Ranking macOS Mojave's new features

Dubai - Apple's new operating system for its computers rolls out today

Apple's new macOS Mojave desktop operating system rolls out today, and it's bound to bring out some new stuff to make your computing life easier.
The successor to macOS High Sierra was introduced at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference. And we're here to rank the most useful upgrades.
Now, depending on what type of user you are, this ranking will vary to you. But hey, we're all unique in our own right. Right?
10. Safari tabs (finally) display website icons
About time. 'Favicons' - icons that are normally a website's logo appearing next to Web page titles - can now be seen on the tabs in Safari, which basically helps you to identify websites easier by just glancing at it. But if you still prefer less colour on Apple's Web browser, you can switch this off in Safari's preferences.

^{That's about it.}
9. 'Instant' emojis in Mail
Well, not literally, but it's now easier to access emojis when composing a message in the Mail app. You'll find it readily available on the upper-right-hand part of the compose window:

^{That's less clicks compared to accessing emojis on the pane icon directly to the left of the date way up there.}
8. Shine in Dark Mode
At its simplest: Dark Mode transforms the atmosphere of your screen into something more suiting to the time of day, light- or dark-themed. You can set this in System Preferences: set Dark or Light all throughout, or Dynamic, which automatically switches between modes, depending where you are and what time it is. Purely aesthetic, but, to be fair, I prefer Dark Mode, which I have actually set as my default theme, because it's, for me, more comfortable to my eyes.

7. Up the app game
Yet another redesign to the Mac App Store. There are new tabs - Create, Work, Play and Develop - that bring to the fore new app suggestions brought to you especially by its editorial team.

6. Key apps now on Mac
For those who use News, Voice Memos (hooray), Stocks and Home frequently, they're now on macOS Mojave. News, in particular, allows you to sync your preferred topics and saved stories, among others, between your Apple devices.
Downer: News isn't available in the UAE (yet), though there are workarounds that you could try to get it working for you here.

5. Stack 'em up!
Cluttered desktop? Watch:

That's the new Stacks feature. If you enable it, it sorts your uber-messy desktop, grouping files according to their types in a snap.

^Tadaa.
Click on a stack and it'll spread the files. You can also peek on files' thumbnails in a stack by scrubbing through it: on the trackpad, use two fingers and swipe on it.
4. A helping hand with passwords
Can't think of a good password to lock down your account securely? Safari introduces a new option that suggests passwords when you create accounts. Saves you time thinking - but could also test your memorisation skills:

^{Hey Siri, er, Safari, isn't that too strong?}
3. New Finder mode
Welcome to Gallery, which is basically an upgrade to the Cover Flow View and has more spunk to it. Bigger previews are now here so you can browse through your files with a visual factor. There are tools to the right, including rotate and mark-up, plus you'll also be able to view the metadata of your files.

^{Remember this picture?}
2. Screenshots made easier
Before, you had to either memorise or set function keys to capture screenshots on a Mac. This time, just hit Command + Shift + 5 (by default), and you'll be greeted with screenshot mode, complete with options to capture or record the entire screen, a portion of it or a selected window, plus a more accurate area selector that will finally let me say goodbye to using the trackpad, which sometimes doesn't give me the perfect shot. I normally use screenshots when posting something, so this is one sleek move for me. (Tip: if, for some reason, you want to record the screen including the screenshot utility, you can go to the still-reliable default of Command + Shift + 3.)

^{Thank you, Apple.}
1. Photos in a snap
One of the biggest obstacles I personally face - especially when doing live blogs - is having to take a photo on my iPhone and AirDrop it to my MacBook, which takes up precious time and could prevent me from keeping in step with others. The Continuity Camera solves that: snapping away on your iPhone will make the shot automatically appear on your Mac.

You'll find this function by right-clicking on certain apps, such as Mail, Notes, Finder, Keynote, Messages and Numbers. Aside from your iPhone, you can also scan documents directly to your machine.
Of course, the best way is to download the macOS Mojave update on your own Mac, try it out and be the judge yourself.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com