“For nearly two decades, the release of a new PC operating system was an event. Upgrading cost money; you had to go to the store to get the necessary floppy disk or a CD; the new OS was expected to be different and better in basically every way,” David Pierce writes for The Verge. “The last few years, Apple’s taken a decidedly simpler approach. It still rents event space and touts the new features, but your new operating system arrives more like an tune-up than a new car. You open the app store, click a button, and poof: a few things change but everything stays mostly the same.”
“This year’s model, OS X 10.10 Yosemite, is a little different. It comes with a stylistic overhaul, a new and cleaner coat of paint for your Mac. And it improves most of Apple’s built-in apps, from Mail to Maps and everything in between. But the reason Yosemite feels bigger, more important, is that it feels like the beginning of something new for Apple,” Pierce writes. “OS X still looks like OS X, but Yosemite turns your Mac into more than just a PC. It turns it into both hub and spoke of a constantly connected, conversing ecosystem of Apple products, in which you’re able to do anything you want on any device you want. Yosemite doesn’t promise to make my Mac look like my iPhone; it promises to make them work together constantly. Perfectly.”
“If your hardware supports it, you should upgrade to OS X Yosemite. There’s really no reason not to, unless translucency makes you want to pull your hair out,” Pierce writes. “In the time I’ve been using it I’ve found zero crippling bugs, few bugs whatsoever, and plenty of improvements both aesthetic and functional. It’s more secure, faster, and better all around.”
Much more in the full review here.
Related articles:
Digital Trends reviews Apple’s OS X Yosemite: ‘The perfect desktop operating system’ – October 17, 2014
Apple releases OS X Yosemite; available today as a free upgrade – October 16, 2014
Faster?
Yeah, not faster, at least on my hardware. But I fully expect some speed optimization in the update. It has some ‘Version 1.0 Syndrome’, which is what we all expect these days.
I’ve found that my 2007 iMac running Snow Leopard is faster now under Yosemite.
Wow! I’m glad it can run Yosemite!
Apple has a lot of hardware with which to be compatible. It’s nothing like wretched Microsoft has to consider. But I’ve noticed some odds and ends differences between different hardware and how it runs Yosemite. From my interactions with Apple, they clearly do NOT have every piece of compatible hardware at their constant disposal. They depended a lot on betatesters with Mac versions they were themselves not testing.
I am happy with Yosemite, but it is not very significant. Mail is still very poorly done, in fact, I bet no one can tell me ANY real change to it besides the feature that allows large attachments to be placed outside the mail. IBM partnership? Why? When Apple is still unable to make it the best enterprise computer? When I lose temporary connection to the network and the regain it, Calendar needs my exchange password. Mail can not handle multiple Exchange account properly, If you keep mail on the server then you lose subfolders. This is better in Outlook, but Outlook does not support the i of things Mac, weel the Windows version does but hey,…….
I can not understand why Apple deliberately tries to annoy the enterprise….
Quite often, the “faster” that people experience is the result of the system having optimized itself and cleared out unneeded caches after a software update and restart. Is it really faster than Mavericks after several days of usage? That’ll be the true test. The Public Beta ran like crap on a test 2012 MacBook Pro (fresh install), so I’m skeptical at this point.
It did seem faster to me during the Beta test. It’s definitely faster not that it’s been released. This is true on both my 2011 MacBook Air and my late 2011 MacBook Pro, and I’ve been using them with Yosemite for about a week now.
I did NOT do a clean install this time, but it still works just fine, at least for me. Parallels 9 works fine on it too.
I didn’t care for the new “flat” dock, so I installed cDock and went with fully transparent. (Just the icons are visible.) Who needs or wants an image behind for their icons to sit on? Not me.
Overall I’m quite pleased. Much better than Mavericks, and a better name too. LOL
I simply love it. Everything works better and faster, and visually they hit a home run.
My MacBook Pro is running faster but unlike you there are some of us that have issues with the Share option showing no service.
I haven’t seen that problem. But I expect most of us have run into the really odd and rare bugs where aspects of networking decide to go insane and not work on some random day. I’ve built up a store of cattle prods to use when this happens. It’s kind of like astrology where all the stars are usually happy and get along. But then one day, ONE DAY!, there’s an celestial convergence of anti-clockwise vortices the knock some computer bit in the wrong direction and Screen Sharing has to get electroshock therapy before it comes out of a coma.
IOW: Networking complexity is a problem.
Not just networking……multiple screens has not improved, just the same….sometimes I want to play a movie on a monitor and keep the rest on the notebook screen. When I move the VLC window onto the monitor and double click to enlarge, sometimes it will only fill to fullscreen on the notebook. 4/5 times it works fine, but that 5th time really annoys me. And no, scientifically there is no difference between the attempts….
*sigh* It’s worth reporting problems like this to Apple. The more squeaking, the more attention is drawn.
https://www.apple.com/feedback/
It would be great if Apple could designate one Enterprise market manager to lord over all related tech and report directly to Tim Cook. I know coordination of all things Enterprise is generally wanting at Apple.
Of course, we can keep pointing at the fact that Apple has been burned over and over and over in its attempts to work with Enterprise businesses, the 10 times bitten, 100 times shy routine. But I watch the Enterprise email list and know the biting goes both ways. There is a very long thread going on right now about the EOL of the Mac Mini Server. Why did Apple do that?
I think that there are more than enough of “us” who would be great ambassadors for Apple in the enterprise, especially with Microsoft making it soon easy for us. As soon as Balmer left, the new CEO announced that Apple had won. He said something along the lines of “this is a mobile and cloud world”. Well, guess what, that is exactly what MS suck at. SO they are focussing on what they can possibly never get done and they are letting up on the one area they are good at: the enterprise. NOW is THE time to take over from them.
What do companies do?
-An infrastructure. Power and cables. Universal.
-Stations. Thin clients, fat clients…..(Mac mini is the perfect TC!. Any Mac is a perfect fat client)
-A DB. Perhaps Apple can do a “mySQL” Apple style?
-Exchange. So create a server that does that. Mail, calendaring and contacts. They have the apps so all we need the the software.
-Office. OK, so can Pages be made to do with Applescript / automator what VBA can do for Word? If not, get it in there!
-Proprietary software. Run it in a “Parallels App”. And App that runs a Windows so small that all it does is virtualise the proprietary app until there is a Java or web version.
My current salary will get Apple my dedication. I do not have to become rich, if only I can help……that is enough reward….
Witness this Anti-Apple haters. Take a snapshot of what wpivar just said and frame it. How many companies attract that kind of dedication from its customers and clients? Tell me.
I wasn’t a fan of Apple until a few years ago, having “used” Windows since version 1.0. (What a joke that was. OMG!)
I had used a Mac in 1986, and was quite impressed. But I learned the hard way that not going with the flow can be quite painful. But when I read that Macs could now run Windows natively, I decided to give it a go. (How could I seriously badmouth something I knew so little about?)
Intending to learn about Macs and OS X, I intentionally bought a MacBook with Snow Leopard on it even though Lion had just been released. But I planned on using it as mainly a Windows machine when I got it, which I did. That lasted about a month until I asked myself, “Why am I still using this Windows thing when OS X is so much nicer?”
Since then I upgraded to Lion then Mountain Lion. (They were definitely worth paying for.) Then to Mavericks (no wonder it’s free) and now to Yosemite. To me Yosemite seems like a very polished version of OS X. I’m not sure if I’ll upgrade next year to Oxnard, Weed Patch, or whatever they decide to name it. LOL
The new l look is silly. It looks cartoonish and cheap. I could have chosen some better look then this. I put up with iOS 7 and its weird look some of which i liked other parts i did not.
But this on my iMac looks weird and its not sleek like i thought it would be.
Trying dark mode now see how that works.
Still not thrilled with some changes maybe i can change my look. Thats one thing bugs me about my iPhone i jailbreak it when i can so i can change my look as i feel.
Yosemite flies on my rMBP. Loaded it onto older Core2Duo Mini and MBP. Will need to see how they are performing.
Pierce notes: ” … the whole idea of the “desktop” just feels pointless, and saving and organizing files is still more complex than it should be …”
I have to differ with the reviewer’s statement above as it ignores the differences in users and their uses for their computers, which in itself is varied and complex.
Not only do we have our own mental way of “work flow”, but the type of work is widely variable. Some people work where things are organized by file type, some by job #, some by date, some by work & home, etc.
In other words, Apple has to keep a system which allows users to pick their method of storing, finding and retrieving data.
Once you’ve put 2 decades of your work and play on a computer, you can easily wind up with over a quarter million files. Finding things quickly becomes important.
The reviewer noted a Spotlight alternative he uses, Alfred, which I wasn’t familiar with, so I searched it out. Going to try Alfred. Much to see there for many tasks.
But, for handling, moving-reorganizing and copying of files between my Mac & Windows on the MacBook Pro, I still love PathFinder (Tuxera & MacDrive handle some behind the scenes work.)
Spotlight gradually matures, for the better, with time. It’s kind of amazing in Yosemite, versus being a total PITA in awful Lion.
Here’s a pile of Spotlight alternatives for those who, for various reasons, just want something simple and successful:
– Path Finder ($40)
– EasyFind (Free! From Devon!)
– ForkLift ($30)
– Find Any File ($6)
– iFileX (Free!)
– iMango (Free!)
– Alfred (Free, but Powerpack costs ~$27)
I have all of the above (except the Powerpack). EasyFile is my mainstay when I get a SpotLight headache. It’s simple, just works, no BS.
Spotlight is one of the things Apple has done a gazillion times better than Microsoft! At least once a week I get to brag about how my Mac finds stuff my Windows computer can’t and my co-workers on Windows can’t.
You see: In Windows 8 (8.1 too) you can NOT search for files AND Outlook items on one side. So, you can find files using Windows and you can find Outlook items finding Outlook. You can not use Windows find to find Outlook items!
Now, whilst this certainly seems unforgivable, it is even worse for it is Windows indexing that actually indexes the Outlook items!!! So Windows keeps the Outlook items in its index, but can not access them itself! Yes, this is true, you can look it up…..
Grand slam ! Every upgrade onto every macine, including back to late 2009 iMac runs better, faster, feels simpler and the work across 3 machines is AWESOME. Can’t wait till Monday. This company is amazing.
I wish that were true for iOS. 😣
I have a question for those that have upgraded to Yosemite, do the oder apps you may have on your machine, what happens to them? I mean, do they get the look and feel of Yosemite or does the vendor of the said software have to update? I have a late 2012 iMac with Adobe Creative Suite 6 installed from a CD and I don’t think Adobe is going to release a revised versions. Would it blend with the look and feel of Yosemite or stick out like a sore thumb? Thanks.
I’ve had mixed results. Some of the apps adopt the newer, flatter look–some don’t. It seems to mainly hinge on how custom the app’s UI was to begin with.
As cheule pointed out, kind of a mixed bag.
– Apps that use Apple’s GUI elements will show all the minimalism of Yosemite.
– Many apps use some of their own GUI elements and those remain the same.
– Anything totally clueless about Apple GUI elements will be exactly the same. This of course would be anything closely aligned with other UNIX or Linux OSes. For example, LibreOffice is identical except for the new system font and the Title Bar.
MANY applications have been, or will have to be, upgraded in order to work with Yosemite. There are several reasons why. One biggy is the added security requirements of Yosemite. Developers without Apple provided security certificates are in for a hard time. Piles of APIs have been updated and that can make a few older apps freak out.
What’s really nice these days is that any incompatible app is going to have the NO symbol stamped over its icon: 🚫
I can’t verify Adobe stuff is going to work in Yosemite. I’ve been off the Adobe abuse for years. But I expect it will. Yes, the usual GUI elements will be Yosemit-ized. But nothing you use within any app that is unique to that app will change as it will be proprietary stuff built into the application itself. At least that us typically the case. There are some odds and ends Apple offers for specific uses that may show up looking Yosemit-ized.
Those incompatible apps include iPhoto and iMovie HD.
Apple can’t even make its own apps run with its own OS?! WTF?
There’s a new update for iMovie to 10.0.6 this weekend. iPhoto 9.6 was released late Thursday along with the barrage of other stuff.
As for the legacy software, maybe have an oldie OS X boot volume? I keep really oldie Macs around for particularly beloved olde stuff.
Adobe Creative Suite 6 works fine with Yosemite. You are correct that they are not going to release revised versions, though I have seen several updates for CS6. Not sure if it’s due to Yosemite, or if it’s just the standard update cycle. Adobe really wants people to pay for a subscription and use their web-based tools now.
For those annoyed with the DEATH of the title bar in Safari, I wrote up a workaround article last night:
http://macsmarticles.blogspot.com/2014/10/os-x-1010-yosemite-no-safari-title-bar.html
Derek, thanks for the simple workaround.
Wow Apple… Bad move.
I’m downloading Yosemite on the MBP right now so i don’t have it installed yet.
My article is turning out to be popular. It’s on a steeply accelerating readership curb at the moment. I kind of figured dropping the Title Bar would be controversial.
It really is astounding how writing on the net can affect what goes on in the world these days. When I started writing about Time Warner Cable’s customer abuse, it was just a little wave in the pool. These days they’re dead last on the customer appreciation list; although, I believe Comcast recently surpassed them in customer disgust.
My install process has begun! Backing up this machine right now. Then comes the USB installer so I can do a clean install. The last 2 updates haven’t been clean installs so it’s time.
I’d imagine if Vista ran like this, Microsoft wouldn’t now be a insignificant niche player like it is today.
Installed in under an hour. So far looks great, runs fast, no problems. Old programs work well. Not an exhaustive test but no problems yet.
I’m very happy with the one MBP I updated. The look in OS X somehow seems better than the same look in iOS. I’m also glad they tweaked the Finder icon, as cheesy as that is. It looks better now than the first version they showed for Yosemite.
I had the older, Mavericks Finder icon copied just in case. 😛