We would have suggested OS Liger ( rawr!), but Apple went ahead without consulting us and decided with this system update to start over with the naming process, leaving the big cat names behind.
Coinciding with their new ‘Designed by Apple in California’ ads, and the announcement that the Mac Pro will be built solely in America, Apple have started a new naming scheme for their operating system based on locations in California.
To start it off, announced yesterday at WWDC, we have OS X Mavericks. Mavericks is a surfing location particularly well known for its dangerous big wave riding in Northern California, just north of the town of Half Moon Bay.
Now, it’s also the new Apple operating system. Is it as cool as beach with big wave breaks? Well, kinda? We may have trapped ourselves in that comparison- it might not be that cool, but it is very cool.
Here’s the double rainbow of coolness for you guys;
New Finder Tabs.
Just like in your Internet browser, you can now have independently controlled tabs in your finder windows. You can merge these finder windows and take the finder full screen.
Tagging.
Filed under ‘I wouldn’t have though of this, but now that you did, it looks really freakin useful’ is tagging.
With Mavericks you will be able to ‘tag’ documents and media – save it, tag it as sports, home, to do, etc. and it catalogues these under their tags in the side bar of the finder.
You can tag documents with multiple tags, create new tags on the go, and the best part? Searching using tags. For instance, searching for ‘iphone stuff’ and ‘the best’ will naturally take you directly to your saved iPhone Antidote Wallpaper.
Multiple Displays
Users will now be able to access the menu bar and dock separately on each screen with multiple display support. You will also be able to load separate and independent applications on each screen, and drag them from screen to screen.
Apple TV is not forgotten here either, as it can now be a fully powered OS X display, with access to menu bar dock and independent applications also.
Extended Battery Life
There is a heap of new processing elements included in Mavericks to extend your battery life and reduce CPU utilization by up to 72%.
We particularly like a new feature called app nap, which figures out what applications and web pages are in use, and which are not. The system will then simply stop giving power to the web pages and applications that you’re not currently looking at.
Compressed memory pretty much does what it says, compressing inactive memory to provide spare memory to running applications when needed.
Timer Coalescing groups low end operations together , creating tiny periods of time when your computer can enter into an idle, low power state, which in turn saves your battery.
Safari
Safari is updated with Mavericks, starting with an all-new homepage with top sites and a sidebar with your bookmarks and access to your reading list. This will also include shared links from people you follow on Linkdin and Twitter.
Safari uses less energy in this update and includes accelerated, smoother scrolling and one click bookmarking. In your readin list, you will be able to scroll continuously through all of your articles, one after the other.
iCloud keychain
Cross device safe keeping of all your passwords and credit card information starts with iCloud Keychain.
This new feature will store all your passwords, across all your devices, so you don’t have to think about them ever again. Sounds pretty good right? The keychain will even suggest new passwords for you, and then will go ahead and put it in the cloud, encrypted.
With your credit card information, when shopping online, the keychain will offer the last four digits of all the cards you have stored, and you can pick one when paying and be done with it.
Although this sends little tiny shivers of scariness up the security part of our spine, it also sounds super useful and convenient.
Notifications
You can now get all your notifications, from all your devices, on your computer.
What’s also pretty great about this is you will have a number of new options for action within the notification when it appears on your screen.
You can respond directly to most notifications, (by replying to email, declining Skype calls etc.), within the notification banner when it appears.
Once you have actioned a notification, you won’t see it again on any of your other devices, and they will all be updated with your response to the original notification.
When the computer is awoken from sleep, all the alerts you may have gotten when it (and you!) were asleep will be listed.
Calendar
The calendar app has been updated in a really cool way- where now if you have appointments scheduled, the app will give you a ton of information you might need for them.
The calendar will now provide you with weather in the spot where your appointment is scheduled, as well as suggestions for restaurants etc if you require them.
We particularly like that the calendar will work out and tell you the travel time to and from your appointment, and will even add it to the calendar so you cant double book the time when you’re supposed to be on your way!
You will also get notifications of when you need to leave on your phone and/or computer.
Maps
Maps hits the computer with Mavericks! You can now access street maps, 3D flyover data and info cards. You can also push turn-by-turn directions to our iOS device straight from your computer.
iBooks
iBooks will be on your computer by Fall with this system update. Now you can access all the books in the iTunes store as well as your stored books and bookmarks, and read them full screen on your computer screen.
But what is really cool is for the educators and the learners amongst us.
iBooks for Mavericks will come with interactive textbooks, which feature videos and other media embedded within the normal text. You will also have the ability to highlight and make notes, and learn using study cards made from the material.
Sounds pretty awesome huh?
OS X Mavericks will be available to the public in the Fall.
All images courtesy of Apple.
February 9, 2014 6:59 pm | 
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