Generally speaking, cleaning up your Mac is often about deleting all the cruft you’ve accumulated over the years that causes your storage space to fill up. If you’re low on space or folders just. If your Mac acts like it needs a nap every afternoon, when you are at the height of multitasking, there is an easy way to see which of your open applications is using the most system resources. Get your Mac ready for Mavericks OS X 10.9 Mavericks is as easy to install as downloading an installer from the Mac App Store and then double-clicking. But there are still some things you should.
If you have a Mac, then you most likely know already that Apple released OS X Mavericks recently. The best part of all? This latest version of OS X is completely free and available right now from the Mac App Store.
Now, installing a new OS always seems like a daunting task, but thanks to it being available digitally, the installation of OS X Mavericks can be as simple or as thorough as you want it to be.
So, if you plan to upgrade to OS X Mavericks, let’s take a look at a few different steps that you should take care of before doing so.
Surprisingly, instead of being available only for Macs a couple of generations old, OS X Mavericks supports devices all the way from 2007. Here is a list of all the devices supported:
To see which device you have, go to the Apple menu on the menu bar and select About This Mac.
Then click on the More Info… button and see your Mac’s model on the next window.
There is no better time to do some cleaning to your Mac than when installing a new OS. This clean up usually entails getting rid of files you don’t need (which you can find by using a tool like Daisy Disk) and most importantly, by verifying and repairing your Mac’s disk permissions.
This is an essential step when it comes to any upgrade, so it should be even more so when installing a new version of OS X. Check this post to learn how to create a bootable backup of your Mac easily and for free.
One of the greatest things about installing OS X Mavericks is that the Mac App Store makes the process super easy if you are not an advanced user.
In order to install it, first open the Mac App Store on your Mac and look for OS X Mavericks (here is a link just in case). Once you find it, click on Free Upgrade and then on Install App.
After that, authenticate your account by using your Apple ID and then wait for OS X Mavericks to download (it is a pretty hefty file at about 5.29 GB).
Once your download is ready, click on Continue on the OS X Mavericks install window. Then agree to the terms and conditions, select the main hard drive where the OS will be installed and click on Install.
After a few minutes OS X Mavericks will be installed and your Mac will restart on its own. All left for you to do will be to set up iCloud Keychain (a new feature of this new OS) and you will be all set and ready to enjoy a Mac that will feel almost as fresh as new.
Adobe Photoshop was previously known as ImagePro.
Whether you’ve purchased a new Mac with OS X Mavericks preinstalled or have upgraded from a previous version of OS X, you’ll find new features in OS X Mavericks that make your Mac easier to use and improvements that make you more productive. (And you made a smart decision when you chose OS X, the Mac Operating System X — X as in the Roman numeral ten.)
Treat your Mac and OS X Mavericks with care. Presumably, you use your Mac for many things, such as e-mail, IM, web surfing, loading photos and movies, listening to music, playing games, and maybe even working.
To keep your work and leisure projects safe, never do any of these things with your Mac:
Never shut off your Mac by pulling the plug. Always use the Shut Down command from the Apple menu in Mavericks (or press the Power button and then click the Shut Down button).
If you’re using a laptop, you can usually get away with pulling the plug while it’s running. The only caveat is that if your battery is totally depleted, damaged, or missing entirely, you could suffer directory damage or data loss by pulling the plug. Just use the Shut Down command, and you’ll sleep well.
Never bump, drop, shake, wobble, dribble, drop-kick, or play catch with a hard or solid-state drive while it’s running Mavericks. Don’t forget: Your desktop Mac has a hard or solid-state drive inside it, too.
Never get up from your Mac without saving your work. Just before your behind leaves the chair, your fingers should be pressing Command+S (which is the keyboard shortcut in OS X Mountain Lion that saves your work). Make it a habit.
Never keep only one copy of your important documents. Make at least two backup copies and keep one of them in another physical location. Period.
Never clean your monitor with a glass cleaner, such as Windex (or another product not designed to be used on a video display). And nix the paper towels or tissues, too. Use a soft cloth (microfiber is best) if you want to avoid scratching the display.
Never pay attention to anyone who says that PCs are just like the Mac. Yeah, right. And Kia is the Asian cousin of BMW.
Want to know how to find out about all things Macintosh and OS X Mavericks? Hop onto the web to check these Apple-related sites and stuff your brain with Mac information:
Alltop aggregates information from dozens of great Mac-oriented websites and makes it easy to skim headlines and story summaries. You can even build your own custom version that contains only sites you want to see.
The Apple support site and Knowledge Base are treasure troves of tech notes, software update information, troubleshooting tips, and documentation for most Apple products.
CNET Downloads, the site formerly known as VersionTracker, is the place to go to find freeware, shareware, and software updates for OS X. If this site doesn’t have it, it probably doesn’t exist.
MacInTouch is the preeminent Mac news and information site, full of tips, hints, and troubleshooting information. Many users consider MacInTouch (along with MacSurfer and MacFixit) a must-read every day.
TidBITS bills itself as “Apple news for the rest of us,” but there’s much more to TidBITS than just the news. You can also find thoughtful commentary, in-depth analysis, and detailed product reviews, written and edited by pros who really know the Apple ecosystem.
Make your work go faster by using these OS X Mavericks keyboard shortcuts that work in the Finder — and many work in other OS X Mavericks programs, as well. Make these shortcuts second nature — print this chart and tape it to your monitor and refer to it while using OS X Mavericks.
Command | Keyboard Shortcut |
---|---|
Add Selected Item to Sidebar | Control+Command+T |
Close All Windows | Option+Command+W |
Close Window | Command+W |
Copy | Command+C |
Cut | Command+X |
Dashboard | F12 (fn+F12 on laptops) |
Duplicate | Command+D |
Eject Disk | Command+E |
Empty Trash | Shift+Command+Delete |
Find | Command+F |
Get Info (on selected item or items) | Command+I |
Go to All My Files | Shift+Command+F |
Go to Applications Folder | Shift+Command+A |
Go to Desktop | Shift+Command+D |
Go to Home Folder | Shift+Command+H |
Help | Shift+Command+? |
Hide Current Application | Command+H |
Log Out Current User | Shift+Command+Q |
Make Alias | Command+L |
Minimize Window | Command+M |
Mission Control: All Windows | Control+Up Arrow (F3 on Apple keyboards) |
Mission Control: Application Windows | Control+Down Arrow (Control+F3 on Apple keyboards) |
Mission Control: Show Desktop | F11 (fn+F11 on laptops) (Command+F3 on Apple keyboards) |
Move to Trash | Command+Delete |
Empty Trash | Shift+Command+Delete |
New Finder Window | Command+N |
New Folder | Shift+Command+N |
New Smart Folder | Option+Command+N |
Next Window | Command+` |
Open | Command+O |
Open Inspector | Option+Command+I |
Paste | Command+V |
Quick Look (at selected item) | Command+Y or Spacebar |
Select All | Command+A |
Show Original (of selected alias) | Command+R |
Show View Options | Command+J |
Show/Hide Sidebar | Option+Command+S |
Show/Hide Dock | Option+Command+D |
Show/Hide Status Bar | Command+/ |
Show/Hide Tab Bar | Shift+Command+T |
Show/Hide Toolbar | Option+Command+T |
Turn VoiceOver On/Off | Command+F5 (fn+F5 on laptops) |
Turn Zoom On/Off | Option+Command+8 |
Undo | Command+Z |
View Window as Icons | Command+1 |
View Window as List | Command+2 |
View Window as Columns | Command+3 |
View Window as Cover Flow | Command+4 |