Apple has released its newest operating system, OS X Mavericks for free and it is now ready for download. Mac users can immediately install it. For starters, it looks so much like the previous version, Mountain Lion, but Mavericks OS X version 10.9 comes with hundreds of little improvements that make for a significant upgrade.

Craig Federighi, Apple Inc. Senior Vice President of Software Engineering speaks on stage during an Apple event in San Francisco, California October 22, 2013. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Safari has new features and functions that let the user stay in the current window while getting related tasks and relevant information done. You don't have to open up the iMessage app to reply to an iMessage because you can do so from the new incoming message notification itself. Mavericks also has improved memory and energy consumption.

Your Mac should be compatible if you are running OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or later. Snow Leopard, Lion and Mountain Lion users will be able to upgrade in one click and stepped upgrading is not required. See Apple's list of compatible machines below:

  • iMac (mid 2007 or newer)
  • MacBook (late 2008 aluminum, or early 2009 or newer)
  • MacBook Pro (mid/late 2007 or newer)
  • MacBook Air (late 2008 or newer)
  • Mac mini (early 2009 or newer)
  • Mac Pro (early 2008 or newer)
  • Xserve (early 2009)

iMac and MacBook Pro users from 2007 later can do this in a breeze but those who have older machines that have become sluggish may need to clean up and optimise. CCleaner is a free cleanup utility you can use to do so. You may also need to verify and repair the disk (Application > Utilities > Disk Utilities). You may also transfer large files like photos, videos and PDFs to another place to remove them from your Mac.

Prepare before you download a whole new operating system so it will go smoothly. Save open files and quit all applications then start backing up your data, or at least your most important data. Check app updates and run those you need except Mavericks at this point. You can find these updates in the Mac App Store. You can uninstall unused programs in the update list to de-clutter. It's efficient to clean up before installing the new OS than doing so after.

Back up done? Clean up done? Then go to the App Store icon and install Mavericks. On the left, click the "Free Upgrade" button to "Install App." It's better not to use your computer during the update process. The earlier you update, the more time it will take doing so because of the millions of other users trying to update too.