Twitter is becoming Apple’s Internet community of choice—and now it’s getting a boost in Macs, too.
The microblogging service is getting hardwired into Mountain Lion, the latest version of OS X, Apple’s Mac desktop-and-laptop operating system. This means that, if you have a Mac and you install Mountain Lion, you’ll have the ability to share pretty much anything with your Twitter followers almost instantly.
This is a big deal for Twitter, since it will be far easier for Mac users to share from their computer with that community than, say, with Facebook friends. Just as you can do with an iPhone or iPad, you’ll soon be able to easily tweet links from Safari or photos from iPhoto.
Twitter users are naturally excited.
“Holy, OS X Mountain Lion looks awesome. Twitter, reminders and iMessage integration are only part of the slow merger of iOS and OS X,” wrote University of Texas student Andrew Bluebond.
C.E. Golden was another tweeter who gave the tie-in a thumbs-up: “Mountain Lion looks awesome. +1 for Twitter integration.”
And you can’t blame Twitter employee Peter Fisher for seeming excited: “Woooo Twitter integration with OS X coming with mountain lion! #awesome.” (Apple and Twitter have long been close; in 2009, Apple profiled Twitter’s Mac usage.)
Some tweeters are skeptical, though.
“I don’t like this alleged twitter integration in next release of Mac OS…” wrote lost in moments.
“Apple picks twitter for mountain lion, but don’t worry Facebook timeline fans I am sure Windows will back that up and ruin that too,” tweeted Peter Krueger.
Last June, Apple announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference that Twitter would be baked into iOS 5, the major update to the software that powers iPhones and iPads. In December, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo confirmed that Twitter signups via iPhones and iPads had tripled since the release of iOS 5.
Speed is everything. Making system-wide Twitter sharing the fastest option for sending opinions and interesting content out to the wider world is a huge step towards Twitter becoming the default sharing method for millions of Mac users.
It seems that Twitter is set for another big bump in sign ups and the number of people who tweet regularly after Mountain Lion hits the street (well, the Mac App Store) this summer. You can get Mountain Lion right now if you’re a Mac Developer Program member.
Photo by bfishadow
