Apple OS X Mountain Lion

With around 200 new features, Mountain Lion includes iCloud integration, the new Messages app, Notification Center, system-wide Sharing, Facebook integration*, Dictation, AirPlay Mirroring and Game Center.

Mountain Lion is available as an upgrade from Lion or Snow Leopard for $19.99.

Mountain Lion includes:

• iCloud integration, for set up of your Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Messages, Reminders and Notes, and keeping everything, including iWork documents, up to date across all your devices;
• the new Messages app, which replaces iChat and brings iMessage to the Mac, so you can send messages to anyone with an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or another Mac;
• Notification Center, designed to streamline the presentation of notifications and provide access to alerts from Mail, Calendar, Messages, Reminders, system updates and third party apps;
• system-wide Sharing, to share links, photos, videos and other files without having to switch to another app; you just need to sign in once to use third-party services like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Vimeo;
• Facebook integration, so you can post photos, links and comments with locations from your apps, automatically add your Facebook friends to your Contacts, and update your Facebook status from within Notification Center;
• Dictation, which allows you to dictate text anywhere you can type, whether you’re using an app from Apple or a third party developer;
• AirPlay Mirroring, a way to wirelessly send an up-to-1080p secure stream of what’s on your Mac to an HDTV using Apple TV, or send audio to a receiver or speakers that use AirPlay; and
• Game Center, which brings the social gaming network from iOS to the Mac.

Additional features in Mountain Lion include the new Gatekeeper, for safe downloads; Power Nap, which automatically updates your apps and system while your Mac is asleep; and a declared faster Safari browser. New features for China are said to include improved text input, a new Chinese Dictionary, setup with popular email providers, Baidu search in Safari, and built-in sharing to Sina Weibo and video websites Youku and Tudou.

Pricing & Availability:

OS X Mountain Lion is available from the Mac App Store for $19.99 (US). Mountain Lion requires Lion or Snow Leopard (OS X v10.6.8 or later), 2GB of memory and 8GB of available space. For a complete list of system requirements and compatible systems, please visit: apple.com/osx/specs.

OS X Server requires Mountain Lion and is available from the Mac App Store for $19.99 (US). The OS X Mountain Lion Up-to-Date upgrade is available at no additional charge from the Mac App Store to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after June 11, 2012.

Before Updating

Apple recommends you make sure your audio software is compatible with this new release. Like every time Apple releases an OS X update, audio software tends to be not compatible yet. So if you use many different plugins in your DAW, for example, back up your projects thoroughly before this OS X update gives you problems.