The free upgrade for the Mac operating system is here and looks great. Here are a few of the new features you get by downloading this free upgrade.
Jason Parker
Jason Parker has been at CNET for nearly 15 years. He is the senior editor in charge of iOS software and has become an expert reviewer of the software that runs on each new Apple device. He now spends most of his time covering Apple iOS releases and third-party apps.
Apple's latest desktop and laptop operating system is finally here. As a free upgrade with new features, better security, and improvements to many of the core apps, there simply is no reason not to upgrade. Click through this slideshow to get a preview of some of the new features.
You can now use Apple Maps on your Mac desktops and laptops, with cool integrated features such as the ability to get directions directly from the contacts app, and to send directions to your iOS devices.
iBooks is finally available for Macs with Mavericks. Use the store to buy new books or read them from your library if you already have books on an iOS device. iBooks completely syncs up with all your devices and remembers where you left off so you can start reading on your iPad, then open the same book on your Mac to continue reading.
Open a book and go into full-screen mode to get a reading experience without distractions. You can use the trackpad on your Mac laptop to turn pages or click on the arrows on either side of the viewing area.
Safari now has a new sidebar where you can quickly click through your bookmarks on the left while viewing Web sites on the right. You can also switch to the Reading List and read stories you saved earlier.
The Finder now has tabs that behave just like they do in Safari. You can hit a plus sign on the right side to add a new one, and you can drag-and-drop tabs to reorder them.
In the Finder, you can now add tags to documents to make them easier to find. It also gives you greater flexibility in your searches with the ability to narrow your search by using multiple tags.
Notifications slide into view at the top-right of your screen where you can close them or snooze to make them come back in a short while. When someone sends you a message or e-mail, you'll be able to answer in-line straight from the notification window.
Much like the iOS version, the Calendar app in Mavericks has a simplified design and uses a lot of white space. When you click on an item (a meeting at another location, for example), the event inspector will pop up and give you driving time and a map if you need directions.
New tabs in Finder make it incredibly easy to move files around, and you can even add a tab for AirDrop to quickly drag-and-drop a file to a nearby Apple user.
