You would be amazed at what better service you get when you put care into your outward appearance, even if you stop short of wearing a suit.

This is more important today, than it has ever been.

Apple will be updating their iconic Cube structure at their midtown Manhattan retail location, replacing the current cube of 90 panes with just 15 massive, and I mean massive, pieces of glass (rendering at bottom). The slabs will be roughly 10 feet wide by a whopping 32 feet high, and held together using some sort of secret, proprietary connector that will reportedly be embedded within the glass itself, rather than being comprised of mere external clips.

I’d love it if Skype, Adium, and Linkinus were Dashboard applications. They would be easily accessible, they wouldn’t clutter up my main work environment, and more importantly they would rid me from the distraction they cause when they accidentally catch my attention because I hit CMD+TAB one too many times.

Apple has solved these “problems” with Spaces. There is nothing stopping developers (not Apple) from creating dashboard-specific apps. Nothing. ¹

Brow­sing the web using Safari on an Apple Cinema Dis­play, however, is an example where full screen should, but doesn’t, work very well.

Apple has hinted for designers, and app developers, to redesign their apps for Lion’s full-screen mode. The best example – to date – is iPhoto. Certain elements (such as the color scheme & layout) change as the app takes control of your desktop. Photo Booth is another great example.

These same app developers and designers don’t seem to the the hint. It is true, some apps do not need to be redesigned. It is also true that most apps do need to be redesigned. I would argue that apps which do not effectively make use of the full-screen (at any screen resolution), should not scale at all. Think Address Book.

As a quick mock-up, I like most of the ideas presented in the article. As a finished product, however, the mock-up would be lacking.

People keep asking me about my new iMac-plus-Air set-up, so I wanted to write a quick note it: so far, it’s absolutely bloody fantastic!

I am absolutely envious of  Elliot’s set-up. The latest iteration of the MacBook Air is proving to be a very capable machine, forcing us designers to change our perception about work, where we work, and how we communicate – and interact – with others.

Shawn Blanc has it right:

… the pendulum is swinging back to the dual-machine setup — people who were once MacBook Pro-only are going to MacBook Airs plus iMacs.

Messenger is a separate app, so it only takes one click to get to your messages or send a new one. Messages are delivered through notifications and texts, so your friends are more likely to get them right away.

If the marketing goes right (which it will), this app will be huge; this changes everything we thought about iMessages and BBM.

It doesn’t do everything, but it does a helluva lot.

Agreed. I was reluctant to share this article because of the section discussing content creation on the iPad; we are not on the same page. However, you can’t let one bad apple spoil the bunch. It’s a light read, with some basic — and noteworthy — insights on traveling with the iPad.

Loving any Apple product is like being in an roller coaster relationship, though. Apple — unlike most companies — is not afraid to break things, change direction or piss off its users. But at the same time, it just wants everyone to be happy and hugging each other.

Running a 27″ iMac deems Launchpad useless. The icons are too large, and swiping to another page takes way too long.

• My personal feeling about Launchpad: I hate it.

• My mother’s would-be feeling about Launchpad: I like it.

However, Stephen’s closing remark sums-up Lion (and Apple) really nicely:

Mac users evolve as Apple sees fit. We all stick around, and endure the changes. This time, though, it just seems like a lot to swallow.

At some point during the week, I was responding to some email and focused on my writing and composition. For about three hours, I couldn’t seem to do anything else, but attempt to write (and research) “the perfect email” – I was posessed. Alas, I did not compose said email, but I did come across Ben’s considerable collection of email-centric articles. I will share my thoughts next week; for now, take a look at Ben’s solutions.

… this isn’t a race to enumerate everything that changed. This isn’t the place for massive topics like the implications of FileVault 2 on your entire workflow – just a stroll past some little gems, fun oddities or subtle changes specific to Lion.

Stack Exchange is hosting a forum listing the more interesting, and user-centric, changes in Lion. Note: Entries are organized by popularity, not date added.