How Awesome is Mountain Lion!

[iphonewarrior]

I've finally made use of my dev accounts and jumped on the latest OS X Mountain Lion dev preview. So far I'm literally blown away, it's awesome! Don't get me wrong there are a few bugs here and there - for a first show at a new OS it's simply, brilliant.

Messages works, instantly. It's mad how it comes to both your Mac and iDevice(s). In my instance I've been sent an iMessage, it comes to my MBP first then to my iPhone followed shortly by my iPad. Notification Center is quite basic right now, but has the potential to notify you for pretty much anything! I think we can say goodbye to, Growl.

I initially installed ML on a partition on my MBP's HD, changed my mind and started over and made a bootable ML SSD. After playing around with a locked partition (which caused a few headaches during install) I managed to get the auto install file onto a smaller partition (5Gb) then created a 30Gb partition which is where ML now sits. After installation I removed the 5Gb partition and all is good! SSD's are definitely the way to go from now on!

I'm still finding new features all the time! Apple did good. Safari is still crap, though.

 

[chris]

Safari is still crap, though.

That's the only piece I've tested and I'm seeing vast improvements. Faster, more reliable. Still has that incredibly annoying auto-refresh when moving between windows. It's a post-killer.

 

[Europa]

Cool. Now I'm looking forward to Mountain Lion even more. I haven't tested it at all. I don't think I'd want my texts popping up on my computer, though. I wonder how many people are going to disable that. I think Chrome is a better browser so I don't have any plans to use Safari.

 

[iphonewarrior]

That's the only piece I've tested and I'm seeing vast improvements. Faster, more reliable. Still has that incredibly annoying auto-refresh when moving between windows. It's a post-killer.

I was a little harsh in saying it was crap, it isn't that bad. I wish they would make it quicker, more smooth.

Cool. Now I'm looking forward to Mountain Lion even more. I haven't tested it at all. I don't think I'd want my texts popping up on my computer, though. I wonder how many people are going to disable that. I think Chrome is a better browser so I don't have any plans to use Safari.

The notifications aren't that intrusive, you see the Messages.app bouncing on the dock, though. I agree that Chrome is a much better browser than Safari.

 

[aknightstale41]

Any ideas on pricing? Or maybe a free upgrade, would be a nice surprise

 

[Europa]

It won't be a free upgrade. New OS X (full) versions are only $30, which isn't bad considering Windows is $200.

 

[iphonewarrior]

It definitely won't be free. Would be nice nice if they did decide to give it out for free

I think they'll stick to the $30.00/£26.00 price tags. Windows software is terribly overpriced... you could buy a half decent Netbook for $200.00.

 

[aknightstale41]

30 bucks is certainly reasonable, I'm excited.

 

[iphonewarrior]

30 bucks is certainly reasonable, I'm excited.

I'm looking forward to seeing how they can integrate iOS into OS X. I'm excited, curious and anxious all at the same time!

 

[Bennyboy]

The OS X is starting to look more and more like iOS.
I'm not too thrilled about it.

 

[Kadelic]

The OS X is starting to look more and more like iOS.
I'm not too thrilled about it.

The thing I'm not thrilled about is the speculation that OS X could become "locked down" like iOS. Some fear that in the near future we may have to jailbreak our Macs to run unapproved software.

 

[Bennyboy]

The thing I'm not thrilled about is the speculation that OS X could become "locked down" like iOS. Some fear that in the near future we may have to jailbreak our Macs to run unapproved software.

I think Apple is spending too much time in china. That would be brutal, I would go back to windows in a heart beat if that happens.

 

[iphonewarrior]

The OS X is starting to look more and more like iOS.
I'm not too thrilled about it.

The thing I'm not thrilled about is the speculation that OS X could become "locked down" like iOS. Some fear that in the near future we may have to jailbreak our Macs to run unapproved software.

Saurik always said that there was going to be Cydia for Mac. Watch this space...

 

[Europa]

The thing I'm not thrilled about is the speculation that OS X could become "locked down" like iOS. Some fear that in the near future we may have to jailbreak our Macs to run unapproved software.

I was about to say that's ridiculous, but then I remembered that I have to run a terminal command when I want to see hidden files on Lion, which includes .ipsws. Was that just the beginning? Please Apple, no...

 

[Kadelic]

I was about to say that's ridiculous, but then I remembered that I have to run a terminal command when I want to see hidden files on Lion, which includes .ipsws. Was that just the beginning? Please Apple, no...

My statement was made based on some general vibes I've been getting from OS X/iOS devs on twitter, not on any observations of my own. Like you mentioned about the .ipsws files, the first I heard about it was how Lion hid the Library folder. Now there's talk about mandatory sandboxing for all apps that will be distributed through the Mac Apps Store. I don't have a grip on what exactly that means, but I don't think Mac apps like Dropbox (that found their way into Finder on their own somehow) will pass muster.

 

[iphonewarrior]

I was about to say that's ridiculous, but then I remembered that I have to run a terminal command when I want to see hidden files on Lion, which includes .ipsws. Was that just the beginning? Please Apple, no...

There are loads of tweaks which you can use to enable hidden files in Lion.

Here's a good one:
http://osxdaily.com/2011/10/07/tinkertool-for-mac-os-x-lion-is-a-must-have-for-customizing-10-7/

Even if Apple decides to lock down their OS, doesn't bother me as I know there is and will always be a way around it

Now there's talk about mandatory sandboxing for all apps that will be distributed through the Mac Apps Store. I don't have a grip on what exactly that means, but I don't think Mac apps like Dropbox (that found their way into Finder on their own somehow) will pass muster.

Sandboxing is probably going to cause a problem for OS X. Dev's are mostly annoyed because Apple want to force developers into submitting their apps through Apple's Mac App Store - the dev's loose 30% instantly. I can see why they would want to sell something they've made and get 100% of the asking price, I know I would.

 

[Europa]

There are loads of tweaks which you can use to enable hidden files in Lion.

Here's a good one:
http://osxdaily.com/2011/10/07/tinkertool-for-mac-os-x-lion-is-a-must-have-for-customizing-10-7/

Even if Apple decides to lock down their OS, doesn't bother me as I know there is and will always be a way around it



Sandboxing is probably going to cause a problem for OS X. Dev's are mostly annoyed because Apple want to force developers into submitting their apps through Apple's Mac App Store - the dev's loose 30% instantly. I can see why they would want to sell something they've made and get 100% of the asking price, I know I would.

Yeah, but my point was that it's hidden by default now. I know there are ways around it.

Unlike you, I'd be extremely annoyed if they did that. Workarounds and waiting and relying on hackers is a hassle. I draw the line with my iPhone. I'll switch back to Windows if they lock down OS X.

 

[iphonewarrior]

Since Apple have been merging iOS with OS X and iOS is and has always been locked down. I think it's safe to say that OS X will follow suit. The only reason it's hidden is to protect noobs from deleting key files which appear to be duplicates/alias's, which happens a lot - on the plus side it makes browsing through Finder a more pleasant experience. You don't even need to enable the ability to view hidden files, you can use the Go menu.

Windows 8 looks pretty good, but it's still Windows. I'd rather have a hackable (potentially) locked-down Mac than use Windows. Unfortunately for me I have to use a Win 7 high-spec laptop for work - it's terrible and my 2008 MacBook performs better running Leopard.

 

[Europa]

Since Apple have been merging iOS with OS X and iOS is and has always been locked down. I think it's safe to say that OS X will follow suit. The only reason it's hidden is to protect noobs from deleting key files which appear to be duplicates/alias's, which happens a lot - on the plus side it makes browsing through Finder a more pleasant experience. You don't even need to enable the ability to view hidden files, you can use the Go menu.

Windows 8 looks pretty good, but it's still Windows. I'd rather have a hackable (potentially) locked-down Mac than use Windows. Unfortunately for me I have to use a Win 7 high-spec laptop for work - it's terrible and my 2008 MacBook performs better running Leopard.

Yeah, this is easiest method: Finder > Go > Go to folder > then type: ~/Library

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I'll use that from now on. Thanks. ​

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Which Windows 7 laptop are you using and what are the specs? I'm thinking about buying a mid-range Sony Vaio with an i5, 4GB RAM, a Blu-ray player and backlit keyboard. I don't have a Windows machine right now, and I think I'd rather get a laptop than use Bootcamp and put it on my iMac.​

 

[iphonewarrior]

Yeah, this is easiest method: Finder > Go > Go to folder > then type: ~/Library

​

I'll use that from now on. Thanks. ​

​

Which Windows 7 laptop are you using and what are the specs? I'm thinking about buying a mid-range Sony Vaio with an i5, 4GB RAM, a Blu-ray player and backlit keyboard. I don't have a Windows machine right now, and I think I'd rather get a laptop than use Bootcamp and put it on my iMac.​

Shift-Command-G is quicker. I'm a massive fan of keyboard shortcuts

It's a Samsung 15" i5 with 4Gb RAM, no Blu-Ray player.