Apple is primed to release the latest version of its Mac OS X Lion operating system to consumers this month after introducing it at its World Wide Developers conference.

Anticipation has peaked as July progresses with no word yet from Apple. Enthusiasts sites, taking advantage of the lack of information, have put out their own predictions, only serving to whoop up more frenzy.

Sources tell IBTimes to expect it on either Friday of the last two weeks of the month, which is in line with Apple's historical Mac OS updates.

But why so much buzz?

The latest desktop OS from Apple comes with more than 250 new features Apple executives told developers last month. Here's a look at the top 12:

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iCal and Mail
The new look of iCal provides more room to browse and edit your events. The calendars list reveals itself only when you click Calendars. You can now easily add an event to iCal by simply entering a regular-language phrase and iCal will add the event.The Mail feature in OS X Lion will enable all the email accounts in one single inbox. The Mail features a new snazzy interface with 2-3 columns in view. The search has become more intelligent and powerful, utilizing "token" feature. Apple
Air Drop
AirDrop, a peer to peer Wi-Fi protocol between participating Mac computers, allows you to securely share your documents with others. To share a file you have to simply drag it onto a person's contact photo. After verifying that you want to send the file, it sends a request to the recipient. When the recipient accepts the request, the file gets transferred to the person's Downloads folder.AirDrop creates a firewall between you and the person you are sharing a file with, a feature that prevents anyone from accessing your computer over that connection. It doesn't require any special settings. IBTimes
Internet Restore and Utilities
A built-in restore partition allows the user to repair or reinstall Mac OS X Lion without the need for discs. It can be reinstalled on the system from recovery mode through a Time Machine backup. Apple
Launch Pad
LaunchPad makes it easier for you to access your installed apps. While the new apps downloaded from the app store will be added directly to LaunchPad, the user can also create a folder on LaunchPad to organize the installed apps. Each folder can hold as many as 32 apps. It creates full-screen pages to house your apps and adds new pages as you add more apps. You can easily move between Launchpad pages with a three-finger Apple
FileVault 2
FileVault 2 makes it easier for you to secure data on your Mac by encrypting the entire drive. It encrypts and decrypts your data on the fly. It's also designed to bow out processor cycles to higher-priority user tasks like copying files or browsing. FileVault 2 uses XTS-AES 128 encryption to secure the data on your Mac. Apple
Safari
What's your browser? Apple