Apple releases OS X Mavericks preview

Live from the WWDC in San Francisco, Apple has unveiled a developer preview of OS X Mavericks, the 10th major release of the operating system.

With more than 200 new features, the Cupertino company says OS X Mavericks is available to Mac Developer Program members starting today, with Mac users able to download it from the Mac App Store soon.

“The Mac has consistently outpaced the PC industry and OS X continues to be the most innovative and easy to use operating system in the world,” says Craig Federighi, senior vice president of Software Engineering, Apple.

“OS X Mavericks is our best version yet and features new Maps and iBooks apps, Finder Tags and Tabs, enhanced multi-display support, performance and energy saving features, and an all new Safari.”

Maps brings advanced mapping technologies from iOS to the Mac, including crisp vector graphics, stunning 3D view and interactive Flyover according to Federighi.

With Maps you can plan a trip from your Mac, then send it to your iPhone for voice navigation on the road.

Maps integration throughout Mavericks gives users helpful maps from within Mail, Contacts and Calendar, and developers can integrate the same powerful mapping features into their apps through the Map Kit API.

With iBooks you have instant access to your existing iBooks library, as well as the hundreds of thousands of titles on the iBooks Store, from textbooks and classics to the latest best sellers.

iBooks also works seamlessly across your devices, so you can read a book on your Mac, make notes or highlights, and then pick up exactly where you left off on your iPad.

Federighi says OS X Mavericks introduces new power user features for the ultimate Mac experience, with tags a powerful new way to organise and find your files anywhere on your Mac or in iCloud.

Tags appear in the Finder Sidebar to enable you to view files by project or category. Finder Tabs reduce the clutter on your desktop by consolidating multiple Finder windows into one window with multiple tabs.

You can customise the view for each tab, move files between tabs, and even run the Finder with multiple tabs open in full-screen.

Additional features in OS X Mavericks include:

• iCloud Keychain, which safely stores your website login information, credit card numbers and Wi-Fi passwords, and pushes them to all of your devices so you don’t need to remember them.

Information is always protected with AES-256 encryption when it’s stored on your Mac and when it’s pushed to your devices;

• an updated Calendar, which adds integration with Maps, continuous scrolling so you can zip through weeks or months, and a new Inspector to simplify event creation and editing;

• interactive Notifications, allowing you to reply to a message, respond to a FaceTime® call or even delete an email without leaving the app you’re using.

Websites can now use notifications to keep you up to date on the latest news, scores and other information. While You Were Away Notifications make sure you see what happened while your Mac was asleep; and

• Xcode 5, with powerful, intuitive new tools for developers that measure every aspect of app performance and energy use, as well as app testing.