mavericks

The numbers are small as yet, but early indications are that Mac users are keen to get their hands on the new Yosemite features. Social sharing tool AddThis, which collects analytics data from 13 million websites, is reporting that Yosemite adoption is already running at 2%, versus 1.2% for Mavericks in the same timeframe … 
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Apple has just released a new download for users on OS X Mavericks to address the recently-discovered “Shellshock” bug. Apple previously noted that that only a few Macs were actually impacted by the bug and that most users were protected by default. The company promised to release an update shortly to address those who had manually configured their computers in a way that left them exposed.

For users on older versions of OS X, the Mavericks fix will not work. To secure those systems, there are separate downloads for Lion and Mountain Lion. The patch will likely be available through the built-in OS X Software Update mechanism soon. There is currently no patch for machines running the public or developer builds of OS X Yosemite.

Apple today has released new versions of Safari for OS X Lion/Mountain Lion and OS X Mavericks that address security and WebKit issues. The Safari 6.1.6 update for the older versions of OS X and Safari 7.0.6 update for the latest OS X are available in Software Update on the Mac App Store. Here are the release notes from Apple’s support page:

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Earlier this week, concerns emerged on Skype official message boards about the Skype Mac app no longer functioning on OS X 10.5.8 Leopard (an operating system that launched the same year as the original iPhone), and a Skype representative on the forums apparently confirmed that Skype will no longer be supported on Macs running operating systems below OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.

While Skype has not been downloadable nor functional for Leopard users the past few days, a Skype spokesperson tells us this morning that this will soon change: “We have a Skype version for Mac OS X 10.5 users which will soon be available for download.” No additional timing details are available as of yet, but it’s good to know that Leopard users will soon be able to go back to making Skype calls and sending messages as normal.

We’re also told that this new download will be for Leopard users only, so anyone on OS X 10.4 Tiger or below will need to upgrade to Leopard or something newer (like Mavericks) in order to keep on using the Microsoft-owned communications tool.

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Apple today has provided developers with the second beta of the upcoming OS X Mavericks 10.9.5 release. The new build number is 13F12 and it is available on the Mac Developer Center and in Software Update in the Mac App Store for those running the earlier build. Apple asks developers to focus testing on USB, USB Smart Cards, Safari, Graphics, and Thunderbolt.

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An upcoming change introduced in the latest Mavericks and Yosemite developers previews will require some developers to re-sign their applications and submit updates to the Mac App Store in order to get around Gatekeeper’s watchful eye. According to a technical note from Apple, any apps built and signed on a version of OS X older than 10.9 will now be flagged by Gatekeeper has not having a valid signature.

For users, this will add an extra layer of annoyance when dealing with certain third-party apps, especially those downloaded from the web rather than through the Mac App Store. Where most developers are now in the habit of signing their apps before making them available, if those developers are still doing so on OS 10.8 or older, their apps will fail to launch on 10.9.5 and Yosemite.

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In addition to issuing updates to the iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite betas, Apple has released a new beta version of the Apple TV software. While earlier Apple TV betas did not bring more than new Family Sharing and iCloud Photos support, today’s update brings a refined look to the Apple TV Home screen. Taking cues from iOS and OS X, the new update brings completely redesigned icons to the Apple set-top-box and a new thinner font first introduced last year with iOS 7. A couple more images of the new interface are below:

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Apple today provided a few new seeds to developers. First on the list is the first beta build of the upcoming OS X 10.9.5. The build is labeled as 13F7, and it will likely come as the final update to OS X Mavericks, which will be succeeded by OS X Yosemite in October. The update is available for Mavericks users signed up for pre-release updates in the Software Update section in the Mac App Store.

It also now available on the official Developer Center. Apple asks developers to focus on Safari, USB, USB Smart Cards, and Graphics for this update…

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Even though Apple will begin integrating iOS and OS X in new, mutually beneficial ways with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, Apple currently plans to stagger the releases of the two operating systems, according to people briefed on the plans. iOS 8 will launch in September alongside the iPhone 6, and OS X Yosemite will launch approximately a month later, in October, according to the sources…

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iCloud Drive was first announced at WWDC. This feature is Apple’s new approach to iCloud file syncing, replacing Documents and Data. The new interface acts more like Dropbox, with one central folder containing all iCloud documents in one place. This gives more flexibility over the model used by iOS 7 and Mavericks, where iCloud documents are siloed within their own app’s containers.

At WWDC, Apple announced that iCloud Drive could be accessed from Mac, iOS devices or even PC’s (as shown by the iCloud Drive preview page). However, a new setup screen present in iOS 8 beta 3, released earlier today, shows that Apple is also planning to expose iCloud Drive on the web. Although people were surprised by native PC support, bringing iCloud Drive to the web enables even more flexibility, bridging any OS with a modern web browser.

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Apple has just released several new beta seeds to developers today, including a build of OS X 10.9.4 (build number 13E16), a new version of Safari 6.1.5, and OS X Server 3.2 (build 13S5515).

The first beta build of OS X 10.9.4 was released at the end of last month, but so far there don’t seem to be any major new changes in the update. This is the first seed of Safari 6.1.5 that has been published, and it likely contains just a few bug fixes and improvements. This is also the first seed of OS X Server 3.2, which requires Mavericks 10.9.4 to install.

Registered Mac developers can get all of this software from the Mac Developer Center. None of these updates appear to be available to AppleSeed members yet. The Mavericks seed notes are below:

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Pixelapse has put together a great blog entry comparing some of the the graphic design elements of Yosemite with those of Mavericks, picking up on some of the subtle touches that many may not yet have noticed – like the translucent notification badges on the dock … 
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Just a couple of weeks after releasing OS X Mavericks 10.9.3 to users, Apple has seeded the first beta of the upcoming OS X 10.9.4 to developers. We first reported that Apple was nearing a release of OS X 10.9.4 in beta to developers. It’s unclear what changes are in store with the new system, but hopefully it fixes the many headaches that Mac Pro users have been facing since 10.9.3’s release earlier this month. No word on when 10.9.4 will go public, but it is interesting that this Mavericks release will be in beta in tandem with OS X 10.10‘s beta release next week at WWDC. Thanks, D!

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