There’s still some details to work out, like how to remove old notifications. And, as with all change, there will be a period of mental adjustment as we stop looking for the dumb blue box and look for the floating banners instead. But on the whole, the new notification system seems as well thought out as the old system wasn’t.

The iPhone 4 makes a great pocket camera. (The iPad 2’s cameras are laughably bad and I try not to think about them.) iOS 5 promises to make impressive—and at times surprising—strides in the camera’s overall usability and power.

When , I thought the only real downside was the loss of my beloved camera shortcut. Before double-tapping the Home button was bound to bringing up the multitasking bar, you could configure that shortcut to launch the Camera app directly. Apple attempts to restore the ability to launch Camera quickly in iOS 5 with a new take on that old approach.

On your iPhone’s lock screen in iOS 5, double-tapping the Home button will expose a Camera button to the right of the “slide to unlock” bar. Tapping that button immediately launches the camera app. (This will work even if you use a passcode to lock your phone, but you won’t be able to review other photos or exit the Camera app without entering your code.) I appreciate that Apple wants to make it easier to take pictures faster, because I hate missing photo ops while suffering through the “tap Home to wake, slide to unlock, tap Home button to get to main home screen, tap Camera icon” dance. iOS 5’s shortcut shaves maybe a second off that process, but that can mean the difference between the perfect shot and another instant deletion.