Apple announced a developer preview of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion (Mac App Store link) in mid-February 2012, and it became available on July 25, 2012. As expected, it makes Macs even more iOS-like, continuing the trend begun with OS X 10.7 Lion in July 2011.
Features ported over from iOS include AirPlay Mirroring, Game Center, Messages, Notes, Notification Center, Reminders, and Twitter integration. New features include Gatekeeper and Share Sheets. Gatekeeper can restrict Mountain Lion Macs to running only apps from the Mac App Store. Share Sheets is designed to make it easier for you to share links, photos, and videos by sending links in Safari, emailing or messaging from Notes, posting photos to Flikr and videos to Vimeo, and 'tweeting just about anything.'
If you need to purchase Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, you may order it from this page. The current version of the Mac operating system is macOS Catalina. To learn more, please click here. What do you receive: An email with a content code for the Mac App Store.
OS X is an operating system designed and marketed by Apple Inc. For its Mac series of computers. The OS X Mountain Lion is the ninth version of the operating system, replacing its predecessor; the Mac OS X Lion. The change in the name signifies an update, which is now a regular feature of Apple's software policy. The updated Apple OS X Mountain Lion is recommended for all 13″MacBook Pro with a retina display, 21.5 'iMac (late 2012) and Mac mini (late 2012) systems. You can also check out the Mac OS X Snow Leopard DMG. Features Of Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.5. Auto-save to access previously saved part/version of content.
As with Lion, Mountain Lion will only available by purchase and download from the Mac App Store, where it retails for US$19.99.
Mountain Lion is susceptible to the 'goto fail' bug. See Apple and the ‘goto fail' Bug for information on securing it.
Apple has really raised the bar on hardware requirments. Where Lion had only left Core Dou Macs behind – all of them introduced in 2006 – Mountain Lion is abandoning Core 2 Duo Macs that use Intel GMA 950 or GMA 3100 graphics. Some of those were introduced in Late 2006, but some were not discontinued until Mid 2009, which means they were barely three years old when Mountain Lion was released.
Models supported by Lion but not Mountain Lion include:
- Late 2006 17″ 1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo iMac, disc. 8/7/07
- Mid 2007 Mac mini, disc. 3/3/09
- Late 2008 MacBook White, disc. 1/20/09
- Early 2008 MacBook Air, disc. 10/14/08
Oldest Macs supported by OS X 10.8 by release date:
Mountain Lion Links
- First Impressions of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum, 2012.07.26. Installation took 45 minutes, all apps that ran in Lion run well, and everything seems a little faster.
- The Rapid Rise of OS X Mountain Lion, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2012.08.01. In just a few days, Mountain Lion passed Snow Leopard on its way to displacing Lion as the king of the OS X jungle.
Downloadable Updates
Standalone Updates let you update to a newer version of Mac OS X from your hard drive instead of using Software Update, which requires an Internet connection. Download the one(s) you need and install them after mounting the disk image and launching the Installer program.
There are two types of Standalone Updates: Individual (or Delta) and Combo.
- Individual Updates update one version of Mac OS X to the next version. For example, the Mac OS X 10.8.4 Update updates Mac OS X 10.8.3 to version 10.8.4. Individual Updates are also known as Delta Updates.
- Combo Updates update the base version of a Mac OS X release to the version specified in the Combo Update, including all intermediate updates. For example, the Mac OS X 10.8.4 Combo Update updates any earlier version of Mac OS X 10.8 to Mac OS X 10.8.4 using a single installer, as opposed to installing the individual Mac OS X 10.8.1, 10.8.2, 10.8.3, and 10.8.4 updates.
Standalone Updates are generally available 24 to 48 hours after the Update is available through Software Update.
If you burn a Standalone Update to CD, its disk image must be copied to your desktop or another location on your Mac OS X startup disk in order to be installed.
OS X 10.8.1
OS X 10.8.2
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OS X 10.8 'Mountain Lion' Q&A - Updated September 24, 2012
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What are the 'pros and cons' of upgrading to OS X 10.8 'Mountain Lion'? Is it worth it? What are the best reasons to upgrade? Are there reasons not to upgrade?
Much like OS X Lion before it, OS X Mountain Lion is a minor upgrade. It also is only US$19.99, which is the cheapest operating system upgrade Apple ever has released and yet it introduces 'over 200 new features.'
However, whether or not upgrading is 'worth it' has little to do with its low cost. Instead, you will have to decide whether or not a feature or features are compelling to you; and if so, if the operating system itself and desired features actually are supported by your Mac.
200+ New Features
Apple's official promo copy for OS X Mountain Lion lists the 200+ new features, many of which are directly inspired by the iOS.
Different people may have different opinions about which features are important, and given the cost of the operating system upgrade -- provided that one's computer is compatible -- a single feature might be worth the upgrade price to a particular individual.
For example, Mountain Lion supports '14 new braille displays' which could be quite valuable to the blind and 'better handwriting recognition' in Chinese, which could be greatly appreciated by Chinese speakers who prefer 'old school' handwriting input over pinyin.
For the majority of users, the most valuable additions are likely to be an improved version of Time Machine that supports multiple backup locations as well as the AirPlay Mirroring, iCloud, Dictation, Messages, Notes, Reminders, and Notification Center all borrowed from the iOS.
Users who always have wished that the Mac was more like the iPad or iPhone should be thrilled by these additions. Although they should carefully note that AirPlay Mirroring (as well as Power Nap) only are supported by a small subset of systems capable of running Mountain Lion. Many have failed to heed the fine print regarding compatibility and have been upset to find that a feature they really wanted wasn't supported by their Mac.
Long-term Mac users who are less interested in the iOS, those who aren't comfortable storing their personal information in 'the cloud,' and those who aren't avid users of social media are far less likely to find much compelling about the upgrade, even if it was free. Likewise, for those with unsupported systems, peripherals, or software, there is unlikely to be a reason to immediately upgrade, if at all.
Any individual may have different pros and cons, but the most common likely are:
Pros:
- AirPlay Mirroring makes it easy to wirelessly mirror the contents of a Mac's screen to an HDTV via a 2nd Gen or 3rd Gen Apple TV.
- AirDrop, originally introduced with OS X Lion, makes it quicker and safer to share files with those nearby.
- Power Nap conveniently performs automatic tasks while the Mac is asleep.
- Auto Save enhancements may be welcomed by inexperienced users.
- iCloud, Dictation, Messages, Notes, Reminders, and Notification Center features from the iOS have been added.
- Improved Time Machine that supports multiple backup locations.
- Improved Accessibility, Chinese options, and integration with social media.
Cons: Mac 0sx sierra.
- Abandons many Macs that likely could have been supported. Third-party hacks, to varying degrees of success, are available, and these Macs are fully supported by Microsoft running Windows 8.
- AirPlay Mirroring is only supported by a subset of Macs that are compatible with Mountain Lion. Third-party applications are available to perform the same and similar tasks on older hardware.
- Power Nap only is supported by a small handful of Macs that are compatible with Mountain Lion.
- As released, 'Save As' was a disaster (Thankfully, this was fixed by the 10.8.2 update).
- Just like Lion, gestures, scroll direction and visibility changes, resize window changes, and other interface modifications may frustrate long-term Mac users. Feelings are strong enough that third-party 'fixes' remain available for some of these 'features.'
Upgrade Value Summary
Just like those deciding whether or not to upgrade to Lion, Intel-based Mac users likely will fall into one of three categories. Mac os x 10 11 system requirements.
For those with compatible Macs and compatible software -- and particularly those who have a fully compatible Mac as well as an Apple TV and/or an iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad -- it is highly likely that a feature or features provided by OS X Mountain Lion will be well worth the cost. Nevertheless, those with 'mission critical' Macs still would be wise to wait for a couple of additional revisions to sort out remaining bugs.
Mac hard drive size. For those with completely incompatible Macs, or even those with compatible Macs that don't support all of the features and/or who don't have an Apple TV and/or an iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad, OS X Mountain Lion probably isn't a reason to immediately buy a new or newer Mac, even if their software library is largely compatible. However, OS X Mountain Lion is likely to be appreciated in the future.
For those with incompatible Macs and incompatible software -- who likely stuck with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard -- and did not upgrade to OS X Lion, there is unlikely to be a reason to upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion, either. Based on e-mail received, these users are likely to stay with Snow Leopard for as long as possible.
Ultimately, only you can determine if you are a member of the upgrade now, upgrade later, or upgrade never groups, but evaluating objective pros and cons can help.
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