Mountain Lion? Meh...

[David Polich]

So, I finally upgraded my 2009 MacBook to Mountain Lion yesterday, just to
see whether it was going to be a life-changing experience in computing or
not. And after getting everything back to where I had things set up in Snow
Leopard, I found myself wondering what all the hype is about. Aside from the
convenience of Launchpad and getting used to the iOS scrolling style, I haven't found ML to be significantly faster, more intuitive, or that much more
"feature rich" than SL.

I did find that all of my Macromedia stuff doesn't work anymore, which means
that for the time being, I'll be staying on SL on my Mac Pro until I can find
reasonable alternatives to, say, Fireworks.

Did I miss something fantastic about Mountain Lion?

[Gravity Jim]

Cloud integration of notes, mail, contacts, calendar, etc., from computer to iPhone and iPad is the big deal for me (a one man shop with no assistant). I only have to enter things once on whatever device is handy wherever I am. If I remember rightly, it's a Lion thing made a bit better in ML. Between Siri and the integration features, my Apple gear acts like a digital staff.

[bayswater]

Local networking among multiple Macs works much better for me. That along with proper syncing between Mac and with IOS makes it difficult to consider staying with SL. But if you have a Mac that does nothing but run DP, I can see there wouldn't be much in it.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Full screen. Don't underestimate the value of that. But if you can't upgrade essential software then I agree to wait or just don't upgrade.

Oh, and running DP in 64 bit is not to be underestimated either.

[Phil O]

Please forgive my ignorance, but I haven't yet synced my devices. Is it bi-directional? By that I mean if I make a change on my iPhone's calendar and a different change on my MacPro's calendar, when I sync the devices will both changes appear on both calendars? I have this fear of loosing data.

Phil

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Yes. It's bio directional.

[David Polich]

Ah, thanks for all the replies. Well I refuse to sync anything to the i-Cloud (what happened to the editor of Wired last year convinced me not to do it) and I don't network anything either. Siri I found to be a gimmick so that's
disabled and no need for her.

I can run DP in 64 bits in Snow Leopard already. No need for Mountain Lion there.

Guess it's SL for quite awhile for me...until using it is no longer an option.

[Prime Mover]

Yeah, to be honest, ML isn't a huge deal. I really love the scroll (even though my friends HATE it), it is very natural. However, I have really no use for the cloud, since I do all my mail and contacts through google anyway. It's also broken a few things. Jambalaya has a few bugs when running on ML, enough for me to wish I hadn't switched, but it's kinda too late now.

I'll really want to give Mavricks a good test run first, because currently I REALLY am not liking the new direction apple is taking with their visual interfaces, and I have yet to see any features that look useful for me. Since my macbook is my instrument, I have to be very careful.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

FWIW, I've not had a single crash as far as I can remember since moving to ML. That's a pretty big deal, IMO.

Believe me, I am not trying to convert anyone. Then again, there is no way I would return to SL at this point and really look forward to Apple's innovations so long as they remain compatible with the software and hardware I need to make a living. I dragged my feet and went kicking and screaming from Leopard to SL and simply jumped Lion all together for many of the same reasons you guys mention about ML. But once I got used to ML and a crash free Mac, I was hooked. I setup Launch Pad but frankly, don't use it ever.

Full screen (to ) has really helped me stay focused and cleaned up distracting screen stuff. It just has a different "feel" to me and my little mind responds well to that... it's not that I'm easily distracte...

[Kubi]

I love it. Stable as all get out and fast. Granted, I came from Lion, it's been a while since I ran Snow Leopard. I remember loving my DP7/OS10.6 combo, but I'm already loving my DP8/OS10.8 combo even more. And I like to be on the latest OS simply so that i can keep using new stuff if and when it comes around and it tickles my fancy.



What really impresses me is how innovations like OS 10.8 and SSD hard drives breathe new life into a MacPro 8core from early 2008. It's a friggin rocket, now more so than ever.

<--- that's me smashing my old G5

[Gravity Jim]

Ditto MLC and Kubi. I have a 2008 Mac Pro 8-core that I didn't think I could squeeze anymore HP from, but updating everything to run in 64-bit under ML was a big improvement, and then switching to SSDs for my boot and sample drives really made it scream. And like MLC, it has been amazingly stable for me. 10.8.4 and DP 8.0.4 has been a rock solid set-up, every bit the equal of 7.24.

And if Siri is a "gimmick" (whatever you mean that), then it's a damn good one. Having an assistant in my ear who will dial the phone, read me my texts, send an e-mail, set an appointment, turn on a timer or remind me of something a later time, simply by pushing one button on my Buetooth earpiece, is pretty handy while driving between client offices and my studio. Knowing that the entered info will show up on my studio Mac and my iPad automatically is even better.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

My fav: Siri, play Jethro Tull.

Siri: Now plying Jethro Tull.

Or Siri, find me a gas station? Or Japanese food or whatever.

Siri: There a gas station 1.4 miles from here. Would you like directions? Or would you like to call the Japanese restaurant?

Gimmicky? I don't think so. And she can take dictation after reading texts and emails.

Siri, take the wheel for a bit, I'm gonna grab 40 winks.

Siri: I'm sorry I can't do that. Would you like me to find a motel or hotel for you.

Yeah, she's a keeper.

[Phil O]

I wish you could change her name. I have my gps unit set up with an Australian-English voice. I call her Martha. If I could rename Siri, I think I'd call her Colleen.

Siri, can I change your name?

Sorry, but no. I'm an intelligent assistant, not a tiny kitten.

Bitch!

I'm doing my best, Phil.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Actually I never say her name, just bark the order. The name is optional.

[David Polich]

I dunno about Siri. I mean, I get along just fine doing what she does myself. I tried Siri out exactly once, just found it
to be an amusement, but nothing I really need, especially since having Siri on
requires location services to be on and that drains the phone battery.

But anyway, we're talking Mac OS, not iOS, right? Siri isn't part of the
Mac OS.