Apple OS Mountain Lion: Three Million Downloads, Just Four Days

While many are looking toward the next release of Apple (News - Alert) mobile hardware with hungry eyes, Apple's recent software release, its Mountain Lion operating system, has proven every bit as popular as its hardware releases, sufficiently so that the software has been downloaded over three million times so far. This by itself may not mean so much, until the additional point that the software has only been available for the last four days is considered.

Mountain Lion represents something of a milestone for Apple, in that it shows further commitment to its idea of annual updates to its operating system. But the company didn't just shove Mountain Lion out the door to have something new to offer--which considering that there hasn't been any new hardware from Apple for months, some may actually think--as its also put plenty of new features into the mix as well.

Mountain Lion is looking to bring a bit of that iPhone (News - Alert) magic to Apple's more desktop devices, adding things like a notifications center, an app specifically geared for reminders--not to mention more apps in general--and AirPlay (News - Alert) Mirroring, which in turn lets users use their televisions as monitors for their Apple gear by way of their Apple TV boxes. Admittedly, not as simple as having a PC with an HDMI port, but still no doubt welcome for Apple TV users.

Mountain Lion is available in the Mac App Store, and will cost $19.99 to upgrade current systems to the new operating system. This is significantly simpler than trying to do likewise to Windows 7, which has a variety of different price structures depending on which version is desired and whether the purchase is for a computer that doesn't have an operating system at all, or one that merely has an older version. Mountain Lion is also significantly cheaper--getting Windows 7 Home Premium as an upgrade, according to the Microsoft (News - Alert) Store, will set a user back $119.99. The full version will run $199.99, and that's just for Home Premium.

Clearly, Apple's out to get some attention for its new operating system. Complaints about pricing in Apple products have been going on for some time; indeed, Microsoft made a lot out of commercials in which users were given money to buy a new computer and discovered that their dollar went a lot farther with PC. But selling the new OS for $19.99 is something of a bold move here, and one that may well fuel quite a bit of speculation as to the motives behind it.

The wider implications are impressive--a cost-effective Apple may well bring about that post-PC era we keep hearing about--but first there would have to be something done about the overall cost of Apple systems, which are generally much higher than its PC equivalents. Still though, pronounced savings in the OS department may be a sign of new and interesting things to come, so it's a development that certainly bears watching.

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