OS X Mountain Lion

OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" is an operating system made by Apple Inc. for its Macintosh line of computers. It is a version of OS X, and carries the release number 10.8. It was released on July 25, 2012. According to Apple, "Mountain Lion" contains over 200 changes and improvements since OS X 10.7 "Lion".[1]

OS X v10.8 Mountain Lion
Part of the OS X family
OSXLeopard.svg
Developer
Apple Inc.
WebsiteOfficial website
Releases
Initial releaseJuly 25, 2012 [info]
Stable release10.8.5 (Build 12F45) (October 3, 2013; 10 years ago (2013-10-03)) [info]
Source modelClosed source (with open source components)
LicenseApple Public Source License (APSL) and Apple end-user license agreement (EULA)
Kernel typeHybrid
Update methodMac App Store
Platform supportx86-64
Preceded byMac OS X v10.7 Lion
Succeeded byOS X v10.9 Mavericks
Support status
Unsupported as of August 2015
Further reading

History

"OS X 10.8" was announced February 16, 2012 along with the release of an unfinished (developer preview) version for people who are signed up to its "Developer Portal".[2] The upgrade was released to the public on the Mac App Store on 25 July, 2012 after over 5 months in beta.[3]

Notable New Features

Main features:

  • Notification Center - a place to see what has happened on your computer since you last checked.
  • Notes - an app to make notes on, similar to that on the iPad and iPhone.
  • Messages - send free "iMessages" to other Mac, iPhone and iPad users.
  • Reminders - make your Mac remind you about something, similar to the iPhone and iPad app.
  • Game Center - play games and compare scores with other Game Center users on Mac, iPhone and iPad.
  • AirPlay Mirroring - stream your Mac's screen to an Apple TV.
  • Power Nap - allows your Mac to download updates while asleep.
  • Safari 6 - includes a new search/address bar and a new way to see all your open tabs.
  • Dictation - allows you to dictate words to your Mac so you don't have to type.

Smaller features:

  • Updated dock - the dock has a more metallic look, rather than the glass look seen previously.
  • Facebook and Twitter integration - share files directly to Facebook and Twitter, and post/tweet from Notification Center.
  • Save to iCloud - save Pages, Keynote and Number's documents to iCloud.
  • Gatekeeper - stops apps from installing unless from the Mac App Store or approved by Apple.
  • Search Launchpad - search for an app in launchpad.

OS X Mountain Lion Media

References

  1. "Apple - OS X Mountain Lion - See everything the new OS X can do". Apple Inc. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
  2. "Apple Releases OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview with Over 100 New Features". Apple Newsroom.
  3. Andrew Laughlin (25 July 2012). "Apple releases OS X Mountain Lion". Digital Spy.