In a recent report from Apple Insider, a spike of hiring of new associates in the AppleCare division is an indicator that the release of the next version of OSX is imminent. The article references an unnamed source who claims that the new associates are being brought in to provide customer support for users of the new operating system. 
There have been numerous developer previews released over the past few months, so it’s not unreasonable to expect Mountain Lion to be prowling soon. A quick pointer for those considering the upgrade- Mountain Lion will only be available via the Mac App Store, unlike Lion which was available as a USB flash drive installer for those that hadn’t embraced Apple’s vision of the future of software purchasing.
I’ve upgraded as soon as the last two OSX upgrades were available (Snow Leopard by disk and Lion via the App Store) and haven’t regretted the decision. Some pundits reported issues with both during their initial release, but my upgrade experience was smooth both times. I’m really looking forward to some of the features highlighted in press releases for Mountain Lion, so I will likely be an early adopter yet again.
