OS X Yosemite
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Apple's public beta for OS X Yosemite begins tomorrow
The Apple we know is run by a bunch of perfectionists. The company only shows off final devices at its launch events, and developers are strictly forbidden from sharing screenshots of upcoming iOS releases. This is a company that doesn't usually bother with sneak peeks. Or do they? Apple announced a few months ago that it would carry out a public beta-testing program for OS X Yosemite, its next-gen Mac operating system, allowing regular people to give feedback before it eventually gets a wide release. Now, the testing period is finally about to begin: Apple says that beta users will be able to download an early version of the OS starting tomorrow at around 1PM Eastern. If you've already signed up to join the beta program, you don't need to do anything; you'll get a notification tomorrow when the OS is ready to download. If you haven't gotten around to it yet, though, we suggest you get on that ASAP: Only one million people are allowed to participate in this early-stage testing, which means slowpokes might not get a chance. Update: Our preview of OS X Yosemite is already up, even before the public beta period begins. Read it here!
OS X Yosemite preview: the Mac gets a major makeover
The last time Apple released a new version of OS X, we came away feeling a little... underwhelmed. Don't get us wrong: We'll never say no to a free software upgrade. But despite a handful of new apps and features, last year's Mavericks release still felt like the same old OS X. You can't say that about Yosemite, though. The company's next-gen operating system ushers in the Mac's biggest makeover in years, with a flat, streamlined look inspired by iOS 7. Yosemite works more like iOS too, particularly the part where you can route phone calls to your desktop. You'll also enjoy improved Spotlight search, with results that include news, local restaurant listings, Wikipedia pages, movie times and quick unit conversions. Safari works much the same way, and includes some enhanced privacy settings, too. Right now, Yosemite isn't quite finished -- it won't arrive until sometime this fall -- but you can sign up for the public beta, which will open tomorrow for the first million people who enlist. In the meantime, I've been using an early build for a week now. Here's a quick preview for those of you who can't wait till tomorrow.
OS X Yosemite beta adoption rate almost 4X that of Mavericks
The excitement in the air at Moscone Center West for the Apple World Wide Developer conference keynote was palpable, especially when Apple's Craig Federighi began demoing OS X 10.10 Yosemite. The new OS offers much tighter integration than ever before with Apple's other devices, and the user interface changes are stunning. Well, developers apparently have a lot of interest in Yosemite, as research firm Chitika is reporting that the beta versions are being adopted by developers at a rate almost four times that of OS X Mavericks. Now, neither of the operating systems really gathered all that much usage during testing -- at 30 days past the release of the initial beta, OS X Yosemite is only generating 0.20 percent of North American OS X web traffic. But that's four times the rate of OS X 10.9 Mavericks 30 days after initial beta release. As Chitika points out, "users of the now nine-year old OS X Tiger still generate more Web traffic than Yosemite users." In other news, Chitika figures now show that OS X Mavericks is at the top of the OS X usage heap, generating a whopping 45.7 percent of all North American OS X web traffic, followed by OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (17.5 percent) and OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion (17.1 percent). You can see how your favorite legacy OS X version fared in the pie chart following this post. Chitika's final word on the subject? "...with the increased level of developer activity thus far, along with the success of the similarly no cost OS X Mavericks, it's very probable that OS X Yosemite adoption will outpace that of any other previous Mac desktop OS when it is released publicly later this year."
Handoff feature in OS X Yosemite may only work on Macs with Bluetooth LE 4.0 support
The upcoming Handoff feature that allows users to seamlessly transition between workflows on their Mac and iOS device seemingly only works on Macs that support Bluetooth LE 4.0. For starters, MacRumors points out that Apple engineers during WWDC explained that the feature does in fact utilize Bluetooth LE. What's more, the recent release of the second OS X Yosemite beta includes a field for continuity support within the system information pane. The content of the field appears to be a function of which machines support Bluetooth LE With this in mind, the website Apfeimer compiled the following chart detailing which Mac models support Bluetooth LE and, by extension, will be able to run the Handoff feature. The red bars indicate which Mac models can run OS X Yosemite while the green bars represent which models come equipped with Bluetooth LE 4.0. A video of the Handoff feature in action can be seen below.
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for June 16, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
The new Handoff feature in iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite in action
One of the underlying themes of this year's WWDC keynote was continuity, an overarching set of features that effectively blurs the lines between the Mac and iOS as separate devices. One of the more intriguing continuity features is something Apple calls Handoff. With Handoff, iPhone users running OS X Yosemite can seamlessly transition between workflows on their iOS 8 device and Mac without missing a beat. Apple describes the feature thusly: Now you can start writing an email on your iPhone and pick up where you left off when you sit down at your Mac. Or browse the web on your Mac and continue from the same link on your iPad. It all happens automatically when your devices are signed in to the same iCloud account. Use Handoff with favorite apps like Mail, Safari, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Maps, Messages, Reminders, Calendar, and Contacts. And developers can build Handoff into their apps now, too. Handoff promises to be one of the more exciting new features in OS X Yosemite and Cult of Mac recently posted a video of the feature in action. The video also shows how phone calls forwarded from an iPhone to a Mac will run, another nifty addition to the continuity feature set.
How to install Yosemite on a USB 3.0 flash drive
OS X Yosemite has a lot of people excited, and for some good reasons -- a new, more iOS 7-like UI, AirDrop that works with iOS, calling from Mac, and a host of other really useful and fun new features. Developers are already testing the new OS, and the general public can begin testing soon in an open consumer beta. But you should never, ever install a beta operating system on a production machine -- otherwise known as "my only Mac" or "the Mac they gave me at work". Instead, you can easily install Yosemite on a USB 3.0 flash drive and have your development/testing operating system available in your pocket just a reboot away. Here's how to do it: Download the Yosemite beta installer, also known as "Install OS X 10.10 Developer Preview". For developers, this is simple -- just log into the Dev Center with your credentials, click the OS X Yosemite Developer Preview button to open the tab for Yosemite, and then scroll down and click the button to redeem your code to download the installer from the Mac App Store. Once you've logged into the App Store, the download begins and you just need to wait for it to complete. Now, while all this is going on, get your USB 3.0 flash drive ready to roll. I picked up a PNY 64 GB USB 3.0 drive from Amazon for US$26; perfect for installing Yosemite, Xcode 6, or other apps that you'd like to test with OS X 10.10. You just need to make sure that it's properly formatted and partitioned. My flash drive came with some oddball DOS-based format; I erased it in Disk Utility, then created one full-sized partition set up as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Once complete, I checked the logical partition to make sure that it was indeed bootable (see image below), and then it was off to the races. Note that you might want to create several partitions. Shawn "Doc Rock" Boyd set up a similar drive with legacy operating system installers and Yosemite, which he uses not only to try out the new OS, but to work with his consulting clients. The rest of the installation is actually quite simple. Launch the installer and it will display a splash screen. Click Continue, and the following screen is displayed. Click the "Show All Disks" button. Select your flash drive, in this case "Yosemite Sam" (see image below). Click the Install button, accept terms and conditions, and then you're on your way. Once the installation is complete, you'll be asked to go through the OS X Yosemite Setup Assistant to add information like your iCloud account and password. In the future, if you wish to boot from your previous OS version, just restart, holding down the Option key. You'll be greeted with a display showing the available drives; select your hard drive by double-clicking on it. Likewise, if you're back in Mavericks-land and want to play with Yosemite, select your flash drive by double-clicking on it. A few caveats about this method of running the beta. First, even though USB 3.0 is pretty speedy, it's still going to take a while to boot up Yosemite. Second, this is a beta operating system, and at least with the first developer beta, it's pretty pokey in terms of a lot of operations. Third, you'll also have to put up with things like Spotlight indexing all of the files on your Mac, Mail doing whatever it does with your existing Mail the first time, etc... If speed is a real concern to you, my suggestion is to purchase a Thunderbolt drive to install Yosemite onto. For me, though, cost was the major criteria and $26 seemed about right. And even though it's rather slow, being able to see the clean new UI of Yosemite in all of its glory on my Retina MacBook Pro is worth the wait:
A closer look at the new trash can and dock UI in OS X Yosemite
The design shift from Mavericks to Yosemite is a lot less stark than what we saw last year with the transition from iOS 6 to iOS 7. Nonetheless, Apple with OS X Yosemite still managed to implement a number of noticeable changes to the overall look and feel of the OS, from conspicuous new icons to more subtle UI tweaks. Min Ming Long of Pixelapse last week put up a relatively comprehensive and informative post detailing a number of the new UI changes we can look forward to once OS X Yosemite breaks free from its beta designation. The entire post is worth checking out, but we'll just highlight two examples to whet your appetite. First up, we have a close-up view of OS X's new trash can. Yeah, we know that a new trash can icon is typically nothing to write home about, but given that it's a glaring design change, why not give it its due? Besides, you might recall Apple's Craig Federighi saying that Apple spent quite a bit of time on the design. And so, without further ado, here it is in all of its glory. Behold! I can't lie; it is pretty sleek. As we covered in greater detail last week, there are a number of icon changes on OS X Yosemite's dock that, on the whole, really embody thoughtful design. The new trashcan in particular marks the end to an OS X trashcan design that more or less looked like this for the last 14 years. Trashcan business aside, there are some other changes to the OS X Yosemite dock that are worth mentioning. As evidenced in the photo below, Apple has done away with the 3D shelf for icons, a dock mainstay since OS X Leopard. Also make note of new indicator dots and lighter labels for each corresponding application. Again, make sure to digest the full entry for a more complete rundown of UI changes, from new and almost-neon blue system folders to newly designed navigation elements and a whole lot more. OS X Yosemite won't be available as a final release until this fall, but until then, interested Mac users can download a beta of the upcoming OS free of charge. Lastly, make sure to check out our handy guide which lays out which Mac models will actually able to run the OS X 10.10.
Weekends with Engadget: Apple's developer conference, LG G3 review and more!
This week, we watched Apple announce iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, reviewed the LG G3, gave Cortana a psych eval and investigated the reality of life with autonomous cars. Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last seven days. Oh, and be sure to subscribe to our Flipboard magazine!
After 14 years, the "Preview Kid" on OS X's Preview icon is no more
Earlier this week we covered many of the new icons users can look forward to in OS X Yosemite. As opposed to iOS 7, the iconography in Yosemite is rather impressive. Instead of blindly adhering to a flat design aesthetic, OS X Yosemite's icons appear a bit more nuanced and elegant, seemingly an indication that a lot more thought (and time, most likely) went into the design process. While design changes to the Finder and Trashcan icons are the most noticeable, you may have missed the significance of Apple's brand new Preview icon. By itself, it's not too shabby, what with a scenic photo nestled beneath a loupe. But the redesign of the Preview icon also spells the end for what some are calling the Preview Kid. For approximately 14 years, the Preview icon in OS X looked like this - an adorable little kid having a grand old time by the water. OS X Snow Leopard? He's there. OS X Jaguar? He's there. Yep, this kid is as old as OS X itself, even gracing the original Dock that was introduced in OS X 10.0. After 14 years, there's no question that he's had an incredible run, but with college probably looming next year, it'd be pretty darn selfish of us to expect him to hang around the Dock forever. So, Preview Kid, wherever you are, a hearty bon voyage! is in order. We can only hope that your time in OS X was as meaningful and memorable to you as it was to all of us. via Reddit
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for June 4, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
TUAW TV Live: More revelations from WWDC 2014 (Updated)
This week, Shawn "Doc Rock" Boyd and I will be talking about the news coming out of San Franciso at the Apple World Wide Developer Conference. Sure, we all know about iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, but what about some of the details that are starting to emerge? It certainly appears that Apple has really decided that this WWDC is all about fine-tuning the user experience for Apple customers. To watch the show and take part in the chat, just scroll down a tiny bit, log into the chat room, and be sure to press the "play" button on the video window around 5 PM to watch the stream. If you don't have time to watch the complete show today, come back to this post later when we'll have the recording available for your viewing pleasure. Update: This post has been updated with an embed of the local recording of the show that we make for backup. Due to bandwidth issues that occurred during the show, many viewers were unable to see the show in its entirety. We apologize for the inconvenience. Contact the podcast Follow the hosts on Twitter: @stevensande, @docrock, @TUAW Send your questions to @stevensande E-mail us: tvlive at tuaw [dot] com
Netflix worked closely with Apple to bring HTML5 video support to Safari in OS X Yosemite
So long, Silverlight! Apple on Monday announced that Safari on OS X Yosemite will support HTML5 video streaming for Netflix. Translation? Users can enjoy the majesty of Netflix without having to fiddle with any external plugins. On top of the added convenience, the transition to HTML5 video will offer much improved battery life to the tune of two extra hours of 1080p streaming on a MacBook. In a blogpost highlighting the news, Netflix relayed that it worked closely with Apple to implement the upcoming transition via HTML5 Premium Video Extensions. We've been working closely with Apple to implement the Premium Video Extensions in Safari, which allow playback of premium video content in the browser without the use of plugins. ... We're especially excited that Apple implemented the Media Source Extensions (MSE) using their highly optimized video pipeline on OS X. This lets you watch Netflix in buttery smooth 1080p without hogging your CPU or draining your battery. In fact, this allows you to get up to 2 hours longer battery life on a MacBook Air streaming Netflix in 1080p - that's enough time for one more movie! Finally, a Safari announcement even non-techies can get excited about.
Apple's WWDC 2014 keynote was the most exciting in years
Just a few minutes into Apple's recent WWDC keynote, it was apparent that things were going to be a little bit different, a little bit more soulful if you will. After all, it's not too often that one sees a top Apple executive casually joke about calling the next iteration of OS X "OS X Weed." For a number of reasons, I found this year's keynote to be the most interesting and exciting in recent memory. Specifically, there seemed to be an infectious air of excitement at Moscone West this past Monday; Tim Cook seemed looser than usual and Craig Federighi absolutely killed it with an engaging balance of humor, information, and enthusiasm. All in all, Apple executives appeared at ease, confident, and all too eager to show thousands of developers what the company had been working on over the past many months. Federighi's penchant jokes aside, I found Apple's 2014 WWDC keynote to be incredibly engaging for the simple fact that it was actually full of surprises. Go figure. In recent years, the Apple rumor mill has gotten so damn good at snuffing out Apple's software and hardware plans that Apple media events have served to merely confirm what many in the blogosphere already knew weeks earlier. But this year was different. If you go back and look at any of the "What to expect at WWDC" articles, one would have assumed that the most important feature in iOS 8 was going to be an app called Healthbook. As it turns out, Healthbook is actually called HealthKit and the feature-set was hardly a focal point of the keynote presentation. Apple on Monday made a number big announcements that will discernibly improve the iOS and OS X user experience. And best of all, none of the tech sites that typically break Apple rumors anticipated even 5% of what Apple had in store. Indeed, there were so many new compelling features to introduce that WWDC maestro Craig Federighi was quickly zooming from feature to feature in an effort to cover as much ground as possible. Even features that would ordinarily occupy a few minutes of stage time (Siri enhancements in iOS 8, for example) were relegated to just a single slide. Apple's recent $3 billion acquisition of Beats? Nary a mention. By the time the keynote ended after nearly 2 hours, there was no shortage of information to digest; iOS extensions, iCloud Drive, iOS/OS X continuity features, support for third party keyboards, phone calls on OS X, Quick Type, a new programming language!, revamped spotlight functionality, App Store enhancements, and the list truly goes on and on. Last year, the main focus of WWDC was the new design aesthetic of iOS 7 spearheaded by Jony Ive. OS X Mavericks was a respectable upgrade in its own right, but it didn't really blow anybody away. But this year, iOS 8 is less about how the system looks and more about the cool new things you can do with it. As for OS X Yosemite, I personally think it's the most exciting and intriguing OS X update in years. Looking back, Apple's WWDC keynote this week taught us a few things. First and foremost, it demonstrated that the innovative spirit at Apple continues to thrive despite assertions to the contrary. Second, it reminded us that Apple media events can be downright exciting when we don't have a checklist of every new feature on the agenda. And third, it's never been more apparent that one of Steve Jobs' most significant contributions to Apple was putting in place a top notch executive team more than capable of taking Apple to new heights in his absence.
Apple picks Bing over Google to power Spotlight search on OS X Yosemite and iOS 8
While Google is the 800-pound gorilla when it comes to search, Apple is becoming increasingly flirtatious with Microsoft's Bing. While it wasn't necessarily clear during Monday's keynote, Microsoft has since confirmed that Bing will be the default search engine in Spotlight for both OS X Yosemite and iOS 8. Google certainly can't be too thrilled with this as the bulk of its revenue is tied to search-based advertising, a fact certainly not lost on Apple. In a statement provided to Search Engine Land on the matter, Microsoft said: Last year Bing became the default web search for Siri, and will now also be the default web search provider in the redesigned Spotlight search feature for the next generation of iOS and OS X. We're excited about extending the Bing platform to help iOS and Mac customers find what they need to get things done. And while Google will remain the default search engine in Safari, Apple is adding the privacy-focused DuckDuckGo search engine as an option for the first time.
OS X Yosemite enables Lightning video capture of iOS 8 devices
For developers, instructors, podcasters and others who want to capture video from iOS devices, the current method of choice is to either use an external video camera aimed at the device's display, Apple's HDMI cable attached to a dedicated capture device, or a third-party Wi-Fi solution such as Reflector that can capture an AirPlay stream of a mirrored screen. Now Apple's going to make video capture much easier by allowing OS X Yosemite Macs to grab iOS 8 device video simply by connecting a Lightning cable between the two. When the iOS 8 device is attached, it appears to the Mac as a video input source in QuickTime. QuickTime can then be used to capture the video coming in from the iOS 8 device. Although we're not sure at this time, you should also be able to use iMovie or Final Cut Pro X to receive the video stream. Developers were given the word yesterday that the App Store will soon allow video previews, so this new capability will make it simpler for them to prepare the App Preview content for upload later this year.
Meet your new OS X Yosemite dock icons
This year's WWDC event brought with it the announcement of Yosemite, Apple's latest edition of OS X. Beyond Yosemite's new features and abilities, the operating system also showcases a general makeover of the look of the user interface, including brand new dock icons. Below you can take a glance at what you'll be looking on your home screen when Yosemite is released this fall. Here are Finder, Launchpad, Safari, and Mail: Here are Calendar, Notes, Reminders, and Contacts: Here are Maps, Messages, Facetime (with new Phone icons for iOS calls), and Preview: Here are iTunes, the App Store, iBooks, and Services: Finally, we have Applications and the new recycled plastic Trash bin: I, for one, will miss the old wire Trash bin:
The Mac's Finder icon gets its first real facelift with OS X Yosemite
The two-face icon for Finder on Mac dates back to the early days of Mac OS, and at this point I think we've all just assumed that it will pretty much always be around. Sure, it's gotten a few tweaks over the years -- with the addition of color and a new glossy appearance -- but the shape and layout of the icon has remained identical to when it originally debuted. But with OS X Yosemite, the funky face gets a totally new lease on life. Ditching the strike-through slashes at the top and bottom of the original icon, rounding off all the sharp edges and widening the mouth itself. It's an overall more spunky and happy image, and for an icon that has been around for almost 18 years, it's an update that is probably long overdue.
Engadget Daily: Apple announces OS X Yosemite, iOS 8 and more!
Today, we watched Apple unveil OS X Yosemite, iOS8 and its own smart home platform, went hands-on with ASUS' new Zenbook NX500, learned about Samsung's Tizen-based smartphone and more! Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for June 2, 2014
It's a special WWDC Keynote edition of the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
