To upgrade to Snow Leopard or not?
in [UK Mac]
|
From: Stephen on 13 Apr 2010 17:57 I have been running my MacBook Pro 17" machine on the OS I bought it with about a year ago. It is a 2.16GHz Core Duo machine with 2GB RAM and 320GB hard drive I got from eBay. Compared to my old machine which was a 1GHz PowerBook G4 17", it is a screamer. I've been happy with it, but I was wondering if I would see any major benefit in upgrading the OS from Leopard 10.5.8 to Snow Leopard. The questions I am curious to find answers for are: (1) As far as I can tell Core Duo machines are supported, but only in 32-bit mode, is that right? (2) Without being to run it in 64-bit, is there any point to upgrading? (3) The PBG4 is still in use in the household, would the MBP still play nicely with the G4 in terms of file and printer sharing? (4) Are the changes in file creator type handling a major annoyance, a minor irritant or non event? (5) Should I just forget about SL for the time being and keep 10.5?
From: David Empson on 13 Apr 2010 20:26 Stephen <srmoll(a)gmail.com> wrote: > I have been running my MacBook Pro 17" machine on the OS I bought it > with about a year ago. It is a 2.16GHz Core Duo machine with 2GB RAM > and 320GB hard drive I got from eBay. > > Compared to my old machine which was a 1GHz PowerBook G4 17", it is a > screamer. > > I've been happy with it, but I was wondering if I would see any major > benefit in upgrading the OS from Leopard 10.5.8 to Snow Leopard. Probably not yet, but it will become more important as applications start to require Snow Leopard. > The questions I am curious to find answers for are: > > (1) As far as I can tell Core Duo machines are supported, but only in > 32-bit mode, is that right? Yes. Snow Leopard works on all Intel Macs. (Core Duo processors can't do 64-bit at all.) > (2) Without being to run it in 64-bit, is there any point to > upgrading? Yes. 1. There are already a small number of applications which require Snow Leopard. This will increase as developers want to take advantage of features like Grand Central Dispatch, which only exists in Snow Leopard and later. 2. After 10.7 is released, Apple will drop support for 10.5 (as they are now in the process of doing for 10.4). Beyond that point you will have an increasing need for 10.6 in order to run new applications and get security updates. (See below for speculation on timeframe.) 3. Any new features in Snow Leopard that you would like to use. I find Dock Expose alone is worth the price of admission, and there are several other little things that I've appreciated. The main disadvantage you may encounter is loss of compatibility with some older applications that haven't been updated to support 10.6, and some printers/scanners which don't have 10.6 drivers (though 10.5 drivers are more likely to work under 10.6 with a Core Duo, since there is no 64-bit issue). Loss of AppleTalk for printing is an issue for some old printers (easy to work around if you have older Macs available). > (3) The PBG4 is still in use in the household, would the MBP still > play nicely with the G4 in terms of file and printer sharing? Yes. I have Macs running 10.4, 10.5 and 10.6 and they all play nicely. > (4) Are the changes in file creator type handling a major annoyance, a > minor irritant or non event? I have noticed it a few times. I'd put it into "minor irritant". > (5) Should I just forget about SL for the time being and keep 10.5? For forward planning: There is a significant risk that the _next_ major version of Mac OS X will drop support for Mac models which came with Core Solo/Duo processors. We don't know the timeframe yet, but may get some information after WWDC around the middle of this year. Some recent rumours are suggesting that 10.7 (or whatever its version is) may not be released until late 2011, about two years after Snow Leopard. Certainly won't be late 2010, but could be early 2011. If we assume late 2011, then 10.7 will be released about four years after the final Core Duo model was discontinued, and approaching six years after the first Intel models were introduced. That falls very neatly into Apple's normal window for dropping support for old Mac models (when they aren't doing a major transition). On that basis, you should plan to get 10.6 at some point if you intend to keep using that computer for another year or more. If you would be replacing the computer anyway before the end of 2011, probably not worth the effort, and you might as well stick with 10.5.8 unless you need something new which only runs on Snow Leopard. -- David Empson dempson(a)actrix.gen.nz
From: Rowland McDonnell on 14 Apr 2010 00:40 David Empson <dempson(a)actrix.gen.nz> wrote: > Stephen <srmoll(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > I have been running my MacBook Pro 17" machine on the OS I bought it > > with about a year ago. It is a 2.16GHz Core Duo machine with 2GB RAM > > and 320GB hard drive I got from eBay. > > > > Compared to my old machine which was a 1GHz PowerBook G4 17", it is a > > screamer. > > > > I've been happy with it, but I was wondering if I would see any major > > benefit in upgrading the OS from Leopard 10.5.8 to Snow Leopard. > > Probably not yet, but it will become more important as applications > start to require Snow Leopard. I've never used 10.5; went from 10.4 to 10.6. From what I've been reading, if I were running 10.5, I think I'd want to upgrade to 10.6 at about the next `point' update. I.e., we're on 10.6.3 now, if I were thinking of getting the next OS, based on what I see of the way it behaves here, I reckon that 10.6.4 will be a pretty good release. Not many niggles left... [snip] > > (2) Without being to run it in 64-bit, is there any point to > > upgrading? > > Yes. > > 1. There are already a small number of applications which require Snow > Leopard. This will increase as developers want to take advantage of > features like Grand Central Dispatch, which only exists in Snow Leopard > and later. GCD is what's hopefully making it easy for application writers to make good use of multiple CPU cores. If you've only got one or two, it's not going to help an awful lot. > 2. After 10.7 is released, Apple will drop support for 10.5 (as they are > now in the process of doing for 10.4). Already done it - 10.6 came out, 10.4 updates were dropped. No more new ones. > Beyond that point you will have > an increasing need for 10.6 in order to run new applications and get > security updates. (See below for speculation on timeframe.) However, 10.4 is still pretty useful even now. > 3. Any new features in Snow Leopard that you would like to use. I find > Dock Expose alone What's that? > is worth the price of admission, and there are several > other little things that I've appreciated. > > The main disadvantage you may encounter is loss of compatibility with > some older applications that haven't been updated to support 10.6, I miss Classic most of all... [snip] > > (4) Are the changes in file creator type handling a major annoyance, a > > minor irritant or non event? > > I have noticed it a few times. I'd put it into "minor irritant". Severe irritant here - my shiny expensive 24" iMac is /much/ worse at giving a file to the right application than my System 6 Macs. I have to drag-and-drop files onto the right application as a matter of routine now. [snip] Rowland. -- Remove the animal for email address: rowland.mcdonnell(a)dog.physics.org Sorry - the spam got to me http://www.mag-uk.org http://www.bmf.co.uk UK biker? Join MAG and the BMF and stop the Eurocrats banning biking
From: David Empson on 14 Apr 2010 01:14 Rowland McDonnell <real-address-in-sig(a)flur.bltigibbet.invalid> wrote: > David Empson <dempson(a)actrix.gen.nz> wrote: > > > 2. After 10.7 is released, Apple will drop support for 10.5 (as they are > > now in the process of doing for 10.4). > > Already done it - 10.6 came out, 10.4 updates were dropped. No more new > ones. Not quite. It is a process. Apple has stopped doing standalone security updates for 10.4, and now QuickTime updates, but they are still doing Safari and iTunes updates (as at the last ones). Recent Safari updates for 10.4 have included some security fixes that were in a standalone security update for 10.5. If the pattern follows 10.3, then the final version of iTunes compatible with 10.4 is likely to be a bug fix of iTunes 9.1 (if there is one). The next major or minor version of iTunes (9.2 or later) will probably not run on Mac OS X 10.4. Safari will probably stop supporting 10.4 about the same point. After that, Apple can drop 10.4 support from the latest development tools. > > Beyond that point you will have an increasing need for 10.6 in order to > > run new applications and get security updates. (See below for > > speculation on timeframe.) > > However, 10.4 is still pretty useful even now. Yes, but it is getting riskier to use it, and it will start to develop web compatibility issues once Safari, Firefox and other browsers stop supporting 10.4. (Mozilla will drop 10.4 support in the next major version of Firefox.) > > 3. Any new features in Snow Leopard that you would like to use. I find > > Dock Expose alone > > What's that? Click and hold on an application icon in the Dock (one with multiple documents or other windows open for best effect). Also accessible via a keyboard shortcut: Cmd-Tab, keep holding Cmd, then press any of Up Arrow, Down Arrow or the '1' key. > > is worth the price of admission, and there are several > > other little things that I've appreciated. > > > > The main disadvantage you may encounter is loss of compatibility with > > some older applications that haven't been updated to support 10.6, > > I miss Classic most of all... Not an issue for someone who was already on an Intel Mac (or 10.5). > [snip] > > > > (4) Are the changes in file creator type handling a major annoyance, a > > > minor irritant or non event? > > > > I have noticed it a few times. I'd put it into "minor irritant". > > Severe irritant here - my shiny expensive 24" iMac is /much/ worse at > giving a file to the right application than my System 6 Macs. > > I have to drag-and-drop files onto the right application as a matter of > routine now. Right-click and Open With usually deals with the issue for me, or rename a file to have a suitable extension, or Get Info and specify the application to open that file. -- David Empson dempson(a)actrix.gen.nz
From: Rowland McDonnell on 14 Apr 2010 01:39
David Empson <dempson(a)actrix.gen.nz> wrote: > Rowland McDonnell <real-address-in-sig(a)flur.bltigibbet.invalid> wrote: > > > David Empson <dempson(a)actrix.gen.nz> wrote: > > > > > 2. After 10.7 is released, Apple will drop support for 10.5 (as they are > > > now in the process of doing for 10.4). > > > > Already done it - 10.6 came out, 10.4 updates were dropped. No more new > > ones. > > Not quite. It is a process. Apple has stopped doing standalone security > updates for 10.4, and now QuickTime updates, but they are still doing > Safari and iTunes updates (as at the last ones). Recent Safari updates > for 10.4 have included some security fixes that were in a standalone > security update for 10.5. > > If the pattern follows 10.3, then the final version of iTunes compatible > with 10.4 is likely to be a bug fix of iTunes 9.1 (if there is one). The > next major or minor version of iTunes (9.2 or later) will probably not > run on Mac OS X 10.4. Safari will probably stop supporting 10.4 about > the same point. > > After that, Apple can drop 10.4 support from the latest development > tools. Righto - see what you mean. > > > Beyond that point you will have an increasing need for 10.6 in order to > > > run new applications and get security updates. (See below for > > > speculation on timeframe.) > > > > However, 10.4 is still pretty useful even now. > > Yes, but it is getting riskier to use it, While there are unplugged security holes, I don't see that they'd be a significant issue for any normally cautious home user. Or do you know something that I don't know? > and it will start to develop > web compatibility issues once Safari, Firefox and other browsers stop > supporting 10.4. (Mozilla will drop 10.4 support in the next major > version of Firefox.) Hmm - righto. Still, there's iCab... > > > 3. Any new features in Snow Leopard that you would like to use. I find > > > Dock Expose alone > > > > What's that? > > Click and hold on an application icon in the Dock (one with multiple > documents or other windows open for best effect). Ooh! Righto. That's an actual *use* for the Dock, at last! How do you find out about this sort of thing? The only way I get to learn about these new features is if they're mentioned in something I read on-line, and then I mostly can't recall them. In other words, most of the new features Apple supplies for its users aren't accessible to me and I find this bloody annoying and if you've got any idea how I could find out myself, do please let me know. Shame that Apple doesn't provide a manual for its users. (What can I learn from and what can't I learn from? Well... I've stared uncomprehending at dozens of video tutorials, learning precisely nothing from any of them. I've never learnt much from `Mac Help' either, because the information is presented in a fragmented form that prevents me memorising things. It's a bit of a sod, I know - I can learn from old-fashioned manuals and I can learn from old-fashioned computer tutorials such as the excellent Hypercard tutorials we used to get.) > Also accessible via a keyboard shortcut: Cmd-Tab, keep holding Cmd, then > press any of Up Arrow, Down Arrow or the '1' key. Very nice. Shame I'll never remember that particular part of the UI. <sigh> Oh for a manual on paper to teach me how to use my computer... Or if not, a proper tutorial... > > > is worth the price of admission, and there are several > > > other little things that I've appreciated. > > > > > > The main disadvantage you may encounter is loss of compatibility with > > > some older applications that haven't been updated to support 10.6, > > > > I miss Classic most of all... > > Not an issue for someone who was already on an Intel Mac (or 10.5). I wasn't on an Intel Mac or 10.5 when I was forced by hardware failure to take the plunge. I'd bought a 4G5 so I'd not been forced to give up on Classic software. It died. So I was forced to give up on Classic software. A sod. > > [snip] > > > > > > (4) Are the changes in file creator type handling a major annoyance, a > > > > minor irritant or non event? > > > > > > I have noticed it a few times. I'd put it into "minor irritant". > > > > Severe irritant here - my shiny expensive 24" iMac is /much/ worse at > > giving a file to the right application than my System 6 Macs. > > > > I have to drag-and-drop files onto the right application as a matter of > > routine now. > > Right-click and Open With usually deals with the issue for me, In the most common case, the application I want is unavailable that way. It's just not on the list. > or rename > a file to have a suitable extension, or Get Info and specify the > application to open that file. <shrug> Who can guess what the OS will think is an appropriate extension, or what extensions the OS thinks are available to which applications? All I know is that `it gets it wrong an awful lot now, often denying that that app I want to use can open the file type in question when it bloody well can and does when I drag-and-drop'. And this is new behaviour - never used to behave that way. Whatever Apple's done to the mechanisms linking files to apps, it's foobar now. Rowland. -- Remove the animal for email address: rowland.mcdonnell(a)dog.physics.org Sorry - the spam got to me http://www.mag-uk.org http://www.bmf.co.uk UK biker? Join MAG and the BMF and stop the Eurocrats banning biking |