A New macOS is Available with Several Useful Features

A new macOS has been released, and anyone who wishes to download and install it is free to do so. The new version of the operating system is macOS Version 14 and the release is named “Mojave.” In my opinion, the two previous macOS updates (Sierra and High Sierra) have been a bit underwhelming from the day-to-day user perspective; however, Mojave has many new features that will be useful for most users while not disrupting the basics for those not as excited about major system upgrades.

As I have reported in the past, I am one of those people who downloads and installs a new macOS (or iOS) the moment it is available. I enjoy experiencing the new details built into software, and I’m OK with testing things for the first time knowing full well that something may not work perfectly. So far, all Barrington 220 systems I’ve tested have worked as expected in Mojave.

A comprehensive review about Mojave was released recently on the Ars Technica website that I highly recommend for any upgrader. The review is quite long, and there is no need to read the entire article—unless you enjoy this sort of thing—but a few minutes of perusal will give you a good idea about the new features of Mojave. Please take a look at Andrew Cunningham’s excellent review:

macOS 10.14 Mojave: The Ars Technica review (9-24-18)

I am in agreement with Cunningham when he states, “there are some serious productivity improvements here...Apple has done a good job of adding iOS-inspired features to the Mac without fundamentally changing what the Mac is or what it can do. Mojave continues to strike that careful balance...”

Some of the features that I believe may be particularly useful in the school environment include the following:

• Quick Look—allows quick views of documents without fully opening an app, Mojave adds some basic editing abilities to many file types.
• Stacks—A very quick new method to de-clutter even my Desktop.
• Screenshots—Major enhancements and feature additions in Mojave, similar to iOS.
• Voice Memos app—New in Mojave and similar to the iOS app. Great for easy audio recording.

If one of Barrington 220’s systems doesn’t work as expected in Mojave, PLEASE let me know in the comments below and/or call x.1500 while in the district to speak to our Tech Support team. We will begin troubleshooting ASAP.