OS X Mountain Lion (version 10.8) is the ninth
major release of
OS X
(formerly Mac OS X),
Apple Inc.'s desktop and
server operating system for
Macintosh computers. OS X Mountain Lion was released on July 25,
2012. It gains features from
iOS, such as
Notes and Reminders as applications separate from
Mail and
Calendar, in addition to those iOS features introduced in
Mac OS X Lion. The latest update, rolled out on September 19, 2012,
added some extra features such as Facebook integration.
OS X Mountain Lion replaces
iChat
with
Messages, which includes support for
iMessage, allowing users to send unlimited messages to other
Macs
(running 10.8 or later),
iPhones,
iPads and
iPod Touches (running
iOS 5 or
later). It also includes the latest version of the
Safari web browser,
Safari 6. Another feature from
iOS included
in Mountain Lion is
Notification Center, a sidebar pane that provides an overview of
alerts from applications. It displays notifications until the user
completes an associated action, rather than requiring instant
resolution. OS X 10.8 also is well-integrated with
iOS 6 and
is styled similarly.
OS X Mountain Lion received positive reviews, with critics praising
Notification Center, Messages, and speed improvements[1]
over
Mac OS X Lion, while criticizing Game Center for lack of games.
Mountain Lion sold 3 million units in the first four days, making it
Apple's most successful
Mac OS
release to date.
History
OS X Mountain Lion was officially announced by Apple on their website
on February 16, 2012, as a successor to
Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.[2]
It achieved
golden master status on July 9, 2012.[3]
Following a soft transition started with Mac OS X Lion, Apple now
consistently refers to OS X Mountain Lion as "OS X" rather than "Mac OS
X".[2][4]
During the
Apple Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on June 11, 2012,
Apple announced a "near final" release version of Mountain Lion for
developers, with the public version arriving in July 2012 at a price tag
of US$19.99[5]
(€15.99 in Europe, £13.99 in the UK, $20.99 in Australia and ¥128 in
Mainland China). The
third generation MacBook Pro, revised
MacBook Air, iPad Smart Case, and third-generation
AirPort Express were announced at the keynote as well.[6]
The specific release date of July 25 was not confirmed until the day
before, July 24, by Apple CEO,
Tim
Cook, as part of Apple's 2012 third-quarter earnings announcement.[7]
It was released to the Mac App Store on July 25, 2012, where it sold 3
million units in the first four days of release.[8][9]
An update for Mountain Lion, version 10.8.1, was released on August
23, 2012. It resolved issues with iMessages,
Migration Assistant, Safari,
Microsoft Exchange Server, Mail, and many other applications.[10]
Tests of the update revealed that 10.8.1 also improved battery life on
laptops, albeit gaining back only half of the battery life that was lost
in updating to Mountain Lion.[11]
Although 10.8.1 improved battery life for some customers, others
continue to complain about reduced battery life and a constant drop in
battery health, ultimately resulting in a "Service Battery" message.
[12]
System
requirements
The most basic system requirements of OS X Mountain Lion are 2 GB of
RAM, 8 GB of available hard disk or solid state storage, and
OS X 10.6.8 or later.[13]
The earliest models supported in Mountain Lion are the
mid-2007 iMac, late 2008 aluminum or early 2009 unibody
polycarbonate
MacBook,
mid-2007
MacBook Pro, late 2008
MacBook Air, early 2009
Mac
Mini, early 2008
Mac Pro,
or early 2009
Xserve[13]
Mac Pro models released as early as 2006 can run Mountain Lion
unofficially using an upgraded graphics card and EFI64 simulation.[14]
The iMac, Mac Mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pros released in 2011 or
after support AirPlay Mirroring. The same models support AirDrop that
did in OS X Lion, the earliest being the late 2008 MacBook Pro, late
2010 MacBook Air, late 2008 MacBook, mid-2010 Mac Mini, or early 2009
Mac Pro with an AirPort Extreme card.
New and
changed features
A search bar was added at the top of the
Launchpad in OS X Mountain Lion.
The Dock's theme was updated in OS X Mountain Lion.
Notification
Center
Notification Center is added in the operating system. It provides an
overview of alerts from applications and displays notifications until
the user completes an associated action, rather than requiring instant
resolution. Users may choose what applications appear in Notification
Center, and how they are handled.[15]
There are three types of notifications: banners, alerts, and badges.
Banners are displayed for a short amount of time in the upper right
corner of the Mac's screen, and then slide off to the right. The icon of
the application is displayed on the left side of the banner, while the
message from it will be displayed on the right side. Alerts are the same
as banners, but will not disappear from the screen until the user takes
action. Badges are red notification icons that are displayed on the
application's icon. They tell the number of items available for the
application.[16]
Notification Center can be accessed by clicking the icon in the right
corner of the menu bar. When open, the user can click a button to
Tweet,
post status updates to
Facebook, or view all notifications in the sidebar pane. Swiping up
will reveal the option to disable Notification Center for one day.[17]
Many settings of Notification Center can be customized under the
"Notifications" pane in
System Preferences. Each application can have three ways to display
notifications: none, banners, and alerts. Options to toggle the app
icons and sounds are also available. Users can click and drag an app in
the pane to change the order the applications are displayed within
Notification Center.[18]
Notes
Notes, a new notes application, is added. It is now separate from
Mail in its own application, with support for desktop notes added
(syncs along with its
iOS
counterpart).[19][20]
Created notes are synced through all the user's Apple devices through
the iCloud service. Notes can be arranged in folders, and pinned to the
user's desktop. When the application is closed, the pinned note still
remains.
Notes can be created in three different default fonts - Noteworthy,
Marker Felt, and Helvetica. Users can add custom fonts by visiting the
Show Fonts menu. The menu allows users to change text size, format
lists, choose the alignment (left, center, justify, or right), assign a
writing direction, and indent text. Attachments, images, and
hyperlinks can also be added into a note. Attachments cannot be
viewed on iOS devices.[21]
Messages
Messages, an
instant messaging
software application, is added in Mountain Lion. It was announced on
February 16, 2012, as part of the OS X Mountain Lion developer preview.[22]
Starting with this release, Messages replaces
iChat as
the default OS X instant-messaging client. A free beta version of
Messages was available to download for Mac OS X Lion from the Apple
website until late June 2012.[23]
The final version of Messages was included with the release version of
OS X Mountain Lion.[24]
As with its predecessor, Messages has text messaging, audio, and
screen-sharing capabilities. Messages also contains native video
conversation support, utilising Apple's
FaceTime video calling application where possible. However, it does
retain video capabilities for interfacing with other instant messaging
clients.[25][26]
Messages supports Apple's
iMessage, a free instant messaging service previously only available
on devices running
iOS 5. It
also supports both
XMPP (shown in the application under its former name, Jabber) and
the
AIM
OSCAR. In addition, it also offers a direct connection to
Yahoo! Messenger and
Google Talk.[23]
Game Center
Main article:
Game Center
The
Game Center application from iOS was added in OS X. It is an
online
multiplayer social gaming network, and allows users to invite
friends to play a game, start a multiplayer game through matchmaking,
track their achievements, and compare their high scores on a leader
board.[27]
Points are awarded to players as a part of Game Center's
achievement tracking system. Players can earn points by meeting
specific in-game challenges.
A player must establish an
Apple
ID to associate with a Game Center nickname.[28]
A player has the option to create an Apple ID from within Game Center if
he or she does not already have one. Only one nickname may be associated
with an Apple ID at any given time. Each player is assigned a profile in
Game Center. A profile consists of the player's nickname, the number of
Game Center-compatible games the player owns, the number of friends the
player has, the number of achievement points a player has, and an
optional photo and player-defined status.
Application
updates
OS X Mountain Lion added many updates for applications on the
operating system. The
Chess app now supports
Game Center.
Dashboard widgets can be managed in a UI similar to Launchpad.[29]
Mail adds new VIP feature to save frequent contacts.[30]
The
Preview app gets an improved user interface.[31]
It is now able to fill out forms in PDF documents that don't contain
actual PDF form fields. Reminders is a new to-do list application, now
separate from
Calendar in its own application that syncs along with its
iOS
counterpart.[32]
Safari 6 gets a new release and features a new omnibar; a
combination of the address bar and the search field. The omnibar also
has a "Reader" button, showing the user just the text of the article
without advertisements and distraction. When the user is on a website
with no article, the button is disabled.[33]
Safari 6 is also available as a download for
Mac OS X Lion.
Time Machine is now able to do rotating backups on more than one
storage medium.[34]
Other updates
AirPlay Mirroring is added, which allows wireless mirroring of a
Mac's screen to an
Apple
TV.[35]
System-wide integration of AirPlay audio transmission is added.[36]
There are many new features for Chinese users, including support for
Baidu as
an option for
Safari search engine,
QQ,
163.com and 126.com services for
Mail,
Contacts and
Calendar,
Youku,
Tudou and
Sina Weibo are integrated into share sheets.[37]
Dictation, new in Mountain Lion, is a system-wide voice input mechanism
that requires a broadband Internet connection.[38][39]
Facebook will have full integration, following an update in late
2012. Some of the features include single-sign on and integration in
Notification Center, Contacts and Share Sheets.[40]
Gatekeeper, also new to Mountain Lion, is an
anti-malware feature based on
digital signatures and the
Mac App Store.[41]
Power Nap allows flash storage-based Macintoshes (late 2010 MacBook
Air and later, or the MacBook Pro with Retina display) to synchronize
with iCloud (Reminders, Calendars, Photo Stream, Notes, Mail, and Find
My Mac) while sleeping and also allows a Mac to download App Store and
OS X updates as well as make periodic Time Machine backups when it is
plugged in and sleeping. Several new screensavers were added.[42]
Share Sheets, a "Share" button and dialog box in
Safari and other applications, are added.[43]
Twitter
has been integrated with almost all of the applications, with
single-sign on, tweeting from an app, Tweet Sheets, tweeting photos and
links, using multiple Twitter accounts, Twitter notifications, profile
picture integration, and Location Services available.[44]
Application updates automatically install from the
Mac App Store. The
iCloud
library
UI has been integrated throughout the operating systems, which
includes new Open and Save dialog boxes across built-in applications,
iWork and
third-party applications via an
API. Applications that make use of this API support a new user
interface to view and manage documents in the cloud that are specific to
the application being used.[45]
Documents can now be renamed from the title bar. iWork documents
automatic synchronize with iCloud. The full screen ability is now on
every display.
The
Dock has received an updated look, emulating the appearance of the
aluminum metal surface that much of Apple’s current hardware line-up
sports.[46]
Scroll bars widen when the mouse hovers over them. Finder displays a
progress bar in the "size" column when copying a file, and on icons in
Launchpad when downloading from the Mac App Store.
Launchpad now has
Spotlight search for finding applications.[47]
Address Book has been renamed "Contacts",[45]
and iCal has been renamed "Calendar".[48]
Dropped
and changed features
One of the largest changes in Mountain Lion is that
MobileMe has been replaced entirely by
iCloud,
specifically in System Preferences options.
RSS support
in
Mail and
Safari has been removed;
a message is shown to suggest to users that they search the
Mac App Store for an RSS app. The
Software Update service has been unified into the
Mac App Store. The list of updates installed in the past has been
removed.[50]
The "Web Sharing" option removed from System Preferences.
Apache is still included with the operating system and can be
enabled using third-party software.[51]
When
X11.app is opened, users are directed to the open source
XQuartz project instead.[52]
Xgrid
support has been removed (including in
OS X Server edition).[53]
The Display Preference Menu has been replaced by the AirPlay icon, and
it is no longer possible to quickly switch resolutions without first
opening up preferences. The option in Menu Bar to display battery life
using "Time" is no longer offered. Instead, the only option is to
display battery "Percentage". However, battery time can still be viewed
in the dropdown by clicking on the battery icon. Older models of
Canon printers may not be supported.
Reception
Reception for OS X Mountain Lion has generally been positive. John
Siracusa of
Ars Technica said that even though 10.8 might be "what 10.7
should've been", the faster speeds and features merit the upgrade, then
adding that "If we'd had to wait for two years after 10.6 for the next
major release of OS X, chances are good that the worst of the missteps
in Lion would just be landing on our doorsteps today. I'll take 10.8,
thanks."[50]
Many reviewers found that Mountain Lion was far more stable than its
predecessor, including
Jason Snell of
Macworld, who said "All told, I found Mountain Lion to be a
stable, solid release. Even prerelease builds were far more stable than
I’ve come to expect from OS X betas, leading me to wonder if Apple’s new
annual schedule is leading to more careful incremental updates (with
fewer bugs) rather than great leaps (with more, nastier bugs)."[54]
The general attitude towards Mountain Lion was that it was faster and
smoother, including Brian Heater of
Engadget, who said the following:[55]
Taken as a whole, the features mark a fairly aggressive bid to
fold the best of OS X and iOS into one product -- a strategy we
first saw with the introduction of the Mac App Store on Snow
Leopard, and with the arrival of Launchpad last year in Lion.
[...] That said, it seems time for Apple to make a bold new
pronouncement on the desktop front. The company appears to have
most of its resources invested in the mobile side -- and there's
no question as to why: the iPhone and iPad have reinvigorated
the company, making it a computing player on a scale that no one
(save, perhaps, for Jobs himself) could have predicted a decade
ago. Still, it might be hard for OS X users not to feel
neglected -- many of the latest new features feel a bit like iOS
hand-me-downs. When and if Apple rolls out a new operating
system this time next year, hopefully we'll be seeing a very
different side of Mac OS.
MG Siegler of
TechCrunch said that the difference between Lion and Mountain Lion
was not comparable to the difference between Leopard and Snow Leopard
because Mountain Lion adds many new features that were not available in
Lion. He also praised the application compatibility and said that the
only updates needed were to add Notification Center features to
applications.[56]
Jim Dalrymple of The Loop commented "there will be tens of thousands of
words published on Wednesday when Mountain Lion hits the Mac App Store,
but let’s face it, what you really want to know is whether Mountain Lion
is worth the upgrade. Let’s get that out of the way now — yes, it is
definitely worth it," and said that at $19.99, Mountain Lion was a
"bargain".[57]
David Pogue of
The New York Times said "Over all, then, Mountain Lion is a
gentle, thoughtful upgrade. All 200 new features? No, not really. But 10
that you'll use every day? For $20? Yes."[58]
Game Center was the only unfavorable aspect of Mountain Lion.
Reviewers criticized the service for the lack of games available and the
lack of integration with iOS games. Scott Stein of
CNET
commented "Game Center-compatible titles will have achievements,
leaderboard info...and, potentially, a way of playing cross-platform
games. As of the time of this post, I could find only seven Game Center
games featured the Mac App Store," and "Until Game Center becomes a
complete portal for all games on the Mac, and a true method of
cross-platform iOS/Mac play, I'm not sure many people will even bother
checking it out."[59]
Matt Clark of MacLife also commented that if developers don't
develop applications for Game Center, it is "likely doomed to sit
unnoticed on your hard drive".[60]
While the operating system was well received, some reviewers
dissented from that viewpoint. Jesus Diaz of
Gizmodo
felt that Apple was running out of ideas and that Microsoft's
Windows 8 may out-innovate OS X.[61]
Mountain Lion sold 3 million units in the first four days, making it
Apple's most successful Mac release to date.[9]
A report by
Chitika
Insights revealed that OS X Mountain Lion had been used by 3.2% of
OS X users within the first 48 hours of release, and 10% penetration in
the first month.[62]
Release history