OS X Yosemite

OS X v10.10 Yosemite
A version of the OS X operating system

The desktop of OS X Yosemite
Developer Apple Inc.
Source model Closed source (with open source components)
Released to
manufacturing		 October 16, 2014
Latest release 10.10.3 (Build 14D136)[1] / April 16, 2015
Latest preview 10.10.4 (Build 14E11f)[2] / April 16, 2015
Update method Mac App Store
Platforms x86-64
Kernel type Hybrid (Mostly Monolithic)
License APSL and Apple EULA
Preceded by OS X v10.9 Mavericks
Official website Official website
Support status
Supported

OS X Yosemite (/joʊˈsɛmɨtiː/ yoh-SEM-it-ee) (version 10.10) is the eleventh major release of OS X, Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers.

OS X Yosemite was announced and released to developers on June 2, 2014 at WWDC 2014 and released to public beta testers on July 24, 2014. Yosemite was released to consumers on October 16, 2014.[3] Following the California landmark-based naming scheme introduced with OS X Mavericks, Yosemite is named after the national park.

Features

Design

Yosemite introduced a major overhaul of OS X's user interface. Its graphics replaced skeuomorphism with flat graphic design and blurred translucency effects, following the aesthetic introduced with iOS 7. Some icons have been changed to correspond with those of iOS 7 and iOS 8. Yosemite maintains the OS X desktop metaphor.[4]

Other design changes include new icons, light and dark color schemes, and the replacement of Lucida Grande with Helvetica Neue as the default system typeface.[5][6][7] The Dock is now a 2D translucent rectangle instead of a skeuomorphic glass shelf, reminiscent of the Dock design used in early versions of OS X through Tiger and in iOS since iOS 7.

Continuity

Many of Yosemite's new features focus on the theme of continuity, increasing its integration with other Apple services and platforms such as iOS and iCloud.[8] The Handoff functionality allows the operating system to integrate with iOS 8 devices over Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi; users can place and answer phone calls using their iPhone as a conduit, send and receive text messages, activate personal hotspots, or load items being worked on in a mobile app (such as Mail drafts or Numbers spreadsheets) directly into their desktop equivalent.[8]

Notification Center

Notification Center features a new "Today" view, similar to that in iOS. The Today view can display information and updates from various sources, along with widgets.[5][6] The widgets in the Today view are similar to those of iOS 8.

Photos

As of OS X 10.10.3, Photos replaces iPhoto and Aperture. It uses iCloud Photo Library to upload all the user's photos across their devices.

Other

Spotlight is a more prominent part of the operating system; it now displays its search box in the center of the screen and can include results from online sources, including Bing, Maps, and Wikipedia.[5] Stock applications such as Safari and Mail have been updated.[9] In particular, many security features have been added to Safari, such as a custom history clearing option that lets users clear history, cookies, and other data from the previous hour, day, or two days. In addition, Apple added DuckDuckGo to its search offerings, a non-tracking search engine that doesn’t store users’ data.[10]

The green "zoom" button on windows now has a different function in applications that support full screen mode. Instead of simply enlarging the window, the button now enters full screen mode, eliminating the full screen button at the top right corner of windows that has been present since Mac OS X Lion. However, holding the Option key (⌥) while clicking the zoom button or double-clicking on the window chrome continues to invoke the original behavior.[11]:123–124

JavaScript for Automation (JXA) is the new system-wide support for scripting with JavaScript, built upon JavaScriptCore and the Open Scripting Architecture.[12] It features an Objective-C bridge which enables entire Cocoa applications to be programmed in JavaScript.[13]

Beta testing

Apple initiated a new public beta program for OS X, a practice not seen with its operating systems since 2000's US$29.95 Mac OS X Public Beta, which had preceded the release of Mac OS X v10.0. Yosemite is part of the OS X Beta Seed Program, a public program that allows the first 1 million[14] users to download and test the Yosemite beta at no charge. Beta testers are required to acknowledge the potential risks involved with prerelease software, and sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).[15] The program began releasing Public Betas on July 24, 2014.[16] Six public betas of Yosemite were released.

Releases

Version Build Date OS name Notes Standalone download
10.10 14A389 October 16, 2014 Darwin 14.0 Original Mac App Store release
10.10.1 14B25 November 17, 2014 Darwin 14.0 About the OS X Yosemite v10.10.1 Update OS X Yosemite 10.10.1 Individual update
10.10.2 14C109
 January 27, 2015 Darwin 14.1 About the OS X Yosemite v10.10.2 Update OS X Yosemite 10.10.2 Individual update

OS X Yosemite 10.10.2 Combo update

14C1510 (Security Update 2015-002) March 9, 2015 Security Update 2015-002 Yosemite
14C1514 (Security Update 2015-003) March 19, 2015 Security Update 2015-003 Yosemite
14C2043 (Pre Security Update 2015-003)
 March 2015 Shipped with Early 2015 MacBook Air - Forked build. N/A
14C2513 (Security Update 2015-003)
 March 2015 N/A
10.10.3 14D131 April 8, 2015 Darwin 14.3 About the OS X Yosemite v10.10.3 Update

This release unified the previously forked build for the early 2015 MacBook Air

 OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 Individual update

OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 Combo update

14D136 (Supplemental Update) April 16, 2015 Fixes issue with video driver issue that may prevent Mac from starting up when running certain apps that capture video. OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 Supplemental Update 1.0

System requirements

Most Macintosh products capable of running OS X Mountain Lion (v10.8.x) are supported by Yosemite; all models capable of running OS X Mavericks (v10.9.x) are able to run Yosemite since they have the same requirements.[17] However, in order to take full advantage of the Handoff feature, additional minimum system requirements include a Mac with Bluetooth LE (Bluetooth 4.0).

These are the models that are compatible with OS X Yosemite (with exceptions):

The Mid 2007 iMac is the first iMac to support seven major OS X versions: 10.4-10.10.

These are the models that support new features such as Handoff, Instant Hotspot as well as AirDrop between Mac computers and iOS devices:[18]

Reception

Criticism

There is an ongoing discussion among prominent developers and webloggers about Apple software quality and stability, most notably OS X Yosemite and iOS 8.[19][20][21][22][23][24] Some users that upgraded to Yosemite complained that the Finder fails to show the contents of the Applications folder.[25]

Spotlight on Yosemite by default reports the user's current location (at the city level) and all their search queries to Apple and third parties.[26][27][28][29] Reporting by Spotlight can be disabled by the user, although, even if this is done, the Safari web browser will continue to send search terms to Apple unless the function is separately disabled.

References

  1. ↑ "Mac App Store - OS X Yosemite". Mac App Store. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Apple Seeds Second OS X 10.10.4 Yosemite Beta to Developers, First Public Beta Version". MacRumors. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Apple - OS X Yosemite - Overview". Apple Inc. (US). OS X Yosemite. Coming this fall.
  4. ↑ "OS X Yosemite - Design". Apple Inc.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "OS X Yosemite: Apple's latest desktop OS works even better with your iPhone". Engadget. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "OS X Yosemite unveiled at WWDC, features big UI overhaul". Ars Technica. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Apple Changes OS X's Main Font For The First Time Ever". Fast Co Design. Archived from the original on 2014-10-16. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "OS X Yosemite – Mac + iOS Continuity". Apple. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  9. ↑ "OS X Yosemite revealed: Translucent windows, cross-platform Continuity, and HTML 5 DRM come to the Mac". ExtremeTech. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  10. ↑ John Patrick Pullen (October 21, 2014). "These Are the 5 Coolest Features of OS X Yosemite". Time Inc.
  11. ↑ "Adapting your app to the new UI of OS X Yosemite" (PDF). Apple Inc. June 3, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  12. ↑ "JavaScript for Automation". MacStories. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  13. ↑ "JavaScript for Automation Release Notes". Apple, Inc. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  14. ↑ "OS X Beta Program". Apple Inc. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  15. ↑ "OS X Beta Program Frequently Asked Questions". Apple Inc. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Apple to release first public beta of OS X Yosemite on Thursday". AppleInsider. AppleInsider. July 23, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  17. ↑ "PSA: The iDevices and Macs that will support iOS 8 and OS X 10.10". Ars Technica. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  18. ↑ "OS X Yosemite: supported devices for Handoff, Instant Hotspot, Phone Calling, SMS, and AirDrop". Apple. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  19. ↑ Arment, Marco (4 January 2015). "Apple has lost the functional high ground". marco.org. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  20. ↑ Hockenberry, Craig (6 January 2015). "Death by a thousand cuts". Furbo.org. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  21. ↑ Jalkut, Daniel (5 January 2015). "The functional high ground". bitsplitting.org. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  22. ↑ Gruber, John (5 January 2015). "Functional high ground". daringfireball.net. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  23. ↑ Snell, Jason (5 January 2015). "Apple and software quality". sixcolors.com. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  24. ↑ English, Guy (5 January 2015). "We Don’t Need". kickingbear.com. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  25. ↑ Gewirtz, David (December 2, 2014). "When Yosemite went wonky: Fixing an OS X systems failure". ZD Net. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  26. ↑ "Fix Mac OS X Yosemite initiative".
  27. ↑ Soltani, Ashkan; Timberg, Craig (20 October 2014). "Apple’s Mac computers can automatically collect your location information". Washington Post. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  28. ↑ Fox-Brewster, Thomas (20 October 2014). "Spotlight: Privacy Advocates Furious As Apple Feature Siphons Off Location Data of Yosemite And iOS 8 Users". Forbes. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  29. ↑ Leyden, John (20 October 2014). "FYI: OS X Yosemite's Spotlight tells Apple EVERYTHING you're looking for". The Register. Retrieved 22 October 2014.

External links