Public betas of iOS 9 and El Capitan released today

[vansmith]

I've been running the iOS 9 beta on my 4th gen iPad. Thankfully, they fixed my major issue with transit (color coding lines used to be non-existent but they've added that). Transit still isn't perfect as it doesn't give me the option to prefer certain means of travel (I know, for instance, that taking the subway is faster than taking the bus to certain destinations but Maps won't let me choose that option if it gives me the bus one). The Command-Tab functionality is so very welcome. Seriously, this small feature is a welcome addition especially since every OS ever has had this functionality (Windows, OS X, Linux and Android all have this) and when you get used to having something available everywhere else, it feels jarring not having access to it.

It's certainly slower but I'll acknowledge that this is not only a beta but I'm using older (ish) hardware. I was curious to see if the new Notes app would convince me to migrate away from OneNote but given ON's superior organization functionality, I think I may stick with it for now (it's also no less integrated into iOS so it's not as if Notes is infinitely more convenient). Oh, and the lowercase keyboard is a very welcome addition. Honestly, it's a small change but it makes a world of difference.

 

[Tygrz]

Something's odd here Rob. I only have one copy of that update. Installation and restart were as expected. No problems.

I had that same problem. I then clean-installed and it went as usual and expected. Have had similar scenarios with iMovie. I'm still getting update nags although I apparently have the latest release.

 

[TattooedMac]

I've been running the iOS 9 beta on my 4th gen iPad. Thankfully, they fixed my major issue with transit (color coding lines used to be non-existent but they've added that). Transit still isn't perfect as it doesn't give me the option to prefer certain means of travel (I know, for instance, that taking the subway is faster than taking the bus to certain destinations but Maps won't let me choose that option if it gives me the bus one).

I'm still a little upset with Maps. I still can't for the life of me, change the route in a car I want to take. (and before anyone pops in and says "Maps knows what it is doing, let it choose the route for you and be happy and it works for me" you know who you are) I couldn't give a rats, where it sends me, I want to choose the route myself !!! Very disillusioned !!!

Onto the Beta, both are starting to look good, and very stable and going back to the 10.6 days, where everything worked.
iOS9 on my iPad Air 2 is just awesome !! Its the first time I have had every Handoff App appear on the screen when I grab it on my Home Network . . I can now fluently use all my devices, without issue of what I'm doing, and on what . . . .

Picture in Picture is blowing me away. I can happily work/play while watching that video I started 10 mins ago . . . Split screen is working out to be invaluable (shame its only for the iPad Air 2) ( And I have been in touch with the Devs @Panic and Transmit, Diet Coda and StatusBoard will be SplitScreen close to day of release of iOS9 . . . Little disappointed they will have trouble with Prompt2 (iOS Terminal) because of Apple Restraints . . .

All in all, I'm happy to see, that we are getting back to SnowLeopard type stability and workability of the OS.

 

[Rod]

Verifying and repairing permissions is overrated anyway. For some folks, it's like a pacifier (sorry Rod) but honestly, if there is a permissions problem it can be handled one on one or by using a third party utility such as OnyX. In all the years I've been using OS X, I've never had to use repair permissions to solve a problem.

I beleive I did say I may be using OnyX a little more in future and despite what you say about it being "overrated" handling a permissions problem "one on one" is only useful when you know where to look. It can also head off problems before they occur.
But that wasn't my only observation. There is also no Verify HD. Sometimes if one suspects a HD problem it's worth verifying as part of a process of elimination. That does not mean one wants to repair it on the spot. We all advise a backup before repairing a hard drive but First Aid appears to just do it, without telling us where the problem was.

 

[Rod]

Not to sidetrack your thread too much Rod Sprague, but my Software Update had some similar problems last month, but that was just for some HP printer update, 99.9% of which I didn't even need, as per Screen Shot 2015-06-26 at 1.38.49 PM.png below:

PS: BTW, there were no differences between the HP downloaded updates at all.

Wow, thats a lot, I got up to 10 attempts in the end before giving up. Tried this morning and it downloaded first try. Not only that but it started where I left off at 1.22Gb.

 

[Rod]

Has anyone else had difficulty with Mail filtering in the beta? I've had a problem since Yosemite, and perhaps before, where some things I want to receive go into the junk mailbox. Under Yosemite it usually affected some, but not all, Mac-Forums mail, Cult of Mac Weekender newsletter, and a few other more trivial things.

Until recently it was never consistent enough to make me consider retraining Mail's spam filter. I've noticed with El Capitan, especially since beta 2, Mac-Forums, Cult of Mac and Amazon e-mails seem to always end in the junk box.

Edit: Beta 2 fixed an issue for me where the Open With dialog did not function properly. When the dialog sheet appeared to choose the new app to open with no icons would appear. This was true even for common filetypes where I have several possible choices.

Another reason not to use Mail if you ask me. AirMail 2 doesn't even have a spam/junk filter. Instead it relies on a filter at the server end. Gmail is one example and they advise that if you do have a spam/junk filter on your mail client you should turn it off. It's a lot simpler to set up on the mail server than "retraining" Mail and having it on in your client as well can cause all sorts of problems.

 

[Slydude]

We all advise a backup before repairing a hard drive but First Aid appears to just do it, without telling us where the problem was.

In the dialog that ask whether you want to run First Aid it does tell you that problems will be repaired. First Aid appears to tell you details about the process. When you click to start the process there is a small disclosure triangle that says "Details'. If you click there you get a report similar to / exactly like past Disk Utility reports.

There does not however appear to be a means of aborting the process either.

 

[Slydude]

It's a lot simpler to set up on the mail server than "retraining" Mail and having it on in your client as well can cause all sorts of problems.

Until recently I haven't had significant issues running Mail's filter in addition to what the server is doing. Gmail isn't really a problem for me right now. It's filtering on my iCloud account that is eating those emails.

 

[Rod]

In the dialog that ask whether you want to run First Aid it does tell you that problems will be repaired. First Aid appears to tell you details about the process. When you click to start the process there is a small disclosure triangle that says "Details'. If you click there you get a report similar to / exactly like past Disk Utility reports.

There does not however appear to be a means of aborting the process either.

Oh, I didn't see that but then I just ran it on my 500Gb ext HD that I'm running the Beta on. It was very quick and found no problems, so I must have missed the disclosure triangle, thanks.:Blushing:

 

[vansmith]

I couldn't give a rats, where it sends me, I want to choose the route myself !!!

Yeah, this is one area where something like Google Maps has a clear advantage. As I noted, I can't "prefer" certain forms of transit which is incredibly useful. I want to be able to decide which forms I prefer (you can tell it to not include certain types of vehicles but that's not the same).

One thing I've noticed now as well since I did my first look on the blog - if you use the transit layer now, stops on major routes do actually appear. And the entrance labels for subway stations...those are wonderful (because it's not always obvious).

I really like the new font as well. I know that's a fairly minor change but it's very simple, clear and finds a nice balance between being present but not overbearing.

 

[dtravis7]

Has anyone else had difficulty with Mail filtering in the beta? I've had a problem since Yosemite, and perhaps before, where some things I want to receive go into the junk mailbox. Under Yosemite it usually affected some, but not all, Mac-Forums mail, Cult of Mac Weekender newsletter, and a few other more trivial things.

So far not noticed that but my issue with the Beta are the Rules. I put them all in and they work. If I either Reboot or close down and re-open Mail, all the rules I entered are gone but the one default one that is there from the beginning. I have filed a 2nd bug report on it since it's still happening with the new Beta from the other day.

 

[TattooedMac]

AirMail 2 doesn't even have a spam/junk filter. Instead it relies on a filter at the server end.

No you are right. The reason being, is because its meant to be a Gmail Alternative, and because Gmail, is meant to have a strong Spam filter in it, messing with it, trying to get rid of Spam on top of Spam, is problematic.
BUT . . . . If you have a few different clients, ie: Yahoo¡¡¡, Live, Hotmail and/or a me.com account, if you purchase SpamSieve I promise, you will never have to worry about Spam again. You can set Whitelists, use theirs, and then train in a 'right-click' and your done.
I bought SpamSieve, and have never looked back. It has only failed me maybe twice, but I couldn't live without it now. My inbox, is full of pure information I want in it . . . Give It a look with its free trial

Yeah, this is one area where something like Google Maps has a clear advantage. As I noted, I can't "prefer" certain forms of transit which is incredibly useful. I want to be able to decide which forms I prefer (you can tell it to not include certain types of vehicles but that's not the same).

One thing I've noticed now as well since I did my first look on the blog - if you use the transit layer now, stops on major routes do actually appear. And the entrance labels for subway stations...those are wonderful (because it's not always obvious).

I really like the new font as well. I know that's a fairly minor change but it's very simple, clear and finds a nice balance between being present but not overbearing.

We don't get Transit here, but I agree, the new San Fran font is very nice indeed . . .
Going over the limited Transit places, its not really obvious until you zoom right in, the detail of whats on the Maps. they have done quite well. It will be nice to see a World Wide application for this though. Check out London, and you can really see it all come into its own

 

[chas_m]

Re: an earlier comment on Apple Maps -- my experience when I input a desired location is that it will show me several possible routes (if that is an option, it often is here), and I can pick between them. If by chance it doesn't show some back-road option, I just drive onto the first of the back roads and it remaps as desired.

 

[vansmith]

Going over the limited Transit places, its not really obvious until you zoom right in, the detail of whats on the Maps. they have done quite well.

Speaking of zooming, I accidentally two finger panned today and didn't realize that you could view places at what is basically street level with 3D models for the buildings. It's...oddly fascinating.

 

[TattooedMac]

Re: an earlier comment on Apple Maps -- my experience when I input a desired location is that it will show me several possible routes (if that is an option, it often is here), and I can pick between them. If by chance it doesn't show some back-road option, I just drive onto the first of the back roads and it remaps as desired.

That is all well and good for something where you know where your going, and yes it does work as such, but for me to send directions to Family/Friends, and/or if I need to send in a map to DVA so I can reclaim Travel Expenses, it doesn't really work. I still have to goto Google Maps for this.

Speaking of zooming, I accidentally two finger panned today and didn't realize that you could view places at what is basically street level with 3D models for the buildings. It's...oddly fascinating.

Yes that is pretty cool and oddly fascinating. Especially for someone that has never been to that particular City

 

[Rod]

From my point of view living in Mas, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia maps is next to useless. Maps is going to have to incorporate a lot more location information before it becomes the tourist information resource of choice. While Google Maps provides travel time, accommodation, restaurant and major attraction information all over the island Maps on the other hand only provides scant navigational information about how to get from one location to another with nothing other than main routes shown.
It may have passable information for world major cities but for lesser known locations it is next to useless. despite registering my business location here a number of times a search continues to take me to a site near Oslo in Sweden.

 

[vansmith]

I still have to goto Google Maps for this.

Have you given Here Maps a try? I read an article which suggested that Nokia has put an amazing amount of effort into it, on a scale comparable to (if not better than) Google. It's not the prettiest map but it's pretty stellar.

Maps is going to have to incorporate a lot more location information before it becomes the tourist information resource of choice.

Google Maps works better because, not only did they have a head start, but they do business in data so the more they have, the more they can sell. Apple sells devices so they target those markets that generate revenue for them which is why transit, for example, was rolled out in locations that drive Apple's business.

 

[Rod]

Vansmith, I understand and agree completely with what you say, different target market, different focus. While in Melbourne I found Maps quite good but you need a different app completely to keep up with Melbourne's erratic public transport system which is available from the Public Transport Authority.
I will however follow your suggestion and give Here Maps a try.
Cheers,
Rod

 

[Rod]

OK, tried Here Maps and I admit I'm probably using an unfair example but we have a little rental place in Manggis on the East coast of Bali. Here Maps shows a similar lack of detail as Maps in this example with no side roads marked or named, just the main road. Google Maps on the other hand not only names the small secondary road to our place but even names the small variety store on the corner. Hard to beat that.

 

[pm-r]

I'm OT here Rod, but just thought I'd mention that looks like a pretty nice and interesting place to live!!

But what's the Manggis Sub-District they refer to in a lot of the photos in Google Maps for Manggis, Bali?