Just like that, without any exclusive press event Apple has announced its next cat, OS X Mountain Lion. OS X Lion was considered to be a big upgrade from Snow Leopard, but Mountain Lion is what Snow Leopard was to Leopard. 10.8 will bring with it many new enhancements, tweaks and new features. In a nutshell, Mountain Lion brings a whole lot of the iPad-inspired iOS to the Mac with things like Notification Center, Messages (Beta now available to download), deep Twitter integration, Game Center, Notes, Reminders and AirPlay Mirroring for streaming HD content on your Mac to large screened devices using Apple TV. Mountain Lion has put an end to Software Update and letting the Mac App Store do all the work of handling your Mac's updates.

Mountain Lion also brings improved security features like Gatekeeper, which helps protect you from unknowingly download and installing malware. Apple has also made sure to support many Chinese services with 10.8 from social networking to email. The popular Chinese search engine Baidu will be integrated into Safari and Chinese text input will be improved. Developers can download the developer preview of Mountain Lion starting today, while the rest of us have to wait until the summer for the official release. Apple has yet to reveal the price, but it's safe to assume that it'll cost as much as Lion at $30. As for that good looking wallpaper you've set your eyes on, we'll be sure to get that out to you shortly!