( Mashable ) -- Apple developers , start your engines . Mac users , start dreaming of how much cooler your desktop or laptop experience could be this summer . That 's when Apple will launch the latest big cat-themed Mac OS X , version 10.8 : Mountain Lion . At 8:30 a.m. EST Thursday , the developer preview version of Mountain Lion became available to Apple 's legions of app makers . Mashable was briefed on the new Mac OS prior to the announcement . Bottom line ? It 's a few more vital steps closer to fully connecting the experience you have on the Mac with the world of the iPad and the iPhone -- dumping iChat in favor of iMessage and Twitter , to take the most radical example . It 's almost as if it makes your Mac moonlight as an iPad . But it is categorically not the one OS to rule them all , if such a thing is even on Apple 's radar . OS 10.7 , or Lion , launched in July 2011 ; 30 percent of Mac users now have it installed . ( Another 50 percent of us still favor Snow Leopard ) . Coming in the wake of the iPad , it was clearly influenced by the success of the device . It introduced such iOS-like features as multitouch gestures on the trackpad and a `` launchpad '' of apps that looked just like the iPad 's home screen . Some of us began to wonder , with some cause , whether Mac OS X and the iOS were heading for a marriage down the road . The iOS Moves In . Well , here 's the next phase in the relationship , and iOS has practically moved in to Mac 's house . If Lion was a toothbrush in the bathroom , Mountain Lion is a chest of drawers in the bedroom . Reminders , iMessage , Game Center , Notifications , iCloud and Twitter integration â€ ” all iOS 's most intimate stuff is here , and it all pretty much looks the same as it does on the iPad . Most of it is designed to sync up so it is exactly the same . SEE ALSO : Apple Mountain Lion Embraces Flickr and Vimeo Sharing . And Mac OS X has had to throw out some of its stuff . Bouncing icons in the dock ? Who needs them when you 've got Notifications , which appear in classy banners down the side of the screen ? The venerable antique Instant Message software , iChat , a 2002 vintage ? A stupid wagon-wheel coffee table , says iOS . Throw it out . Instead , here 's iMessage , which will still let you IM your contacts ( if you must ) . But what it really wants you to do is use Apple 's seamless texting replacement of the same name . Admittedly , the thought of being able to immediately text anyone with an iPhone for free from your desktop is so unbelievably cool , it can bring on an attack of the vapors . You get the sense the Mac is going to be happy with its new roommate . What 's not to like about Airplay , which can seamlessly mirror your desktop on an HDTV ? Or a separate Notes app , where you can attach notes to the desktop like stickies ? Or Game Center , which will mean a lot more cross-device play ? Or a `` share sheet , '' which effectively means developers are going to be able to put Twitter buttons everywhere ? Mountain Lion will already let you tweet from all standard OS X apps such as Safari and Photo Booth . That means you can sit and take photos of yourself and instantly tweet them , to your heart 's content . It 's a boon for Twitter users ( Twitter readers , not so much ) . So things are going to be a lot more fun around the edges of the Mac OS -- which is no bad thing . At the grand old age of 12 , OS X was starting to seem a little too same-y with each iteration . This new younger partner is about to give the Mac a new lease on life . ( How much that will cost , we do n't know ; Apple is n't announcing a price yet , or a launch date more precise than `` late summer . '' ) But do n't expect iOS to go hog-wild and bring its apps on board in future versions . Apple is giving a hefty push to the Mac app store , which benefits from a security feature called Gatekeeper where you can limit installations to just Mac store apps . ( You might want to do this for your malware prone-parents , say . ) Developers are going to have to make two separate versions of apps they want on Mac and iOS for some time to come , and that 's just fine with Apple . When it comes to its two operating systems , the company seems to believe living together is good enough . So what do you think ? Will you buy it ? Take a quick gander at a video we put together with material from Apple , then a gallery of screenshots -- and last but not least , your chance to chat up a storm about this major Mac development in the comments . © 2011 MASHABLE.com . All rights reserved .
Apple : Latest Mac operating system , named Mountain Lion , will launch this summer . 30 percent of Mac users have OS 10.7 installed , another 50 percent favor Snow Leopard . Developers will continue to make two separate versions of apps they want on Mac and iOS .