Mountain Lion now available to download from App Store for $19.99

Apple has released the latest version of its OS X operating system called Mountain Lion. Users with compatible Mac machines can download the operating system from the Mac App Store for $19.99. Those who bought a Mac on or after July 11 are eligible to aupgrade to Mountain Lion for free. Apple had announced during its earnings call that it would be releasing Mountain Lion today. The release is being rolled out in phases so it might reflect on Mac App Store shortly if it is not visible at the moment. Read on to see if your Mac is compatible or not.
OS X Mountain Lion is compatible with the following Macs:

• iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
• MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
• Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
• Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
• Xserve (Early 2009)

Users need to ensure they are running OS X 10.7.x (Lion) to install Mountain Lion. Those running Snow Leopard (10.6.x) need to first update to the latest version of Snow Leopard Lion before they can upgrade to Mountain Lion. You can check out a detailed list of more than 200 new features of Mac OS X Mountain Lion here.

Read more »

OS X Mountain Lion Vs Windows 8 [comparison]

The Mac versus PC war has entered a new phase, with Apple and Microsoft readying new operating systems for launch. With Windows 8, Microsoft is ambitiously targeting laptops, desktops and tablets with a single platform (albeit with different versions). Meanwhile, Apple is sticking to laptops and desktops with OS X Mountain Lion, leaving iOS to lead the post-PC charge.

While Windows 8 represents an extreme makeover, Mountain Lion keeps the core OS X environment mostly consistent while borrowing some of the best features of iOS. As of press time, neither Windows 8 (available as a Release Preview) nor Mountain Lion (tested in developer preview) were finished products. But the operating systems are far enough along that we can compare them to see which platform is shaping up to provide the better everyday computing experience.

Read more »