Since the iPhone has hit the market in 2007, the Mac has kind of taken the back burner. So it’s not surprising that Apple’s announcement of the new OS X took a back seat to iOS 7 at this years WWDC.
People should be paying attention to the new Mac OS, because it has some great additions!
The first thing Apple touched on was the name of the OS. Here is the history of the naming convention of Mac OS X.
Public Beta of 10.0 – Kodiak
Actual 10.0 – Cheetah
Version 10.1 – Puma
Version 10.2 – Jaguar
Version 10.3 – Panther
Version 10.4 – Tiger
Version 10.5 – Leopard
Version 10.6 – Snow Leopard
Version 10.7 – Lion
Version 10.8 – Mountain Lion
So the general theme for OS X names have been big cats. Apple announced that they wanted a new naming convention that could last the next 10 years. So since Apple is based in California, they decided to go with some landmarks in California as the new naming convention. For many non-Californians, you may be asking where or what is Mavericks? Well, from Wikipedia, here is an explanation:
Mavericks is a winter destination for some of the world’s best big wave surfers. Very few riders become big wave surfers; and of those, only a select few are willing to risk the hazardous, sometimes deadly, conditions at Mavericks. An invitation-only contest is held there most winters, when the waves come.
So hopefully that helps you clarify the name ‘Mavericks’ for Mac OS.
Now onto the features.
First off, OS X didn’t see a big overhaul like iOS. It maintains the same look and feel everyone is familiar with. It’s all about new features and apps!
iBooks for Mac
If you are like me, and you like to read on your iPad or iPhone, you’ve been wanting iBooks for Mac so you can read on a bigger screen! Well, Apple is finally bringing that with Mavericks. It is the iBooks you know and love on iOS, but with some Mac centric features. It is really optimized for text books on Macs. A student could have multiple books open, take notes right there, as well as make study flip cards! Of course, with iBooks in iCloud, when you have a book on one Apple device, with iCloud it will automatically sync the book, your notes, and bookmarks!
Maps for Mac
If you like to look up Maps on your Mac, maybe some directions, then the new Maps for Mac app should help you out a ton. It has the same FlyOver feature, as well as the same general look and feel of the iOS version. However there is going to be one crowning feature that will make Maps for Mac awesome. I like to look up directions on my Mac before I go somewhere, but then I have the problem of getting it over to my iPhone. Well, with Maps for Mac you can look up directions on your Mac and send them to your iPhone (with iOS 7)!
iCloud Keychain
Passwords are a necessary evil. The reason I call them that is because a lot of sites require different combinations of passwords that make it almost impossible to remember passwords for every site. The app 1Password has helped a lot of people out with this, but it also came with a fee and was separate app from the OS. In Mavericks, iCloud Keychain can remember your passwords, help you create passwords, remember your credit cards (if you’d like), and sync them across all devices.
Multiple Displays
This is a great update to OS X. Many Mac users, especially in offices (like at Simply Mac), use multiple screens with their Macs. Apple has really improved how well OS X uses multiple screens.
First, when you are running multiple displays, normally if you are in a window the menu bar and dock remain on your primary display. With Mavericks you will have access to the dock on both displays, as well as the programs menu bars.
Second, when you went full screen with apps before, it would basically render the other screen useless. With Mavericks, when you go full screen it will just effect the screen that is going full screen. The second screen will not be effect and will allow you to make a full screen app on that screen as well.
Third, for those of us who like to multitask and use Mission Control we’ll enjoy the ability to now have mission control on both displays.
Last, if you have an Apple TV, you can do screen mirroring with Mountain Lion. With Mavericks you can use Apple TV that is plugged into your TV as an independent display. So you can now be working on your Mac screen and wirelessly move items to your TV! So if you’re doing a presentation of a video on your TV, take notes or surf the web with your regular screen!
Notifications
Notifications is getting a bit of a facelift. You can now interact with your notifications, so if you receive an iMessage, you can respond directly within the notification that pops up on your screen.
Also, similar to iOS, you can receive notifications from your favorite websites if you choose, like eBay or ESPN.
Finder Tabs
Finder is something that people use all the time and probably don’t notice it. With Mavericks, like Safari, you can now have tabs in the window. When you are working with files in your Documents folder and trying to move it to something like AirDrop, it can become a pain. Tabs will make it easier to navigate and use the Finder windows on your Mac.
Tags
Here is how Apple explains tabs:
Tags are a powerful new way to organize and find your files, even documents stored in iCloud. Simply tag files you want to organize together with a keyword, like “Important.” Then when you want to find those files, just click Important in the Finder sidebar or enter it in the search field. Tag a file once, or give it multiple tags to assign it to multiple projects.
OS X Mavericks has some great new features, and it should be faster and more efficient with the changes they did under the hood.
Mavericks will run on all existing Macs that are sold today! The software will not be released until fall, which is a bit of a downer!
To see a wrap up of the WWDC keynote click here!
To see the iOS 7 wrap up click here!
