OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion review

To those who would argue that these features water down the Mac, making it a simpler device more akin to an iPad with a keyboard rather than the heavy-duty device its often used as, I'd point to a feature like Power Nap. Allowing your MacBook Air to back up wirelessly while its closed and leaning against your nightstand doesnt seem like a regression; that seems like a manifestation of the always-on iOS philosophy, but translated into a quintessentially Mac-focused feature.

Yes, some of the features Apple has introduced in Lion and Mountain Lion are specifically designed for new and novice users, and thats appropriate given how many of those users there are. But features like Launchpad and Gatekeeper and Documents in the Cloud are easily ignored or overridden by expert users; on the Mac, Apple seems to have chosen a path that makes the out-of-the-box Mac experience better for new users without wrecking things for the experts.