Ditch OS X Mavericks for Lion

It often seems to me that the more complex things get, the more bugs there are and while new technology is in many ways fantastic, it can also be a source of frustration. Although there is much to like in OS X Mavericks on the Apple iMac or MacBook, it has some frustrating bugs too.

Mavericks has only been out a few weeks, yet Apple has already released a beta of a service pack to developers. Apple doesn't call them service packs, but each 0.0.1 update is essentially a service pack. OS X 10.9.1 is currently being tested and it won't be long before it is pushed out to the public. Let's hope it fixes some of the bugs that many people have been experiencing.

My own irritations are mainly with Finder and Cover Flow view is so unreliable I have given up using it. Select a file in the bottom part of the Finder window and Cover Flow view shows a preview in the top part. However, sometimes the file displayed is not the one that is selected. On several occasions I have been working with a bunch of images, deleting some and renaming others only to find that I had been deleting and renaming the wrong ones. I got in a terrible mess and had to rename everything back and pull files out of the Trash and start again. I don't trust Cover Flow view enough to use it.

Another useful feature of Finder is the way you can preview files. Select a file, tap the spacebar and it is displayed in a pop-up preview window on the screen. It's great for checking images, documents, PDFs and so on without having to load up an app. Only it often doesn't work in Mavericks. The preview window opens and is blank. It sometimes takes four or five attempts to preview a file. Select a group of files, tap space to preview them and there are forward and back buttons. Only some of the files don't display. You have to go back and forth several times before it appears.

Minimise an application and it disappears into the Dock icon. Click the Dock icon and it should be restored and be displayed on the screen. I was working with iMovie the other day and couldn't get it back on the screen when minimised. I had to long click on the Dock icon until the menu appeared and then select the window.

As you can see from the screen shot, it is Mavis' birthday tomorrow, but do I really need to be told eight times? This happened when I booted up and the notifications system seemed to have gone crazy for a minute.

Mavericks is also slow at times and starting up is particularly slow. It seems to take ages to get going in a morning and I have to switch on and go and make a cup of coffee while it sorts itself out, or sit staring at the screen for five minutes until it is finished. Sometimes things take a few seconds to respond too. Perhaps you are thinking I have old hardware, but it's a one year old MacBook Pro and I've still not finished the payments on it. It's not the latest, but it's not exactly old or under powered either.

I have two partitions on my Mac and I keep Lion on one and the other is running Mavericks, upgraded from Mountain Lion. Hold down the Option key just after switching on and there is a choice of which OS to start. Lion, despite being older and having more software installed, starts quicker, uses less memory and is more responsive. That's why I choose to use Lion most of the time and I only use Mavericks when I have to.

Although there are more features in Mavericks, most of the time they aren't ones I care about or need. When I need to get work done quickly, it is best to boot up Lion.

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iPad got fat and heavy till the Air came along

It is interesting reading the reviews of the latest iPad Air and a lot of people have commented on how thin and light it is. Apple gave it the Air name because it is as light as air. OK, not really, but it is lighter than before. One reviewer remarked that it was like a completely new tablet. The reason for their reaction is because the iPad had become fat and heavy.

Being fatter and heavier isn't a selling point, so at the launch of the iPad 3 and 4 Apple kept quiet about this and never mentioned it.

iPad 1 = 680g / 13.4mm thick
iPad 2 = 601g / 8.8mm thick
iPad 3 = 652g / 9.4mm thick
iPad 4 = 652g / 9.4mm thick

iPad 5 = 469g / 7.5mm thick

Notice how the weight and thickness dropped significantly with the iPad 2, despite it having a much better specification than the previous model. With the iPad 3 and 4 the weight rose and it got thicker, making it more awkward to hold - one-handed anyway. The performance may have been better, but you paid for it by being fat and heavy.

I didn't buy an iPad 1 because I wasn't that impressed. The iPad 2 is much better and that's when I bought one. It was a good tablet. I say 'was' rather than 'is' because it is beginning to show signs of age. Apple continues to sell it even though it's a two and a half year old spec because it's OK for most apps if you don't mind the low resolution screen. 

I have just upgraded from an iPad 2 and the difference in thickness and weight is much less noticeable. It is slightly lighter and slightly thinner, which is welcome, but it isn't hugely different. The most noticeable change is the sharpness of small text. It is much better than the old iPad 2's screen. I've not played any games on it yet, but there should be a noticeable improvement in performance.

What will the iPad 6 be like? It is hard to imagine it being any thinner or lighter. If it is, then the difference will be tiny. It's easy to make something fat and heavy thinner and lighter, but when something is already thin and light it's hard to make it even more so. I think the iPad 5 is one I'll be keeping for a long time. The iPad 2 and 5 look like the best of the range so far. Pick your models wisely and don't just buy every one that comes out.

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