OS X Mountain Lion available now

OS X Mountain Lion, the latest version of Apple's Mac operating system, is available now. You can upgrade from Lion or Snow Leopard for £13.99.

As previously reported, many of the new features focus on iCloud and iOS integration; check out the official press release below for more details.

So, should you upgrade straightaway? If you're currently working on time-sensitive music projects, the best advice we can give is to hold off until any potential software and hardware compatibility issues have reared their heads and been resolved.

If you do decide to take the plunge, though, let us know how you get on.

Apple OS X Mountain Lion press release

Apple today announced that OS X Mountain Lion, the ninth major release of the world's most advanced desktop operating system, is available as a download from the Mac App Store. With more than 200 innovative new features, Mountain Lion includes iCloud integration, the all new Messages app, Notification Center, system-wide Sharing, Facebook integration*, Dictation, AirPlay Mirroring and Game Center. Mountain Lion is available as an upgrade from Lion or Snow Leopard for £13.99.

"People are going to love the new features in Mountain Lion and how easy it is to download and install from the Mac App Store," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "With iCloud integration, Mountain Lion is even easier to set up, and your important information stays up to date across all your devices so you can keep editing documents, taking notes, creating reminders, and continue conversations whether you started on a Mac, iPhone or iPad."

With more than 200 innovative new features, Mountain Lion includes:

• iCloud integration, for easy set up of your Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Messages, Reminders and Notes, and keeping everything, including iWork documents, up to date across all your devices;

• the all new Messages app, which replaces iChat and brings iMessage to the Mac, so you can send messages to anyone with an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or another Mac;

• Notification Center, which streamlines the presentation of notifications and provides easy access to alerts from Mail, Calendar, Messages, Reminders, system updates and third party apps;

• system-wide Sharing, to make it easy to share links, photos, videos and other files quickly without having to switch to another app, and you just need to sign in once to use third-party services like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Vimeo;

• Facebook integration, so you can post photos, links and comments with locations right from your apps, automatically add your Facebook friends to your Contacts, and even update your Facebook status from within Notification Center;

• Dictation, which allows you to dictate text anywhere you can type, whether you are using an app from Apple or a third party developer;

• AirPlay Mirroring, an easy way to wirelessly send an up-to-1080p secure stream of what is on your Mac to an HDTV using Apple TV, or send audio to a receiver or speakers that use AirPlay; and

• Game Center, which brings the popular social gaming network from iOS to the Mac so you can enjoy live, multiplayer games with friends whether they are on a Mac, iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

Additional features in Mountain Lion include the revolutionary new Gatekeeper, which makes downloading software from the Internet safer; Power Nap, which automatically updates your apps and system while your Mac is asleep; and a faster Safari browser. New features for China include significantly improved text input, a new Chinese Dictionary, easy setup with popular email providers, Baidu search in Safari, and built-in sharing to Sina Weibo and popular video websites Youku and Tudou.

Pricing & Availability

OS X Mountain Lion is available from the Mac App Store for £13.99. Mountain Lion requires Lion or Snow Leopard (OS X v10.6.8 or later), 2GB of memory and 8GB of available space. For a complete list of system requirements and compatible systems, please visit: apple.com/osx/specs. OS X Server requires Mountain Lion and is available from the Mac App Store for £13.99. The OS X Mountain Lion Up-to-Date upgrade is available at no additional charge from the Mac App Store to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorised Reseller on or after June 11, 2012.

*Facebook integration will be available in an upcoming software update to Mountain Lion.