Apple's OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion launches: review, app updates, and more
Apple released OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, the latest version of its desktop operating system, on July 25th, 2012. Arriving just a year after 10.7 Lion, the $19.99 upgrade continues the trend of bringing elements of iOS to Apple's desktop and laptop hardware.
Mountain Lion 10.8.2 with Facebook integration, consolidated iMessages available for download
Apple has just pushed out OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2 just moments after releasing iOS 6 to the general public. The update makes available a variety of features that put OS X on par with iOS, namely Facebook integration inside Notification Center, Game Center, Contacts, and Mountain Lion's "Share" button. 10.8.2 also includes Power Nap support for late 2010 MacBook Airs, as well as consolidated AppleIDs and phone numbers — which means that iMessages or FaceTime calls sent to your phone number...
Apps & Software
Mountain Lion is Apple's 'most successful' OS X release with three million downloads in four days
Apple's recently released OS X 10.8, codenamed Mountain Lion, is officially the California company's most successful OS X release to date. Totalling more than three million downloads in its first four days of availability, it overshadows OS X 10.7 Lion — the prior version of the operating system, which was also the first to be made available via a direct download from the Mac App Store. Lion was already the fastest-spreading OS X upgrade in Apple's history, thanks to that direct...
Apple
MacBook Pro with Retina display gets Power Nap via firmware update
Closing the lid on your MacBook Pro with Retina display is going to get a bit more useful thanks to an update that brings Power Nap to the laptop. The feature — which is only available for those running Mountain Lion on select laptops — lets the machine periodically check for updates as well as new Calendar, Contacts, Mail, Notes, and Reminders while asleep. Power Nap also updates your iCloud documents, Find My Mac location, Photo Stream, and Time Machine backups.
By default the feature...
Apple
Apple issuing OS X Server codes to some Mountain Lion upgraders
A number of users attempting to upgrade to Mountain Lion, the latest version of Apple's OS X operating system, have mistakenly been issued with activation codes for OS X Server components, according to a report from 9to5Mac. The codes came through Apple's Up-To-Date program, which offers a free edition of the latest OS to all users who bought a Mac computer after Mountain Lion's June 11th announcement. The components that the codes correspond to can only be downloaded by users with Mountain...
Apps & Software
Apple OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Server app now available for $19.99
Apple's OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Server is now available in the Mac App Store. With the package, admins can set up file server between Mac, iPads, and PCs, maintain a wiki server, manage multiple profiles, handle Time Machine backups, and sync calendars, contacts, and email for clients. While some familiar tools like Server Admin and Workgroup Manager are missing in this version, many of the features have been built into the Server app itself. At $19.99, adding the server doubles the price of...
Apple
Power Nap available for 2011 and 2012 MacBook Airs via firmware update
Apple has released a firmware update for 2011 and 2012 series MacBook Airs, enabling the Power Nap feature in the latest version of OS X. Released yesterday, Mountain Lion uses the feature to perform actions such as updating and processing notifications while the computer is ostensibly powered down, creating a smoother transition between sleeping and waking modes.
The system management controller (SMC) update is currently available for download via Apple's support site, with specific versions...
Microsoft confirms Office for Mac is compatible with Mountain Lion
We found quite a lot to like in OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, but upgrading your computer's operating system always carries with it the potential to harm the stability of essential apps. Users of Microsoft Office are in the clear, however, with Redmond stating today that both Office for Mac 2011 and Office for Mac 2008 work just fine with Apple's new operating system. There is one wrinkle, however: according to Microsoft, standalone software updates for Office won't launch due to Mountain Lion's...
This is my next: Safari 6.0
This is my next is a special feature where editors of The Verge sound off on their latest deep, dark desires from the world of technology.
Say what you will about Apple's slavish worship of skeuomorphism and sometimes-questionable design decisions of late — Apple's best first-party apps are well-designed, with features that make them feel like a better "fit" in OS X than third-party options. I felt Safari was one of those apps for a long time — but somewhere along the way we started...
Apple
Apple updates iWork and iPhoto for Mountain Lion, fixes bugs in iMovie
Mac owners will be busy with updates this morning as Apple releases software that works better with the newly-released Mountain Lion. The latest version of iWork now supports Mountain Lion and the new MacBook Pro Retina display. Mountain Lion features like iCloud document storage and dictation also show up in the release notes. iPhoto has been given a similar update, with added compatibility and support for sharing through Messages and Twitter. The latest version of iMovie already supported...
Apple rolls out Safari 6 for Lion with unified search and offline reading list
Along with the release of Mountain Lion, Apple has rolled out Safari 6, the new browser it demonstrated last month. Some of the more exciting new features — like iCloud tabs and Tab View — are only available on OS X 10.8, but Lion users can still enjoy improved performance and a few welcome tweaks. Apple's added the unified Smart Search Field, a unified search and address bar, and the Reading List feature now works offline. Safari 6 also supports Do Not Track and a new pane for storing...
OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion available to download from the Mac App Store
Apple’s major operating system update, OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, is now available for download from the Mac App Store for $19.99. 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 & Software
OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion review
I have a confession to make before I begin this review of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion: I never really used or liked OS X Lion. Sure, I installed it on my iMac at home and played around with gestures on a Magic Trackpad, but my workhorse 15-inch MacBook Pro remained stubbornly on Snow Leopard, Apple’s previous version of OS X. Snow Leopard was in many ways the pinnacle of a previous era of computing: a fast, stable, reliable desktop operating system that bore no trace of influence from Apple’s...
