Daily Management Review

What you can do with the new MacOS


06/14/2016


Apple announced preliminary version of a new desktop operating system, formerly known as MacOS X. Now, it’s going to be MacOS Sierra. The new Mac features Siri, which allows you to search for information, find documents, pin in and drag search results, and even change the system settings. Thanks to the integration with iCloud, all content on the Desktop and in the "Documents" is available on the user’s iPhone and iPad. Universal Clipboard lets you copy and paste clipboard content, including text, images, photos and video from one Apple device to another. Apple Pay comes together with Sierra, so online shopping becomes even easier, more reliable and safer.



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"A major MacOS update Sierra makes your Mac even more powerful and useful than before. Familiar applications are even better, and the new features help with any problems, - said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software. – With MacOS Sierra, you can look for information, find documents and use multi-tasking functions via Siri, get access to your "Desktop" and "Documents" folders from anywhere, copy and paste content on different Mac and iOS devices, as well as rediscover important moments in the "Photo ".

Features of Siri mobile helper are now available on the Mac - along with special traits designed specifically for desktop computers. Siri is available at Dock, menu bar or keyboard, and allows using voice commands to search for various information and files, as well as sending messages. 

For example, you can ask Siri to find a recent file, add an appointment in the calendar or make a FaceTime call. In addition, Siri on the Mac allows you to drag and drop search results directly into documents or e-mails, as well as to consolidate them in Notification Center to track data such as scores or stock quotes. 

You can even change the system settings, set reminders and search your library photos. Now, Siri is available in all four Apple platforms - iOS, MacOS, WatchOS and TvOS, where it handles 2 billion requests from 36 countries in a week. 

MacOS Sierra makes all files stored in "Desktop" and "Documents" folders accessible on any Mac, iOS device or even PC. The files are available from the iPhone and iPad via iCloud Drive app, on iCloud.com website or application iCloud for Windows. If you log in to your account using another Mac, files on Desktop and "Documents" folder will appear exactly where they were preserved. 

Continuity function has also improved. Universal Clipboard function allows you to use the clipboard on all the Apple devices via iCloud. You can copy and paste text, images, photos and videos from one Mac, iPhone or iPad to another.

To interact with Desktop more effectively, MacOS Sierra supports tabs function in all multiple windows applications, such as Maps, Mail, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, TextEdit, and even third-party applications. Tabs in Maps allow viewing several places at the same time, copy text from a document and paste it into another in full screen mode in Pages, or to quickly switch between multiple drafts in Mail.

Picture in Picture mode is familiar to the mobile iOS users. MacOS Sierra now makes it possible to arrange a video from Safari or iTunes in a separate window on top of all the work. You can change its size, drag or pin in any corner of the screen.

The desktop version has got support of Apple Pay payment service. MacOS Sierra’s users do not need to feed the credit or debit card number into the merchant's site, but the cards’ numbers are not stored on the device or on Apple's servers. You just have to press Apple Pay button and complete the order using Touch ID on the iPhone or the Apple Watch. All devices connected with Apple Pay servers are password protected, and the purchases are not tracked in Apple Pay system.

Memories, a new feature in Photos application in your library, automatically creates collections for special occasions such as birthday, wedding or family vacation. Photos app uses new computer face, facilities and people recognition technology, as well as data and geolocation. iT can group photos into albums depending on people, objects and places depicted on them. People function automatically groups photos into albums based on who is in them, and Places function puts photos on the world map. 

New Brilliance tool allows you to filter photographs by muting overexposed areas and increasing the contrast to emphasize parts of the image.

Additional MacOS features include automatic unlocking using Apple Watch, and optimize disk space by iCloud, which stores rarely used objects.

The preliminary version of MacOS Sierra is now available to Apple Developer Program participants. Mac users can now take part in the beta and download the appropriate software from July. The final version will be available free of charge in the Mac App Store this autumn. 

source: macworld.com