I'm an early adopter. It's my personality, but thankfully it's also my job. I get to be a pioneer for my co-workers and for my readers.
When Apple introduced Mac OS 10.9, also known as Mavericks, I'd already planned on installing it on release day. It was a pleasant surprise when Apple announced the upgrade would be free.
In fact, even if you have a Macintosh from as far back as 2007, you can upgrade to Mavericks for free.
All you need is a Mac that is 64-bit compatible, including:
iMac (mid-2007 or newer)
MacBook (late 2008 Aluminum, or early 2009 or newer)
MacBook Pro (mid/late 2007 or newer)
MacBook Air (late 2008 or newer)
Mac mini (early 2009 or newer)
Mac Pro (early 2008 or newer)
Xserve (early 2009)
Apple knows a large rollout and widespread adoption of Mavericks will help the Mac ecosystem in the future. Maximizing the number of Mavericks users will also help developers reach more customers who are using the latest operating system.
To upgrade to Mavericks, you'll need an eligible Mac running Mac OS 10.6.8 or later. You'll need to go the Mac App Store and find Mavericks, then press the button to start the download.
Your Mac will start a 5-gigabyte download of the OS. Then it'll reboot and go through the installation process. On my Macbook Pro, the upgrade took about 45 minutes from start to finish.
If you have a Mac with 10.5 to upgrade, you can do it, but it isn't easy. For the scoop, the great people at Macworld have an answer at http://bit.ly/1fTVZXv.
So after the last reboot, you'll see a (mostly) familiar log-in screen or desktop.
Let's take a look at a few of the bigger features in Mac OS 10.9.
Maps
Apple took some heat last year when it dropped Google as its source of the iPhone's Maps app and went with its own solution. There were tons of errors, and it was an embarrassment.
I pretty much stopped using Apple's Maps, but improvements have been made.
Now Apple has brought Maps to the Mac OS with a dedicated app.
The maps and layout are very clean. Driving directions are easy to plot, and travel time is estimated to include live traffic conditions.
Once you have a route, it's one click to send it to your iPhone or iPad.
iCloud Keychain
Apple is jumping on the password manager bandwagon with iCloud Keychain, which keeps all your website usernames and passwords. It can also store credit card numbers and Wi-Fi passwords on all your Apple hardware — computers and iOS devices.
Multiple displays
I gave up on using more than one display on my Mac in recent years because I started using the multiple desktop feature in Mac OS. I can create as many desktops as I like and swipe between them with my trackpad.
In Mavericks, Apple is changing the way the OS works with multiple monitors, as the top menus and dock are now available on every monitor connected to your computer.
Also, with AirPlay and an Apple TV, you can use your TV as a second monitor with little setup hassle.
Finder Tags and Tabs
Most people keep documents from one project inside a folder. Apple has introduced the ability to tag documents. You can right-click on a file and assign it a tag of your choosing. Those tags make it easier to find those documents later. Tagging is basically assigning a keyword to the files. You can then find the files later by searching on the tags. You can give each file as many tags as you like. Files can have multiple tags.
Your finder windows can now have tabs, like a browser, to keep multiple windows in one place to reduce clutter on your desktop.
There are plenty of other features in Mavericks. I've only got room to touch on a few.
I'd like to hear what you find useful or lacking in Mac OS 10.9. As always, drop me an email if you have questions or comments.
Follow Jim Rossman on Twitter
at @jimrossman.
No comments:
Post a Comment