Mac OS X Yosemite Beta Opens

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Posted by Unknown on Thursday July 24, 2014 @04:55AM from the smells-like-system-7 dept.

New submitter David Hames (3763525) writes Would you like to test drive the newest release of the Macintosh operating system? Apple is opening up the beta for Mac OS X Yosemite starting Thursday to the first million people who sign up. Beta users won't be able to access such promised Yosemite features such as the ability to make or receive your iPhone calls or text messages on your Mac, turn on your iPhone hotspot feature from your Mac, or "Handoff" the last thing you were doing on your iOS 8 device to your Mac and vice versa. A new iCloud Drive feature is also off-limits, while any Spotlight search suggestions are U.S.-based only. Don't expect all your Mac apps to run either. Ars has a preview of Yosemite.

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Would love to give it a whirl... by primebase · 2014-07-24 04:58 · Score: 1

...except that my "redemption code" which pops me over to the App Store says "This code has already been redeemed". Did we break their site already?
1. Re:Would love to give it a whirl... by jones_supa · 2014-07-24 05:22 · Score: 1
  
  Apparently yes. They went offline already with a "we are updating the site" message.
2. Re:Would love to give it a whirl... by Stratus311 · 2014-07-24 05:29 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe they gave everybody the same redemption code. Bastards. I want my free beta OS!
3. Re:Would love to give it a whirl... by doccus · 2014-07-25 04:24 · Score: 1
  
  Because it HAS to be better than Mavericks.. is why..
Yeesh by Anonymous Coward · 2014-07-24 05:05 · Score: 1

The first two pages or the Ars thing are all fonts and flattened icons and such, while the last page is "Apple has done no harm to the Finder in Yosemite, but it hasn't fixed any of its problems either." and "Functionally, the Dock doesn't change much."

I'm glad to see Apple is spending its time focused on important things, like pushing its also-ran version of Windows UI aesthetics.
1. Re:Yeesh by azav · 2014-07-24 08:40 · Score: 1
  
  Pisses me the fuck off too. Xcode 6 with its BLUE BLUE BLUE ELECTRIC BLUE highlights actually angers me.
  
  --
  - Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
Flat UI Design by TitusC3v5 · 2014-07-24 05:06 · Score: 4, Interesting

Am I the only person who hates the flat UI style that Microsoft, Google, and Apple have all adopted? I hated it being shoved onto my iPhone, and now it looks like the same nonsense it coming to OSX.

--
And the masses cried out, "09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0!"
1. Re:Flat UI Design by Anonymous Coward · 2014-07-24 05:19 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  It's hideous; a plague pushed by "designers" who have run out of new ideas. You're not alone.
2. Re:Flat UI Design by UnknowingFool · 2014-07-24 05:19 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Nope. While I agree that skeumorphism may have gone too far in previous designs, the shift to flat UI takes away from functionality sometimes. I want to clearly tell if something is touchable/clickable as opposed to nonfunctional text/graphics. All I can say is that it's not quite as bad as Metro/Modern. But that's not saying much.
  
  --
  Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
3. Re:Flat UI Design by jones_supa · 2014-07-24 05:20 · Score: 1
  
  I hate it too. It seems that almost no operating system has a cool-looking user interface right now. Of the available options, Ubuntu's Unity and Windows 7 look the best. Maybe GNOME3 comes after those.
4. Re:Flat UI Design by gunner_von_diamond · 2014-07-24 05:27 · Score: 1
  
  Everything looks flat on my old CRT monitors!
5. Re:Flat UI Design by gnupun · 2014-07-24 05:33 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  I bet Jobs would not have approved of the modern (i.e. stripped of all soul, rich textures and curves) design of ios 7. Since it's so crappy (and bright) it's bound to get pushed into all OSes.
6. Re:Flat UI Design by tipo159 · 2014-07-24 05:35 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Clearly you are not the only one. The flat UI seems to be the hot idea among UI designers and I am sure that they are all impressing themselves with their work. But, to me, as a user, it is just a gratuitous change that does not contribute to the UI's usability. And, to my kernel s/w engineer eyes, it, for the most part, doesn't look as good as what it is replacing.
  I wonder how long I will be able to get by with OS X Mavericks.
7. Re:Flat UI Design by angel'o'sphere · 2014-07-24 05:40 · Score: 2
  
  Yes, I hate it.
  I'm ebay-ing right now old Mac OS X Server OS versions.
  Mac OS X after 10.6(.8) is a pain for me to use.
  If 10.3 (or was it 10.4) was not so buggy I would even consider to buy an old PowerPC and run that.
  iOS 7 is such a pain, I did not even repair my broken screen on my iPad. My next tablet is an e-ink Linux/Android, either a Kobo or a Nook.
  Good bye Apple, I was 'trustfull' customer of you the last 30 years and bought hardware worth 50,000 Euro over that time ... but thats it.
  
  --
  Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
8. Re:Flat UI Design by nine-times · 2014-07-24 05:43 · Score: 1
  
  I haven't tried out Yosemite yet, but I generally like the flat look.
  More specifically, I think things should generally be flat so that texture and dimension stand out. Having textures, depth, and animation in a UI can be a great way to provide visual cues, letting you immediately grasp the differentiation between elements and give you a sense of what the UI can do without explanation. However, the texture, depth, and animation can only provide those cues when it stands out against an otherwise static and flat UI. Having a UI where everything is textured and in motion creates a confusing mess. Remember web pages in the mid-90s?
  I've actually thought that Windows, since XP, has overdone things in the UI. It has too may bright, garish colors and gradients, fake glass effects, etc. It doesn't make it attractive, and doesn't make the UI easier to understand. Metro aside, the Windows 8 flat design is easier on the eyes. I think the Yosemite screenshots so far look pretty good, though I want to withhold judgment until I see it in action.
9. Re:Flat UI Design by jbolden · 2014-07-24 05:45 · Score: 1, Insightful
  
  No lots of people dislike it. However it has some major advantages in terms of allowing screens to be more complex with a higher degree of understanding.
  Deference — less competition between UI elements and application elements. What is expected is less noticeable
  Clarity — text is legible at every size, icons are precise and lucid, elements are subtle and appropriate, and a sharpened focus on functionality motivates the design
  Depth — visual layers and realistic motion are used to assist users’ understanding
  That wasn't achievable with older hardware an OSes. Now that it is achievable it will allow for better applications.
10. Re:Flat UI Design by just_another_sean · 2014-07-24 05:49 · Score: 1
  
  E18 eats all of them for breakfast!
  
  --
  Creationist Textbook Stickers Declared Unconstitutional by CowboyNeal
11. Re:Flat UI Design by DarkOx · 2014-07-24 05:56 · Score: 2
  
  Gotta join in on this here.
  On the one hand it all evokes fond memories of CDE on the other hand CDE is open source now if what I wanted was CDE I could have it. I expect something better than this.
  
  --
  Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
12. Re:Flat UI Design by jones_supa · 2014-07-24 06:00 · Score: 1
  
  Looks quite crusty to me.
13. Re:Flat UI Design by wazzzup · 2014-07-24 06:04 · Score: 1
  
  While everybody is entitled to their opinions, there is a real benefit to flat user interfaces. When done well, flat user interfaces remove the confusing decorations of skeumorphism (the practice of incorporating the look of an object that was made in another material into a design) so that a user can more easily identify and interact with the content or task at hand.
  As with anything, there are extremes that can be taken too far and with flat user interfaces you have to be aware of removing too much distinguishing signifiers so a user can no longer tell what it is that the interface is expected to do. I like some of the flat UI treatments Apple has done in iOS and Yosemite. However, I'm not a fan of the excessive use of transparency in Yosemite. I think it's applied incorrectly and arbitrarily in too many locations. Transparencies, in my mind, are more closely associated with skeumorphic design than flat design and their use in the Yosemite beta is a step backward.
14. Re:Flat UI Design by Cley+Faye · 2014-07-24 06:19 · Score: 1
  
  You could have formulated it better, but it's true that KDE don't try to change "for change sake". And even if it did, it's one of these desktop that still have relatively easy visual customization.
15. Re:Flat UI Design by jellomizer · 2014-07-24 06:20 · Score: 1
  
  I don't hate the Flat UI style. But for Microsoft and Apple to adopt it is not really their thing.
  Google has always had the flat style, it was their thing.
  With Microsoft and Apple doing it it makes them look like they are a cheap rip off.
  Apple did start to go a little too far in the 3d thing. I think when they made the Dock background 3d perspective.
  Microsoft in Windows 7 had a good balance.
  
  --
  If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
16. Re:Flat UI Design by MacTO · 2014-07-24 06:22 · Score: 1
  
  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
17. Re:Flat UI Design by Cinder6 · 2014-07-24 06:40 · Score: 2
  
  I really wouldn't call Yosemite flat, even though a lot of tech sites claim it is. It has a lot more visual eye candy than Mavericks, IMO, what with all the transparency and other stuff. I think it looks pretty nice.
  
  --
  If you can't convince them, convict them.
18. Re:Flat UI Design by macs4all · 2014-07-24 06:44 · Score: 1, Informative
  
  Transparencies, in my mind, are more closely associated with skeumorphic design than flat design and their use in the Yosemite beta is a step backward.
  Good thing Apple has give you two places to reduce, or completely eliminate, Transparency in Yosemite.
  
  Read the Ars article for details.
19. Re:Flat UI Design by jones_supa · 2014-07-24 07:02 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not sure about that. It looks like KDE 5 is adopting the flat look too.
20. Re:Flat UI Design by iluvcapra · 2014-07-24 07:28 · Score: 1
  
  There are ways to express the clickability of a region without 3Ds, it's just Apple's approach (on iOS) at the moment is somewhat lackluster. Mac OS X NSButtons still have a eency bit of bezel.
  
  --
  Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
21. Re:Flat UI Design by Zero__Kelvin · 2014-07-24 07:36 · Score: 1
  
  Clearly you have never seen a properly tweaked KDE4 installation. I used to love enlightenment, but KDE4 blows it's doors in.
  
  --
  Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
22. Re:Flat UI Design by Zero__Kelvin · 2014-07-24 07:37 · Score: 1
  
  That's wierd. I would have thought it had a slight curve to it. Unless you call a Trinitron an "old" CRT monitor.
  
  --
  Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
23. Re:Flat UI Design by Darinbob · 2014-07-24 07:43 · Score: 1
  
  I like it myself. I really disliked the overly glossy and special effect heavy style of Windows 7 for instance. Mac isn't "flat" per se, it's just minimalist. No borders for example because they serve no purpose except to waste screen space.
  I have no idea about other apple products as I don't use them, but on my android phone I most definitely don't want all that wasted space from UI garnishes (and there's enough wasted space as it is, I want information not pretty looks).
  Now Windows 8 went too far on the metro side, you can't tell what's a clickable item or not (I refuse to say "touchable"). But on the desk top I actually prefer that style (not counting silly charms bars and other metro stuff that intrudes).
  However what is really needed perhaps is an option. All othe operating systems try to quash all customization (even many free systems). Freedom of choice is good.
24. Re:Flat UI Design by Darinbob · 2014-07-24 07:44 · Score: 1
  
  And the buttons will change as you mouse over them so you can see what's going on. Windows 8 was much less obvious about what could be clicked on many times.
25. Re:Flat UI Design by Darinbob · 2014-07-24 07:47 · Score: 1
  
  I really disliked W7. It was nice when the alternative was XP, but it still felt way over done. Too glossy, too much distraction, too much reliance on special effects (that often required video card help to achieve, which should be a warning sign). W7 is the opposite of keeping things simple and functional. W8 went the wrong way by being too simple and removing functionality. Mac OS feels in the middle, not distracting at all but very functional.
26. Re:Flat UI Design by angel'o'sphere · 2014-07-24 07:51 · Score: 1
  
  Unfortunately the exact opposite is true: While everybody is entitled to their opinions, there is a real benefit to flat user interfaces. When done well, flat user interfaces remove the confusing decorations of skeumorphism (the practice of incorporating a look of an object that was made in another material into a design) so that a user can more easily identify and interact with the content or task at hand
  A 'Notebook' that does not look anymore like a notebook is hard to find on the UI. Amd if you open it up and it loos like another flow of desktop dialogs it makes me womit.
  A calendar that does not look like a calendar but like a piece of paper coloured by a child, a bit like a copy of what our days MS Outlook looks like, is uncomprehendable, unuseable.
  An App like Mail or Safari on iOS 7 where half of the icons say nothing, where it is a 5 minutes contemplation how to access the 'recent history' (no idea how it is called in english, there is no straight forward translation from germans 'Verlauf') ... sorry that is not progress, that is a defration!
  Since iOS 6, the iOS platform is on the decline. There is no inovation, they only dropped their limits down to plain android boringness. Same for Mac OS X, once the halmark of usebility and snapping UI design is now driving below Windows levels.
  Perhap, it is only a decade and then the APIs will also be on the level of windows ... what a shame.
  
  --
  Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
27. Re:Flat UI Design by dnebin · 2014-07-24 07:57 · Score: 1
  
  I'm mixed. I prefer the glassy look of old, but at the same time I realize it takes more cpu to render it.
  Well, I guess I'd rather have that little bit of cpu doing work for me rather than generating a pretty glassy look, I guess I'm in favor of it.
28. Re:Flat UI Design by UnknowingFool · 2014-07-24 08:39 · Score: 1
  
  Less CPU is a bonus for underpowered systems like mobile phones. I see it as less priority for a desktop/laptop. It may be part of a longer strategy to use more ARM processors in the future.
  
  --
  Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
29. Re:Flat UI Design by azav · 2014-07-24 08:45 · Score: 1
  
  I agree 10,000 percent. Someone needs to fire Ive or whomever is pushing this bullshit.
  
  --
  - Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
30. Re:Flat UI Design by azav · 2014-07-24 08:51 · Score: 2
  
  I KNOW!
  
  You CAN'T TELL if a UI element is a clickable element element if #1, it looks just the same as everything else, #2, isn't displayed on the screen until you mouseover it!
  
  Xcode actually REMOVED the damn disclosure arrows from hierarchical controls so that you had NO IDEA that you could click on them until you tried it.
  
  OMF! Infuriating. Someone thought that was a good idea? Why do they still have jobs?!
  
  What's even worse is that in some areas, the clickable items are INVISIBLE until you mouse over them. Holy crap!!
  
  Buttons need to look like fucking BUTTONS so you can eyeball the screen and know what everything on the screen does without needing to interact with each element!
  
  How does the "professional" design team at Apple not know this???
  
  Flat UI design REMOVES valuable context from the user that HELPS the user figure out how the interface behaves without having to manually hunt and peck through the interface!
  
  Ive needs to never touch a human user interface EVER.
  
  The iOS and Mac interfaces have only gotten worse since Ive's started touching them. It's seriously tragic.
  
  --
  - Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
31. Re:Flat UI Design by azav · 2014-07-24 08:52 · Score: 2
  
  No, it doesn't. The glassy look is all prerendered into bitmaps that are stored as PNG files.
  
  --
  - Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
32. Re:Flat UI Design by azav · 2014-07-24 08:53 · Score: 1
  
  Overly luminous colors that look like an art student's bad project? Yes. It has those.
  
  --
  - Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
33. Re:Flat UI Design by azav · 2014-07-24 08:56 · Score: 1
  
  I have them. Email me at zav - at - mac - dot - com
  
  I LOVE 10.6.8. I use it on all my home macs.
  
  In the office, I have to use 10.8.5. It's the least visually sucky of them post Snow Leopard.
  
  Install an SSD and Max out your RAM and stick with 10.6.8 or leave the platform like I will be doing.
  
  Sucks that Ive's touch is destroying the Mac and iOS interface. Really sucks, but these new versions are too ugly to use.
  
  --
  - Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
34. Re:Flat UI Design by azav · 2014-07-24 08:59 · Score: 2
  
  Meh.
  
  It's visually appalling crap.
  
  Deference and Clarity lose all the time over the Visual Context that is gained by clearly defined controls with moderate depth, shadow and lighting.
  
  And their color scheme of garish and overly luminous colors that clash with each other? Just how is this a good thing? It isn't.
  
  --
  - Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
35. Re:Flat UI Design by Billly+Gates · 2014-07-24 10:25 · Score: 1
  
  I bet Jobs would not have approved of the modern (i.e. stripped of all soul, rich textures and curves) design of ios 7. Since it's so crappy (and bright) it's bound to get pushed into all OSes.
  I doubt it. Love him or hate him we all admit when it comes to asthetics and perfectionism he masters them.
  He led the iPhone 1 gumdrop gorgeous icons and buttons which everyone loved and changed the smartphone world overnight. I do not see people the same way over Metro or the newer releases. I mean the competitors looked well dead and in a totally different level until Android came out.
  
  --
  http://saveie6.com/
36. Re:Flat UI Design by GrahamCox · 2014-07-24 11:30 · Score: 1
  
  Not necessarily. It's often rendered as an NSGradient having the necessary colours at key positions. A glassy effect typically needs four colours, and they are computed off some base "theme" colour. Nevertheless the time to render this is extremely small, probably no greater than decoding and painting a PNG of the same area.
37. Re:Flat UI Design by angel'o'sphere · 2014-07-25 11:20 · Score: 1
  
  The icon does not look like a notebook, google for a iOS 4,5 or 6 icon and you see.
  Sure ... they work better than the predecessors, how retarded is that? At OS X 10.4 the "mac" calendar was perfect since then the only thing that become a little bit better is webcal.
  The iOS 7 one is ugly like hell and I see no difference to the iOS 6 one in functionality ... no idea what you consider "better".
  
  --
  Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
38. Re:Flat UI Design by angel'o'sphere · 2014-07-25 11:47 · Score: 1
  
  I sold my PPC based MacBook Pro in 2007.
  Costed in 2004 when I bought it EUR 4000 ...
  Regarding buggy: I said OS X 10.3 and asked myself (in paras, oh was it 10.4?) ... learn to read perhaps?
  Your point regarding 10.5 is pretty pointless as the only really good ones are 10.4 and 10.6 :D Obviously everyone also easily figures that the OS versions went via 10.1 and 10.3 etc. including 10.5 till 10.9 now and 10.10 soon. So your hint about 10.5 is more or less superflouvious.
  Good luck with those Linux tablets. Enjoy you OS-that-never-gets-updated, laggy UI, and malware/spyware galore.
  For what I do with a tablet an eInk display is nice. Also your claim "real" linux as on the Kobos would be full with spyware is just nonsense: #ps axu -- shows all processes, and a little bit investigations reveals what kind of distro it is. There is a big hacking community around Kobos and Nooks ... if there was spyware someone had realized it, especially as they usually only have internet access via wifi so you pretty easy can figure if they access the internet without reason.
  
  --
  Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
Looks like those who signed up when they first by Registered+Coward+v2 · 2014-07-24 05:14 · Score: 1

announced the beta are already signed up even if they didn't get an email. I logged on under the email I requested a code for back right after the developers conference and got the code.

--
I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
Re:Yosemite? by oodaloop · 2014-07-24 05:24 · Score: 1

Cool story, bro.

--
Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
Why does Apple charge for Mac OSX? by gunner_von_diamond · 2014-07-24 05:25 · Score: 1

But give free updates for iOS?
1. Re:Why does Apple charge for Mac OSX? by tbuddy · 2014-07-24 05:29 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  The don't charge for Mac OS X actually anymore. Didn't last revision cycle and the previous two versions were $29 and $19 respectively.
2. Re:Why does Apple charge for Mac OSX? by aristotle-dude · 2014-07-24 05:29 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  But give free updates for iOS?
  Apple does not charge for OS X anymore. The last update was free and so is this one.
  
  --
  Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
3. Re:Why does Apple charge for Mac OSX? by gunner_von_diamond · 2014-07-24 06:00 · Score: 1
  
  Wow. Behind the times much?
  
  No, I'm just a linux programmer.
4. Re:Why does Apple charge for Mac OSX? by sootman · 2014-07-24 07:28 · Score: 1
  
  OMG! They must have read your comment, realized the error of their ways, and done away with the fee!
  "OS X Mavericks. Now available for free from the Mac App Store."
  http://www.apple.com/osx/
  https://itunes.apple.com/us/ap...
  Quick -- ask for a pony next!
  
  --
  Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
5. Re:Why does Apple charge for Mac OSX? by UnknowingFool · 2014-07-24 08:06 · Score: 4, Informative
  Apple hasn't charged for OS X since Mavericks. Then they charged before Mavericks:
  
  10.0 "Cheetah": $0
  I don't think there was a price as it was the first OS X to be installed on new machines.
  10.1 "Puma": $129
  10.2 "Jaguar": $129
  10.3 "Panther": $129
  10.4 "Tiger": $129
  10.5 "Leopard": $129
  10.6 "Snow Leopard": $29
  10.7 "Lion": $29
  10.8 "Mountain Lion": $19
  10.9 "Mavericks": $0
  10.10 "Yosemite": $0
  --
  Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
6. Re:Why does Apple charge for Mac OSX? by UnknowingFool · 2014-07-24 08:22 · Score: 1
  
  "identically specced" Only for very liberal interpretations for "identically specced". The problem is that when you actually try to build one identically-specced, in some cases, you'd find you spend more money on a PC than a Mac. There are specs you may not care about: small form factor, workstation processors, etc which may drive the price down. However ignoring them means you don't have an identically specced machine.
  Take for example the cost of the video chips in the Mac Pro. It is actually cheaper to buy a Mac Pro upgrades than discrete cards. The D300 cards are roughly equivalent to the FirePro W7000 (~$750) while the D500 is almost equivalent to the W8000(~$1250). The D700 is roughly equivalent to a W9000 (~$3200). The prices are newegg prices. To upgrade from D300 to D500 is $400 on Apple. If you had two W7000 discrete cards, the upgrade price to dual W8000 would be $800. To upgrade to D700s would be $1000. To upgrade from dual W7000 to dual W9000 is $5500.
  Now you make say you don't need workstation level cards, but that's the problem with your argument. Using a consumer level card would be cheaper; however, a Mac Pro is not designed for consumers. It's designed for professionals.
  
  --
  Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Mac OS X Yosemite by Snufu · 2014-07-24 05:33 · Score: 4, Funny

National parks are selling commercial naming rights?
1. Re:Mac OS X Yosemite by Merk42 · 2014-07-24 05:50 · Score: 1, Informative
  
  No; Warner Bros. characters
  The meanest, toughest, rip-roarin-est, Jony Ive-est OS whatever packed a XNU kernel!
2. Re:Mac OS X Yosemite by SeaFox · 2014-07-24 06:43 · Score: 1
  
  National parks are selling commercial naming rights?
  National parks aren't corporations, and national parks and operating systems on computers aren't the least bit related so you're not going to have a trademark collision.
  And this is assuming I'm entertaining the notion the national park has any exclusive ownership to the name to start with.
3. Re:Mac OS X Yosemite by Rakarra · 2014-07-24 07:34 · Score: 1
  
  National parks aren't corporations, and national parks and operating systems on computers aren't the least bit related so you're not going to have a trademark collision.
  National parks aren't corporations, though a corporation can and do run the services in a national park.
  In the case of Yosemite, its services are supplied by the Delaware North corporation, who also oversee Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon.
4. Re:Mac OS X Yosemite by hondo77 · 2014-07-24 07:47 · Score: 1
  
  National parks aren't corporations...
  National parks are people, my friend...
  
  --
  I live ze unknown. I love ze unknown. I am ze unknown.
Yosemite? by slashdice · 2014-07-24 05:33 · Score: 2

Are you sure he wasn't talking about your mom?

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Re:New UI? by oldmac31310 · 2014-07-24 05:44 · Score: 1

From watt I sea in sum screenshot, you eye lux two plane. Eye want to sea sum depth knot a piece of pay per. FTFY

--
http://www.acetonestudio.com
FYI - Yosemite Dev Seed vs. Public Beta Notes by djupedal · 2014-07-24 05:48 · Score: 2

Important Info: OS X Yosemite Beta Seed

Today we have released a public beta build of Yosemite for people who are part of the OS X Yosemite Beta Program. This is an open-to-the- public seed of similar pre-release software that you test for us. The build they received is 14A299l which is identical and not any newer than your current build 14A298i. There is no benefit in moving to the public seed build. Participants in the public seed get access to the pre-release software and a lighter version of Feedback Assistant. We suggest that you DO NOT participate in the OS X Yosemite Beta Program. If you participate in both programs, you may experience the following issues:

* You will have multiple projects listed in your projects list in Feedback Assistant and the AppleSeed portal.

* Installing the public seed build will prevent you from seeing additional software update OS X builds that are only available to the AppleSeed Program.

* If you write bugs using the OS X Yosemite bug form while using the public seed build, they may not get screened.

Please remember your current participation in the Apple Software Customer Seeding Program contains many added benefits:

* You receive additional information in the form of release notes, emails, and bug correspondence

* You have access to a discussion board

* You have access to more detailed bug forms

* Your bug reports are screened by engineering

* You will have access to builds not available in OS X Yosemite Beta Program

We appreciate all that you do for the AppleSeed Program. Your steadfast participation truly makes Apple software a high quality product. If you have additional comments or questions, please post on the discussion board.
Yosemite... by oldmac31310 · 2014-07-24 05:49 · Score: 1

followed by Marmite, then Vegemite. Then Bovril, Oxo, Herbox, Knorr and Maggi.

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http://www.acetonestudio.com
I can fix any current Mac OS. by TechyImmigrant · 2014-07-24 05:53 · Score: 1

I can fix any current Mac OS. Just go into the apps folder (flower-shift-a is the shortcut), then into utilities, then run shell application. Enlarge the window to full screen. Bingo, you're in a bash shell where you can talk to a proper unixy command line interface.

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I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
1. Re:I can fix any current Mac OS. by praxis · 2014-07-24 06:56 · Score: 1
  
  I can fix any current Mac OS. Just go into the apps folder (flower-shift-a is the shortcut), then into utilities, then run shell application. Enlarge the window to full screen. Bingo, you're in a bash shell where you can talk to a proper unixy command line interface.
  Or command-space then type "terminal" and hit enter for faster bash access.
2. Re:I can fix any current Mac OS. by TechyImmigrant · 2014-07-24 09:23 · Score: 1
  
  I've used macs since 1984. Back then there were lots of users who called it the flower key.
  Of course you can use ImageMagick if you want to manipulate pictures from the command line.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
3. Re:I can fix any current Mac OS. by hr+raattgift · 2014-07-24 16:51 · Score: 1
  
  Third, let's see you drive Photoshop from that "Proper Unixy[sic] command line interface".
  Macintosh:~ user$ open -a Photoshop
  HTH.
4. Re:I can fix any current Mac OS. by BasilBrush · 2014-07-25 02:45 · Score: 1
  
  Of course you can use ImageMagick if you want to manipulate pictures from the command line.
  Wow, that's the perfect quote to illustrate the stupidity of the command line crowd.
  Next: Who needs a piano keyboard? I can type note hex-codes into this midi utility.
5. Re: I can fix any current Mac OS. by macs4all · 2014-07-25 16:29 · Score: 1
  
  Third, let's see you drive Photoshop from that "Proper Unixy[sic] command line interface".
  
  Macintosh:~ user$ open -a Photoshop
  Ok, that launches it, but now do an irregular selection area, and apply the smudge tool with that CLI.
  
  But bravo. You have successfully drawn me into your pointless attempt at proving me wrong.
Customizing chat bubble colors in Messages.app by Kethinov · 2014-07-24 05:56 · Score: 1

Apple seems to have removed the ability to customize the chat bubble colors in Messages.app in Yosemite. If you liked that feature (as I did) and want it back, I've got your back! https://github.com/kethinov/Bu...

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You're right, I wouldn't steal a car. But if it were possible, I sure as hell would download one!
Ars Review is Cosmetic by Suffering+Bastard · 2014-07-24 06:06 · Score: 1

The linked Ars Technica review pretty much only looks at surface level details, like icons, window buttons, menus, etc. Doesn't say anything about functionality, speed, or lower level concerns.
And this line is misleading:

It's a very Microsoft-esque way to roll out an OS: you give enthusiasts a chance to work with an early-but-reasonably-stable build in exchange for valuable bug-squashing feedback.
Microsoft got the idea from Apple, who started their public beta program with the first version of OS X back in 2001.

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"Molest me not with this pocket calculator stuff."
- Deep Thought
1. Re:Ars Review is Cosmetic by Lazere · 2014-07-24 07:11 · Score: 1
  
  You do know Microsoft was doing public betas at least as early as Windows 98, right?
2. Re:Ars Review is Cosmetic by Suffering+Bastard · 2014-07-24 07:26 · Score: 1
  
  The public beta Apple started was started in 2001. That's all I said. No trend was meant to be implied.
  I may have been wrong about MS getting the idea from Apple, though. I'll piss off on that point.
  
  --
  "Molest me not with this pocket calculator stuff."
  - Deep Thought
3. Re:Ars Review is Cosmetic by Suffering+Bastard · 2014-07-24 10:49 · Score: 1
  
  Nope, didn't know that. Mea culpa. I wasn't paying attention to MS back then, apart from the Jackson trials.
  
  --
  "Molest me not with this pocket calculator stuff."
  - Deep Thought
Tried the AppStore help form... by primebase · 2014-07-24 06:27 · Score: 1

...and got a gigantically unhelpful email from someone who obviously didn't bother to pay attention to my support ticket. It helpfully informed me that 1) the code was already redeemed, 2) they couldn't tell me who did that due to privacy, and 3) told me to have a nice day.
I miss the days when Steve would come in and yell at people, relentlessly, for not doing their [ redacted ]-ing jobs, at all.
1. Re:Tried the AppStore help form... by dgatwood · 2014-07-25 06:27 · Score: 1
  
  I got the same error after a glitch. Turns out the redemption was successful the first time, but because the server was too slow responding to the redemption request, the App Store app timed out. For whatever bizarre reason, it appears that the app store server infrastructure doesn't treat redemption requests as idempotent (clearly a bug), so subsequent attempts to redeem the same code from the same account fail. Ideally, those subsequent attempts should do nothing, but should return whatever magic value tells the App Store app to update its list of purchased items and then do whatever other work it needs to do.
  To make a long story short, if you quit the App Store app and relaunch it, the Yosemite beta should appear under the Purchases tab in the App Store. From there, you can start the download.
  
  --
  Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
iTunes by CanadianMacFan · 2014-07-24 06:28 · Score: 2

Feels like I've already been doing beta testing since the last major release of iTunes has been released. It's been very buggy, especially where podcasts are concerned. They keep throwing more features in which seem to break basic functionality and slow the application down. It now takes over two seconds to delete a podcast episode since version 11.3 came out. And that's for every episode. If you want to delete three episodes it takes over six seconds. How do you write something that bloody slow? I fear updating to the new version in Yosemite for how bad it's going to be.
Not Apple's first Yosemite-named Mac product by wernst · 2014-07-24 06:53 · Score: 5, Informative

Those of us of a certain age will probably find the codename of the new OS X oddly familiar.
The so-called "Blue & White" PowerMac G3 was also code-named "Yosemite" (http://apple-history.com/g3blue). Mine still works fine, 15 years later - it'll be old enough to drive and vote soon.
Too bad my Yosemite Mac won't be able to run Yosemite OS X...
1. Re:Not Apple's first Yosemite-named Mac product by MachineShedFred · 2014-07-24 08:08 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, but nobody is going to confuse a modern software branding with that ass-ugly hardware tower.
  Though, it was the first NewWorld ROM Mac, so that's worth something. And that case got infinitely better when they went with grey / graphite for the G4. It's still one of the best cases to work inside that's ever been made, since the logic board was mounted to the hinged door.
  
  --
  Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
2. Re:Not Apple's first Yosemite-named Mac product by jpkunst · 2014-07-26 05:35 · Score: 1
  
  Also known as the "Smurf Tower".
Flattened icons were good enough for Windows 3.0 by zephvark · 2014-07-24 07:33 · Score: 2

...and if they were good enough for my Dad, they're good enough for me.
It's always "change for the sake of upgrades" with these guys. Microsoft went from flat icons, to 3D icons tilted one way, to 3D icons tilted the other way, and now back to... flat, yes, I'm glad we're continuing to improve by revolving around in circles. Possibly they got the idea from the "busy" cursor.
Prepare to buy new copies of all your software because they have old-fashioned icons but, not sufficiently old-fashioned icons.
You did it wrong. by MachineShedFred · 2014-07-24 08:04 · Score: 1

If you just want a UNIX shell, why are you running all that graphical crap at all? Real men want a text mode UNIX. Here, let me help you...
From the login window, in the user name field, type:
>console
and hit enter.
Now, loginwindow.app and the window server go away, and you're in a real UNIX shell. And get off my lawn.

--
Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
Re:Who is this aimed at? by azav · 2014-07-24 08:39 · Score: 4, Informative

Yes. Yes it does. Bouncing rubber banding scroll views in Safari and the Finder if you use the Magic Mouse. Who the HELL needs this? Kill it. Kill it with fire. Windows and alerts that pop open in your face just like from iOS. So many iOS conventions that simply suck on a desktop. Full screen use on my 30 inch display is counterproductive. Full screen on a multi monitor system with a 30 inch display is a joke.

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- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
Re:Windows 8 by azav · 2014-07-24 08:41 · Score: 1

No shit. Sucks ass, doesn't it?

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- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
Re:New UI? by azav · 2014-07-24 09:00 · Score: 1

Whaaat? Please spell check. I have no idea what you are trying to say.

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- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
Re:New UI? by oldmac31310 · 2014-07-24 09:24 · Score: 1

Whoosh!

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http://www.acetonestudio.com
Re:What is so wrong with Skuemorphism? by Billly+Gates · 2014-07-24 10:20 · Score: 2

What is soo bad that it makes people afraid of change, give headaches, cause confusion, or just makes uses apathetic to upgrade to shiny gradients, colors, shadows, animations etc?
Well I tell you one thing? I HATE BLINDING WHITE ALL CAPS office 2013. I HATE FULL SCREEN. I hate less functionality. I hate no buttons (Apple is removing all buttons in iOS 8 because it ... gulps does not have real ones). Is there anyone who hates the leather bound address book as much as we all hate Metro and flat 72 pixel fonts?
Anyone like seeing only 2 videos instead of 7 on youtube on our phones due to big fonts and flat elements?
There is a reason Skuemorphism was used. Namely ... IT WORKS. People can replicate real world objects quite efficiently and maybe just maybe the reason real world objects look, act, and function a particular way is because it was THE BEST way to use it. Nothing is wrong folks with pretty gradients and animations that are soothing to the reader. I can still read my MS word documents fine in older colorful versions of Office. No really I can really read without distraction when a distinction between element panes are visible in non-white anti skuemorphism crowd.
Proof: Look at the Iphone 1? The reason Apple won the 1st battle from MS and blackberry overnight is because they were pretty and drop dead gorgeous. Android won battle 2 but still Apple never got defeated.
If IOS looked like it did in 2007 it frankly wouldn't sell. People wanted the gum drops of Safari.

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http://saveie6.com/
4k Displays? by timeOday · 2014-07-24 10:35 · Score: 1

Is this the release that adds support for HiDPI on external displays? I was pretty disappointed when I got a 4k display to find that it was unusable under OS X 10.9.3. (You can drive it at 4k, but cannot scale the interface).
Parallels VM by GrahamCox · 2014-07-24 11:33 · Score: 1

I wish I could run this in a Parallels Desktop VM, under 10.9. That would be much more convenient than having to set up a separate boot partition. But right now it appears unsupported... unless someone knows better?
Re:Did they run out of big cats to name things aft by WhiteDragon · 2014-07-25 05:35 · Score: 1

Like Lynx and Caracals.
obligatory xkcd: http://xkcd.com/1056/

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Did you mount a military-grade, variable-focus MASER on an unlicensed artificial intelligence?
Re:What is so wrong with Skuemorphism? by Billly+Gates · 2014-07-27 13:36 · Score: 1

So basically what you are saying is more features are available in the flat white versions of apps?

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http://saveie6.com/
Re:What is so wrong with Skuemorphism? by BasilBrush · 2014-07-28 05:54 · Score: 1

No I'm saying exactly what I said. In a nutshell: "But once the concept is understood, the metaphor gets in the way and can only mislead or clutter."
BTW, I notice that you said there's nothing wrong with gentle gradients and animation. Well there's more animation in iOS 7+ than iOS 6-
And what are the gradients for? If it's just a subtle effect for a background that makes an app look pettier, OK, but when it's used as a pseudo 3D effect, it's likely to clash with the proper 3D transform based layer animation. Flip a screen with pseudo raised bits and shadows, and it becomes clear it's just a sham.
You also state that you hate the vast amount of white. But you're looking at larger expanses of white when looking at a website such as slashdot classic, or a word processor file. If it's too bright, turn down the brightness!
Oh, and if you're confused by the lack of outlines on buttons, there's an accessibility option to add them.