Apple to Bring iPhone, iPad Features to Mac

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook wants to make its Mac more like an iPhone. He unveiled a new version of the company's Macintosh operating system that incorporates several features from the software that powers Apple's hit mobile devices.

They include Apple's messaging service, notifications app, gaming center, sharing features and integration with the company's online service iCloud—all pioneered for the iPad and iPhone, which use the software known as iOS. Named "Mountain Lion," the new version of Mac OS X is the clearest sign yet of Apple's belief that the mobile, laptop and desktop world are destined to converge—and that Apple wants to be a catalyst. Apple's Mac OS X team had already started borrowing from iOS, last July releasing the "Lion" version of its operating system that adopted iOS features like advanced gesture controls—by touching the Mac's track pad, rather than a display screen—and the ability to view desktop apps as icons in an iPhone-like grid. Now, Apple is going further, even changing the names of internally developed Mac apps to those of iPhone counterparts. The Mac's Address Book, for example, will become Contacts. iCal will become Calendar.