Apple fanbois drool over OS X 10.7: 'Lion' rumor roundup

So it’s decided, then—next Wednesday’s event will see the unveiling of OS X 10.7 ... called OS X Lion. ... Steve Jobs will even end the event by leading the assembled press in a sing-along of “The Circle of Life.” ... We can just sit back quietly and twiddle our thumbs until next Wednesday at 10 a.m. PT, right? ... Well, not exactly.
...
It likely won’t be the only announcement Apple has to make. ... New hardware? October Mac releases certainly aren’t unprecedented ... [but] I’m not entirely convinced.
...
Two Apple software offerings seem like even better candidates ... iLife ’09 and iWork ’09 made their debuts ... 22 months ago.

The lion is the ‘king of the jungle’ – does that mean 10.7 will be the king of OS X, standing above all that came before it ... signalling the last iteration before OS XI? ...  OS X is about to see some aesthetic changes. The interface doesn’t exactly feel old, but it could do with some sprucing up.
...
I don’t expect 10.7 to feature too much touch-integration. ... After the Mac Pro and Apple TV have seen recent updates, pretty much all that’s left is the MacBook Air. ... USB 3.0 is becoming increasingly more common in peripherals, so now is the time for Apple to add it.
...
What I most want to see in Apple’s notebook lineup is a bump in screen resolution. ... It would make sense for Apple to release a big update for iWork right about now. A week earlier than ... Office 2011 for Mac. ... There’s a good chance iLife will get a makeover too.

Last year’s 10.6 Snow Leopard was almost entirely about modernization below the surface, not new features. ... It’ll be well into 2011 before Lion, or whatever it’s called, shows up. So the time would be right for a major upgrade ... [that] aims to keep the Mac relevant for a long time to come.

I told you the Mac still matters to Apple. ... What is clear is that Apple seems set to use its October 20 event to whet interest in its new OS. ... It needs to begin to publicize some of the features ... in advance of next year's WWDC, when ... it will be seeding developers with a mature -- though likely still pre-launch -- operating system.
...
It is also quite possible Apple will begin a move toward cloud-based computing with this release. ... In related news, iLife and iWork are reportedly now sold out at some Apple ... stores ... [and] available at steep discounts on Amazon. ... At present we're all speculation and questions. But I'm looking forward to finding out more during Apple's event.

Finder seriously needs an overhaul. ... While Snow Leopard was a great step forward in relieving Finder of it's Carbon footprints, I think this next release really should include something new and noteworthy.
...
One thing in particular is something similar to what Windows 7 offers ... a bread crumb trail ... [showing] where you are in a given directory. ... One of the great things I think Microsoft did with Windows 7 was introduce a honest to gawd nice shell. ... Apple could actually really learn something ... [from] Windows 7.

Of course, Jobs could be throwing us all a curve, and the release might actually be called Panthera leo nubica.

• Subscribe to the Computerworld Blogs newsletter
• Catch up with posts from the previous few days

Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can follow him as @richi on Twitter, pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: itbw@richij.com.