This is how you can try out OS X El Capitan right now

The first build of the next Mac desktop operating system is now officially ready for consumers to start testing.

Apple Mac OS X El Capitan. Photo: AFP

The first build of the next Mac desktop operating system is now officially ready for consumers to start testing.

Just as it did with OS X Mavericks, Apple is looking to its customers to put its latest operating system through its paces, find bugs and issues and give general feedback.

The idea being that when it is officially ready for download this September as a free update, El Capitan will be as close to perfect as possible.

Downloading the beta version is simple, and all it requires is that you first register your interest to take part in the test via Apple's dedicated web page, but be careful -- it's still very much a work in progress. There will be bugs. Proceed at your own risk.