"We've been scrolling back to front", Apple declares
Posted on: 29 August 2011
One of the most notable points Mac users have latched onto when testing out Apple's new OS release, Lion is the fact that Apple have decided we've been scrolling the wrong way all this time. It's an interesting topic of discussion, and one that the majority have taken an opposing position on.
It's obvious Lion has taken many cues from iOS - the mobile/tablet operating system that features on Apple's iPhones, iPod touches and iPads - with Launchpad, "invisible" scrollbars and in the redesign of several built in Mac applications. The most obvious UI similarity, though, is the decision to flip what Apple considers to be the "natural" way of scrolling.
This is a no-brainer on the iOS touch devices. Drag the content up and the content essentially shifts up, revealing more information further down the page. Swipe down and you're pushing the content down, to see more at the top. This works because it's the exact behaviour we'd use if we were to "flick" a physical (albeit, long) sheet of paper. However, on non-touch devices, i.e. the PCs we've been using for decades, it's not quite the same. Apple, on the other hand, are now proclaiming they're all the same, and thus all require the same user interface interaction.
It's easy to see both sides of this argument but until you really try for yourself, it's very difficult to decide for yourself. Personally, I'm yet to upgrade to Lion - for no particularly good reason - however, I've been putting my Mac running Snow Leopard through its paces with a little application called Scroll Reverser enabled. Whilst not an exact copy of Lion's UI interactions (it doesn't bounce when you hit the top and bottom of the page), it offers a pretty realistic Lion experience.
I've got to say, whilst being a tad sceptical at first, I'm warming to Apple's way of thinking. After about a month of use, it does almost feel a natural way of scrolling; I don't even have to think about it any more. it's fascinating how quickly one can get used to what is essentially a 180° change in the way we interact with our computer.
Of course the issue still remains of compatibility when working on multiple machines. I, for example, work on a Windows 7 equipped PC at work, with a bog-standard scroll-wheel mouse. Interestingly, I have been able to jump between my work and home machines without difficulty. Something I put down to the big difference in interaction between a scroll-wheel and the Apple Magic Mouse. But this is definitely something to think about and something that is likely to be personal preference when considering whether to adopt Apple's new methodology.
My advice: be open minded, give it a go for at least a week. It might surprise you as it did me.