Yosemite Quick Start

What’s the least you need to know to use OS X 10.10 Yosemite effectively? This book will fill you in. Most chapters focus on new features, but I’ve thrown in a few notable—and particularly useful—features added in 10.9 Mavericks that you’ve probably overlooked. We’ll also examine built-in Apple apps—like Safari, Calendar, and Mail—to see how their changes might benefit you and the way you work. The list below shows how the topics in the book hang together. Click any link to jump to a chapter.

What’s Changed

Yosemite brings a radical new look, new features, and updated apps to the Mac. For a quick overview of all the changes see What’s New in Yosemite?

Finder Fundamentals

The updated interface: Learn more about Yosemite’s fresh new face in Take Control of Yosemite’s Look.
Finder Tabs: Introduced in 10.9 Mavericks, this feature can turn a mess of Finder windows into tidy tabs. Read Cut Clutter with Finder Tabs.
Finder Tags: Whether you litter your Desktop with files or you sort all your files into folders, Finder tags (introduced in Mavericks) are flexible tools that can help you find what you seek. See Get Organized with Finder Tags.

System-wide Tools

Spotlight: Yosemite’s Spotlight can help you root out more than just files and apps. Read all about it in Find More Faster with Spotlight.
Notification Center: Learn how to tame notifications and about Yosemite’s iOS-like updates to the Notification Center in Keep Current with Notification Center.
iCloud Drive: Discover how to share data between your devices in Navigate iCloud Drive.
More ‘Continuity’ features: iCloud Drive is just one several new Continuity features that Apple has added to Yosemite and iOS 8. These tools make it easier to move between your Apple devices. They also allow you to use a feature of one device (like making a phone call) on another.
Find out more in Move Easily between Devices with Handoff, Turn Your Mac into a Speakerphone, and Share Files with AirDrop.

Updated Apps

Safari: Perhaps the most changed of the apps, Safari packs Spotlight integration and much more. See Update Your Safari Smarts.
Mail: Mail’s two big new features, Mail Drop and Markup, let you Do More with Mail.
Messages: Message adds the capability to send short recorded audio and read SMS and MMS messages on your Mac. See Keep Connected with Messages
Calendar: Calendar now learns from you. Discover how in Stay Up to Date with Calendar

Troubleshooting Essentials

When trouble strikes, do you know what to do? We explore basic strategies both for getting out of trouble and avoiding it in the first place in Avoid Problems with User Accounts and Get Help from OS X Recovery.

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