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I understood what you were saying and I was saying that I have VMWare installed but I'm not running it on my 2008 MBP and maybe that's why the GUI feels slower than Mountain Lion on it, not because Mavericks' GUI is inherently slower. Unfortunately, because of what you said, I know of no way to test this theory other than to uninstall VMWare on it, which I'm loathe to do.

Ok, my apologies. It would be worth trying. You probably already know that it won't affect your VM hard drive files. If you do it I'd like to hear the results. :)
 
It is not just you Mavericks does really suck!

I have been a Mac user since OS 10 was introduced and this is by far the worst version ever. Here are some of the problems I have encountered:
1. Every app required a password to open and save. Apple support helped create a new user which solved the problem but the new user was “test” and I could change the name of the user but cannot change the folder named “test” to the new user name.

2. No transparent background for dashboard. New screen hides whatever you are working on.

3. Save As … missing from TextEdit other programs a REAL pain. No way to save to a different location

4.TextEdit files show up as Unix system files so they have to be Opened with Other with right click.

5. Default iCloud save is a pain. I don’t always have WiFi but I always need all my files available!

6.iCloud keyVault could not be enabled on other device. Requested “security code”?? or authorize on another device which after signing on with Apple ID just went to Apple support home page.

7.Apps saved or moved to desktop do not open. I get a warning “index.xml” missing.

8. Mail does not work well. It looses messages, keeps messages in the drafts box when they have gone and is not dependable like it used to be.

9. Sparseimage disc keep popping up an error that the disc is too small when I try to save something to it. 99.2MB available

10. Cannot edit or delete and re-create one particular email account. it will not Send mail.

11. Runs very slow at times and has to be shut down and restarted to recover.

Chatted with agent Amy 1/24/14, wanted to switch me to another department via phone. I told her my phone service is not good here as I am currently in Mexico. She asked me to try Skype so I tried it and after numerous menus and answering questions to almost get the the tech support rep it cut out.

Applications/Utility/Disk Utilty - Mac HD -First Aid then Verify Permissions - Did not resolve issue with missing index.xml file.

This operating system really sucks and is not worthy of the Apple name. What is going on? Got too big, too rich? This is why I left Microsoft products.
 
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2- untick show dashboard as a space (under mission control)
3- Use duplicate, same keyboard shortcut as 'save as'
4- add .txt extension
5- files are always on your computer, synced when you're connected
 
1. Never happened to me so I can't comment, but you can always create another new user of the name you want and it'll make a new folder. Move your stuff to it and change any permissions needed.

Given 2-4 are already sufficiently handled, I'll leave them

5. Don't use default (iCloud is a security risk anyway; I only use for
bookmarks, etc. I don't care about)

6. Don't use iCloud (security risk anyway)

7. I've tried to duplicate; all apps I've tried work from desktop here. An index.xml file missing sounds like it's typically associated with PAGES and NUMBERS from Apple according to a Google search. What program are you referring to that is having the problem? Clearly, not all applications have an index XML file so I don't see how it could be ALL applications not running from desktop. They probably have a bad pointer somewhere that expects to find it in a fixed location rather than relative to the application's own hidden sub-folders. You could look for the file manually from Spotlight (I don't use Pages or Numbers and I find no index.xml file on my entire computer so I have no idea what else could use it). I have Microsoft Office 2011 here and I've had no issues in Mavericks thus far.

I think this post on Apple Forums might explain the error better, though assuming it's the same one:

By default, Numbers '09 creates files which can't be opened by Numbers '08.
This feature has two explanations:
(1) Numbers '09 introduced a lot of features which are ununderstandable for Numbers '08
(2) the default file format is not a package containing a zipped Index.xml file as it was in Numbers '08, it is a zipped (package containing a non-zipped Index.xml file) whose extension name was changed from zip to pages.
Replace it by zip and you will be able to unpack it with a double click.
But given explanation (1), even expanded, Numbers '08 will be unable to open it.

Yvan KOENIG (from FRANCE dimanche 25 janvier 2009 14:50:19)

If it's some other program, I can't tell since you made it sound like every single application you've tried gives that error when run from the desktop and that makes no sense.

8. Mail DOES suck lately; You could try Thunderbird instead (and Firefox instead of Safari; later has SSL bug as of this posting and is unsafe anyway)

9. Never used; can't comment

10. Again, Mail is buggered right now. Again, I suggest trying Thunderbird where I've never had any problems (I have both ready here). In Mail, you can edit SMTP under Preferences/Accounts, however. I can even send responses from one account (e.g. Yahoo) from another (e.g. Gmail) with the appropriate selection. I have no problem changing the selection here. If you're expecting it to do it automatically, that may be your problem. Try Preferences/Accounts where you can access the SMTP server list settings directly rather than the drop-down "Accounts" where you can only create a new one. One is a Mail feature and the other is a system-wide settings feature.

Frankly, most of your problems are either taste issues, you're doing something wrong or you don't have enough knowledge of OS X to resolve what are relatively simple settings issues (or easy to find answers with a simple Google search). It's fine to ask for help, but concluding it is the worst OS version ever doesn't reflect reality, IMO. Anyone having what they consider a big problem in any OS version is going to be angry and blame it on that OS. It's clear you've already been there with Windows and now OSX isn't automatic/simple enough for you either. Perhaps an iPad would be a better choice if you want an appliance rather than a computer?
 
I have been a Mac user since OS 10 was introduced and this is by far the worst version ever. Here are some of the problems I have encountered:
1. Every app required a password to open and save. Apple support helped create a new user which solved the problem but the new user was “test” and I could change the name of the user but cannot change the folder named “test” to the new user name.
That's an issue with your setup. I never had that happen so that doesn't qualify as the system sucks.

2. No transparent background for dashboard. New screen hides whatever you are working on.
That's personal preference and doesn't qualify as the system sucks.

3. Save As … missing from TextEdit other programs a REAL pain. No way to save to a different location
WRONG. It's there. Did you ask the Apple rep on the phone? They would've told you that you have to hold down the Option key to turn on "Save-As".

4.TextEdit files show up as Unix system files so they have to be Opened with Other with right click.
We must be using two different versions of Mavericks because my TextEdits can be easily opened with a simple click and they open on a Windows machine without issue.

5. Default iCloud save is a pain. I don’t always have WiFi but I always need all my files available!
You're not forced to use iCloud. Once again, all you have to do is hold down the Option key for Save-As. It's as simple as learning how to use anything else new. No point in using a computer if you can't learn to simply switch the save target. Once again, this doesn't qualify as the system sucks.

6.iCloud keyVault could not be enabled on other device. Requested “security code”?? or authorize on another device which after signing on with Apple ID just went to Apple support home page.
You mean iCloud Keychain? No such thing as iCloud KeyVault.

7.Apps saved or moved to desktop do not open. I get a warning “index.xml” missing.
.XML files are from Microsoft Office. A simple Google search would've navigated you to the Mac App Store to download this FREE file viewer. Problem solved. Once again. This doesn't qualify as the system sucks.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/file-viewer/id495987613?mt=12

8. Mail does not work well. It looses messages, keeps messages in the drafts box when they have gone and is not dependable like it used to be.
Mail has always has issues leaving a duplicate in the Drafts box. Mavericks is no different. Mail still gets sent. Never heard of it losing messages. Apple issued an update which has fixed many of Mail's issues.

9. Sparseimage disc keep popping up an error that the disc is too small when I try to save something to it. 99.2MB available
That's an issue with your Time Machine setup. I have never experienced this.

10. Cannot edit or delete and re-create one particular email account. it will not Send mail.
I have 3 email accounts using the Mail client. Gmail, Yahoo and Apple mail and mail gets sent without issue.

11. Runs very slow at times and has to be shut down and restarted to recover.
I had slow issues too, mostly from Spotlight constantly indexing. All resolved after I erased my hard disk and reinstalled Mavericks on an empty drive. I'm suggesting you do the same. Should clear up most, if not all of your issues.

This operating system really sucks and is not worthy of the Apple name. What is going on? Got too big, too rich? This is why I left Microsoft products.

This operating system DOES NOT suck. In fact Mavericks is one of the best versions of OS X. I suggest you put "IMO" or In My Opinion because you're suggesting it sucks as fact and it's not a fact. And the FACT that you just signed up an account here ranting without asking for anyone's help leaves you up for suspect.
 
Mavericks is a laggy piece of junk.

I've been using OS X recently instead of windows because it was able to handle an incredibly ridiculous amount of multi tasking, the kind I need for work.

Ever since switching from Lion to Mavericks my ability to multi task has been cut by about 3 fold. I could literally have hundreds of different resources open in several desktops all sitting there with the processor at idle and no affecting my main task. Now I can't even open a simple youtube video with more than 6 flickr albums in the background.

This is a huge step backwards. Has anyone else noticed this problem?
 
Yes, agreed. I just spent a couple days installing Mavericks, testing it, installing the newest versions of all my apps etc. I've concluded it was all a huge waste of time.

As best I can tell, they've screwed around with RAM management, and made a mess of it. As example, video sites that work perfectly in 10.6.8 are completely worthless via Mavericks. Mail is not working, even opening folders seems to take forever.

At the least, I would strongly suggest that anybody who doesn't have more than 2 gigs of RAM simply forget about Mavericks.

If you already have 4-6 gigs of RAM, maybe Mavericks is great, I don't know.

My decision was whether to buy more RAM to find out, and I just don't see enough value in Mavericks (even if it were working perfectly) to justify the expense. Mavericks is a free "you get what you pay for" upgrade, imho.

I'm cutting my losses, and restoring my hard drive to 10.6.8 from my backups. Thank God I had the sense to make a full backup of my setup before trying Mavericks.

I've concluded that Apple is the new Microsoft. Apple has experienced too much success lately, and they are getting that same who gives a &^#%$ mindset Microsoft had when it was king of the hill. That's inevitable I guess...
 
Mavericks upgrade was totally unnecessary. IMO it's just free bloatware. I think they just came up with the OS update to try to satisfy the customers (and boost sales) who are now addicted to Apple's release schedule timelines.

Staying in the news with some freebie offering doesn't exactly cut ice. The next upgrade better have some killer features else it risks losing fan base. Just saying...

P.S : Though it's a free upgrade, by boost sales I mean newer machines which come pre-loaded with Mavericks.
 
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I also notice more bugs compared to ML.

- For example, when I copy a file from a external drive. Even though it's done, in Finder. it'll show the blue bar like it's still copying.

- MB Air won't go to sleep on desktop, when nothing is open. But will go to sleep when a movie is paused...

- Safari often hangs with the blue animation bar (on the adres bar) coming form the left side and stopping in the middle of the screen leaving a white and empty page.

- My MacBook just feels slower since the install, not sure why, I mean I haven't installed anything new or huge. They praised how they made it possible for 4gb ram users to feel like they are working with 6gb. I feel like I went back to 2gb.
 
- MB Air won't go to sleep on desktop, when nothing is open. But will go to sleep when a movie is paused...

I've had recurring sleep issues with my Mac. It was worst for me in Snow Leopard. It was a lot better in Lion and I started getting it again in Mavericks, but it's less persistent.

There's usually a reason too. For me these are the two main culprits.

1) Stalled print job. Apparently that will keep your Mac from going to sleep if a print job is stalled in the queue.

2) A USB hard drive enclosure is attached and is still on. I have one of those "toaster" USB hard drive interfaces that allows me to stick in a bare drive of my choice. It makes no sound once I take the drive out, so sometimes I leave it on without realizing.

If you're having no luck finding a reason, this program, Please Sleep, will be just the ticket for you:
https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/29778/pleasesleep/
 
I've had recurring sleep issues with my Mac. It was worst for me in Snow Leopard. It was a lot better in Lion and I started getting it again in Mavericks, but it's less persistent.

There's usually a reason too. For me these are the two main culprits.

1) Stalled print job. Apparently that will keep your Mac from going to sleep if a print job is stalled in the queue.

2) A USB hard drive enclosure is attached and is still on. I have one of those "toaster" USB hard drive interfaces that allows me to stick in a bare drive of my choice. It makes no sound once I take the drive out, so sometimes I leave it on without realizing.

If you're having no luck finding a reason, this program, Please Sleep, will be just the ticket for you:
https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/29778/pleasesleep/

Thanks for the reply, I'll try out the app you linked. Though none of the two reasons you listed apply to my case. I do have a printer, two hard drives, a keyboard and a usb-thernet cable connected to my MacBook via a powered usb hub, I'm thinking this might cause confusion.
 
Yahoo and Facebook will not open...

I've tried unplugging the router and still certain sites will not open after I upgraded my MBP to maverick.. I've tried on an HP laptop and theres no problem browsing... Any help would be much appreciated...
 
Printing Contact Sheet of Thumbnails

iPhoto is not included with Mavericks.

I need a way to print 27 thumbnail images in a folder on a contact sheet. Any ideas using plain Mavericks as it stands?
 
I am not sure what you really need. Will this kind of thumbnail sheet help?

Take a screen shot
Screen Shot.png

Retouch via Preview
Retouch by Preview.png
 
I am not sure what you really need. Will this kind of thumbnail sheet help?

Thanks for the suggestion. It's a messy solution but kinda works.

I performed a clean install of Mavericks in case I didn't like it, by splitting the partition and running it in tandem with Snow Leopard to compare. Didn't realise I would lose iPhoto. iPhoto now costs £10.49 here in the UK -- that's $18.

Is there any alternative way of printing a contact sheet? With Windows it was easy to highlight all and print. But with my HP C8180 all-in-one printer (retained throughout), doing this just prints each image separately. Thanks.
 
I performed a clean install of Mavericks in case I didn't like it, by splitting the partition and running it in tandem with Snow Leopard to compare.

Sorry, I am not a native English speaker. I think you mean your iPhoto (Snow Leopard) still in the computer but just on another partition, it that correct?

In this case, you can simply locate the iPhoto apps location from finder and open it. Or drag it to your Mavericks application folder.
 
I resisted upgrading as long as I could, figuring why muck with something that isn't broken. But after the Heartbleed incident, I got worried about continuing to run an OS version that was no longer receiving any security updates. So I upgraded from Snow Leopard to Mavericks (2009 MBP, original HDD).

Now it takes forever to boot up and shut down. I used to be able to boot up and shutdown in less than 10 - 15 seconds.
Now, shutdown takes 25+ seconds.
Boot up takes 1 min 15 seconds to display the desktop, but I can't actually use the computer without spinning wheels until 1 min and 45 seconds after pressing the on/off button.

What the hell is it spending all that time doing??
So annoying!

One of the reasons I abandoned Windows for Mac in the first place was because Windows was taking so long to boot up and shut down! Mac OSX back in those days was such a relief. Now it's becoming almost as bad as Windows used to be in that regard.
 
Couldn't take it any longer. I was able to get Mavericks shutdown times down to 6-8 seconds (on most shutdowns), but boot times still really slow -- almost 2 minutes to get to the point of actually being able to use the computer.
I also really missed the large file name color labels, and generally faster performance doing mundane things like opening files.

So I dumped Mavericks and have gone back to Snow Leopard.
Pain in the butt because I wanted a fresh install and can't find my discs for iWork and Garageband. It would be great if files created with the new (Mavericks) Pages could be read with OpenOffice.

But at least I can now boot in just over 30 seconds again.
 
Couldn't take it any longer. I was able to get Mavericks shutdown times down to 6-8 seconds (on most shutdowns), but boot times still really slow -- almost 2 minutes to get to the point of actually being able to use the computer.
I also really missed the large file name color labels, and generally faster performance doing mundane things like opening files.

So I dumped Mavericks and have gone back to Snow Leopard.
Pain in the butt because I wanted a fresh install and can't find my discs for iWork and Garageband. It would be great if files created with the new (Mavericks) Pages could be read with OpenOffice.

But at least I can now boot in just over 30 seconds again.

I posted this in another thread, but it fits your post exactly:

Anyone that complains about system performance that is still running a spinning platter has no leg to stand on.

Moving forward, you simply need an SSD for acceptable speed, (read: MacBook Airs, rMBP, Fusion Drive for iMac, etc.)

Also, many, many apps require Mavericks for the new API's (just check the App Store: Pixelmator, Omnifocus 2, Final Cut, Sunrise Calendar, OneNote, etc.).

For any actions that you can still use SL for, there will be more in the future that begin to require Mavs. Just ask any developer.

Furthermore, you can expect to need to upgrade your hardware just the same for Yosemite performance, so you might as well do it now. You're only delaying the inevitable.
 
Hi

I bougt a new Macmini with Mavericks ... and it feels like you describe.

I even went back to the store and got a new Macmini, I thougt it was broke :)

The most anoying is the sloooooooow Finder, ( aka Beachball.app )

My macmini (old one 2.1) feels much more snappy and faster with snow leopard


/alpez

Couldn't take it any longer. I was able to get Mavericks shutdown times down to 6-8 seconds (on most shutdowns), but boot times still really slow -- almost 2 minutes to get to the point of actually being able to use the computer.
I also really missed the large file name color labels, and generally faster performance doing mundane things like opening files.

So I dumped Mavericks and have gone back to Snow Leopard.
Pain in the butt because I wanted a fresh install and can't find my discs for iWork and Garageband. It would be great if files created with the new (Mavericks) Pages could be read with OpenOffice.

But at least I can now boot in just over 30 seconds again.
 
I posted this in another thread, but it fits your post exactly:

Anyone that complains about system performance that is still running a spinning platter has no leg to stand on.

Moving forward, you simply need an SSD for acceptable speed, (read: MacBook Airs, rMBP, Fusion Drive for iMac, etc.)

Also, many, many apps require Mavericks for the new API's (just check the App Store: Pixelmator, Omnifocus 2, Final Cut, Sunrise Calendar, OneNote, etc.).

For any actions that you can still use SL for, there will be more in the future that begin to require Mavs. Just ask any developer.

Furthermore, you can expect to need to upgrade your hardware just the same for Yosemite performance, so you might as well do it now. You're only delaying the inevitable.
Don't need no new apps. Ones I already got work fine as they are.
(We'll deal with new printer drivers when that time comes.)

Not interested in an SSD. My new 1TB spinner cost a mere $70 (the old 300GB HDD was working fine, but needed more space and thought after 5 years I should replace it as preventive maintenance).
 
Was worst for me.

I didn't finish reading all the thread but my computer was slower and buggy after maverick and I'm certain I don't need to do any cleaning or reseting of any sort.
I use my computer for 3 specific things: photoshop, my online store and a few office documents. It has absolutely no reason to become slower after the update.

Then again, I don't know why but updates from the appstore always give me trouble for some apps. Either there's an error while updating or the app store just freezes. It is always for the same programs so I doubt my internet connection has anything to do with it.

I don't know, but I did not like maverick. Had to do a lot of digging to get printer and scanner software again, pff.
 
I will turn out the light

I may be the last person off this ship. But for any stragglers that find the wreckage of this conversation regarding this sunken boat of an operating system, these were our last words...

In a word, Mavericks sucks IF...you are operating on anything less than a 2011 MBP. There is no getting out of it. No MAC apologists can refute this, and no paid-by-the-company contractors who are paid to write positive reviews of their products (yes they exist) can refute it either. I have a 2.4 Ghz w/ 4 GB of ram.

My laptop was designed to run on Leopard, then Snow Leopard.

It is the OS that best runs my computer. Downloading Mavericks is like asking NASA to handle flying your RC plane in your backyard. It is overkill, will only lead to confusion and the complicated nature and structure of NASA's work would only slow down such a flight.

If Mavericks works for you on your latest iMac or recent laptop, good on yer. But to those like me who are happy with their old systems but always curious to see if they can get a little more speed, a bit more battery power - do not upgrade to Mavericks. It will be a decision you will regret. It will turn your beloved laptop into a basket-case dumptruck on the autobahn. And you will have to revert like I did. Which by the way, was one of the best days of my life to be free from the shackles of Mavericks. Oh what joy it was to have my computer boot up in under four minutes again! Back to my usual pre-Mavericks 30 seconds even! To have my 'Bounce' button back on Mail! It was a magical day...

So there you go. Final answer. Do not call a friend. Do not ask the audience.

DO NOT UPGRADE TO MAVERICKS.
 
In a word, Mavericks sucks IF...you are operating on anything less than a 2011 MBP. There is no getting out of it. No MAC apologists can refute this, and no paid-by-the-company contractors who are paid to write positive reviews of their products (yes they exist) can refute it either. I have a 2.4 Ghz w/ 4 GB of ram.

I'm sure your experiences are real, but what you just said isn't totally correct. I avoided upgrading my wife's 2008 MBP because I had such a bad experience upgrading to Mavericks with my 2012 MBP. By the time I upgraded her from Snow Leopard to Mavericks, I wasn't having issues with Mavericks anymore and I felt like it was safe to do so. No problems whatsoever for her. It was a smooth upgrade as smooth as they get.

Of course, being the glutton for punishment that I am, I then went and upgraded my machine to Yosemite and I've regretted doing that. I'm still having problems. I don't think it's so much the machine that's getting the upgrade so much as that the Apple universe is diversifying so much that the upgrade process has become a lot more like what a typical upgrade process has been historically for most computers. Lots of stuff breaks.
 
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