Apple Announces OS X El Capitan With Split View, Contextual Spotlight, Updated Apps and More, Launches in Fall

[deputy_doofy]

Boring name, but I don't really get excited about the OS names. Mavericks and Yosemite were equally boring to me and I always have to think about which ones they are (numerically).

That said, anything that uses less CPU/GPU and is far more efficient while doing so, has got my vote. I haven't suffered many of the plagues people keep complaining about in Yosemite, but I'll never turn down refinements and optimizations.

 

[MikhailT]

The download worked fine for me. It's installing on a test system now.

From which OS X? I wonder if it is because I'm running 10.10.4 betas.

 

[SarcasticJoe]

I love METAL in OS X. When they announced METAL last year, the first thing in my mind was that they should bring this to OS X and make it the default 3D API instead of Open GL.

And that's exactly what they did. Open GL is in a transition anyway, it'll be couple years before we get Open GL NG. During that time Windows will get DirectX 12, this year, and Apple will get METAL, again, this year.

By the time NG releases, I wonder how relevant it'll be.

OpenGL Next, or Vulkan as it's actually called, is already available to developers trough beta drivers for Intel graphics. Intel, Valve and a number of developers were showing it off pretty extensively three months ago at this year's Game Developer's Conference in San Fran Cisco. Both AMD and Nvidia are working on drivers for their hardware. As for us consumers, the first releases available to the public are supposed to be available at some point this fall with the first Steam boxes and the first games should follow pretty soon.

Here's a few videos showing off the new API and developers talking about it:

I was personally hoping Metal would only be a stopgap for Apple before they move on to using Vulkan / OpenCL 2.0 (which are basically based on the same backend) and promote these on every platform out there. However they seem to have decided to go down the same path Microsoft went when they bought RenderMorphic to built DirectX for them.

 

[0092284]

Are you all seriously complaining about the name? It's not like it affects anything at all, and damn, i love it. El Capitan. Sounds amazing.

 

[dnewkirk]

Metal on Mac seems like a good decision. Fragmentation aside, games will have the best performance when they have the best access to the hardware--and use it well. DX12 is making the same play, though it has to support more types of hardware. My guess is the Apple is using AMD GPUs specifically for this reason, because they can create this type of API more easily (and because they have hired away entire teams from AMD's GPU division in the past).

 

[GhostRaider]

They called it El Capitan because it still involves OS X Yosemite and obviously El Capitan is part of Yosemite National park. i.e Leopard > Snow Leopard, Lion > Mountain Lion etc. A new area will be picked if its a major release like new features, ui, etc.

As for Window snapping on OS X, I don't blame them. Microsoft copies Apple and Apple returns the favor by copying Microsoft. They're both even.

And it seems that the Menubar can now be autohidden. That's neat actually!

 

[PJL500]

Siri still a dog!

 

[^^BIGMac]

So they fixed the WiFi issues?

 

[GatorGhost]

I have to say the name really doesn't roll off your tongue, I thought they could have picked something better imo.

Have too agree! I bet this version will be predominately referred to as 10.11 by most users.

 

[baryon]

3 cheers for Spotlight!
... I mean "approximately 10^0.5-0.16 cheers for Spotlight"...



"Oh yes sir, that will cost you... let's see... oh here it is: 1.90003 multiplied by ten to the power of positive zero seven Yen. It was much shorter than saying "19 million", not to mention a lot more elegant."

 

[FriendlyMackle]

It's not even out yet, and the focus is on stability and performance. Maybe wait until September to reserve your judgment.

I have to agree - I won't judge until it's released and reviewed; but I am still on Mavericks because of all of the wi-fi and other problems which people have documented on Yosemite -- I'm really hoping that El Cap resolves the many problems AND I'm really looking forward to better battery life on my mbp15.

 

[PJL500]

Boring name, but I don't really get excited about the OS names. Mavericks and Yosemite were equally boring to me and I always have to think about which ones they are (numerically).

That said, anything that uses less CPU/GPU and is far more efficient while doing so, has got my vote. I haven't suffered many of the plagues people keep complaining about in Yosemite, but I'll never turn down refinements and optimizations.

Yeah, in the 90's when "System 7" was introduced it had a ring to it.

 

[conundrumz]

So nothing about the FUBAR that happened with WiFi after Yosemite?

 

[tomtad]

It lists new system font as one of the new features, but in all the screenshots and demos it still has Helvetica. Hmmm...

 

[Badagri]

El Capitan?! Seriously?

Sounds like a line from the 1998 film, The Mask of Zorro.

 

[Psyfuzz]

Oh dear at the complaints at here that snapping is taken from Windows Vista/7,

So what? You'd rather OS X would forever go without great features that aren't 100% first to OS X? I don't care where the features come from, as long as they work and improve my user experience which snapping does.

 

[Badagri]

Apple were the company that slagged Microsoft for copying.

 

[aaronvan]

I'm holding out for Nacho Libre.

 

[AustinIllini]

Are you all seriously complaining about the name? It's not like it affects anything at all, and damn, i love it. El Capitan. Sounds amazing.

It's appropriate because is it named after a piece of Yosemite. This is a delta upgrade, so El Capitan is a great name.

 

[MikhailT]

Was able to confirm the code redemption won't work on 10.10.4 betas. Make sure you do it on stable OS X releases.

 

[snarfquest]

After El Capitan we'll have Chief followed by SuperChief.

History:
http://www.american-rails.com/el-capitan.html

 

[WaxedJacket]

They've needed a release like this for a long time. One that works on performance, not hammering in new "features".

 

[Apple_user]

Split screen, wait a minute isn't that windows 7 back in 2009.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

I like it, no need for a ton of new features.

 

[pmjoe]

Spotlight: Apple has significantly improved Spotlight search in OS X El Capitan with natural language enhancements and contextually aware search results. "Get Mail from Brian about El Cap," for example.

I stopped using Spotlight after they added Internet-wide searches to it - with no obvious way to turn it off. Elsewhere stories suggest the new version "includes more web search results" so I'm guessing it's even more useless. The Internet doesn't need to know about my search for "Mail from Brian about El Cap," no thank you.