Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain lion- Everything you need to know

Mac users have a delight awaiting them. Apple's next release of Mac OS X lion is just around the corner. The recent developments are suggesting that it will be available in the Mac app store next week or at the most till the end of this month. Read on as I list down certain features of the OS, reveal its pricing and details about how to upgrade your Mac to this OS.

What are Mac OS 10.8 Mountain lion 's features? Surprisingly, Mountain Lion doesn't bring any significant new feature to the Mac. (Remember Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger added system-wide search with Spotlight, and Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard introduced the built-in backup utility Time Machine.) However, there are certainly some features which make Mountain Lion worth purchasing-

1) Synchronization is the name of the game: Undoubtedly, Apple developed Mountain lion with the intention of easing the process of synchronizing data between iOS devices. iCloud now can synch not just mail, calendars, contacts, reminders and documents but also Reminders and Notes. (we'll learn about Reminder and Note features in a while, just read on.) So when you add, delete, or change something on your Mac, it also happens on your iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. An Apple ID is all you need. As Apple claims-

2) iMessage Comes to Mac: Mountain Lion would bring iMessage on the Mac, too. iMessage would allow Mountain Lion users to send messages to other users with a iPhone, iPad or iPod running ios 5 or greater. Messages appear on your Mac and any device you use, which means you can start conversationon your Mac and continue it on your iPhone or iPad. You can Send photos, videos, documents, and contacts -even send messages to a group. You’ll see when your message has been delivered and when someone’s typing a reply. You can also turn on Read receipts to let others know that you have read their message. End-to-end encryption is also provided, ensuring complete privacy and security of your user data.

3) Uncluttered Notification Center- Just where it always was: Swiping from the right edge of your trackpad to the left edge opens the notification center. It would keep a simple and ordered record of all your notifications- emails, software updates, messages, calender and notes. You can easily get make notification tab disappear as quickly as you brought it up and bring it back again with ease. This makes sure that you have an uncluttered screen whenever you want it and also keep track of latest notifications of all sorts from a single place
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4) Finally, a Reminder app: Weren't you missing a reminder app on your beloved Mac? Apple has finally given a thought about your little need and has included a Reminder app in Mountain Lion. You can use the app to easily create a list (Or as many lists as you want) of reminders. You can set due dates, location, etc for a reminder right from your Mac and iCloud would synch them to all your iOS devices to make sure that you get regular and timely alerts about your reminders. This isn't a giant addition of a feature to the Mac but it can certainly be useful.

5) Notes are also here: As the name indicates, Notes app allows you to jot down everything you have in your mind at a particular time. It allows you to not only write texts but also to attach images, photos,etc to your notes. You can add, delete or search for your important notes with ease or you may also flip through your notes if you want.Pin important notes to your desktop so they’re easy to get to. And take them with you everywhere. Notes works with iCloud, so when you create or edit a note on your Mac, it automatically updates on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. And vice versa. (Didn't I told that synching almost every type of data is certainly the main focus of the Mountain Lion?)

6) Sharing is everything: Mountain Lion would make sharing your thoughts and much more to acebook, Twitter, Flickr, or Vimeo when the moment strikes. Share photos, videos, and other files with Mail, Messages, and AirDrop. Send links from Safari. Share button is available throughout the OS which makes sure you can share everything with a few simple clicks.

Apart from the above described features, Mountain Lion would also have features like Power Nap, dictation, Twitter integration, Gatekeeper (To protect your Mac from malicious apps.), improved Safari Browser and much much more. Apple claims that there are 200 new features in the Mountain Lion (That's a big number, isn't it?) and a huge number of these features are visible to the users.

Pricing and how to update: Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion won't put a burden on your pockets. You can get the OS for just $19.99 from the mac app store.

However to get the update, your Mac must already have the latest version of Snow Leopard or Lion (10.7). Also, your Mac must be one of the following models-

• iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
• MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
• Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
• Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
• Xserve (Early 2009)

If your mac is is one of the above mentioned model, then open the Mac app store from your doc and download mountain lion. Follow the on-screen instructions to install Mountain Lion on your Mac.
[Sources: Apple.com]

So, will you update your Mac to mountain lion? Will you prefer buying a Mac now or you are still a Windows boy? Comment and let us know. Your queries and feedback are welcomed.