Apple’s newest operating system OS X Mountain Lion – which borrows heavily from a variety of innovations in the iOS ecosystem – is now available as an upgrade for users of Lion or Snow Leopard for €15.99 from the Mac App Store.
The new OS includes new features, such as iCloud integration, a Messages App, Notification Center, Facebook integration, dictation, AirPlay mirroring and Game Center.
“People are going to love the new features in Mountain Lion and how easy it is to download and install from the Mac App Store,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice-president of Worldwide Marketing.
“With iCloud integration, Mountain Lion is even easier to set up, and your important information stays up to date across all your devices so you can keep editing documents, taking notes, creating reminders, and continue conversations whether you started on a Mac, iPhone or iPad.”
New features on Mac OS X Mountain Lion
Facebook integration allows users to post photos, links and comments with locations right from apps, automatically add their Facebook friends to Contacts, and update their Facebook status from within Notification Center.
The iCloud integration allows for easy set up of Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Messages, Reminders and Notes, and allows users to keep everything, including iWork documents, up to date across all their devices devices.
The new Messages app, which replaces iChat and brings iMessage to the Mac, means users can send messages to anyone with an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or another Mac.
The new Notification Center streamlines the presentation of notifications and provides easy access to alerts from Mail, Calendar, Messages, Reminders, system updates and third-party apps.
System-wide Sharing makes it easy to share links, photos, videos and other files quickly without having to switch to another app, and you just need to sign in once to use third-party services like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Vimeo.
A dictation feature, which already exists on the new iPad, allows users to dictate text anywhere they can type, whether they are using an app from Apple or a third-party developer.
AirPlay Mirroring lets users wirelessly send an up-to-1080p secure stream of what is on their Mac to an HDTV using Apple TV, or send audio to a receiver or speakers that use AirPlay.
The new OS also comes with the new Gatekeeper security software which promises a safer internet experience.
OS X Mountain Lion may be purchased now at the Mac App Store.
