I’m marginally concerned with Messages replacing iChat, not because of the additional features it has, all of which seem to be pretty neat, but more for what it may lose in the process.

However, I can see how people would make use of that, so I’m not going to knock it. Same can pretty much go for Game Center and AirPlay mirroring. I’m less interested in things like Twitter integration, Chinese compatibility features and iCloud mainly because I don’t Twitter, live in China or have a constant broadband connection. It’s a lot easier to try and sync things like that when you have a one-to-one analog. The addition of iOS’s “organizational” apps (like Reminders and Notes) is nice to see, too – especially once I get around to getting an iPhone. Now, something extremely similar will be built-in with a handy list along the side so they don’t clutter my screen like they used to. For years, I’ve used Growl for my system-wide notifications. Personally, I’m most excited about the addition of Notification Center.

However, while Lion’s iOS-inpired additions went from the sublime (Lion’s Mail app and full-screen apps – provided you only have one screen) to the ridiculous (does anybody actually use Launchpad to open apps?) and everywhere in between (Mission Control replacing Spaces, “natural” scrolling and gestures”) these additions seem to be focused on the “app” side of things. In all, though, it continues the trend for blurring the lines between the mobile and the desktop environments. Rather than re-hash them all here, you can see them for yourself at Apple’s Web site. It was real tempting to slip a “cougar” joke in here somewhere (they’re the same animal), but in the interest of giving a more serious look at the OS, it’s probably best if we forego it.Īs it’s still early in the process (at least from the end-user side of things) the only things really talked about are new features, most ported over from iOS. Yesterday, Apple released a preview of the upcoming iteration of OS X, code-named Mountain Lion.

Split screen mac mountain lion