Apple has posted a beta copy of its next version of OS X for the Mac, called Yosemite, on the web for all to download. You can grab a copy of this for free, install it on your Mac and get a next-generation operating system right now. It sounds fantastic, but installing it is not quite as straightforward as you might think and there are some essential tasks to perform before you start.
Spotlight is a useful tool for finding apps, documents and other files on your Apple Mac’s disk drive and it is even better in OS X Yosemite, but sometimes problems occur. One is where Spotlight only gives web results and Spotlight does not index the disk drive. These indexing problems can be fixed and Spotlight restored to full health.
Go to the Mac App Store, go to Categories, select Utilities and the number two app in the free chart is Memory Clean. It is second only to OS X Yosemite. It is a very popular app, but do you really need a memory cleaner? What does it do?
Do you know the answer to these questions off the top of your head: How many days are there until the end of the month? Your next holiday? Your birthday or anniversary? Even if you are good with dates, these questions are hard to answer. Would you like to know? The 
Preview has had the ability to capture your signature and insert it into documents for some time. You could sign your name on paper, then hold it up to the camera and it would scan it in. Now in the OS X Yosemite version of Preview, you can sign your name on the trackpad. It is an interesting alternative and one that is worth experimenting with. Let's see how to add a signature.
If you are still undecided about upgrading OS X your Apple Mac to the new Yosemite, one feature that might change your mind is the ability to send and receive text messages from the desktop without touching your phone. This is a great new feature that makes texting a lot easier. There is just one caveat, you must have an iPhone with iOS 8 and the new iPhone 6 is perfect for the job.
After installing a new version of OS X, there are always lots of essential tasks to perform to get it running exactly the way you prefer. OS X Yosemite for the Apple Mac comes with predefined settings that are mostly OK, but everyone has their own preferences and it takes a few tweaks here and there to get the Mac just the way you like it. Here are some of the changes I made to Yosemite after installing it.