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Apple's refreshed 27-inch Retina iMacs can be configured with up to 32 gigabytes of RAM via the Apple Online Store.
Thankfully, these machines have changeable RAM slots due to the larger form factor, permitting users to double the RAM to 64 gigabytes total after the purchase with third-party RAM upgrades.
On the other hand, the new 21.5-inch iMac with Retina 4K display uses soldered memory chips so you'll have to configure it with either 8GB or 16GB of RAM at the time of your purchase.
If you've ever accidentally closed a Safari window loaded with dozens of tabs, you know how daunting a task recreating them from your browsing history can be. Like many people, I used to be a huge fan of Google's Chrome before I eventually made a switch to Safari.
One of Chrome's simple yet tremendously useful features that I've always valued is a switch in settings telling the app to open with all the windows from your last browsing session.
Apple's desktop Safari, too, has had that feature for a while now but did you know of a hidden option for reopening all windows from the last session?
iPad power users received a nod from Apple this year with iOS 9’s new feature set. Aside from Split View and Slide Over, anyone using a physical keyboard in conjunction with their iPad can now hold down the Command key to get a list of all the shortcut key presses available in the currently running app. This is an excellent way for users to discover non-obvious key combinations in order to help speed up their workflow.
In OS X, discovering hotkeys is a bit more difficult than iOS 9's new simplified method, as many are hidden in crowded drop down menus, while others can be even harder to find. CheatSheet is a Mac app that brings iOS 9’s Bluetooth keyboard feature to OS X, adding the same hotkey-sheet functionality when holding down the Command key.
References to unreleased Apple-branded mouse, keyboard and trackpad accessories have been discovered in OS X code by French blog Consomac. Code strings discovered in the latest OS X 10.11.1 beta 3 point to the Magic Mouse 2 and Magic Trackpad 2, which are likely next-generation versions of Apple-branded mouse and trackpad. In addition, the strings hint at a brand new keyboard, dubbed the Magic Keyboard.
A third beta of what would become El Capitan's first major software update following the recent release of the operating system is now available to members of the Apple Developer Program and public beta testers signed for the Apple Beta Software Program.
Since OS X 10.9 Mavericks owners of the Apple TV have been able to wirelessly mirror their Mac screen to the big screen TV with an AirPlay feature called AirDisplay. There was just one slight problem: you couldn't stream individual videos without mirroring the whole screen.
Apple has solved this annoyance with OS X 10.11 El Capitan, which introduced richer AirPlay support permitting you to send video from Safari and other apps to the Apple TV.
Microsoft-owned Skype for iPad was refreshed in the App Store earlier this morning with support for new multitasking features provided by iOS 9. It's now easier to chat with friends on Skype while surfing the web, reading your email or running other apps in side-by-side Split View multitasking mode (requires iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 4).
In addition to Split View, Skype for iPad also supports Slide Over mode. Both instant messaging and voice calling are supported in Split View and Slide Over.
Boot Camp, the Mac's built-in software for dual-booting between OS X and Windows has been given some love in the new El Capitan software update and now features a slicker Windows setup that no longer requires a USB thumb drive, as discovered by Twocanoes.
Previously, Boot Camp required that the Windows installer be provided in the form of a USB drive or CD/DVD installation media. Now you can just point to an .ISO file, which significantly shortens the entire procedure for those who have purchased Windows as a digital download.
El Capitan is here and with it arrive tons of under-the-hood improvements that will make your Mac run faster and your daily computing smoother than before. Even though El Capitan is a Snow Leopard-style release focused on speed and core OS improvements, it nonetheless packs a pretty punch when it comes to user-facing features.
From a more streamlined Mission Control and a smarter Spotlight Search to more efficient multitasking in Split View mode and an all-new Notes to perfected stock apps and iOS-style gestures in Mail, El Capitan is about refinements to the already great Mac user experience and little things that are worth getting excited about.
Here's a short overview of major new features in El Capitan.
In addition to releasing the major OS X 10.11 El Capitan software update for the Mac, Apple has also posted a Safari update for Yosemite and Mavericks users. In addition to improving your privacy, compatibility and security, the Safari 9.0 update for Yosemite and Mavericks systems includes some controls found in the El Capitan edition of Apple's web browser.
These mainly include the ability to mute audio in tabs and additional viewing options in Safari Reader, but not the new Pinned Sites feature.
Now that OS X El Capitan is officially out, it's time to update. First, though, make sure you read our post on how to prepare for OS X El Capitan. It covers basic information, such as using Time Machine to backup your data.
Once you do that, it's time to download OS X El Capitan. You can do that from the Mac App Store, and like past OS X updates, it's totally free. Fire up the Mac App Store, and get to downloading!
Keeping true to its promise, Apple today launched the OS X 10.11 El Capitan software update for the Mac. El Capitan has the same system requirements as Yosemite, meaning it should run on any Mac introduced in 2009 and later, and some models introduced in 2007 and 2008.
The software update offers several new headline features while packing in a bunch of under-the-hood refinements designed to make your Mac run faster and more efficiently than before.
If you don't see the update in the Mac App Store's Updates tab yet, give it a while as these things take time to propagate through the Interwebs. By the way, you can manually run a search for 'El Capitan' in the Mac App Store and install it from there.