At the November meeting we explored the new features of Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks (a free upgrade available now from the Mac App Store for everyone with Mac OS X 10.6 or later and compatible hardware) and helped members decide whether they should upgrade. Some of the features demonstrated were:
Tabs in the Finder making it easy to switch between folders and allowing the Finder to be used effectively in full-screen mode.
Tags, a new way of organising files in the Finder which also extends to files stored in iCloud.
Enhanced dictation which enables long-form dictation and doesn’t require an Internet connection.
Improved support for multiple displays allowing multiple full-screen applications to be displayed and the menu bar and dock to appear on any display.
The meeting also included a discussion of the month’s Apple news including:The announcement of the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina Display.
Apple offering iLife and iWork free with new Macs and iOS devices and free updates to current owners of eligible earlier versions.
We highlighted to members that hard drive maker WD have warned that some of the utilities included with their external drives can cause data loss on Mavericks.