Apple’s latest OS X operating system El Capitan, which has numerous new features, is now available to download and install on iMacs, MacBooks, MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros as a free update.
This latest release of the Mac software has had a design makeover and makes Apple’s computing experience faster and smarter with a noticeable improvement in performance across the board.
To install the OS X El Capitan update you need to the Mac App Store. You can find the update in the new apps section or the top free apps section. You can also do a search in the top right corner.
Before you download and install the update, it’s a good idea to back up your Mac so, in the unlikely event that something goes wrong or you lose content, you have a copy of your files and your current system on hand.
Once the update is downloaded, follow the prompts to go ahead and install it.
Apart from the slight cosmetic changes, OS X El Capitan delivers on the performance side so your everyday activities like opening documents, launching and switching apps, is now even faster.
OS X El Capitan supports all Macs introduced in 2009 and later along with some models introduced in 2007 and 2008.
Here are the main new features of the new OS X El Capitan:
SPLIT VIEW
It’s already possible to run plenty of apps on your Mac but now with El Capitan you can fill your screen with two apps at the same time.
For example, you can now have a document open next to a website you’re using for research or an email open beside another document.
And you can do this without having to re-order your open apps or resize your windows.
MISSION CONTROL
Mision Control has been updated to make it easier to stay on top of your work and keep track of all of your open windows.
With a swipe, users can see all of the open windows arranged on the desktop and even create separate desktops for each of your tasks just by dragging it to the top of the screen.
In the updated Mail application, sorting your emails and keeping your inbox under control just got a little easier with new gesture controls.
Now with the trackpad, it’s possible to swipe left to delete or swipe right to mark as unread.
Mail is also now even more intuitive and can also detect events and invites and automatically add them to your calendar.
SPOTLIGHT
Spotlight has been trasnformed with OS X El Capitan and now puts even more information at your fingertips like weather, stocks, sports results, web video and transit information.
You can also search in your own words. For example, you can type in “documents I worked on yesterday” or “presentation I worked on last week”.
SAFARI
Everyone has their favourite sites that we browse on Safari.
But now instead of having lots of tabs open, users can now pin their favourite sites to the left side of the tab bar.
These pinned sites will still stay active in the background and will be up to date when you go revisit.
NOTES
The new Notes app in OS X El Capitan lets you do a lot more to create richer and more powerful notes.
Users can add links, pictures and videos and also create checklists and have access to all of that information on any other Apple device through iCloud.
