We got our hands on a prerelease version of Apple's latest big cat, Mac OS X Lion, and we're definitely excited about what we've seen so far. The new Mac OS isn't slated for release until this summer, but the early prerelease shows off many of the latest bells and whistles that Apple hopes will help you be more efficient on your Mac.

Several of the new features make navigating your system and software easier. The new Launchpad, accessed from an icon in the Dock, lays out your applications just as on an iOS device, making it easy to launch your favorite apps quickly. Another cool new feature is the addition of what Apple calls Mission Control, which lets you do a four-finger upward swipe to see all open applications, your desktop, and even applications open in Spaces.

Multi-Touch controls seem to be a big theme in Lion, especially if you're using a multitouch trackpad on newer-model MacBooks. You can swipe to switch apps, pinch to zoom in, and use several other multitouch shortcuts to get where you want to go quickly.

All of the main Apple apps like Safari, Mail, and the Calendar app have been fine-tuned as well, adding extras that Apple hopes will save you time and give you a better computing experience.

There's plenty more to Mac OS X Lion, and we'll be putting together a comprehensive video, slideshow, and written review of the new Mac OS closer to the launch date this summer. But for a quick overview of more of the latest features in Apple's newest OS, check out Brian Tong's First Look at Mac OS X Lion.