One of the updates that was touted with the coming of Mavericks are Tags. Tags can be used for both files and folders. When you first open up the Finder window, the tags are in the side bar. To change a name of a tag, hit Control click and then hit the Rename option. You can also change a name by going up to Preferences and then Tags and click on the name.
Only six tags will show up when you Control click on an item. These are your favorite tags. To change your favorite tags, in the Finder Window go up to Preference than Tags and drag the tags you want into the box at the bottom. To remove a tag from the sidebar simply control click on the tag and hit remove tag. This will just remove the tag from the sidebar, if you want to delete the tag altogether hit control click and then delete tag. You will get a warning that this will remove the tag altogether, so make sure that is what you want.
When you save an item, you are given the option to tag the item. You can either tag it with an existing tag or add a new tag. There is a couple of ways to add a tag to an existing item. The first is to highlight the item in the Finder Window and then click on the symbol in the tool bar that has the circle in the rounded rectangle and add the tag. You can also highlight the item hit Command I to pull up the information screen and tab down to the Add tag block and add the tag. To search for items with a specific tag you can enter the tag in the Finder search window or pick it from the sidebar. Strangely you can’t search for tags using Spotlight, maybe that will come in the future. It will be interesting to see how much tags are used. Some people have to have everything in a specific file or folder or they feel unorganized. I use to be that way, but the problem I ran into was I am terrible at name things and then remembering what I named them. By using tags I know longer have to worry about this, I simply search for an item by the tag. Personally I think I will be using the new tagging option, what about you.
Yesterday OSX 10.9 Mavericks was released for Mac and Macbook devices. In a new direction, Apple decided to make the update free and was available just after the keynote. Better battery life and iBooks integration were the keys of the system update. The biggest feature being Mac computers as old as 2007 will be able to install the OS.
My Macbook Pro is the 2011 model with AMD Radeon HD 6750M video graphics on top of the Intel HD Graphics (the card switches on video-intense processes). I have a Hybrid HD inside.
How the Battery Life was Extended
In Mountain Lion, I had processes stuck that would make the computer work harder. For example: When I left home I would close the lid to my Macbook Pro (Chrome being the primary window open). I would get to my destination and open the lid. Instantly, Chrome would have processes that stopped responding but would never close – such as Google Chrome Helper.
I would check my processes as the Macbook started heating up and the fan would go wild. Chrome was at 200% and its child processes also were working harder than normal. To fix this, I would have to close Chrome and go back in.
Chrome wasn’t the only program that did that. Photoshop, Audition and other non-Apple apps would also hold onto the processor.
Now with the addition of App Nap it looks like those processes are in check and ones not responding are not holding the processor hostage.
Safari and Battery Life
Safari saves battery life by not running any processes that are not within the viewing screen. At first I thought it was a virtual webpage screen – similar to what your iPhone or iPad will load up. When I scrolled through a process-intense website there were no blank spots waiting for the page to continue loading.
iTunes HD Playback
I had a friend that installed Golden Master last week. He was very impressed he could watch a whole movie without plugging in, so I had to test it out when I loaded Mavericks. I watched a full movie on a fully charged battery and still had plenty of time to do other things. Apple states its a 35% savings.
cool to the touch
My Macbook Pro is Cooler
I bought one of those lap-desks because my Macbook Pro would get really hot after working for only 15-20 minutes. The fans would spin out of control to keep the machine cooler.
Today, I have been working for over 90 minutes and I can lift my Macbook up and place my hand on the bottom without feeling discomfort. Makes me wonder if there was a major bug in Mountain Lion…
iBooks
iBooks on Mavericks
I have a non-retina display, but my model is an enhanced display (pre-retina I believe). I wanted to test out iBooks on my laptop. I was able to access my books and of course get more from the store. The pages flipped with a swipe on the touchpad.
With a simple command+ and command- I could increase and decrease font size. I could also highlight sections and post notes then be able to see the highlights on my iPad.
Maps on Mavericks
I do have to admit – I am impressed with how the maps works. I looked through my city and even found my house – saw my car sitting in the driveway. Unfortunately I didn’t get the 3D view like if I lived in San Francisco. Nonetheless, I was able navigate through and have a good comprehension of where I was.
Tagging Everything
In Mavericks you have the opportunity to tag everything for easier search. Since I wasn’t tagging things before, I probably won’t be using this feature. It all depends on how easy I can navigate Mavericks without tags.
Other features include an improved calendars and the iCloud keychain. These items I don’t use because I have Google calendar and 3rd party keychain access. Still, during setup I was able to sign in and put on a secondary sign-in email.
One 3rd party program I run called “Cinch” (snaps a window to full screen or half screen like in Windows 8) had to allowed in my security settings to run. It was the only program that required an extra step for me.
I also had to install Java Runtime to continue using my Adobe products (Photoshop, Premier Pro, etc).
Ultimately, I am really enjoying the power saver and cooler Macbook Pro. For these two reasons its a good idea to update your Mac to Mavericks. The additional programs (including an updated iMovie and Garageband) updated without issue. The update took this Macbook Pro about an hour to complete – although times will vary between different models.
