OS X Mavericks 10.9 Evaluation

Recently, the foreign well-known technology website Engadget writer Blaine Hitt (Brian heater) brought us his experience on the developer Preview version of OS X 10.9 Mavericks system. The following is the full text of the article:

At this year's WWDC global developer conference, Mac's next-generation operating system is still named "OS X." Obviously, this means that for a long time, Apple's plan for desktop operating systems will continue to be a minor change and a gradual adjustment strategy. It should be said that iOS has become the focus of Apple's pioneering innovation, OS X has been relegated to the seat, in the following state. From the assembly site information and demonstrations can also be seen, version number 10.9 and predecessors, like Mavericks, is gradually joined the iOS system's outstanding features, and slowly merged with the latter. But in style, mavericks not like the iOS 7, to make drastic changes.

After a few days of trial, the author found that the beta version of the OS X 10.9 Mavericks system has many surprising progress. For many Mac veterans, the Finder tab (Tabs) window browsing, file tags (tags) feature, Notification Center interactive reminders, and so on will make the workflow more efficient. For the average user, the improved Safari browser and calendar apps have become richer and more user-friendly. However, the official version of the Mavericks system will need to meet with consumers in the fall. It is not clear whether Apple, which knows the way of marketing, has a "repertoire" left in the end.

Finder

Unlike the drastic changes in Microsoft's Windows 8 system, Apple has become more conservative in its adjustment to OS X systems. In appearance, the finder of the new Mavericks system has remained familiar to Apple users for more than 10 of years. function, it has added a tabbed window browsing, file tags and many other convenient improvements, enough for some users of the workflow has a far-reaching impact.

The tabbed window interface was initially found in browser applications, and Apple ported it to the Finder in Mavericks. However, its value often depends on the user's specific work flow and usage habits. For those who often need to open up to dozens of File manager windows, this is a very timely feature.

In a finder window, hold down the command key and double-click a folder to open it in a new tab. Although the title of the label page cannot be modified directly, it automatically changes as the folder is renamed. Even in the same window, each tab can still take a different view of the folder, quite intimate.

When a finder window has more than one tab, a plus icon similar to the Safari browser appears on the right side of the label and clicks to open a new tab. Unlike Safari, however, the Finder only displays this icon in a Multiple-tab page state in the Mavericks system. In addition, users can not only open any number of tabs in a Finder window, but also sort by dragging the mouse, or click the "X" icon that appears when the mouse hovers over. Of course, it's easy to turn a tab page into a separate window, just drag it out of the window. A separate Finder window that needs to be cleaned up is also simple, and you can do that by selecting "window" → "merge" in the top menu bar of the screen.

When a finder window for a Multiple-tab page is closed and reopened, the previous label page will be intact. However, when the total number of labels exceeds 5, the extra tabs are hidden in a drop-down menu.

For those who like to put everything in order, the OS X 10.9 Mavericks system adds to the file tag feature that must be a thrill. Unlike the previous tabbed window interface, the file label is smaller, but as long as it is used, it is enough to play a huge role. By default, Mavericks provides file labels for seven colors such as gray, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet, and users can add new labels or rename existing labels. In a Finder window sidebar, there is a list of file labels. The new label default color is light gray, and of course the user can change to the other color they need. In general, the label is sorted by the time of creation, and the user can drag and drop the mouse to change it.

There are a number of ways you can label a file or folder. Users can either drag a single or multiple objects directly onto a tab in the sidebar of a Finder window, or click the Label button at the top of the Finder window when the object is selected. Each file and folder has no limits on the number of labels, just as the label increases, the corresponding colored dots on the left side of the filename will gradually overlap each other.

In the Mavericks system, the icloud cloud storage space also supports file tags, and can be synchronized with local files, which is consistent across multiple Mac computers and even iOS devices.

In addition to the two new features mentioned above, the Finder window finally starts to support Full-screen view in the newer system. In the current OS X 10.8 mountain Lion, many of the system's own applications can be extended to the full screen, but the Finder is not. This shortcoming is solved in Mavericks, which allows users to make full use of the screen space when browsing the tabbed pages.

Multi-screen display

It can be said that in the WWDC such a major developer-oriented conference, the multiple screen display is undoubtedly a lot of participants are happy to see a great progress. In a Mavericks system, users can run Full-screen applications on multiple monitors at the same time.

The new system has a multiple-screen display Plug and Play that requires little setup. When the additional monitor is connected to the Mac, the multi screen display will be enabled automatically, giving the user another completely separate screen space. The new screen has its own menu bar and dock, except that when the user is not in use, they are in a semi transparent or hidden state, and only appear when the mouse hovers. However, with the advent of multiple-screen display, in the Mavericks system, the application window cannot, as in the past, span multiple monitors.

In addition, as a complement to the multiple-screen display function, each monitor in the Mavericks system has an independent mission Control task Center. For those who have Apple TV set-top boxes, they can even use the Airplay feature to turn the TV into another monitor of their own.

Notification Center

In Mavericks systems, the biggest improvement in the notification center is that it provides more interactive features, which are most evident in information and messaging applications. In the new system, users can respond to messages or letters directly in a pop-up bubble tip, which eliminates the time it took to switch between multiple applications for some heavily-emailed users and people with frequent chats. If the current Mac is asleep, when the new hint arrives, the computer will automatically wake up and enter the lock screen screen, the user can choose whether the content is visible in the setting, thus better protect their privacy.

Not only that, the new system FaceTime calls, APP Store update hints for the use of the notification Center is also more full, users can be in the upper right corner of the screen bubble prompts directly install the application upgrade, or accept the friend's FaceTime request. Apple claims that the above improvements to the notification center are not only benefiting from the system's own application, but that news sites and blogs can even use the above features to present the latest information directly to users. Perhaps, when the new system is officially released, this feature will be open to more third-party applications.

Safari browser

In each new version of the OS X system, Safari browsers are enhanced, and this time is no exception. However, in the preview version of the Mavericks system, Safari browser is not very stable, the trial has repeatedly occurred unexpectedly exit. The author believes that Safari's stability should be greatly improved by the time of the official edition of this fall.

Compared to the current version, Safari browsers are not a big change in the new system. The common site view is redesigned, and the page thumbnails discard the rounded rectangle contour and choose a tougher grid. Of course, for these sites, the user can drag and drop the mouse to adjust the order, or you can fix or delete an item.

Sidebar is a big change in this safari. Compared with previous comparisons, it is now much simpler and the text in the dark gray background texture becomes larger and clearer and easier to read. Bookmarks, reading lists, and shared links three icons are located at the top of the sidebar, which is the search bar that updates the results in a timely fashion. It should be noted that the Share Link icon appears only after users have logged on to their Twitter or LinkedIn account through the system setup.

In the new system, Safari's technical framework has changed a lot. Apple claims that the speed of JavaScript code has improved significantly in the newer browsers, and that malicious Web sites and scripts are harder to access to important information about user privacy. If you put the running mountain lion with the Mavericks system's two Macs, you can see how the Safari browser differs in the page loading speed.

Calendar

In the Mavericks system, calendar apps discard the realism of the past and become as simple and refreshing as the brothers in iOS 7. Now, the text in the application interface becomes clearer and more readable, and the extra border banner disappears. For the end user, the calendar is a daily prerequisite, so the change in the experience of improving the usage will undoubtedly receive a lot of welcome. In addition, the new Calendar application also abandons the previous Realism page effect, turns to adopt the continuous scrolling method. However, from the author's experience, sometimes scrolling too fast can easily let people lose.

Socially, event scheduling from the social network automatically appears in the Calendar interface if the user logs on to the Facebook account in the system preferences. If the user creates a schedule directly in the calendar, the application provides automatic completion of address information, and adds a mini map to the schedule to indicate the location, but those from Google Calendar will not have a small map of the treatment. It is worth mentioning that the new Calendar application not only automatically added weather information in the schedule, to ensure that users to prepare for the rainy day, but also in the location-enabled Mac computer on the time zone differences, so as to help bring notebook travel users to make more accurate arrangements in advance.

Map

Map application is one of the few new applications in OS X 10.9 Mavericks system. Although people are not likely to open a Mac notebook for navigation while driving out, there are many notable mavericks in the application of maps in the system.

Surprisingly, when you first open the map, it requires the user to manually enter the current location. In addition, from the positioning of the accuracy of the Mavericks system map for the time being not comparable to the iOS version of the predecessor.

interface, the map window of the OS x system has a view toggle button, a search box, an automatic positioning button, a collection button, and a traffic button. Users can switch between standard, satellite, and mixed views, or manually enter an address through the search box to find the appropriate geographic location. In the preview version of the Mavericks system, the map's road condition buttons are still in a gray, unusable state. It is believed that in the official version, the user will be able to actually enable it, to make plans for their own trip. In addition, the most impressive is the bird's eye view.

It can be said that in the bird's eye view, some of the views of the metropolis are very bright. However, this view in the preview version of the load speed is still somewhat delayed, and sometimes even see the picture appears as a grid gradually appear in the process. It is believed that this phenomenon will be improved when the final version of the Mavericks is listed.

In the navigation function, the Mavericks system's map application is certainly not as easy to use as the iOS version similar. At present, users can only print out the travel plan, or export to PDF files. However, once the iOS 7 system becomes popular, Apple enthusiasts can plan ahead on their Mac computers and send them directly to the iphone map.

Finally, it is important to mention that calendars and maps are very tightly integrated in the Mavericks system. Information from Apple reveals that future contacts and emails will gradually add similar functionality.

IBooks

Similar to maps, ibooks E-book applications are another new feature of Mavericks from iOS systems. However, in the current developer preview version, ibooks is still in an unusable state. We can only make preliminary guesses from Apple's promotional messages.

Apple claims that OS x ibooks will provide an online bookstore for users to buy favorite books. It also supports icloud cloud synchronization, which keeps book listings or reading progress consistent with iOS devices. In addition, the ibooks in the OS x system will also support full screen view, allow users to customize the font scheme, watch multimedia electronic books containing audio and video content, and highlight or extract notes. It can also be integrated with the Pages document processing application, allowing users to easily and quickly insert references.

Conclusion

From the above, Apple continues to add functionality from iOS to its desktop system. Overall, however, OS X 10.9 Mavericks still holds the advantage that many iOS systems cannot match.

At this year's WWDC conference, Apple promised that the Mavericks system would have more than 200 new features. Of course, from the experience of the past, in addition to file tags and other major updates, these new features will inevitably include a lot of humble adjustments. While the changes in OS X systems will remain relatively conservative in the short term, the official version of the Mavericks system will still have a significant upgrade value when listed.