The effect, which is sprinkled throughout the OS and apps, gives each Mac a personalized feel. The translucent sections allow color - but not detail - to show through.

For instance, Finder, Safari and Messaging now feature main windows with content that slides underneath the app toolbar when scrolling, while the colors of the content shine through the frosted toolbar. The layering is even done on a per-window basis. Yosemite introduces flatter interface elements and adds a bit of translucency.įrom the controls now found in the upper left of every window to new interface elements for updated apps, the design gives a more flattened look to each window, while the use of drop shadows and translucent elements gives the OS a sense of layering and depth. This is the official curriculum of the Apple Mavericks 101: OS X Support Essentials 10.9 course and preparation for Apple Certified Support Professional. This is achieved by removing toolbar cruft, introducing flatter interface elements and adding a bit of translucency, emphasizing layering within apps and the system software. Yosemite has adopted the design cues from iOS 7, meaning a brighter theme with a stronger focus on content. Installation is pretty straightforward and automated, once the initial legal pages are clicked through and accepted.įirst, Apple has changed the way OS X looks. Once you sign up - which is as easy as logging in with your AppleID - you're given a redemption code that can be used in the App Store. There are only a million beta slots allocated, so availability is limited. If, after all this you still want to give Yosemite a try, you can sign up at Apple's website. Apple execs have stated that the public betas will not be updated as frequently as the developer builds, so don't expect bugs to be remedied right away. If you can run the software, the question then becomes: Should you? The answer is up to you, but remember - I can't stress this enough - this is a beta. MacBook Pro from mid-2009, any MacBook Air from 2008, any Mac Mini from 2009, any Mac Pro from 2008, and (if you have one) any Xserve from 2009. I have been using Hands Off for years now. Yosemite runs pretty much on any Mac that can run Mavericks - that includes any iMac from mid-2007, any MacBook from late 2008, any 15-in. It runs on the same hardware as Sierra runs on, which includes pretty much any Mac from 2009 or later. Still interested in testing the software? You'll need to have Mavericks installed (which is a free upgrade you can download from Apple's App Store). If you choose to proceed, make sure to back up your data beforehand. Don't install Yosemite on computers that you rely on because, by definition, beta software is at best unreliable. Here’s a list of all versions of macOS and Mac OS X that were released in the last 10 years: OS X 10.7 Lion - 20 July 2011 OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion - 25 July 2012 OS X 10.9 Mavericks - 22 October 2013 OS X 10.10 Yosemite - 16 October 2014 OS X 10.11 El Capitan - 30 September 2015 macOS 10. 'The Summer of Bugs' is what I like to call the period between WWDC and Apple's fall software and hardware releases. Expect that there will be bugs, some minor and maybe some major. Instead, I'll be looking at the major additions since last year's release of OS X 10.9 (Mavericks), and detailing how the features are implemented.īefore we start, let me be clear: Yosemite is beta. Since this isn't a final release, I haven't written a formal review, nor will I be discussing speed, stability or battery life. I installed the beta build on a 2012 Mac mini, and have been running the developer builds since their first release in June on a 2012 MacBook Pro.

Hands off mac osx 10.9