Matt MorenoIt was another big announcement day at Apple's World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco. One of the biggest reveals Monday was Apple's new computer operating system.
As expected, the tech giant unveiled OS X 10.10 — a new update to the current operating system. And, after wide speculation over what they were going to name it, they announced that too.
"We discovered OS 10 Yosemite." (Via Apple)
The name for the new operating system comes from California's lovely Yosemite National Park. (Via U.S. National Park Service)
The previous version, OS Mavericks, or 10.9, is from a popular surfing spot on California's coast. (Via Billabong)
The name reveal didn't come without a little teasing beforehand though.
Apple’s software engineering chief, Craig Federighi​, joked that "OS X Oxnard", "OS X Rancho Cucamonga", and "OS X Weed" — all names of California destinations, yes, including the city of Weed — as previous potential contenders for the OS 10.10 nickname.
And the Yosemite National Park had some fun with things too, tweeting this: "We're good on a computer, but unmatched in person!" (Via Twitter / @YosemiteNPS)
But enough about beautiful California locations and more about the newly announced technology. Updating to Yosemite will make your laptop or desktop look more like your smartphone.
A Time writer says, "The new version, which features a sharper, flatter look, is more similar to the iOS software that runs on iPhones and iPads than any previous version of the Mac operating system."
Finder windows and more now appear translucent, meaning you can see you desktop wallpaper while you've got those boxes open.
Re/code focuses on Apple's new mission of "continuity" between the Mac and iOS devices highlighting the'AirDrop' feature as the most significant thing about the new system, while pointing out a few other features.
"If users are composing an email on the iPhone, and are near a Mac, the Mac will pick up the email. There is greater syncing between SMS ('green' messages from other devices for iPhone users) and the Mac desktop running iMessage. Users can also cue their iPhones to make phone calls from the Mac desktop."
Quip CEO and Co-Founder Bret Taylor and deputy editor of Wired, Joe Brown, spoke with Bloomberg and said focusing on the laptop and desktop OS is a smart thing for Apple to do.
"You can't ignore the desktop. Yes, mobile is very, very hot, but million and millions of us go to work each day and we're not all staring at smartphones." ...
"Apple's in a unique position because their laptops are well regarded and outpacing the sales of most vendors' laptops"
OS X Yosemite is available for developers now, but won't ship with computers until fall.
