Apple OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion review

POWER NAP

Intel-based ultra-books have had the ability to wake themselves periodically to check for new email and other updates since launch and it’s been the one area where Apple has lagged behind.

No longer, as Apple now has Power Nap. Requiring a firmware update, Power Nap lets your computer wake itself periodically, without turning on any lights, the screen or playing any notification sounds.

What it can do depends on the mode. On Battery power your computer can check for new email, calendar and other iCloud updates. When plugged into the mains, your computer can do all of this and perform a Time Machine backup.

Power Nap is a handy way to keep your computer up-to-date and backed up without having to stand over it to keep it powered on

It’s a great way to make sure that your computer’s always up-to-date and always backed up, but it’s limited to Apple’s apps at the moment. It would be good to see other application support, such as Outlook.

GATEKEEPER

Security is something that Apple’s recently had to take more seriously, and with Mountain Lion it has added Gatekeeper. It’s a simple utility that lets you control where applications can be installed from.

The harshest setting lets you install applications from the App Store only, the next setting lets you also install applications from trusted developers, while the weakest setting turns off all checks.

Gatekeeper lets you restrict where apps are installed from as an additional security check

It’s nice to see Apple putting more security into its operating system, but there’s no guarantee that any application you install isn’t infected, while the settings are fairly easy to override.

EXPOSE MISSION CONTROL

One of the more controversial changes of OS X 10.7 Lion was that it switched the traditional Expose view for Mission Control. While Expose let you view every open window as a thumbnail, Mission Control organised windows by application. To make up for this Application Expose was introduced, letting you just view the windows that belong to a single application.

You can change how Mission Control works, so it’s more like the Expose of old

With OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion there’s now an option to turn of Group by Applications for Mission Control, which essentially turns it back into Expose. It’s a little tweak, but one that fans of Expose will be pleased with.