Fire up your Mac and start backing up your data because today the Mountain Lion roars, and it's going to be loud. Apple's next major operating system OS X Mountain Lion is now live on the Mac App Store. Here are the 9 features we're most excited for.
If you were happy with OS X Lion and Apple's decision to borrow elements from iOS for it, you're going to be very satisfied with Mountain Lion. OS X Mountain Lion is not so much as a "new" operating system as it is further refinement of Lion. (Which, to be frank, could use plenty of refinement.)
There are over 200 new features in Mountain Lion, including several major ones that tighten the gap between Mac and iOS.
1. iCloud
Without a doubt, iCloud is the future for Apple; the company's already betting big with it on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. On Mac, now you can store every contact, IM, email, document and access them from any device. It's all in the iCloud.
2. Notification Center
iOS's Notification Center is now a part of OS X and it puts all of your email alerts, instant messages, tweets, etc. in one location. It's activated by a two finger swipe on the right side of your trackpad. Just as easy, you can switch all notifications off to "Do Not Disturb" with a single toggle. It doesn't get any more centralized that that.
3. Dictation
Hate typing? No problem. Apple's powerful dictation software from the new iPad and iPhone 4S is now on the Mac. Speak what you wish to type, and your Mac shall doeth.
4. AirPlay
Probably one of the most exciting features, AirPlay mirroring lets you stream your Mac desktop over to your HDTV with an Apple TV as a bridge. So long Thunderbolt/Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter and hello HD videos on the big screen!
5. Facebook and Twitter
Littered all throughout Mountain Lion apps are tweet and Facebook sharing buttons. It's just system-wide now, which is a good thing or a bad one depending on how you view Twitter and Facebook.
6. Safari
Borrowing a feature from Google, Apple's Web browser ditches the split URL and search bars for a single, universal one — just like Chrome's OmniBar. There's also iCloud Tabs that will let you access open tabs on your iOS devices, just like on Chrome for Android.
7. Mail, Calendar and Reminders
The Mac's default Mail.app client has been given a slight boost. Mail 6.0 adds VIP filing, which is Apple's fancy way of copying Gmail's priority email, Notes is now its own standalone app and not some satellite hovering in the sidebar, and RSS is gone. iCal's been renamed to Calendar to mirror its iOS counterpart and Reminders on iOS makes the leap to Mac as well.
8. Messages
iMessages beta is ready for Mac. Text between iOS devices in any order and access your messages from any device — it's seamless integration. Buh-bye iChat, we hardly knew ye.
9. Game Center
Another feature from iOS that makes the jump over to the Mac is Game Center. Now you can play with anyone on any iOS device and access leaderboards right from your Mac. Apple's never pushed into gaming, but with Game Center, it's making its big stand.
OS Mountain Lion is a $20 upgrade from Lion in the Mac App Store, though if you recently bought a Mac you may be able to get it for free. Playing around with Mountain Lion already? Tell us what your plan is in the comments section below.
Via Apple
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