Upgraded to Mac OS X Mountain Lion yesterday and it wasn’t a big deal on many fronts:

  • Using the App Store, its so simply to upgrade – Second time round and its now becoming the de facto standard for how large install-base commercial operating systems should be upgraded
  • It only costs $20 (AU$21) – Such a small price to pay to upgrade your OS X, but…
  • It isn’t a huge upgrade – Nice features and all, nice moments of joy but no wow factor. The social aspects of the OS are really baked in now and the incorporation of iOS features (like Notification Centre and Messages) show Apple’s convergence strategy coming together for the two platforms. Mind you, I was really hanging for AirPlay mirroring only to find out that my October 2010 purchase of a MacBook Pro was not compatible. You need 2011 hardware for that feature. There is always AirParrot I suppose, but now that ABC iView supports AirPlay in their iPhone app, I may be able to live without this feature until my next laptop upgrade.
  • It happens every year – Frequently making major upgrades to the OS takes the excitement, risk and price out of it. I’m starting to look forward to Christmas in July now. And like most Christmas presents nowadays, it is always well received but rarely takes my breath away.

Mountain Lion is not a big deal on many fronts and that’s the point.