Apple Releases First Developer Preview of OS X Mountain Lion, Public Launch in Late Summer

[MacRumors]

Apple today announced that it has released the first developer preview of the company's next-generation operating system, named OS X Mountain Lion. The release will bring over 100 new features, including a number of those familiar to iOS users such as Messages, Notes, Reminders, Game Center, Notification Center, Twitter integration, and AirPlay Mirroring. The first developer preview is available to registered developers today, with a public launch through the Mac App Store scheduled for late this summer.

"The Mac is on a roll, growing faster than the PC for 23 straight quarters, and with Mountain Lion things get even better," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "The developer preview of Mountain Lion comes just seven months after the incredibly successful release of Lion and sets a rapid pace of development for the world's most advanced personal computer operating system."

OS X Mountain Lion included deeper integration with iCloud to automatically configure services like Mail, FaceTime, and Find My Mac, while iCloud Documents handles automatic push syncing of documents across devices. Security is also a focus in the upcoming release, with a new feature called Gatekeeper helping users to specify from which sources apps may be installed on their computers.

Finally, Apple is continuing its emphasis on expanding into China with substantial improvements for Chinese users included enhanced Chinese input methods and the addition of Baidu as a search engine option. Integration with Chinese email and video hosting sites as well as the Sina weibo microblogging service is also included.

Advance previews of OS X Mountain Lion are available from a number of sources:

- The Loop
- Macworld
- Engadget
- The Verge
- AllThingsD
- CNET
- The Wall Street Journal's interview with Tim Cook

And perhaps most interestingly, Daring Fireball's John Gruber relates the private briefing he received from Phil Schiller and other Apple executives.

Article Link: Apple Releases First Developer Preview of OS X Mountain Lion, Public Launch in Late Summer

 

[kolax]

Liking the iOS additions. The notification sidebar will be useful, especially when accessed via a gesture.

From what I read on The Verge, seems that the Messages app is a bit messy right now, particularly because of the iPhone using your phone number as an identifier, and iMessages being sent as SMS's not showing up. Hopefully they'll sort all that out, because it is an issue with the iPhone and iPad, never mind tossing the Mac into it too.

Updates via the Mac App Store is a nice addition too, I assume these will be pushed updates.

I'm excited to see what comes out of this, especially since this is a pre-developer preview. There's no new GUI yet though, but maybe they could save that for the keynote.

 

[igazza]

I didn't expect that

 

[raymondkerr]

Didn't see this coming so soon. I'm still on Snow Leopard, the verge has some good coverage of the new features.


http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/16/2801047/mac-os-x-10-8-mountain-lion-preview-photos-video

 

[pewra]

Did not see this one coming.

 

[MonkeySee....]

Whoa, already?

I'm quite new to macs. Is this normal for such a quick release?

 

[Patrick J]

I love the fact that this came out of the blue, and it really seems to be a polish to Lion. Apple is moving in the right direction.

 

[alex00100]

and i hoped for a mayor interface design change in new update! eh, still 'ios on mac' motto OS.

 

[Asclepio]

They shaved that poor lion!

 

[Razeus]

Wow. Out of nowhere.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Man! Hot treads all week! Thanks Apple! 

 

[Capex]

Wait what?
They've ported a lot of iOS things.. I almost think they should have brought those through another way in Lion. Not make a whole new operating system... there must be stuff yet to come.

 

[Phechs]

will we finally get back some of the lost functionality of Spaces in Snow Leopard. And proper multi-display iMissionControl support(like dragging a windows from one display to another in missionControl, and seeing both displays next to eachother in iMissionControl???)

 

[Farthen]

Apple is switching to a yearly Mac OS X release schedule? If this is $29 again the developer program will be even more attractive than it already is.

 

[Mac21ND]

I thought it was April Fools Day for a second... nice surprise.

 

[roadbloc]

Sigh. More iOS nonsense in OS X.

 

[adztaylor]

Did not expect this one, you can download messages beta for free here too:

http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/messages-beta/

Very happy about AirPlay mirroring

 

[maflynn]

All I can say is WOW, that was fast.

I wonder if they're trying to blunt the win8 upgrade.

 

[christian_k]

I wonder when will they ship a version of OSX that prohibits everything from other sources but the App Store.

Gatekeeper looks like the next step in that direction.

Christian

 

[ChristianVirtual]

Ok, that reall comes by surprise. Download and put it in VMWare fusion on weekend.

 

[rorschach]

VERY happy about iMessage and Notification Center for OS X. Not entirely unexpected, but very welcome.

It looks like iMessage will be replacing iChat:

http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/features.html#messages

Messages supports iMessage and instant messaging services such as
AIM, Jabber, Google Talk, and Yahoo! Messenger.

Great news, and let's hope Messages on iOS gets AIM/Google Talk support too!

 

[Lostanddamned]

. The release will bring over 100 new features, including a number of those familiar to iOS users such as Messages, Notes, Reminders, Game Center, Notification Center, Twitter integration, and AirPlay Mirroring.

I am ok with this; as long as the desktop environment doesn't suffer too much from oversimplification or dilution; iMessage, twitter integration, AirPlay mirroring will be welcome

Notes and reminders; as far I understand were already present in OSX.

That said I hope this isn't too expensive, a new OS every 18 months or so at even £25 will quickly mount up to a stealth tax in an already expensive environment.

 

[5aga]

they're not wasting any time LOL... awesome...

I wonder if it will run on the iPad 3 (one can wish cant he?)

Notification Center is nice... downloading Messages now.

 

[Agent OrangeZ]

Hmmm....

OSX 10.1 is known as "Puma."

OSX 10.8 will be known as "Mountain Lion."

According to Wikipedia:
"The cougar (Puma concolor), also known as puma, mountain lion, mountain cat, catamount or panther, depending on the region, is a mammal of the family Felidae, native to the Americas. This large, solitary cat has the greatest range of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere,[3] extending from Yukon in Canada to the southern Andes of South America. An adaptable, generalist species, the cougar is found in every major American habitat type. It is the second heaviest cat in the Western Hemisphere, after the jaguar. Although large, the cougar is most closely related to smaller felines and is closer genetically to the domestic cat than to true lions."

 

[Going Digital]

Gatekeeper

Anyone guess what default setting for Gatekeeper will be, hmm could it be the App store only ???