Roundup of OS X Mountain Lion Reviews: 'Faster and Smoother', 'Incremental', 'Bargain at Twice the Price'

[.Joel]

Anyone know if this will allow CS4 to run bug free. (I ran it fine on Lion without any bugs).

I have asked and asked Apple Store online chat and none of their staff now.
How stupid is that - they don't know what their own product is compatible with!!

I agree, how stupid is it that you asked Apple instead of Adobe considering Adobe is the publisher of the software.

Loosing ALOT of faith in Apple these days.

I'm losing faith in humanity considering the general stupidity and cluelessness of people.

I'm off to ring Microsoft to ask them if my Fridge is compatible with Windows 8.

 

[iSee]

While it's nice to get OS improvement more often, this means just another yearly necessary upgrade from Apple. If you don't upgrade, they'll leave you behind with a non-functional ecosystem. Profit.

If it was about profit, they would charge a lot more that $20.
E.g., they could have easily charged the same as Lion, $30, and no one would have blinked.

I think the main reason they are aggresive with dropping old OS's is to move things forward more quickly. (I still think they should have put iCloud into SL though, but ML helps since it fixes some of Lion's annoyances).

 

[FSMBP]

I think there's really not much you CAN do on the desktop. No, Windows 8, from what we've seen so far, isn't the thing that's the template for the future of the desktop. I mean, there's only so much you can do. I think the days of being "wowed" by groundbreaking things on the desktop are over...and we'll only see refinements and tweaks. But, I could be wrong.

And I agree with you about Gruber. Him and MG Siegler both are ones that seem to want to defend Apple to the death. I personally prefer John Siracusa. He's fair, praises when it's warranted, disses when it's warranted. He's detailed and thorough.

I agree. I think Mountain Lion is a nice OS, but I feel like it's not a cohesive one. In addition, I hate how Apple's competitors are speeding up their OSes (Google's Android), while Apple isn't making speed a priority (well, at least not publicly).

 

[thestickman]

Got ML installed on my MBA. IMO, this is what Lion should have been. It's faster, smoother & all around "snappier". About to take the great leap in a while & install it on my iMac.

 

[ktmelvis]

Downloading so SLOW!

App store just plain hates me, my idea was to buy, start download and leave for the day, come back many hours later, then possibly have most of it downloaded, but such is life.

 

[hobo.hopkins]

While it's nice to get OS improvement more often, this means just another yearly necessary upgrade from Apple. If you don't upgrade, they'll leave you behind with a non-functional ecosystem. Profit.

I think that would be more of an issue if the update weren't $20. At that price, coupled with the convenience of downloading it online, there is no excuse for not updating if you want new features. After all, you aren't entitled to every update Apple offers if you don't - wait for it - update your operating system.

 

[scbrain]

AirPlay

When Apple announced (or did they ever really bother to announce?) that AirPlay wouldn't work on my computer that I bought *last year* I decided not to upgrade.

 

[ftf]

Sorry, but am I the only one here seeing this as a software update you have to pay for? Fair enough, it's very "cheap" compared to previous OS releases, but it's still expensive compared to other pieces of software out there. Costs the same as Pages, and many people don't get Pages because they think it's not worth the price.

The best feature is probably airplay and powernap, but those only work with the most recent macs.

Finally, nobody is taking into account the time it'll take to upgrade and the loss of productivity during that time. Upgrading to Lion took me ages, needed spotlight to reindex, timemachine to do its stuff as well, but at least Lion was more of an upgrade since it changed the way you use a laptop completely with the full screen applications.

Holy schmokes - so don't pay for it and therefore don't download it. This will mean that you pay nothing and you've not lost any "productivity time". Problem solved.

 

[cfs]

Does ML make shared family iMacs obsolete?

I'm noticing that there are some new Functions, such as messages and updates, that need one to have an Apple ID. My family has two iPads that are connected to one family iMac. We use the same iTunes ID but different iMessage ID's. Am I accurate in thinking that on a shared computer only one user there will be able able to take advantage of all it has to offer?

Thanks,

CFS

 

[iScott428]

Since I am not going to see the new Batman movie in theaters and not get the large tub of popcorn; I can upgrade to Mountain Lion instead and download the movie for

Seriously at $20 how can you not upgrade.

 

[lucasgladding]

Yeah. Not cool at all. I can understand not making 10.7.x available to those who never purchased it prior to ML's release, but removing it from my Purchases list in the MAS...?

If this becomes the standard way of doing business with other purchased software from other companies, I'll just keep my cash.

Once I've paid for something on MAS, I expect it to be available, even if it's no longer being updated and supported. After all, having purchases available for download is supposed to be a feature of the MAS, so they can be installed (or reinstalled) on all Macs associated with a singular ID.

Rethink this move, Apple.

Not defending Apple, quite the opposite actually, but I suspect this is an issue with the App Store. I hope it gets addressed, and probably will if enough people complain (even as a bug report).

As a developer, I would love to be able to temporarily disable new purchases, but keep the app available for people who already bought it.

 

[ghostface147]

Looks like Im still gonna stay with my ancient 10.6 install.

Lion didn't add anything I wanted. Read the Gizmodo review and it looks like the iOSification continues. Ill update once they add something relevant for proper desktop computer use on my iMac

Like what? What would you add?

 

[cvaldes]

Sorry, but am I the only one here seeing this as a software update you have to pay for? Fair enough, it's very "cheap" compared to previous OS releases, but it's still expensive compared to other pieces of software out there. Costs the same as Pages, and many people don't get Pages because they think it's not worth the price.

The best feature is probably airplay and powernap, but those only work with the most recent macs.

Finally, nobody is taking into account the time it'll take to upgrade and the loss of productivity during that time. Upgrading to Lion took me ages, needed spotlight to reindex, timemachine to do its stuff as well, but at least Lion was more of an upgrade since it changed the way you use a laptop completely with the full screen applications.

It's not that expensive if you consider how much a company in Redmond charges for the equivalent operating system. I'd rather spend $20 every year rather than a much heftier sum every three years. Also, you can install OS X on multiple systems using the same Apple ID.

Moreover, you don't really need to spend $20. I'll be spending $16 for my copy of OS X Mountain Lion using a totally legal method since I've figured out how to game the iTunes/App Store system.

I think most people will understand that there is some loss of productivity when you make a major upgrade. However, most people will have a greater productivity loss getting their haircut or going to the dentist. A level-headed person would just write off this time as required maintenance, like getting the tires rotated on your car.

Since it hasn't dawned on you yet, let me offer a suggestion. Install the upgrade and then go do other things. Go out to dinner, go to sleep, play with your kids, go to the ballpark, etc. No one is forcing you to upgrade during the busiest part of your workday.

Me? I'll probably download this morning, then wait until tonight or tomorrow night to upgrade before I go to sleep.

 

[r.harris1]

When Apple announced (or did they ever really bother to announce?) that AirPlay wouldn't work on my computer that I bought *last year* I decided not to upgrade.

That'll show 'em. Is AirPlay all you wanted? Granted, annoying, but still...

 

[F.biz]

OS Lion missing... and what should we run now?

Has anyone noticed that 'Lion' is now missing from their Purchases list in the Mac App Store? I can't opt to install it anymore from there.

This is madness! How should we install the only compatible OS with our computers if it is not there?

Someone in Apple is thinking too much or too less!

I am using MacBook3,1 which is incompatible with OS X ML so I want to install OS X Lion this is obvious. Yesterday I was encouraged to install Lion to use iCloud features and now the only thing I can install is OS ML, which I cannot install at the same time

If they remove Lion they should make ML compatible. It's just a matter of one driver for GPU. This is pure greed.

Low quality pro apps, no server rack machine, no regular calls in iPad and now this.

It's no wonder that Apple shares go 5% down.

 

[DonRivella]

I am entitled to a free upgrade, but will wait before I install. The lion upgrade on my MacBook severely crippled battery life and made it run even hotter than usual. Unfortunately Apple's QC is not as good as you would expect considering the comparably limited amount of hardware they need to test software on.

 

[Gemütlichkeit]

I can't wait to hear all the people complaining about this release and how they're sticking with Snow Leopard. Happens every release

 

[fullstop102]

Jesus has spoken

Jesus has spoken and he doesn't much like the new OS.

 

[nikhsub1]

Disagree with Gizmodo. Windows 8 is a nice idea, but man it's going to confuse the living heck out of lots of casual Windows users. (Like the secretaries in my office. I feel bad for our IT department.)

Exactly. I oversee 500 workstations (and 50 servers) and the end users using them. I am going to slit my wrists once I have to move them to Windows 8 - it's a pretty confusing interface.

 

[MacFan23]

I'm noticing that there are some new unctions, such as messages and updates, that need one to have an Apple ID. My family has to iPads that are connected to one family iMac. We use the same iTunes ID but different iMessage ID's. Am I accurate in thinking that on a shared computer only one user there will be able able to take advantage of all it has to offer?

Thanks,

CFS

If each user has their own user account on the iMac you'll be fine I think

 

[hobo.hopkins]

Low quality pro apps, no server rack machine, no regular calls in iPad and now this.

It's no wonder that Apple shares go 5% down.

Yup, they're really a dying beast, and as others have pointed out - they have been for some time: http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/death_knell/.

 

[xionxiox]

I love how some of the reviewers *cough* GIZMODO talk about an OS like it's supposed to be the next hot video game then get disappointed when it's not. The only thing Windows metro accomplishes is making it a little more time consuming to do simple tasks. It's flamboyant, ugly, and distracting. While Mountain Lion adds features that are actually useful to the end user. And at $19.99, how can you go wrong?

 

[iconboyips]

I agree, how stupid is it that you asked Apple instead of Adobe considering Adobe is the publisher of the software.



I'm losing faith in humanity considering the general stupidity and cluelessness of people.

I'm off to ring Microsoft to ask them if my Fridge is compatible with Windows 8.

Actually I think it a perfectly reasonable question to ask a manufacturer what their products are compatible with.

If a camera lens manufacturer made lenses and did not know which cameras their lenses were compatible with what would you think?

In-fact I consider it good business practice that both Adobe and Apple know how their products are compatible with each other ready for release. It provides a better customer experience.

 

[sektor]

Just downloaded ML, seems very fast!

One question: am I the only one who can't see the Facebook integration build in?

 

[mrbyu]

Does it create its own recovery partition like Lion? So for example, let's say I want to install it on my brother's Mac with my Apple ID. So I can make a clean install with a USB drive which I previously created on my Mac. But after I installed it, will it have it's own recovery partition on my brothers Mac too, letting him able to re-install it later if he wants to?