US computer company Apple surprised users on February 16 with the announcement of a new version of its OS X operating system, to be named Mountain Lion, just eight months after the launch of its predecessor, OS X Lion. The software, for the Mac family of laptop and larger computers, was unveiled by Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, which is based in Cupertino, California.
The release, set for this summer, will put Apple head to head with Microsoft, maker of the world's biggest operating system, which has flagged the launch of its Windows 8 for the same period.
Apple's new Mac operating system is to adopt many of the innovations and functions from its iOS mobile operating system which runs on iPhone and iPad devices.
Mountain Lion will also integrate computers more tightly with iCloud, the company's online service, and with the social networking service Twitter. A new security feature named "Gatekeeper" introduces varying levels of security to prevent infection with malware.
Apple said a "developer preview" release would be available to computer buffs and software engineers later in the day.
The final version of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion will be sold online through the Mac App Store from summer. Apple did not specify the price of upgrading.
Apple's Mac operating system faded from widespread use at the end of the 1990s, with Windows adopted round the world as the common operating system for ordinary personal computer users.
Apple said Mac has outpaced average PC-industry growth and its market share has been growing for 23 quarters in succession.
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