Apple prepares to release new operating system for the Mac

Call it a recycling of technology -- Apple style.

When Apple created its first iPhone, it ran on software based on the Macintosh operating system, the always evolving engine of the company's laptops and PCs. It eventually developed iOS software to power the iPhone and iPad. Now Apple is borrowing features from iOS to upgrade the Cupertino company's Mac products.
Amid the hype and hoopla surrounding the recent launch of the iPad 2 -- and murmurs about the expected iPhone 5 in June -- Apple quietly updated its MacBook Pro line of laptops and released a developers' preview of its new Macintosh operating system, dubbed Lion.
The new operating system underscores Apple's development strategy of copying features and technology from one product into another. Lion will include applications and multi-touch features similar to those on the iPhone and iPad.
"It's almost like everybody has forgotten about the Mac, but then Apple drags everybody back to the Mac," said Charles Wolf, an analyst for Needham & Co.
Lion, to be released this summer, will be the eighth major upgrade to the operating system. It follows Snow Leopard, the current operating system that came out a year and a half ago. Lion, whose price has not been announced, is expected to have flashier user interface improvements.
"It represents the evolution of Apple's design philosophy," Wolf said. "They are leveraging the different components of the operating system and