Yesterday (2nd of June) Apple has revealed a new version of its worldly known operating system – Mac OS X 10.10, also known as Yosemite.
If there is one thing that Apple as a company is perceived famous for – it is the hype they’re creating whenever they unveil a new product.
Although to their credit, it would be fair to say that sometimes the enthusiasm is actually justified. However, it’s also important to mention – other times it doesn’t.
This time I’m having mixed feelings whether it’s justified or not (I guess you’ll have to be the judge of that), since there are some great new features to OS X 10.10, yet at the same time it seems like nothing major has really changed.
If you haven’t caught up with its release announcement yet, there’s a video available on Apple’s website.
[Linux users – for some reason the only browser I managed to get it working on is Epiphany (Gnome Web), so if you have issues – give it a try.]
Where Yosemite Influenced by Linux?
Apple is walking on the safe side with Yosemite, there are no major design changes nor mind blowing overhauling of its ground-base as well, Just – light touches here and there and few more features added in general.
Some of these features such as the renovated Spotlight for example seem to be taken straight out of the open source realm, Gnome Do or Synapse are great examples of that.
Another place where I had a strong feeling of familiarity was when seeing Safari for the first time, I’m not sure why but its title-bar or better say header-bar kind of reminds me Epiphany…
Something else that’s been talked about in the video was the introduction of a new mode called “Dark Mode” which suppose to help developers or people who want to focus on what they are doing (in contrast of being distracted by the shiny Dock and top Panel) to concentrate .
The way Yosemite does that is by darkening the (you’ve guessed it!) top Panel and Dock. I believe Gnome comes that way by default, and of course you can use themes to change it.
Besides all that, it’s worthy of mentioning also that the ability to see your online documents inside your local file browser is something that’s been available to Linux users for quite some time now too.
What Can Linux Learn from Yosemite
The places where Linux can take an example from OS X and perhaps should start working on them ASAP are mostly expressed via the technology advancements some features of Yosemite offers.
For instance, the whole idea of continuity which been greatly covered by the video is to be able to continue whatever you were doing on one device straightforwardly with another.
This reflects by starting an Email or SMS in your phone and finish it off on your computer (or tablet).
Also, making calls from your computer or writing messages (SMS etc…) through it should certainly be a fantastic feature to strive for.
Apple’s Notification Center is quite admirable in my view as well, especially now with it’s new Today feature which really make sure to tell you everything you need to know in a concise and organized summary.
Test-drive OS X Yosemite
OS X 10.10 may have been revealed, though it isn’t ready for production as of yet, not until this fall that is.
Mac users who’d like to give Yosemite a try can do so via the OS X Beta Program and thus help shape the production version of it. [sounds fun!]
P.S if there’s anything you feel been left out and should be worth mentioning – don’t hesitate to add in the comment section.
