os x OS X Mountain Lion Discussion

[Miuku.]

I was using Launchpad-Control to take care of them.

That's a nice program. Kudos.

[Elliott]

I was using Launchpad-Control to take care of them.

Yea, Launchpad-Control was a great program, but it was annoying that I ever had to resort to that in the first place. Glad Apple managed to fix Adobe's installer/utility mess.

[protocol7]

Energy Saver looks weird. In what appears to be yet another random act of of throwing things in the trash, Apple removed most of the preferences

Yeah, the hard disk sleep option is gone. I always turn that off in a new install. So long as I can still do it via pmset I'll be "happy" but it's a bit odd to remove it.

I noticed when I ran Photoshop after updating to DP3 (and then installing the new update) that it said I needed a Java runtime. I guess the DP3 update removes any existing Java installs?

[AltecXP]

Video drivers are still poor. WoW runs fine on my Air with 10.7.4, but under 10.8 my FPS is horrible.

[Elliott]

Video drivers are still poor. WoW runs fine on my Air with 10.7.4, but under 10.8 my FPS is horrible.

Really? I've noticed that the video drivers seem better in 10.8 than in 10.7.

[Lunfai]

Yeah, the hard disk sleep option is gone. I always turn that off in a new install. So long as I can still do it via pmset I'll be "happy" but it's a bit odd to remove it.

I noticed when I ran Photoshop after updating to DP3 (and then installing the new update) that it said I needed a Java runtime. I guess the DP3 update removes any existing Java installs?

Still had Java on mine, Photoshop CS6. I knew it required Java, since it made me install it when I installed it fresh under DP 3.1.

[PyX]

Really? I've noticed that the video drivers seem better in 10.8 than in 10.7.

Drivers always depend on your video card. nVidia, ATI and Intel drivers are radically different.

I guess I should give Mountain Lion another go with the latest DP and Starcraft II, but last time I installed ML, it screwed up my Boot Camp partition completely (it wouldn?t boot anymore, but it would run fine under Parallels).

[Elliott]

Drivers always depend on your video card. nVidia, ATI and Intel drivers are radically different.

Except I'm using a MacBook Air as well. Same generation, just an 11" instead of a 13" (which probably explains the performance difference; less pixels to render).

[protocol7]

Still had Java on mine, Photoshop CS6. I knew it required Java, since it made me install it when I installed it fresh under DP 3.1.

I was wondering why Software Update was giving me the Flashback removal tool when it was already a part of the Java update. I guess Apple decided to play it safe with DP3 and remove any existing Java installs. Wonder if that's going to be the trend.

[Lunfai]

I was wondering why Software Update was giving me the Flashback removal tool when it was already a part of the Java update. I guess Apple decided to play it safe with DP3 and remove any existing Java installs. Wonder if that's going to be the trend.

I do remember installing that in fact, It installed that during DP 3.1 and that must be why it didn't remove it, because I never installed Adobe Suite till after the two updates. So the Flashback tool was in fact the cause. I'm not sure why it needs Java, but can't they tune it out? They reworked a lot in Photoshop CS6, didn't it cross their mind on removing such requirements?... hmm.

[Damian]

Latest Mountain Lion update brings iOS-like automatic downloads for apps

The latest update to OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview 3 seems to have partially enabled iOS-style automatic app downloads in the App Store. Like on the iPhone and iPad, when you buy and install an app on one of your Macs, all of your other Macs logged into the same App Store account will automatically install the app too.

Unfortunately, the feature does not seem to be working completely. While the App Store will still offer to enable automatic downloads (as seen above), it does not actually install anything when you purchase apps from another computer. However, it does apparently show the app as being installed when you view it in the App Store. There is a good chance we will see at least one more developer preview, or at least a GM, in the coming weeks that should fully enable the feature.

[Damian]

The dock progress bar now shows more info while in use:

682

[protocol7]

Time Machine has been simplified a bit too. When backing up it no longer shows the capacity/free space of the backup volume.

[PyX]

Kudos about the new Dock info !

Automatic updates? FINALLY ! Last week I was thinking about bringing updates in the notification center. Now, if only iTunes could update all of my apps without needing my password ?

I?ll be glad to install this on day one, or even before if I can :p

[.Neo]

Would be nice if Apple did something to improve startup times like Microsoft did with Windows 8.

[PyX]

Would be nice if Apple did something to improve startup times like Microsoft did with Windows 8.

They?re on it, just not on the software side? Apart from putting SSDs in their Macs, I wish they?d do something about it too.

[.Neo]

They?re on it, just not on the software side? Apart from putting SSDs in their Macs, I wish they?d do something about it too.

Obviously Apple selling optional SSDs for iMac at insane prices wasn't what I was getting at?

[Damian]

Reading List gains offline reading in recent Mountain Lion builds

Safari Reading List is definitely a nice, simple alternative to third party apps like Instapaper, Readability, and Pocket for those who use Safari. Reading List allows you to save and sync links for later reading between both your Mac and iOS devices. It has been known that offline reading is coming soon to Safari on Mountain Lion, and it looks like that feature finally landed. Found by Gear Live today and a commenter on Control Your Mac 10 days ago, offline reading was enabled in recent builds of Mountain Lion. However, offline reading is sadly still not available on iOS devices; although, we would guess iOS offline support is coming at some point.

[Miuku.]

Would be nice if Apple did something to improve startup times like Microsoft did with Windows 8.

I guess it's a combination of not caring much since they're essentially using SSDs in all the new boxes and promoting Sleep over Shutdown. The last time I rebooted my Mac Pro was when I installed 10.7.4 and with an SSD it's <10 seconds to desk and all apps running anyway.

But yes, they could shave off some time for mechanical drives - it seems to wait quite a while at network initialization and certain devices. Perhaps a little optimization there would help a lot.

[Damian]

Rumor: Siri-like Voice Dictation coming to OS X Mountain Lion?

Voice is Apple?s next important field of computer-input, and Siri on the iPhone 4S and voice-dictation on the third-generation iPad makes this clear. Siri, in its current implementation, seems perfect for mobile devices like the iPhone 4S, but many of its features don?t make sense on larger screens such as those found on tablets and computers. However, Apple has brought a component of Siri called Dictation to the iPad, and the company appears to be planning on bringing this Dictation feature to Macs as well.

According to a resources file inside of the latest build of Safari in the newest seed of the upcoming OS X Mountain Lion, Dictation might be making its way to Macs next. Since Macs do not sport virtual keyboards or physical keyboards with a microphone-labled key, users (by default) will apparently need to simultaneously click both command keys to start voice input.

We are yet to find any other Dictation references in OS X Mountain Lion betas, so we?re keeping Dictation in OS X Mountain Lion as unconfirmed until Apple officially announces it. The apparently forthcoming feature is not functional in the current beta. With voice features being exclusive to certain devices in Apple?s iOS Device portfolio, perhaps Dictation is tied directly to certain Macs. Maybe the new MacBook Pros with Retina Displays, faster processors, thinner form-factors, and USB 3 connectivity.

[.Neo]

I guess it's a combination of not caring much since they're essentially using SSDs in all the new boxes and promoting Sleep over Shutdown. The last time I rebooted my Mac Pro was when I installed 10.7.4 and with an SSD it's <10 seconds to desk and all apps running anyway.

But yes, they could shave off some time for mechanical drives - it seems to wait quite a while at network initialization and certain devices. Perhaps a little optimization there would help a lot.

Macs are unique in that they can support SSDs or something? Because apparently Microsoft can be bothered to improve things on both sides. Maybe it's a trade-off since Apple's focussing on having a near-pixel perfect interface. :p

[Vice]

I'm really looking forward to this release I hope they announce the release date at WWDC. A late june or July release would be great.

[protocol7]

Macs are unique in that they can support SSDs or something? Because apparently Microsoft can be bothered to improve things on both sides.

Macs are unique because Apple are a hardware company and Microsoft is not. MS won't make any extra money if you feel the need for a SSD.

[.Neo]

Macs are unique because Apple are a hardware company and Microsoft is not. MS won't make any extra money if you feel the need for a SSD.

You really can't say Apple's strictly a hardware company since their software plays a HUGE role as well. It's what sets them apart and makes them a lot of money in the end as well. That said who in their right mind is going to pay ?450 for an Apple-branded SSD just so their Mac will startup a little faster? I'm guessing it's a niche.

You're honestly not going to convince me Apple isn't willing to improve OS X' startup times just so you pay the extra for a SSD.

[.Neo]

PS I just came back from the Apple Store for a keyboard replacement and noticed my new one now has a different looking Expos? key and a Launchpad key instead of a Dashboard one. Is that new? Never ever saw It before. Not really OS X ML related I know, but I didn't feel it was worth creating a whole new thread over. :laugh: