Mountain Lion pounces on the Mac App Store

On Wednesday, Apple released Mountain Lion, the ninth major version of its OS X operating system.

Although the $20 download isn’t as big as last year’s Lion update, Mountain Lion does offer a number of new features—some which are borrowed directly from Apple’s iPhone- and iPad-powering iOS. (If you purchased a new Mac on or after June 11, 2012, you can upgrade for free through Apple’s Up-to-Date program.) Your Mac will need to be running Snow Leopard or later to launch the Mountain Lion installer.

As the latest big cat roars into the Mac App Store, our friends at Macworld have complete coverage of everything you need to know:

• OS X Mountain Lion: The full Macworld review
• Installing Mountain Lion: Our complete guide
• Up close with Mountain Lion: iCloud
• Up close with Mountain Lion: Notifications
• Up close with Mountain Lion: Sharing
• Up close with Mountain Lion: Security
• Up close with Mountain Lion: Reminders
• Up close with Mountain Lion: Messages
• Up close with Mountain Lion: Safari
• iPhoto, Aperture get Mountain Lion updates
• Slideshow: Take a visual tour of Mountain Lion
• Podcast: Go in-depth with Mountain Lion
• Introducing Macworld’s Total Mountain Lion Superguide