OS X Yosemite was launched by Apple on October 16, 2014. It is the eleventh OS X release from Apple Inc. for desktop and server in Macintosh computers. Named after a national park, Yosemite was first announced and released to developers at Apples Worldwide Developers Conference on June 2. It then underwent through several months of beta testing before public release. A public beta for OS X Yosemite was also done for the first time which allowed many users to test the software before the release.
Features
- Design
Among the many new features OS X Yosemite has, one major feature is its looks which are now updated. Taking clues from iOS7, the Yosemite has changed the Mavericks look which is now flatter. It has now a modern design that emphasizes translucency, streamlined toolbars, and smarter controls. The Dock is now in 2D instead of a glass shelf, used in early versions of OS X.
Spotlight has the same translucency. It now appears at the front and centre of the desktop. It includes new categories of results and suggestions from Wikipedia, Maps, Bing, App Store, iTunes etc.
The Notification Center has a new feature called the ‘Today’ view which gives you an overview day’s upcoming events, birthdays etc. It has all stock of widgets such as Calendar, Weather, Reminders, Stocks, World Clocks and even social networks. The Notification Center can be personalized according to user’s need or customized from third party widgets from Mac Apple Store.
- Safari
Just like the other default apps, the Safari has also been given a new streamlined design where all important controls are at the fingertips. It has a smart search feature or the Favorite view option that allows accessing the mostly visited websites which is similar to iOS 7 Safari.
The new Tabs view shows all thumbnails or tabs in single window. There is now a better privacy feature with separate Private Browsing windows and built-in support for non-tracking search engine. The HTML5 Premium Video Extensions can now allow users to watch extra two hours worth of HD Netflix content. The Apple claims that the latest version of Safari is six times faster than Firefox and five times faster than Chrome for executing JavaScript.
- iCloud Drive
Any type of file can be placed within iCloud Drive which places the folders directly into the Finder. All files can be uploaded into the iCloud from any apps. The folder of iCloud Drive works like any other folder which means documents can be dragged into it, arranged and organized with tags and searched with Spotlight. iCloud Drive from Mac, iPad, iPhone and Windows devices can be used to access these files.
The new updates to Mail have made editing and sending attachments is easier. Mail Drop is a new feature that helps one to send large files up to 5GB in size from Mail to any email address. The Markup feature allows one to fill out and sign forms quickly and attach images from within the application.
- Messages
Messages have new options to communicate with great appearance. Titles can be added to messages to find them easily. New contacts can also be added to ongoing conversations. Sound bites or audio clips can be created, sent or listened within Messages.
- Continuity
The new Continuity features bring OS X and iOS closer. A feature called Handsoff lets one to start something on one device and then continue on another. Another feature Airdrop is a peer-to-peer file sharing between Mac and iOS devices.SMS and MMS messages appears in Messages on all Mac and iOS devices. One can also make and reply calls across the room while charging.
