New Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks available now, as a free update for Snow Leopard onwards. Plus: What will Mavericks mean to me and should I upgrade?
Apple's new operating system, Mavericks is available right now, and is a free upgrade for all versions of Mac OS X going back to 2009 - that's Snow Leopard and later. Watch us as we discuss the Mac and Mavericks announcements that Apple made at its 22 October event.
How much will OS X Mavericks cost?
Mountain Lion cost £13.99, and we'd expected OS X Mavericks to cost the same. However, Apple has made the new operating system completely free!
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| New Safari in Mavericks |
What is Mac OS X Mavericks?
Mavericks is the tenth major release of OS X. For those new to the Mac, OS X is Apple's operating system, the X is read as "ten". The first version of OS X launched in March 2001. It is Unix based and is designed to run exclusively on Macs. The core of Mac OS X came from NeXT, the company run by Steve Jobs after he left Apple. It was Apple's decision to purchase NeXT in 1996 that ensured Jobs' return to the company he founded in the 1970s.
Apple previewed the new Mac OS X at WWDC in June and developers have been assessing the beta version of the software ever since.
What does Mavericks mean to me?
If you download OS X Mavericks you should be able to get even more battery life out of your current laptop.
The new Mac operating system offers a dramatic reduction in power consumption thanks to new under-the-hood software technologies. For example, Apple will exert more control over the way apps run to increase the time that CPUs spend idle, throttling down apps that are not being actively used, and even compressing memory to reduce swap disk access.
According to Apple, these changes could boost the average MacBook’s battery life by as much as 50 percent. This news, coupled with the introduction of Intel’s new low-power Haswell chipset, suggests that we could soon get a whole days battery life from our Mac laptops, without ever having to plug in.
When it launched, Apple claimed that the MacBook Air can offer 10 hours of battery life – that number should go up once you are running Mavericks.
The other result of this is that it will have a positive effect on the environment, not just that, these power-saving features will cost you less in your own energy requirements, and you will be able to benefit from more battery life without upgrading to new hardware.
Why did Apple call this version of OS X 'Mavericks'?
Apple had called all recent versions of OS X after big cats (initially these were just code names, but the cat names stuck and became part of Apple's marketing). Mavericks is the first version of OS X to take a name that is associated with California, where Apple is based. It goes some way to emphasize Apple's American foundation.
Mavericks is a famous surfing spot in California.
What new features does Mavericks offer?
There are more than 200 new features coming in OS X Mavericks this autumn. We discuss many of them in our OS X Mavericks review.
The Finder gets more attention than it has had in almost a decade – Apple has completely redesigned the Finder, adding new features including Tabbed Browsing and Tags to make navigating the files and folders on your Mac even easier.
Also new to Mavericks is a feature that makes better use of Multiple displays. You will be able to run two applications in full screen mode over two screens – in Mountain Lion only one application could be run in full screen mode. This feature will also work better with the Apple TV, so you can run an application in full screen on your TV via that device.
Another new feature is iCloud Keychain. This will make it easier than ever to manage multiple passwords – basically you won't have to, Apple will remember your passwords for you, and even suggest strong passwords for you.
Safari got a number of changes, such as the Favorites Bar which will house the Sidebar (which includes Bookmarks, Reading List, and Shared Links) and Top Sites. Shared links is interesting. That's where links to content that friends are sharing on Twitter appears.
Safari Reader also gets a makeover, you'll be able to scroll on down to the next story in your list, for example.
Mavericks also introduces Maps on the Mac. AndiBooks has also come to the Mac with Mavericks. This is good news for book lovers and students alike.
Mavericks also includes some advanced technologies that will have an impact on battery life, the use of RAM and power consumption. These new power features were a particular hit with the developers we spoke to after the new Mavericks operating system was announced at WWDC. The developers were pleased that a significant number of changes in OS X are geared towards power users and also that Apple appears to be putting resources into changing software so that it uses battery life more efficiently. Read more in our OS X Mavericks: Apple's developers discuss Apple's new love for power users article.
There are also interface changes to internet browser Safari, Mail, FaceTime, Messages, Calendar and Notes, bringing these apps into line with their iOS 7 counterparts. Read ourreview of iOS 7 here.
For an in-depth view of everything you need to know about Mavericks, check out our OS X Mavericks review.
Source: www.macworld.co.uk
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