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OS X Lion, Mountain Lion updated with security and battery life fixes

Apple unleashes Lion 10.7.5 and Mountain Lion 10.8.2 upon the Mac-using world.

Apple today released updates to the last two major versions of Mac OS X, Lion and Mountain Lion. The Lion update to 10.7.5 brings Gatekeeper, a security feature that was already in the newer Mountain Lion software, and general fixes. The Mountain Lion update to 10.8.2 brings new Facebook and Game Center features, and (we hope) improvements to battery life.

Apple doesn't actually mention battery life in the 10.8.2 release notes, as is its wont, but independent testing by Mac Observer indicates that 10.8.2 solves the laptop battery life problems seen in previous versions of Mountain Lion. The testing was based on prerelease builds of 10.8.2, so it may not be the final word.

The 10.8.2 feature updates include more sharing options for Game Center as well as single sign-on to Facebook, the addition of Facebook as an option for sharing links and photos, and Facebook notifications in the OS X Notification Center. One new integration with the iPhone requires the just-released iOS 6, namely that "iMessages sent to your phone number now appear in Messages on your Mac." 10.8.2 also technically brings Power Nap support to the late 2010 MacBook Air, but in order to use all of its functionality MacBook Air owners need to download a required SMC update that's not available for the 2010 model as of this writing.

As mentioned, OS X Lion 10.7.5 adds support for Gatekeeper, which blocks installation of applications not signed with the Developer ID Apple issues to developers. Users can adjust the settings to be more permissive and allow any application to be installed. Further improvements in 10.7.5 include a fix for a problem where Launchpad icons become rearranged after a restart; improved WiFi reliability for iMac models from late 2009 and beyond; a fix to a problem in using Spotlight to search an SMB server; and improved compatibility connecting to Active Directory servers.

10.8.2 can be downloaded from the Mac App Store, while 10.7.5 can be downloaded through the Mac's traditional software update process. Since Mountain Lion is much newer than Lion, it's not surprising that the Mountain Lion update has a much longer list of new features. The full list is here.

UPDATE: Readers point out that there is also a new security update for Snow Leopard, and that more details on the Active Directory authentication problem on Mountain Lion are in this Apple support forum thread. Cult of Mac reports that there is also an EFI update for the MacBook Pro with Retina Display designed to prevent system hangups at times of heavy CPU usage, and a fix for a problem when using NetBoot with an Ethernet adapter.

Channel Ars Technica