Facebook and Twitter Integration
Facebook and Twitter have been integrated throughout the entire operating system. This means you can log in with Facebook and Twitter in System Preferences and that’s it. Other Apps can access this information and you don’t need to worry about signing on again. Also, you can Tweet and post to Facebook straight from the share sheet found in Safari and other Apps (including Quick View!) and you can Tweet and post in notification center. Finally, your contact information is connected with Twitter and Facebook so that email addresses and phone numbers are automagically (that’s the word Apple will use, especially after resolutionary…) updated. Not sure how this will work or how annoying it’ll be when it accidentally deletes all of my contacts…
Unification of Apple ID and Phone Number This is perhaps my favourite feature. You can now link your Apple ID and phone number so that when somebody sends you a message or calls you via FaceTime, you will receive it on all devices no matter what they use to call you. Both your phone number and Apple ID will work for everything. (I don’t know how this will work yet…)
Notification Center I like it on my iPhone and iPad, and I’m looking forward to it on my Mac. Notification center will get rid of annoying centre screen notifications such as iCal event reminders and others. It’ll also make Twitter @ replies more noticeable. Anyway, check out the video below for details of integration.
iCloud Tabs Just like I mentioned yesterday, you will now be able to view tabs in Safari from one device on another. So if you’re researching for a blog post on the train home on your iPad and you have a number of tabs open in Safari, then you’ll be able to view those tabs on your Mac when you get home, and you’ll be able to view those tabs on your iPhone when you’re in bed. Marvellous.
Dictation Siri may not have come to the Mac yet, but dictation is a good first step. Anywhere you can see a cursor on your make, you can now use dictation. Just double tap the function key and you can talk to your Mac. I’m looking forward to seeing how easy to use this will be, and how accurately it’ll interpret my voice.
AirPlay Mirroring This is perhaps my favourite feature in Mountain Lion, that is the ability to wirelessly show your computer screen on your HDTV via an Apple TV. I’m excited for few flash-based video on the Apple TV and also excited to see this being used as a presentation tool. I’m already convinced that every projector should have an Apple TV connected to it to mirror an iPad or iPhone display, and now that you can mirror a Mac display I am definitely convinced!
iOS Apps There is a host of iOS Apps that are making their way across to the Mac, including Reminders, Messages, Notes and Game Center. These will all sync wireless via iCloud (goodbye Evernote) and look almost identical to their iOS counterparts. In addition, Address Book and iCal are being renamed to Contacts and Calendar respectively.
Full Screen On Any Display At the moment, if you are running two displays and go full screen on one,You Just See a Black Background of Apple Lines n Mountain Lion you go full screen on any display. Hopefully getting rid of the linen.
Software Updates in Mac App Store Instead of receiving pesky Software Update alerts that require you to restart your computer at inconvenient times, Apple is now allowing you to update the OS via the Mac App Store. As well as download updates for Apps in the background so that they’re ready to update as soon as you are. Lovely.
$20! Apple has announced that you will be able to get all of these great features and 200 more for only US$20. Seeing as it’s only been one year since the last update I would expect it to be cheap, at least as cheap as last years Lion update ($30). And $20 seems like a cheap price. I mean, I would pay $20 for Airplay alone! It is definitely my favourite feature.
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