OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion [Review]

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OS X Mountain Lion is here, and it's even sleeker than Lion.
OS X Mountain Lion is here, and it's even sleeker than Lion.

Conclusion

A sleeker, faster cat.

Apple always picks its cat names well. When Apple released OS X 10.6 back in 2009, they called it Snow Leopard because it was a cleaner and faster version of Leopard.

Likewise, Mountain Lion is the perfect name for OS X 10.8: it’s just as fast, powerful and beautiful, but Mountain Lion is still a sleeker cat than the one that came before it.

OS X Mountain Lion isn’t a major departure from how OS X Lion did things, but it’s a better, more cohesive experience in every way. Whether or not you approve of Apple’s continuing push to blur the lines between iOS and OS X, you can’t deny that Mountain Lion does so even better than OS X 10.7, introducing new features like iCloud, AirPlay Mirroring and Messages that even Snow Leopard die-hards are sure to be tempted by.

Apple’s not being secretive about the future of Mac OS X: in the future, it will continue to regularly evolve so that it seamlessly blurs into Apple’s mobile experience. What Mountain Lion does better than Lion ever did is prove that’s a good thing, and we shouldn’t be thinking about the distinction between desktops, laptops and mobiles anymore: they should all work as just another screen in your life.

OS X Mountain Lion is available now on the Mac App Store for just $19.99. If you’re on OS X Lion, there isn’t a reason in the world not to upgrade: Mountain Lion is a better experience in every way possible. And if you’re still on Snow Leopard? Maybe it’s time for you to finally jump on a faster cat.

[all]yes[/all]

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