Mountain Lion = ....meh?


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I recently got the GM of Mountain Lion and installed it onto both of my iMacs. All I can think is, "what?!?! Apple is going to charge $20 for this?". After using it for a few days, I don't see any reason whatsoever to upgrade from Lion. It MAY run a little smoother than Lion, but I am not 100% sure that isn't because it is a new OS install. The little things they added don't really do anything new (Notes, Notification Center, Reminders, etc...), and tooling around in the OS doesn't naturally reveal anything new at all. It's like the only thing that changed with my iMacs is that the OS version went from 10.7.4 to 10.8 in "About This Mac". I have been getting worried for quite a while now that Apple has reached it's peak and is on the slow downhill decline of being irrelevant. Ok, maybe not irrelevant, but definitely starting to become not worth the extra cost of their OS and hardware. It has been a LONG time since Apple released anything groundbreaking, even though every time they announce something new, they claim it is the most "game-changing" thing ever. I hope I am wrong about that, but all evidence is pointing in the opposite direction!

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Well, since you're a registered developer (how else would you have Mountain Lion legally?) you should be aware of the many, many internal changes and all the other additions. How about checking into those?

And you are, of course, aware of the additional support for new hardware in ML, I assume.

**WHEW** Good thing you aren't running a PIRATED copy!!!

Clueless people are a real pain...

Well, since you're a registered developer (how else would you have Mountain Lion legally?) you should be aware of the many, many internal changes and all the other additions. How about checking into those?

And you are, of course, aware of the additional support for new hardware in ML, I assume.

**WHEW** Good thing you aren't running a PIRATED copy!!!

Clueless people are a real pain...

Whether it's pirated or not doesn't change the fact that, for an end-user, there's not much to write home about. I know I'll be buying it, but only because I can't install Snow leopard on my mac, and I want the old expose back.

Considering Windows 8 is only $40?

Beyond Microsoft wrapping the same apps (only with half the features) in a new interface what's actually so amazing about Windows 8 for most PC users? Especially those who use apps that will continue to run within the desktop for some time to come.

Let me put it this way: It seems to me both companies don't really know what to do anymore with their operating systems.

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Whether it's pirated or not doesn't change the fact that, for an end-user, there's not much to write home about.

And that's why OS X Mountain Lion costs only ?16. If someone feels, for whatever reason, it isn't worth the money nobody is forcing you to upgrade. Hell, maybe he/she is using an unsupported Mac and doesn't have to make that difficult decision at all!

For the morons out there types that are saying "then don't buy it", "you are clueless", and other short-answers, the real question is if Apple is stagnating or not. I think they are.

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Beyond Microsoft wrapping the same apps (only with half the features) in a new wrapper what's actually so amazing about Windows 8 for most PC users? Let me put it this way: It seems to me both companies don't really know what to do anymore with their operating systems.

This pretty much. The core OS are done and stable for a long time now. All they can do is incremental updates and polish. Although I don't really agree with the apps comment (they are mostly useless now but I will reserve judgement until they go final). :)

For the morons out there types that are saying "then don't buy it", "you are clueless", and other short-answers, the real question is if Apple is stagnating or not. I think they are.

What else can Apple and Microsoft add to their desktop OS? Everything seems pretty much done.

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Although it doesn't have many in your face changes I think I prefer this kind of gradual improvement release cycle to what Microsoft are doing with Windows 8, specifically the whole Metro thing.

So yeah Mountain Lion: not blowing my socks off but on the other hand I'm not too bothered about that. I do like iMessage and I do like the Notification area. The dictation is quite good (not amazing but good). Worth $20? I think so. I wouldn't pay $129 for it like the old upgrades used to be but at $20 I think it's a nice compromise between price and features.

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the real question is if Apple is stagnating or not. I think they are.

THIS. Even if the upgrade is cheap ($$), I feel like Apple is not inovating anymore. Quick Fix, iOS dash here and there and voil?. I'm talking about visible/usable change from a user perspective. I understand the "under the hood" change they made. And I'm not saying that Windows 8 is real inovation, I hate Metreo. But to me, OS X is not moving forward that much since 10.6

Will they continue to upgrade Snow Leopard and Lion after Mountain Lion comes out? If not, then it becomes a "forced upgrade path" since you need the upgrade to get the latest updates.

I realize Lion will still get updates, but i have a feeling snow leopard will probably be dead except for maybe a security enhancement.

THIS. Even if the upgrade is cheap ($$), I feel like Apple is not inovating anymore. Quick Fix, iOS dash here and there and voil?. I'm talking about visible/usable change from a user perspective. I understand the "under the hood" change they made. And I'm not saying that Windows 8 is real inovation, I hate Metreo. But to me, OS X is not moving forward that much since 10.6

Remember that their release cycle right now since Leopard has been Major Release -> MInor Release.

Leopard -> Major

Snow Leopard -> Minor

Lion -> Major

Mountain Lion -> Minor

The next release in 12-18 months from now will be a major release with lots of new features just like how Leopard and Lion were.

  • Like 1

For the morons out there types that are saying "then don't buy it", "you are clueless", and other short-answers, the real question is if Apple is stagnating or not. I think they are.

I agree. I think they are. Not just with Mountain Lion, but all their divisions. Expectations are so high now - especially among investors.

People have put Apple on a pedestal for so long. They are no longer underdogs. Success is basically a given. They don't have the same fight anymore.

It always makes me laugh when people complain about an OS upgrade costing $20 :D

It's $20/year now if you want to keep up. You can get Windows 8 for $40, and that's for a 3 years of development.

Beyond Microsoft wrapping the same apps (only with half the features) in a new interface what's actually so amazing about Windows 8 for most PC users? Especially those who use apps that will continue to run within the desktop for some time to come.

Performance is way better, even on older hardware. You're not just getting a new interface, you're getting benefits you'd normally only get from a hardware upgrade. That's worth $40 (roughly what I paid to upgrade my RAM to 8GB).

Compared to what MS used to charge, $30/$30/$20 is actually pretty cheap. Considering what they're charging now, it's quite expensive. No OSX release since Panther has really improved performance on older hardware.

Both Lion and Mountain Lion are crap. Tiger and Snow Leopard are really the leanest, most desktop-centric choices out there depending on whether your Mac is Intel based and what kind of Expos? tiling you prefer.

I disagree. Mission Control isn't as good as it could be, but full screen options in Lion are really welcome.

And as far as Windows 8 goes... it's a complete shift in the language that the applications run on. Microsoft is moving to the RT and away from NT. An app created to run on Windows Phone will also run on the tablet and the desktop OS. Windows 8 isn't just a metro interface and a vanished start menu. It's meant to make a 1 platform over many devices environment. I'm sure the next Xbox will run some if not all of the applications written for the WinRT environment.

that's just a promotional deal when Windows 8 releases, MS has yet to announce what the actual price will be after that deal is over

I have a feeling they might stick with it. I'd be very surprised if MS didn't make the majority of their Windows revenue from OEM sales, and given the Metro App Store giving them a 30% cut, they'll quickly make up for any losses of not charging $200 for an upgrade.

Remember that their release cycle right now since Leopard has been Major Release -> MInor Release.

Leopard -> Major

Snow Leopard -> Minor

Lion -> Major

Mountain Lion -> Minor

The next release in 12-18 months from now will be a major release with lots of new features just like how Leopard and Lion were.

There is no such determined cycle. Snow Leopard was minor because Leopard was already such a good upgrade but it was 2 years old and Apple wanted to A) release something to compete with Vista and B) release something without the PowerPC bloat. Mountain Lion is minor simply because it was a rushed-ass release (we have the Gold Master less than 1 year after Lion) to fix many things people complained about with Lion.

To be honest I'm just looking forward to airplay mirroring. For me that is worth $20. Hell, I've paid $8 just to turn my iPhone 3GS into an AirPlay music streamer.

The new notifications center and the separate reminders app intrigues me as well. In all honesty, for $20 all that I expect is a minor face lift and that appears to be what I'm getting.

There is no such determined cycle. Snow Leopard was minor because Leopard was already such a good upgrade but it was 2 years old and Apple wanted to A) release something to compete with Vista and B) release something without the PowerPC bloat. Mountain Lion is minor simply because it was a rushed-ass release (we have the Gold Master less than 1 year after Lion) to fix many major things people complained about with Lion.

I disagree with your opinion. I believe they are now set in to a Major -> Minor release cycle similar to how Intel have Tick Tock

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