OS X Yosemite

OS X 10.10 Yosemite

A version of the OS X operating system
The desktop of OS X Yosemite. Note how the Dock and Icons are different to previous versions of Mac OS X.
Developer	Apple Inc.
Source model	Closed source (with open source components)
Released to manufacturing	October 16, 2014 (2014-10-16)
Latest release	10.10.5 (Build 14F27)[1] / August 13, 2015 (2015-08-13)
Update method	Mac App Store
Platforms	x86-64
Kernel type	Hybrid (XNU)
License	APSL and Apple EULA
Preceded by	OS X 10.9 Mavericks
Succeeded by	OS X 10.11 El Capitan
Official website	OS X Yosemite at the Wayback Machine (archived August 28, 2015)
Support status
Security updates and printer drivers only

OS X Yosemite (/joʊˈsɛmᵻtiː/ 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.^[2] Following the California landmark-based naming scheme introduced with OS X Mavericks, Yosemite is named after the national park.

System requirements

All Macintosh products capable of running OS X Mountain Lion (v10.8.x) are able to run Yosemite as they have the same requirements.^[3] However, in order to take full advantage of the Handoff feature, additional minimum system requirements include a Mac with Bluetooth LE (Bluetooth 4.0). As with Mavericks and Mountain Lion, 2 GB of RAM, 8 GB of available storage, and OS X 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) or later are required.

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

• iMac (Mid 2007 or later)
• MacBook (Aluminum Late 2008 and Early 2009 or later)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid-2009 or later; 15-inch, Mid/Late 2007 or later; 17-inch, Late 2007 or later)
• MacBook Air (Late 2008 or later)
• Mac Mini (Early 2009 or later)
• Mac Pro (Early 2008 or later)
• Xserve (Early 2009)

These are the models that support new features such as Handoff, Instant Hotspot as well as AirDrop between Mac computers and iOS devices:^[4]

• MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or later)
• MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or later)
• iMac (Late 2012 or later)
• Mac Mini (Late 2012 or later)
• Mac Pro (Late 2013 or later)

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.^[5]

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.^[6][7][8] 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.^[9] 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.^[9]

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.^[6][7] 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.^[6] Stock applications such as Safari and Mail have been updated.^[10] 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.^[11]

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.^{[12]:123–124}

JavaScript for Automation (JXA) is the new system-wide support for scripting with JavaScript, built upon JavaScriptCore and the Open Scripting Architecture.^[13] It features an Objective-C bridge which enables entire Cocoa applications to be programmed in JavaScript.^[14]

Along with other framework changes, CloudKit was integrated in this release.^[15] CloudKit functions as a Mobile Backend as a Service (MBaaS) and is one method for App developers to integrate access to Apple’s iCloud servers into their apps.^[16]

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^[17] 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).^[18] The program began releasing Public Betas on July 24, 2014.^[19] Six public betas of Yosemite were released.

Releases

Reception

On release, Yosemite received generally positive reviews, with users praising the simplified user interface. Programmer John Siracusa, who had reviewed every OS release, wrote for Ars Technica that "Yosemite is an aesthetic one-way valve..switching back to Mavericks after a week or two in Yosemite is like returning to iOS 6. Everything looks embarrassingly chunky, glossy, and gaudy."^[20] Macworld's review generally praised Yosemite for its design, but noted that it had found WiFi network issues and that Continuity had proved unreliable.^[21] While many reviews in the press praised the new design aesthetic, users were often left baffled with these statement. Widespread disagreement and contention could be found in the comment sections of articles discussing the design of the revamped interface. While some praised the changes as new and fresh, others complained about flattened, hard to distinguish buttons reducing usability. Other critiques concluded the new look to be generally ugly, bright, overly saturated, childlike, or comparing the aesthetic to 'Fisher-Price'.

Criticism

As Yosemite entered general release and stability/performance problems on the initial release did not seem to have been resolved, an ongoing discussion began to develop among prominent developers and webloggers about Apple software quality and stability. (This issue may not have been noticed earlier since many initial-release reviewers review from betas, which are expected to contain some bugs, and therefore tend to focus on features rather than stability unless stability is still completely unacceptable at release date; wider use may also highlight some more obscure bugs.)

Yosemite faced particular problems with network stability and the discoveryd DNS system. Following customer feedback and developer reports, along with a phone call between Vint Cerf and Tim Cook, Apple reverted discoveryd back to the mDNSResponder system (used in Mavericks) in 10.10.4.^[22] Another notable bug experienced on Yosemite was the 'unicode of death' problem, following a similar bug in 2013, in which a meaningless Arabic text string could crash applications using the system text-display APIs.^[23] Some users that upgraded to Yosemite complained that the Finder fails to show the contents of folders.^[24]

Software developers and users have argued that Apple's yearly release schedule and development practices have compromised stability, and meant that no version of OS X is truly recommendable for users requiring reliability above new user interface design and features.^{[25][26][27][28][29][30]}

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.^{[31][32][33][34]} 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

External links

• OS X Yosemite – official site
• Mac Developer Program – official site
• OS X Yosemite: The Ars Technica Review

Apple Inc. History Outline Founders Steve Jobs Steve Wozniak Ronald Wayne Board of directors Current Tim Cook (CEO) Al Gore Bob Iger Andrea Jung Arthur D. Levinson (Chairman) Ronald Sugar Susan Wagner Former Steve Jobs Fred D. Anderson Gil Amelio Bill Campbell Larry Ellison Delano Lewis Mike Markkula Arthur Rock Eric Schmidt John Sculley Edgar S. Woolard, Jr. Jerry York Mickey Drexler Executives Current Tim Cook (CEO) Angela Ahrendts Eddy Cue Craig Federighi Jonathan Ive (CDO) Luca Maestri (CFO) Dan Riccio Phil Schiller Bruce Sewell Jeff Williams (COO) Former Steve Jobs Fred D. Anderson John Browett Tony Fadell Scott Forstall Nancy R. Heinen Ron Johnson Peter Oppenheimer Mark Papermaster Jon Rubinstein Bertrand Serlet Sina Tamaddon Avie Tevanian Services Apple ID Apple Maps Apple Music Apple News Apple Pay Cloud iCloud iWork.com Developer iAd TestFlight Game Center Discontinued services Stores Apple Store online App Store iBookstore iTunes Store Mac App Store Support AppleCare Apple Specialist Certifications Genius Bar JointVenture One to One Products Hardware Macintosh Intel transition iPod Nano Shuffle Touch iPhone iPad Mini Air Pro Apple TV Apple Watch Apple SIM Peripherals Discontinued hardware Software Mac OS History OS X History OS X Server General iOS Version history TVOS WatchOS Core Foundation Developer Tools Final Cut Studio Logic Studio QuickTime CarPlay Discontinued software Companies Subsidiaries Beats Electronics Beats Music Braeburn Capital FileMaker Inc. Acquisitions Anobit AuthenTec Inc. Beats Electronics Beats Music Cue Emagic FingerWorks Intrinsity Lala NeXT Nothing Real P.A. Semi PrimeSense Siri Spotsetter Topsy Related Advertising 1984 Think different Get a Mac iPods Campus Design IDg Typography History Codenames Community Criticism Litigation iOS app approvals People Key Staff Mac Design Team Apple Music Festival Book  Category Portal WikiProject