Macworld staff, Macworld.co.uk

Any time there's a new operating system, there's bound to be lots of questions about new features and capabilities. And when that operating system's unveiling is as surprising as this week's Mountain Lion announcement was, those questions take on a newfound urgency.

Not to worry: We've had a chance to spend some quality time with the next version of the Mac operating system, and we're prepared to answer any questions you might have about its availability, new features, and enhancements to existing applications. And don't worry if you've still got lingering questions--we have a few months before Mountain Lion arrives to sort everything out.

Nearly 90 percent of all printer users mainly use their printers to print out photos, a poll suggests.

When asked "What do you use your printer most for?" 51 percent of respondents to the Macworld poll said 'Printing Photos'. Continuing the theme of using a home printer for graphical output, 37 percent of respondents said they used their printer mostly for printing posters.

In general, we think Lion is a pretty darned good operating system. But is it perfect? Of course not. (After all, Macworld awarded OS X 10.7 four-and-a-half mice, not five.) Now that we've been using the final, shipping version for a few weeks, we've found more than a few flaws. Here are seven areas deserving of a little more attention; we'll no doubt find more. In the meantime, let us know what you'd like to see fixed in the comments section below. (See also "Kodiak to Lion: 10 Years of Mac OS X.")

Full-Screen: When it Makes Sense

Lion's introduction of full-screen apps reflects some typical Apple ingenuity. But the implementation still feels like a 1.0 release (which, of course, it is). Support for multi-monitor setups is laughably poor: Put an app in full-screen mode, and your other monitors merely show the now-ubiquitous linen background. In the next iteration of 10.7, I'd much rather see an adjacent workspace on my other display.

The iPad 2 is selling so quick, you can't even get a paper mock-up. Elsewhere, Asus and Toyota get smacked down for bad decisions in marketing, and Apple makes a move to cut down on conflict. It's the remainders for Tuesday, April 5, 2011--peace out!

iPad 2 sold out in the afterlife as Chinese pray for the dead(Reuters)

As with any new Apple product, questions abound over the details of the new iPad 2. Sure, we know it's thinner, faster, and lighter and, like the original iPad, set to dominate the tablet landscape. But even if you've watched what Steve Jobs had to say, read our hands on account, and perused our pretty pictures, you may still have lingering queries about the new revision.

Not to worry--the Macworld staff is here to answer those burning questions and put your curiosity to rest. Read on for all the gory details that we've been able to accumulate about the latest revision to Apple's tablet.

You've already heard about the hardware changes we'd like to see in a new version of the iPad, if Apple unveils a new tablet at its special event Wednesday, as is widely expected. But what would new Apple hardware be without software changes also thrown into the mix?

As good as iOS on the iPad is--and it's pretty darned good--there's still plenty of room for improvement, especially as Apple's competitors in the tablet arena have finally started to get their acts together and produce devices that look more like contenders. Some of the most requested enhancements to the iPad--both in our office and among our readers--would involve changes to the operating system that runs on Apple's tablet. Fortunately, as we saw last year with the release of the original iPad, Apple's not above rolling out new iOS features to the iPad before delivering those features to all other iOS devices.

One look at Swiftpoint Limited's minuscule Swiftpoint Mouse (just over two inches long, about 1.5 inches across at the widest point, and weighing less than an ounce), and you might think the company has simply tried to make the smallest mouse on the market. But this tiny size serves a purpose: The Swiftpoint aims to be the ultimate travel mouse by letting you use it in settings--say, while your MacBook is on your lap, or when working on a plane--when the only flat surface is your laptop's own palmrest. That's right: The Swiftpoint Mouse is small enough and precise enough (1,000 dpi) that you can stick it on your MacBook Air's palmrest and mouse about when there's no other flat surface in sight.

(Yes, Apple's portables all feature large, multi-touch trackpads. But some people--and I count myself among them--still prefer to use a mouse when possible.)

[On iPhone backlogs and ensuring sufficient supply.]

As I mentioned on last quarter's call, we made a very bold bet on taking iPhone capacity for the September quarter, with the new iPhone 4 in the line-up, to 14 million. And as you may remember, we sold over 14 million in total iPhones. It was a fantastic quarter. And that was up from a previous number that was in the eight-ish range. We were able to step that up in this past quarter to over 16 million. And so we were able to increase over two million. And we obviously have continued to work on increasing this further. But as with all good things, it takes some time to do that.

New to the Mac? Welcome to the Mac world. Things probably look a little strange around here. There's no Start menu down at the bottom of the screen. Menus stay up at the top no matter which application you're using. And those green, yellow, and red buttons in window corners don't do exactly the same things they did on your old PC.

The differences are more than visual. Moving from Windows to OS X means rewiring your muscle memory and learning to do old things in new ways. The basic stuff you do dozens of times a day--opening and closing programs and files, managing windows--are all done differently on a Mac.

You'd think that it would be easy to pick a Mac computer--after all, there are only six product lines (three desktop, three laptop) to consider. Unlike with PC manufacturers, you don't have dozens of different product lines and configurations to think about.

But once you do decide to buy a new Mac and you start perusing the Apple Store, you're presented with a series of choices. Should you choose with a Mac mini over an iMac or a Mac Pro? Or should you buy a notebook instead of a desktop Mac? And if so, why not opt for a MacBook Air instead of a MacBook or a MacBook Pro?

There's no need to be embarrassed about a venerable product reaching the end of its natural life. Then again, if your brand new product is maybe a little too strong for its own good, that might make you think twice. Plus, a pro tip: when it's the kind of problem that happens to everybody, don't deny that it ever happens to you. Fortunately, the remainders for Friday, December 3, 2010 have absolutely no shame.

Apple discontinues compact wired keyboard, Hulu Plus claims strong start (Apple Insider)

iOS 4.2 marks the first time that all of Apple's mobile devices are sitting at the same OS table. This unification brings a handful of key new features to all three devices, but it also finally catches the iPad up with Apple's other. This is the first time that users of Apple's tablet can revel in major iOS 4 benefits like multitasking, folders, and a unified Mail inbox--features that iPhone and iPod touch users have enjoyed since June.

While we took a look at 4.2 when it was still in beta, it's worth revisiting the software for the full release. There are a lot of features, both big and small, in this update, so the Macworld staff has assembled a list of those that most significantly enhance Apple's mobile devices.