At WWDC, Apple rolls out new Mac OS X Lion

Apple rolled out a new version of its Mac OS operating system on Monday, touting a number of new features that bring the OS into the modern era.

Apple's VP of Product Marketing Phil Schiller took the stage at the company's World Wide Developer conference shortly after 10am PST to announce the new features.

He explained that there was 250 new features in the software, including some features pulled from innovations from adapted from the iPhone and the iPad.

In addition to the new touchpad capabilities and the apps and services that can run in full screen mode, there is a revamped Mission Control, the service that allows users to see all the applications that are running on their desktop at a given time.

Lion includes a simpler way to find applications. With a pinch gesture on the trackpad, all the applications show up on the screen.

When you start an application in Lion, he says, it remembers where you were and starts there. It automatically saves documents as you work, and if it saves too often, you can revert easily to an earlier version.

The one time you might forget to save what you're doing, something goes wrong... Why can't the computer help you? That's what Lion does.

Perhaps one of the most exciting new features is the Air Drop feature, an innovative way to share files between computers. Schiller hails it as a replacement for the thumb drive, letting users easily get things back and forth.

There's nothing to set-up. It's auto-discover, auto-set-up.

The software is not just a welcome development for users. Analysts are expecting the new software to boost Apple's margins as well.

BMO Capital's Keith Bachman projects Apple's gross profit margin will grow by 1 percentage point, leading to an incremental 40 cents per share in profit in the September-ending fiscal fourth quarter.

The new software will be available in July, the company said. Upgrades will be $29.99

Apple's WWDC will run from June 6 to Jun 10.