revert to Aqua.”You can make the theme even more convincing by downloading Lion’s new wallpapers, courtesy of deviantART user lordalpha1.
Do you have any questions? An comments? Share them down below!
If you want the new look of Lion, there are already several themes for Snow Leopard that mimic it. My favorite is one from Deviant Art user bodik87. His theme is the most Lion Like. Check it out here! One from deviantART user Lukeedee is also very popular. To use the theme, or any other theme of your choosing, you’ll need to install ThemePark, a free theme editing app for OS X. You’ll also need to download the theme itself, of course. To apply the theme, open the “Aqua Lion” or other theme file in ThemePark and hit the “Apply Theme” button, and then log out and log back in. To get the old look back, open ThemePark, go to “Theme “in the menu bar and choose “Revert to Aqua.”You can make the theme even more convincing by downloading Lion’s new wallpapers, courtesy of deviantART user lordalpha1.
Do you have any questions? An comments? Share them down below!
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