Apple Thursday started to give developers access to a new version of its Mac OS X operating system, called Mountain Lion. (Apple loves the felines; 'Lion' was its last OS X release.)

The company's chief executive Tim Cook discussed the changes, which consumers will see in late summer, in an exclusiveinterview with WSJ. They amount to a pretty sweeping attempt to port features from the iPhone and the iPad to the Mac OS. Noting their arrival just seven months after Apple's last OS X release, Cook says Apple is innovating faster than ever. 'To turn the crank this fast is jaw-dropping,' he said.

Here's a rundown of some of the more than 100 changes and updates -- interspersed with Cook's bordering-on-giddy comments about them:

Messages, Notes, Notification Center and Reminders: These familiar icons found on iPhone home screens are coming to the Mac, bringing all the devices together. The iMessage app, for instance, will let Mac owners send unlimited messages to anyone on a Mac or Apple mobile device.

Twitter: Apple's mobile iOS recently enabled people to easily send content to Twitter and other online services. That's coming to the Mac, from within the Safari Web browser and other applications. Users can tweet from their apps and receive notifications from Twitter.

Game Center: Mac owners will be able to play games, find friends and send requests to others on Apple mobile devices.

AirPlay Mirroring: This feature, also found on iPhones and iPads, streams what's on the Mac--whether an email screen or a Web video--to a television, if the user has the $99 Apple TV device.

iCloud: When people buy a new Mac, Apple will allow them to set up their device by logging into this online storage-and-syncing service that stores files remotely and makes them accessible from Apple devices. Apple says more than 100 million iCloud accounts have been created since its launch last year.

Gatekeeper: Apple likes to highlight safety as a differentiator. This new feature is designed to protect users against malware by allowing them to specify what kind of apps can be installed on their computer ahead of time. Apple will also begin to hand out optional ID codes to developers who want them in order to prove to users they are who they say they are. Mac users can decide to only install apps sold from the Mac App Store, apps from developers with specific IDs or any app.

Chinese: Aspects of Apple's operating systems have been tough for Chinese users to use, company executives acknowledge, in part because Chinese has so many characters and new names. The new release addresses that by refreshing its auto suggest, text-entering feature more frequently and by creating new hooks to popular Chinese Internet services, like the search service Baidu Inc. (Google remains the search default).

Jessica E. Vascellaro

• system [´sistəm] n.系统，体系，制度 (初中英语单词)
• executive [ig´zekjutiv] a.行政的 n.行政官 (初中英语单词)
• interview [´intəvju:] n.&vt.接见；会见；交谈 (初中英语单词)
• amount [ə´maunt] n.总数；数量 v.合计 (初中英语单词)
• arrival [ə´raivəl] n.到达；到达的人(物) (初中英语单词)
• release [ri´li:s] vt&n.释放；放松；赦免 (初中英语单词)
• instance [´instəns] n.例子，实例，例证 (初中英语单词)
• screen [skri:n] n.银幕 vt.遮蔽 (初中英语单词)
• device [di´vais] n.装置；器具；策略 (初中英语单词)
• computer [kəm´pju:tə] n.计算机；电子计算器 (初中英语单词)
• acknowledge [ək´nɔlidʒ] vt.(公开)承认；感谢 (初中英语单词)
• access [´ækses] n.接近；通路；进入 (高中英语单词)
• exclusive [ik´sklu:siv] a.独有的；集中的 (高中英语单词)
• sweeping [´swi:piŋ] a.掠过的 n.扫除；清除 (高中英语单词)
• launch [lɔ:ntʃ] vt.发动 n.发射；汽艇 (高中英语单词)
• install [in´stɔ:l] vt.任命；装置；安置 (高中英语单词)
• specific [spi´sifik] a.具体的；特有的 (高中英语单词)
• version [´və:ʃən, ´və:rʒən] n.翻译；说明；译本 (英语四级单词)
• unlimited [ʌn´limitid] a.无限的；过渡的 (英语四级单词)
• accessible [ək´sesəbəl] a.易接近的；可到达的 (英语四级单词)
• twitter [´twitə] vi.(鸟)吱吱叫 n.鸟鸣 (英语六级单词)
• specify [´spesifai] vt.指定；详述；说明 (英语六级单词)
• refreshing [ri´freʃiŋ] a.使心神爽快的 (英语六级单词)