And so Mac OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" is out today, for only $20. As expected, the reviews are already in.
Compared to previous releases, it may have lots of new features, but it is so backwards compatible that it could be considered an incremental upgrade. Come to think about it, it is similar to what Windows 8 would have been if it weren't for this completely optional Metro layer. For me, an incremental update like that is quite a plus. I still remember all those Mac updates for which half of the changes would be fundamental fixes and incompatible changes, making the updates extremely risky. Mac OS X 10.5 alone cost me over $100 in software updates and weeks of planning.
I wonder when Apple will be able to reduce Mac update costs to almost nothing as a way to entice as many users to upgrade. With Windows 8's update being about $40, I'm seeing a trend towards something Linux had forever: The OS should cost nothing, and make money on stuff running atop of it.
Oh, and for all naysayers that predict the Mac will be as closed as iOS in the future or that Apple will abandon the platform, here's my rebuttal: For as long as there will be iOS developers, Apple will make Macs open enough to allow for software development.
Published on July 25, 2012 at 20:53 EDT
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