Apple previews Mountain Lion, next version of Mac OS X

RavingMac · Feb 16, 2012

vansmith said:
Ah, you're doing it wrong. It's cheese curds. This is why you guys don't appreciate the heart attack inducing glory that is poutine.

Cheese curds???

No whey . . . ..

dtravis7 · Feb 16, 2012

vansmith said:
Ah, you're doing it wrong. It's cheese curds. This is why you guys don't appreciate the heart attack inducing glory that is poutine.

A friend told me tonight and said they were not joking. There is a Restaurant on the east coast somewhere who's food is so full of FAT, Cholesterol and Sodium, they make you sigh a disclaimer before you eat there in case it kills you! I doubt Poutine is that bad!

iggibar · Feb 16, 2012

You know, I'm not sure if I would call this a new OS, but I would be lying if I said I didn't like the new features. However, couldn't these have been included in a new update? I won't complain much, because it's not going to break the bank, but calling it a new OS is a bit of a let down. The other thing that gets me a bit worried is the compatibility of the old Intel graphics from the Macbook and iMac that use Intel processors. It used to be a happy day knowing your Mac had an intel chip because you knew you were covered...not any more. Which Mac(s) is/are next on the chopping block? Any Mac Pro's by any chance?

As for Lion, it's my favorite OS. I like Leopard/Snow L. too, but the added gestures and other conveniences easily put it on top. Leopard will always be the OS I'll fall back on because there really isn't anything wrong with it from what I need out of it.

vansmith · Feb 16, 2012

Razormac said:
Cheese curds???

No whey . . . ..

That was a cheesy joke. I would say that was a gouda pun but I'd have to be emmental to think that.

(Oh yes, I love a good pun).

Back on topic, I'd love to see Notification Center backported. It won't (Linux remains the champion of backporting) but I'd love some sort of unified notification system in Lion.

XJ-linux · Feb 16, 2012

This seems like a bizarre update. It sounds more like the bonus or expansion pack CD that comes with AIX than an OS upgrade. I'm guessing that I'll be spending more time with my friend SUSE to hedge my bets. Anyhow, the whole Gatekeeper thing bothers me most. I have visions of threads in the future that start out "How do I jailbreak my MacBook running iOSX 10.9 so I can install <insert_non_apple_sanctioned_application>?" Still, I like Apple more than most vendors so I'll of course reserve judgement until I can try it.

eliehass · Feb 16, 2012

Once Lion was announced, I thought that it was inevitable that OS X and iOS would merge into one OS that ran on either ARM or Intel hardware. I thought OS 10.8 / iOS 6 might be that OS. Clearly I was wrong, but it seems like Apple is still traveling that path.

I, for one, am looking forward to what I assume OS 11 will be. One OS that will work on your Desktop, Laptop, Tablet and Phone. The interfaces might be slightly different, the specs of each device will vary wildly (desktops/laptops will always be more powerful than tablets/phones) but the core functionality will carry through all devices.

I look forward to the day when any application (barring those that are limited by technical specifications) will run on any device. Instead of iOS apps and OS X apps, there will just be apps, and the devices you prefer to run them on.

OS X and iOS are built on the same framework, and they are slowly creeping closer to one another. I truly believe that this is what we're moving towards, and I can't wait.

Ramimac1 · Feb 16, 2012

I was wondering on everyones thought on SL to ML. are we supposed to buy Lion first?

Ttaylor394 · Feb 17, 2012

I only was on SL for a few weeks before I upgraded to Lion. My generation and RAM will certainly cut the mustard for support. Not so sure about the graphics card. I'm sure it will be on the 'in' list but how well will it work?

I am finally able to use iCal to its full advantage with work schedules, assignments, meetings, bills OH THE BILLS...., and everything my wife uses it for as well. Reminders, not so much. If I feel well versed enough by summertime with reminders; and the addresses it apparently likes to have to use geography to our advantage, I very may well may be one of the first upgraded.

It comes to mind now that reminders is somewhat already in iCal, but ML will make it look prettier.... Right?
Haha

Chris H. · Feb 17, 2012

It looks like my Early 2009 Mac mini "Macmini3,1" won't be running 10.8...and I don't think it could run Lion if I can't get Snow Leopard to run in 64-bit mode.

Oh well. I know that my MacBook can probably run 10.8 without a doubt.

But after 10.8...it'll probably be time for a new Mac.

mrplow · Feb 17, 2012

I look forward to more details to come but so far it just looks like an "app-pack" not a new version of an OS.
And while the apps look OK they are nothing new really and there are some very good, and in most cases free apps, that perform the same functions.

If it's £20 like Lion was it's still a great deal, but it just doesn't appear to represent the step forward that I'm used to seeing with a new version of OSX

Lifeisabeach · Feb 17, 2012

mrplow said:
I look forward to more details to come but so far it just looks like an "app-pack" not a new version of an OS.
And while the apps look OK they are nothing new really and there are some very good, and in most cases free apps, that perform the same functions.

If it's £20 like Lion was it's still a great deal, but it just doesn't appear to represent the step forward that I'm used to seeing with a new version of OSX

*sigh* People say that with every new release. Every. Single. One.

Probably the single biggest thing coming is dropping support for Macs with 32-bit EFI so 10.8 will come alive in all its 64-bit glory. This isn't something you do in a "service pack". They are also adding a couple new features, adjusting application names (Address Book renamed to Contacts) and functionality (pulling to-do list out of iCal) to better match iOS. I actually was thinking a few days ago how they should do exactly that as I was trying to use Spotlight to open Contacts on my Mac. Anywho, it's not a MASSIVE overhaul, but it is a significant enough of a tweak that it should be rolled out as a new version. For the money, it's hard to complain. Seriously… everyone who is complaining is really trying hard to do so. Or would everyone like to go back to the $130 upgrade pricing it used to be every year? Sheesh.

Nighthawk4 · Feb 17, 2012

As far as the cost is concerned, about £20 for the upgrade might be OK. However, if it costs > £1,000 because it needs a new iMac that is rather different - especially if we are expected (although not going to happen) to buy a new iPad next month despite having a perfectly good iPad1.

Not sure if my iMac will run ML as I can't remember exactly which one it is and at work at present. Not sure if any of the App changes are worth it really - Notes would be handy if synced with the iPad and a proper ToDo list outside iCal, although I have both of those using Third Party Apps.

To be honest, I find Lion to be better than SL was - for things like EVE Online and maybe a few other Games. For more basic Apps, no real difference.

Will probably wait and see

Discerptor · Feb 17, 2012

lifeisabeach said:
*sigh* People say that with every new release. Every. Single. One.

I don't think there's ever been an OS X release that was referred to as an "app pack" even at this stage. Service pack maybe, but this is even below that since all but two of the features showcased so far have been nothing more than new applications. And of those two, one is good (notification center) while the other is potentially Apple's first step towards forcing us to "jailbreak" OS X to make it useful.

That said, the new hardware requirements make me hopeful that Apple might be updating the graphical components of the OS to use OpenGL 3.x instructions, potentially speeding things up a bit. We'll see what announcements follow. I'm personally disappointed that there wasn't any emphasis on optimizing and fixing Lion in this announcement, since I'd assume Mountain Lion would be to Lion what Snow Leopard was to Leopard. But again, this wasn't really a huge announcement. WWDC will probably present us with more information.

Lifeisabeach · Feb 17, 2012

Nighthawk4 said:
As far as the cost is concerned, about £20 for the upgrade might be OK. However, if it costs > £1,000 because it needs a new iMac that is rather different - especially if we are expected (although not going to happen) to buy a new iPad next month despite having a perfectly good iPad1.

Support for older Macs has been dropped with every single release of OS X. Every. Single. One. Why do people expect this to stop happening?

Lifeisabeach · Feb 17, 2012

Discerptor said:
I don't think there's ever been an OS X release that was referred to as an "app pack" even at this stage. Service pack maybe, but this is even below that since all but two of the features showcased so far have been nothing more than new applications. And of those two, one is good (notification center) while the other is potentially Apple's first step towards forcing us to "jailbreak" OS X to make it useful.

They appear to be stripping support for 32-bit EFI, presumably so it can run in pure 64-bit mode. So calling it an "app pack" is even less appropriate.

And they aren't going to lock down OS X like iOS is. Not. Gonna. Happen. There obviously is some convergence in features and UI cues where they make sense. I do very much like the way they are implementing 3 levels of code signing with GateKeeper. The mid-level option in particular I can see being brought to iOS in a year or two, negating the need to jailbreak. Here's a good write-up on it (option 3 is the new one I'm referencing):
Panic Blog » About Gatekeeper

dtravis7 · Feb 17, 2012

One thing I find interesting. They say ML will not run on older MacBooks due to no EFI-64 Bit support. Vansmith's Macbook is an early 2008 and on the list of Unsupported Macs for ML. He entered the terminal command and his system IS EFI-64. His kernel IS running 64-Bit but yet his machine is not supported? Something else is going on.

Discerptor · Feb 17, 2012

dtravis7 said:
One thing I find interesting. They say ML will not run on older MacBooks due to no EFI-64 Bit support. Vansmith's Macbook is an early 2008 and on the list of Unsupported Macs for ML. He entered the terminal command and his system IS EFI-64. His kernel IS running 64-Bit but yet his machine is not supported? Something else is going on.

This is why I believe the hardware cutoff has more to do with which machines have video cards that support OpenGL 3.x than with 64-bit EFI (Lion runs the machines that support it in full 64-bit mode already).

Ctrl-Opt-Del · Feb 17, 2012

lifeisabeach said:
Support for older Macs has been dropped with every single release of OS X. Every. Single. One. Why do people expect this to stop happening?

Brace yourselves...

MacDude121 · Feb 17, 2012

I wonder if Mountain Lion actually will run on older Macs. Just that Apple doesn't want it to due to a performance issue. Maybe we'll see something similar to XpostFacto or LeopardAssist come out so the older Intel Macs can run it. Just a theory.

dtravis7 · Feb 17, 2012

MacDude121 said:
I wonder if Mountain Lion actually will run on older Macs. Just that Apple doesn't want it to due to a performance issue. Maybe we'll see something similar to XpostFacto or LeopardAssist come out so the older Intel Macs can run it. Just a theory.

On that note, Lion will not install (On it's own) on say a old Core Duo Mac Mini even when a C2D CPU is installed. Every app recognizes that C2D but the Lion installer is reading the old Firmware that you can not upgrade and calling it a Core Duo. You boot into Snow Leopard and just remove one system file and it then boots just fine! Did it on my Core Duo Mini that is now a 2.16Ghz C2D mini. Only issue is a couple of the POINT updates broke it and I had to go zap that file. Otherwise it runs great. Not illegal either as I purchased it on the mini.

Apple previews Mountain Lion, next version of Mac OS X

RavingMac

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