Apple’s major operating system update, OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, is now available for download from the Mac App Store for N3,200. The update adds a list of new features and improvements, including AirPlay for beaming your content to an Apple TV, Messages for sending and receiving iMessages on your Mac, Notification Center, support for speech-to-text dictation, and software updates during sleep with PowerNap.
Also, on the security side, Gatekeeper brings Apple signed digital certificates to apps that aren’t sold (or can’t be sold) on the Mac App Store.
The news comes just over two weeks after the company released its Golden Master build to developers. Unlike Lion, Mountain Lion is App Store only (Apple isn’t selling USB keys with the software this time around), so you’ll need to be running Lion to upgrade. Lastly, don’t forget if you bought a new Mac on or after June 11th you’re entitled to a free copy of Mountain Lion through Apple’s Up-to-Date program.
Update: Looks like the big cat is “Temporarily Unavailable” for download for now though.
Review: Apple has issued a major update to its desktop operating system, OS X. This time last year, the company issued OS 10.7 Lion, a king-of-the-jungle moniker many thought would mark the end of Apple’s big cat naming scheme and, by extension, the OS X lineage. In February, however, the old operating system showed she still had some life left in her, when the next edition was revealed, arriving over the summer and called Mountain Lion. Based on the name alone, you’d think 10.8 would be a modest improvement over its predecessor — not unlike the baby step between Leopard (10.5) and Snow Leopard (10.6). But Apple insists that this latest build is more than just a seasonal refresh in all, it boasts more than 200 new features. Some are major, including things like a new Notification Center, AirPlay Mirroring and a desktop version of Messages. Others, such as full-screen mode for Notes… not so much.
and with the arrival of the new operating system comes the departure of its predecessor. Clicking the link for Lion will bring up a “The item you’ve requested is not currently available” error message in the Mac App Store. Thankfully, Mountain Lion is just one N3,200 download away for Lion and Snow Leopard users alike.
Safari 6 Update: Apple’s web browser has joined its latest OS, and joins the dots on a raft of new features that we’ve been promised for a while. These include iCloud tabs and a new tab view both Mountain Lion only alongside a new smart search and unified search and address bar. No Windows release yet and nor can we see whether it will work on Snow Leopard. Let us know in the comments if you manage to grab the latest iteration. For anyone on Lion, the update will be available from the Mac App Store.
