by Gerald Martin Davenport
I have been thinking about this issue for quite sometime, and in the beginning, I was one of those that was behind the times — running 10.5.8 on a PowerBook G4: the last OS 10 it would upgrade to because it was not an Intel chip.
It is not the first time I came to the same dead end road. Back when OS 9 was the bomb and the new 10 came out, I was skeptical, was hoping they would do something about the OS as OS 9 was good, but if Apple did not change they were going to go out of business, albeit slowly, but eventually OS 9 would have killed them.
OS 10, or as some call it, OS X, was an innovation; however to us OS 9 users it was a major and drastic change to our computing environment and routine. There was an OS 9 “Classic” mode that helped with the transition of certain applications — the ones that the programmers of that application that wanted to update it to the new structure — not all of them did it, cause certain applications were no longer able to take advantage of core features since the change in one core to another.
For example: I was a major kaleidoscope user: an app that allowed you to tweak your work environment to the folder icons and menu bar to the log in screen. The new finder in OS X, was so different that the programmers gave up cause it was not possible to do what they wanted to do without really interrupting the operation of the mac, which for most users, is scary to them, but not us geeks. And there were many, many other applications that were not going to be able to run on the new OS.
So I waited, and waited, and it wasn’t until 10.2 that we finally upgraded to the new OS due to needs and requirements by clients, family, and the features that the new apps were offering; plus it wasn’t a bad idea to stay up to date with the ever changing world.
This change lasted for sometime, even with the introduction of the intel Macs. My mother, children, and many friends and associates were now in the intel world, but I resisted — I knew I wanted and needed one, but I made do with what I had since 2001 for lack of funds and priorities.
And since September of 2011, the need began to surface with ever changing web technologies, video demands, and files formats that an Intel Mac be acquired. But knowing that some, not most, but certain applications that I have been using since 2001, that is 11 years over constant connection will eventually be severed due to it will no longer run on 10.7 and there is no foreseeable upgrade due to the software is no longer being serviced or what ever the reason is, I will have to say goodbye to a few close friends.
Going from 10.5.8 on a powerpc G4 and G5 to an Intel running 10.7.3 will be another major and drastic change AGAIN. But it is not the end of the world. Most applications people use everyday like email, text editors and viewers, image editors and viewers are staying up to date. It is that one or two little or major apps that we are attached to that we will not give up that stops the change, not to mention that the purchase of an intel machine is a factor and then the cost of upgrading all the software.
So the change from non Intel to Intel is a major life and pocket book experience, but don’t let a few apps that you are attached too be the factor not to do it. There are so many things that you can do with the newer OS than you can with the older one.
As far as the cost to upgrade, put it into perspective. For me. I spent nearly 2,600 for my laptop in 2001, in 11 years that is roughly $20 a month. It made me quite a bit with my video projects, so, I think I got my money’s worth out of it.
Also Word 2004 paid around $150 for it. In 8 years of use it cost $1.57 a month. I got my money out of it.
You need to do that for your computer and applications and come to the conclusion, “I got my money’s worth out of it, IT IS TIME TO UPGRADE.”
Check to see if one is available; look at the purchase options; if one is not available, then email the programmer or company and ask why; don’t blame Apple; if one is not available, then it is time to find something comparable, and move on.
This was one of my many issues as president was “How do I keep the people from the past happy in the past and make the one’s in the future happy as well?” Some of the questions from the people still in the past were not easy to answer or there was no answer other than:UPGRADE.
And not to be cold-hearted or blasé about the whole thing, as I was in the same predicament, but the answer is, again “You got your money’s worth, get over it, and UPDATE yourself. You will not regret it and will be much happier and you won’t have troubles or questions that go unanswered.”
Your out of date software and computer is not going to come back in style anytime soon, sorry to say, but they will keep getting older and older; and then what will you do when it breaks and you can no longer access anything? Do it now while you still can. It’s just as simple as stating the facts.
