“The big story around Mountain Lion is iCloud,” Ben Bajarin writes for TechPinions.
“Apple, with Mountain Lion, has taken another step in tightly integrating iCloud into OS X the same way iCloud is tightly integrated into iOS 5. This is key because when OS X Lion came out last year iCloud was not yet released,” Bajarin writes. “iCloud is becoming the glue which ties all your Apple products together and with Mountain Lion that glue is coming to OS X.”
“The other key takeaway beyond iCloud is that OS X Mountain Lion brings many of the primary apps and iOS 5 experiences to the Mac platform. Things like Notifications, Notes, Reminders, iMessages, Game Center, Twitter and other quick share features, along with many more. Although this is an early developer preview, I am guessing there are a few surprises with Mountain Lion up Apple’s sleeve,” Bajarin writes. “I have had the privilege of using an early beta release of the developer preview of Mountain Lion for a little while now and I want to share my experience with this latest release.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Apple’s Phil Schiller talks rapid speed of OS X Mountain Lion release; mere 7 months after Lion – February 16, 2012
Hands on with Apple’s new OS X Mountain Lion – February 16, 2012
Apple releases OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview; public release coming in late summer 2012 – February 16, 2012
It actually looks really good.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the final version on Mountain Lion would also include an e-book reader.
Apple is relentless on perfection. Night and day between companies. Apple is fine tuning their craft while Microsoft is hopelessly trying to find one.
Just wait for Microsoft Windows 9, I bet this will be best thing since Vista!
Is Mountain Lion powered by Mountain Dew?
PFffft…in your general direction.
I have not been that excited about Lion. I am hopeful ML will improve things. I’m in the give-us-back-save-as camp. But there are other things that need tweaking.
Honestly, the “save as” thing is SO completely overblown by people who were (understandably) thrown off by the change.
Old way
1. Open an old document you want to use as a template for an update
2. Start working on it
3. Forget to do a save as and curse (or, remember to do a save as and give it a new name and tell OS X where to save the new one)
4. Use TIme Machine to go back and start over.
5. Continue working and using save periodically.
New way:
1. Open an old document you want to use as a template for an update
2. Start working on it
3. Prompt comes up asking you if you want to unlock (ie overwrite old data with new) or duplicate (create a new doc based on the old one). Pick whichever applies.
4. Continue working and saving as before (though you don’t have to compulsively save if you don’t want to, but you can if you do want to).
Seriously, how is this not better other than just that you’re used to the old way? The new way GUARANTEES you will NEVER overwrite an old document accidentally, and GUARANTEES that you will NEVER lose work due to a sudden power outage.
Yeah, I had to learn to adjust a work habit VERY SLIGHTLY. In exchange for those guarantees, I can’t see how this isn’t a huge net plus.
Bingo. I made the very same explanation today to someone. Ive had my share of inadvertently overwritten docs… Until auto save that is!
@ chas_m:
We’re not all wrong (and there are LOTS of us). Your list of steps is exactly what one would expect from someone biased in favor of the “new way.” How ’bout this, as a different spin?
Old way
1. Open an old document you want to use as a template for an update
2. Start working on it (or Save As right away if you know you’re going to keep changes)
3. Save As to easily create a new document with a new name, all within the app, not ever having to fool around in the Finder
New way:
1. Open an old document you want to use as a template for an update
2. Start working on it
3. Forget that autosave saves over your document
4. Hope that you weren’t working with large A/V files, or you’ll see the spinning beach ball for 5 minutes
5. Hope that you weren’t working with removable media, in which case the original is gone forever
6. Thumb through versions, trying to find the version you wanted
7. Duplicate document.
8. Open both documents to double-check which was the one you changed
9. Rename the duplicate
10. Remember to change the behavior of the app so it doesn’t open the original document next time, thinking it’s trying to open in it’s old state
The problem is not with the new workflow (although it really is!). The problem is that the new Apple Inc FORCES us to change familiar work flows. No System Pref option, no nothing. And to make it even more obnoxious, we can’t stay with Snow Leopard because Appple won’t give SL access to iCloud. It’s heavyhandedness and it stinks.