Apple picker Although we have already presented the main novelties in the upcoming system, Mountain Lion it contains dozens to hundreds of other little things that haven't been talked about much yet. You can read about some of them now.
The native mail client has seen several interesting changes. The first of them is searching directly in the text of individual emails. Press CMD+F to bring up a search dialog, and after entering the search phrase, all text will be grayed out. The application marks only the phrase where it appears in the text. You can then use the arrows to jump over individual words. The possibility of replacing the text has not disappeared either, just check the appropriate dialog box and a field for entering a replacement phrase will appear.
The list is also a pleasant novelty VIP. You can mark your favorite contacts like this, and all emails received from them will show a star, making them easy to find in Inbox. In addition, VIPs get their own tab in the left panel, so you can only see emails from that group or from individuals.
Given the presence Notification center notification settings have also been added. Here you choose from whom you want to receive notifications, whether only for e-mails from the Inbox, from people in the address book, VIP or from all mailboxes. Notifications also have interesting rule settings for individual accounts. What, on the other hand, has disappeared is the possibility of reading RSS messages. The RSS feature has completely disappeared from both Mail and Safari; Apple thus left their management and reading to third-party applications.
Safari
Safari finally got a unified search bar. Instead of the previous two search fields, one for the address, the other for a quick search in the selected engine, there is one that can handle everything. Safari was perhaps one of the last browsers to not have a unified bar, while other popular browsers have been using this feature for several years.
When entering phrases, the bar will prompt you from Google, allow you to search in bookmarks and history, and you can also start searching for the entered words directly on the page, all in one clear dialog. According to the current trend, Safari has stopped displaying the http:// prefix and everything after the domain is then greyed out.
A pro button has been added to the top bar Sharing, on the other hand, just like Mail, the RSS function disappeared. The place where the button used to be was replaced by a large pro version Reader, which was already introduced in OS X Lion. We can also find a few novelties in the settings, mainly the option of anonymous browsing, hiding the default font settings and its size. In addition, it appears that Safari will be able to receive notifications from HTML5 and display them in Notification center.
Preview and toolbar
The toolbar in the application has also been redesigned Preview, which is used for viewing documents and images. Already in Lion, a different look can be seen in the buttons – the square, simple gray icons that first appeared in Safari (although a hint was already seen in some OS X 10.3 Jaguar apps). In Preview 6.0, it is no longer possible to customize the toolbar, all buttons are fixed. At the same time, the buttons are laid out quite logically and everyone should find their way around them.
Buttons that are rarely used by the user are not visible at first glance and are hidden in the menus. However, their distribution mainly changes dynamically depending on the content. For example, you often use the search field in PDF documents, on the other hand, it is completely unnecessary for images. Many functions for annotations in documents and images have hidden under the icon Edit, where pressing brings up another bar with the necessary tools.
Over time, these changes will probably affect other native applications in the system as well, the effort to simplify can be seen here, which is becoming more and more obvious with the gradual unification of iOS and OS X.
Sending files in iMessage
In iOS, the popular iMessage protocol appears in the Messages application in Mountain Lion, which means, among other things, that there is a new and very simple way to transfer files between Mac and iPhone (and other iOS devices).
The solution is simple - in short, you will send the files to your own number. Since iMessages sync across all devices, just insert a text document, image, or PDF into a message on your Mac, send it, and it will appear on your iPhone in no time. You can view the images directly in the application and possibly save them to your phone. PDF and Word documents will also be displayed within the limits, but it is better to open them in some other application via the share button. There is also the option of printing them.
The method works with many types of documents, iMessage can handle even a 100 MB .mov video. The limit on how big a file you can transfer will probably be somewhere around 150MB.
Sharing across the entire system
In Mountain Lion, a pro button appears throughout the system Sharing, as we know it from iOS. It occurs practically everywhere, where it is possible - it is implemented in Safari, Quick Look, etc. In applications, it is displayed in the upper right corner. Content can be shared using AirDrop, via mail, Messages or Twitter. In some applications, the marked text can even be shared only through the right-click context menu.
iCloud documents
Although the file system in Mountain Lion has retained the same form as in Lion, Apple already offers a new option for document storage - storage iCloud. It is a central online mailbox for your files, where you can either create new documents directly, add them from disk using drag & drop, or download them from iCloud to your computer.
Screen sharing and file drag and drop
Apple has enabled the feature in Mountain Lion Screen Sharing what he has had for several years Remote Desktop, i.e. dragging files from one screen to another. In the shared screen, you grab a file, drag it to your own screen, and the file is automatically transferred. The same window appears when copying a file (File Transfers) such as when downloading in Safari or when transferring files in Messages. Files can also be dragged between desktops directly into various applications, for example an image into a document in Pages, etc.
It's in Mountain Lion Screen sharing in version 1.4, in which only the button labels are displayed in the menu bar, the icons are missing, but of course they can be returned in the settings. There is available Control mode, Scaling Mode, CaptureScreen and the ability to view the shared clipboard, send your own clipboard to a remote computer or get a clipboard from it.
If you're connecting to the remote computer via Finder, Messages, or using the VNC protocol via IP address, Screen Sharing will offer the option to log in as a local user, with an Apple ID, or ask to allow remote user access.
Backup to multiple drives
time Machine in Mountain Lion, it can back up to multiple disks at once. You just select another disk in the settings and your files are then automatically backed up to multiple locations at once. In addition, OS X supports backup to network drives, so there are several options for where and how to backup.
A clearer Accessibility panel
In Lyon Universal Access, in Mountain Lion Accessibility. The system menu with advanced settings in OS X 10.8 not only changes its name, but also its layout. Elements from iOS make the whole menu clearer, the settings are now divided into three main categories – Sight, Hearing, Interaction (Seeing, hearing, interacting), each of which has several more subsections. Definitely a step up from Lion.
Software Update ends, updates will be via the Mac App Store
We can no longer find in Mountain Lion software Update, through which various system updates have been installed so far. These will now be available in Mac App Store, alongside updates for installed applications. Everything is also connected with Notification center, so the system will automatically notify you when a new update is available. We no longer have to wait several minutes for Software Update to even check if any are available.
Screen saver like in Apple TV
Apple TV has been able to do this for a long time, now the cool slideshows of your photos in the form of a screen saver are moving to the Mac. In Mountain Lion, it will be possible to choose from 15 different presentation templates, in which photos from iPhoto, Aperture or any other folder are displayed.
Simplified gestures and keyboard shortcuts
Gestures, another inspiration from iOS, have already appeared in a big way in Lion. In its successor, Apple only modifies them slightly. You no longer need to double-tap with three fingers to bring up dictionary definitions, but only one tap, which is much more convenient.
In Lion, users often complained that classic Save As replaced the command Duplicate, and so Apple assigned the Command-Shift-S keyboard shortcut in Mountain Lion, at least for duplication, which used to be used just for "Save as". It will also be possible to rename files in the Finder directly in the dialog window Open/Save (Open/Save).
Dashboard adapted to iOS model
Although it is Dashboard certainly an interesting addition, users don't use it as much as they would probably imagine in Apple, so it will undergo further changes in Mountain Lion. In OS X 10.7 the Dashboard was assigned its own desktop, in OS X 10.8 the Dashboard gets a facelift from iOS. Widgets will be organized like apps in iOS - each one will be represented by its own icon, which will be arranged in a grid. In addition, just like in iOS, it will be possible to sort them into folders.
A departure from Carbon and X11
According to Apple, the old platforms are apparently past their zenith and thus focus primarily on the environment Cocoa. Already last year it was abandoned from Java Development Kit, also ended i Rosetta, which enabled emulation of the PowerPC platform. In Mountain Lion, the diversion continues, many APIs from Carbon a X11 he's also on the fence. There is no environment in the window to run applications that are not natively programmed for OS X. The system does not offer them for download, instead it refers to the installation of an open source project that allows applications to run in X11.
However, Apple will continue to support XQuartz, on which the original X11 is based (X 11 first appeared in OS X 10.5), as well as continuing to support OpenJDK instead of officially supporting the Java development environment. However, developers are indirectly pushed to develop on the current Cocoa environment, ideally in a 64-bit version. At the same time, Apple itself was not able, for example, to deliver Final Cut Pro X for 64-bit architecture.
It's all really crazy!!! I really like it. What I'm most looking forward to is definitely the common input for address and search in Safari, I really miss it there, but I still held on and didn't switch to another browser. Another thing I'm looking forward to is iCloud storage, finally there will be a reason to buy more capacity. Could Apple increase the free capacity to at least 10GB with this move. As you have 3 devices from Apple, especially with iOS, 5GB is hopelessly full. I am also very much looking forward to AIrPlay from Mac, it will be really easy and without cables...
It looks very good so far. Well, I'm curious about what Apple will do for even better accessibility from the point of view of blind users. It is already possible to work comfortably on a Mac as a whole, but it is not yet possible for specialized programs for Win. I believe that this is only a matter of time and I will not have to decide what I actually want to do on the computer and, accordingly, decide which one i will work
So for me it's very bad news:-( X11 and compatibility with unix systems is the key feature of osx for me. It was actually one of the reasons why I bought a mac. Tuned unix/linux like system user-friendly and prepared for HW data like windows. There are a lot of tools that only have a universal x11 gui. Together with sandboxing, the application loses its appeal not only for me osx
For advanced users, it's simply bad...
Smoula is moula. Advanced users want to work on the system and not crash in it. There are other unix systems for stourals…
nice, I'm already looking forward to the new Lion, although the changes will be more cosmetic, let Apple say what they want...
Oh, and what about the Dashboard - the second day after I started using a Mac, that desktop flew away and I never intend to get it back :D... I somehow didn't understand the whole concept and it seems completely useless to me.
Do you happen to know if OS X Mountain Lion Server is coming? We are seriously considering buying a Mac server for the company (the entire company basically runs on Mac and iOS devices) and this would be another argument for me. In addition, I would like to know if in OS X Server it is possible to assign tasks to individual users and give them a deadline. Alternatively, if the tasks could be divided into groups (e.g. according to projects) Thanks in advance for the answer. :)
Yes, the Mountain Lion server will, see here: link
And what do you imagine by the term work? Watching a movie, listening to music, writing an email, doodling pie charts, surfing the net? I recognize that for many people it is a full-time job, but for example basically the entire scientific community on the New Continent or here in Ireland uses Macs and compatibility with Linux/Unix is absolutely essential and the ability to modify anything in peace to your needs just like that. The idiotic idea (in the style of Bill Gates) that there will be special software for every problem that I will buy from the AppStore is evil.
I only wish that they return the gesture for reducing/enlarging the icons in the finder. It was in 10.6 and they canceled it in 10.7 I don't have 10.8 so I just want to ask someone with 10.8. Did they return the gesture?
Thank you. This is exactly what I meant when I was following the plans to remove X11.
Even if I forget what you write, even the stupid Inkscape for vector graphics will replace the problem. I am not a professional graphic artist to buy Illustrator for schematics, and what is in the AppStore, on the other hand, is really childish for drawing wheels.
But according to the article, X11 support will not be completely removed. It will only be offered through open source, which may not be a bad move in principle.
It looks like I will have to virtualize Lion on a full-fledged X11 or will the opensource X11 be able to do the same??
Martin Topinka: maybe you should start using something other than UNIX. It is actually based on the "idiotic attack" (which has nothing to do with Gates) :-))
Josef: what do you mean please?
I'd say he means workflow...Mission Control is a fail for me, dear Expose. Dot.
I would be interested in that too. Pinch-to-zoom in Finder is seriously missing!