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In the lead up to the official release of OS X Yosemite later this fall, Apple Inc. is allowing one million Mac users to take part in a public beta of the operating system, which is like early access but with some caveats.

Not sure of what a software beta program is or why you'd want to sign up for one or wondering what you get for joining in? This primer will explain.

By distributing the constantly evolving beta build of OS X Yosemite to one million Mac users, Apple is enlisting users to help squash a huge number of bugs before its official release.

What’s a software beta and why is Apple having one?

Beta software is a program, or in the case of an operating system, a collection of programs that are still being tested and haven’t yet been approved for final release. Even though it is largely usable, at this almost-done stage the software will still go through a number of updates and alterations before it’s considered “finished.” Each time a new iteration of a piece of beta software is released, it’s given an updated version number, a list of bug fixes and new features that have been included in the latest build. Most of the time, in the case of an operating system, beta software is either exclusively tested by the company that created it or distributed to third-party developers (the folks that make applications to use with the operating system) so that they can tweak their products to be ready to work with the OS when is becomes available to consumers.

Occasionally however, as in this case with Apple and OS X Yosemite, a company will sometimes allow a limited number of regular users like you or I take their new product for a spin before it’s deemed ready for prime-time. Doing so allows the beta software’s developers to greatly expand the size of the group testing their product and see it used in unanticipated ways. As part of a beta program, users are asked to report on any errors, bugs or crashes they encounter while using the software. As no two computer owners use their computer in an identical way during the course of a day, the pool of potential software problems that can be discovered during a public beta test can be a great deal larger than it would be if the company were to stay in-house.

So, by distributing the constantly evolving beta build of OS X Yosemite to one million Mac users, Apple is enlisting users to help squash a huge number of bugs before its official release.

Why join a beta?

Who doesn’t love being first?

By participating in a software beta, users gain access to new features and sometimes, entirely new programs that most people have to wait months for to get their hands on. What’s more, by being a part of a beta program like the one Apple’s holding for Yosemite, you’re helping to ensure that when the final version of the software becomes available to download, it’ll be a smooth pleasurable tool to use for you and everyone else out there who relies on it on a daily basis.

Why Not to Join a Beta

Because it’s beta software, which as you may know, can be a little janky.

The build of OS X Yosemite that I’ve spent time with is mostly useable. Perhaps 90 per cent of the time, it does exactly what I want it to do, making it possible for me to be happy and productive. Sadly, it’s that last 10 per cent that’ll sometimes drive you insane. Third-party applications like Scrivener or Airmail, which instantly obeyed my commands under OS X Mavericks, take their sweet time to putter along in the beta version of Yosemite, and sometimes crash. I’ve also noticed that some of the operating system’s new features aren’t quite ready for primetime. For example, Preview, OS X’s built-in image and document viewing application, has been updated with some powerful baked-in editing tools for its Yosemite release. One those features allows users to insert a digital signature into a document either by signing it on a MacBook’s trackpad with a finger or holding a copy of it on a piece of paper up to the computer’s FaceTime camera. Sadly, most of my attempts to use this feature so far has resulted in the program crashing.

But remember: the current state of the operating system is such that it works for most daily tasks without a hitch. As the beta program goes on, the kinks will get smoothed out, and better still, new features will be added.

So, if you routinely deal with important data or tight deadlines, participating in a beta software program, even when the software in question is as stable as OS X Yosemite is, might not be for you. But for the curious, adventurous or enthusiastic, there’s no time like the present to jump in with both feet. If nothing else, doing so will give you a greater understanding of the pains that developers go through to perfect the software that most of us take for granted.

If you are still interested, you can sign up for it here. When the beta software is ready, enrolled users will be sent a download link to get the ball rolling.

Notification Center With Customizable Widgets

What to Expect from The Yosemite Beta

In its current state OS X Yosemite offers a mostly pain-free experience with a number of new features (and more on the way) that’ll keep most users happy. For anyone who has signed up for the Yosemite beta program and is lucky enough to be accepted, there are a few highlights worth trying.

Notification Center With Customizable Widgets: With Yosemite, OS X’s slide out Notification Center has the potential to become insanely useful. In addition to the system and app notifications that the feature already supported in past versions of the operating system, Yosemite’s Notification Center will also allow users to pick and choose from a number of movable and removable application widgets such as a calculator, stock ticker, weather app and view of Calendar app events to use in the Notification pane.

Once Yosemite is released this fall, it’ll also be possible to download additional widgets from Apple’s Mac App Store.

Quickly becoming our favourite new feature

Improved Spotlight Search

Once confined to the top right corner of the OS X menu bar and Finder windows, Spotlight search has been brought to centre stage in Yosemite, boasting a number of new features. After opening it by tapping a shortcut key or clicking its onscreen icon, Spotlight now allows users to not only search the contents of their computer by file name, type or context, but also see results from around the Internet that meet the criteria of that search as well. With the new Spotlight, it’s possible to open a Web page, start an application, locate a restaurant on a map, browse for movie times online or find an important document on your Mac’s drive all in one interface. It’s quickly become my favourite new feature that the operating system has to offer.

OS X looks better than ever

A New Look

Yosemite represents the largest visual overhaul of the operating system in recent memory. That said, veteran users of the OS will find that they’re still treading familiar ground. Featuring updated typography, a flat interface design, a redesigned Dock, a dulcet colour palette, frosted semi-transparent overlays (that allow user desktop wallpaper colours to shine through) and a wide variety of new app and file icons, OS X looks better than ever. Yosemite’s visual reboot also extends to a number of applications including Calendar, iMessage and Safari, the latter of which has been almost completely redesigned to make browser search and navigation a far more streamlined experience than has been seen in past iterations of the software.

Featuring on-the-fly annotation and editing capability

Don't sleep on Preview

Preview has traditionally been one of OS X’s most powerful, yet totally under-appreciated applications. But with the new tricks it can do in Yosemite, it might finally get its due. In addition to allowing users to view PDFs, documents and a wide variety of image files, Preview can now also be used to perform basic edits on those file types, including drawings, annotations, the addition of digital signatures, tinkering with image exposure colour and levels, crop and then send those files to a mail program, or a number of popular social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook without ever leaving the application. What’s more, Preview’s annotation and editing capability’s can also be accessed from inside of Apple’s Mail application, for a bit of on-the-fly editing of an image before sending it to a friend.

Of course, this is all just the start

As Yosemite gets closer to being shipped, more of the operating system’s promised features will be added into the mix. If what you’ve seen here is enough to convince you to take Yosemite for a spin, stop by the operating system’s beta signup page and throw your hat in the ring. With a little luck, you too could be trying these features out for yourself in the very near future.