I don't update anymore; what's my prognosis?

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Level 1

31 points

I don't update anymore; what's my prognosis?

I've decided to ignore all updates from now on. I'm on iOS 5, Snow Leopard, Airport Extreme with 2 Express routers (one 'n' and one 'g' for music). I'm off of MobileMe (except for email), and have decided to forego iCloud.

I've learned from experience with many Macs that, every time I do a software update, the computer uses more memory, the battery doesn't last as long, performance slows, apps no longer work, miscellaneous pesky problems crop up. I used my PowerBook for 6 years. The only reason I replaced it was because, frankly, Flash killed it. I was still using OS 7 apps, and perfectly happy with them. Now I hear lots of complaints about Lion (look at the unusually high percentage of 1-star reviews on the App Store, so it seems like deja-vu. Skype on the iPhone is another good example of a downward spiral of qualtity with each update.

Summary:

I will not longer update anything. Software updates are stacking up; I ignore them.

My MacBook Air (late 2010) is snappy fast, everything works, battery life is excellent, it boots in 15 seconds.

iOS 5 works fine, but I'm also ignoring any update intended for Lion and iCloud compatibility.

My wireless network works great. I never have to reboot.

Most importantly, I have over a dozen PowerPC apps that require Rosetta. They all work. Ahhh, nice.

I manually sync my contacts and calendar with a USB cable.

In other words, I'm happy. HOWEVER, here's my question:

How long can I "live in the past" like this? Besides the (remote) possibility that I might be vulnerable without doing security updates, what is the downside to this strategy?

I hear both good things and bad things about Lion and iCloud. The good things I don't seem to care about; the bad things are things I would find deal breakers. Am I being a Luddite for not moving to Lion, and iCloud? I'm not a "sharer" of photos and music between devices, I have other apps that sync what I need, I don't buy iBooks, I don't buy music on iTunes, I don't use Twitter. What''s going to "break" first, in your opinion?

Posted on Mar 12, 2012 1:28 PM

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Answer 1

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Mar 12, 2012 11:44 PM in response to Mr. Mellow

There are people still using Panther on eMacs. You do the math.

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Answer 2

petermac87

Level 5

7,447 points

Mar 13, 2012 12:17 AM in response to Mr. Mellow

Mr. Mellow wrote:

I'm off of MobileMe (except for email)

MobileMe finishes mid year too. Run whatever system you want on whatever machine you want, Your call. Just don't expect software developers to stand still and keep supporting what you are using.

Good Luck

Pete

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Answer 3

Mar 13, 2012 3:13 AM in response to Mr. Mellow

If you are happy with how things work, then there is

no reason for updating.

Just keep in mind, some day the Macbook Air may die

and any new Mac will not suport your PPC apps. You

may want to get an external drive and clone your system

to it and start trying updates to those PPC apps.

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Answer 4

Mar 13, 2012 4:30 AM in response to Mr. Mellow

You can migrate your MobileMe account to iCloud at http://me.com/move even with Snow Leopard - when asked to confirm that you have Lion on your Mac, just lie and say 'yes'.

If you have MobileMe mail set up to collect mail from external POP accounts you should cancel this before migrating, or you may find it still working in iCloud (where it isn't supposed to) and with no way of stopping it. You may find the MobileMe email settings will continue to work for a time after migrating but it will stop eventually so you should not rely on this. You should delete your MobileMe email account from Mail.

You can then set up Mail manually in Snow Leopard to access iCloud email; it's a slight fudge because the 'wizard' will attempt to connect you to MobileMe as soon as you enter an @me.com address. The process, which includes a workaround for this, is described here:

http://www.wilmut.webspace.virginmedia.com/notes/icloudmail.html

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Answer 5

fane_j

Level 4

3,697 points

Mar 13, 2012 4:55 AM in response to Mr. Mellow

Mr. Mellow wrote:

How long can I "live in the past" like this?

As long as you wish. It's up to you, not to anyone else.

I might be vulnerable without doing security updates

IMHO, you might be safer. The 'black hats' usually go after the latest vulnerabilities, not the holes of two or three or whatever years ago.

what is the downside to this strategy?

None. Stay with what you have, update/upgrade when you need something your current hardware/software can't give you. The Mac is merely a tool -- the strategy should be based on you, your work, your habits, and on how to obtain maximum value from the tool, rather than on whether Apple has released a new OS version or not.

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Answer 6

petermac87

Level 5

7,447 points

Mar 13, 2012 5:18 AM in response to fane_j

fane_j wrote:

what is the downside to this strategy?

None. Stay with what you have, update/upgrade when you need something your current hardware/software can't give you. The Mac is merely a tool -- the strategy should be based on you, your work, your habits, and on how to obtain maximum value from the tool, rather than on whether Apple has released a new OS version or not.

Very well said. I still have a Blue Dalmation G4 running System 9 sitting proudly in a corner of my office. Still runs like it did the day I left it to update to a G5 and beyond. Still a productive unit and the kids and grand kids love it.

Pete

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Answer 7

WZZZ

Level 6

13,226 points

Mar 13, 2012 6:56 AM in response to Mr. Mellow

For security, probably a good idea to run standard and use the admin account for authenticating as needed.

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Answer 8

Mar 13, 2012 10:34 AM in response to Mr. Mellow

Mr. Mellow wrote:

How long can I "live in the past" like this? Besides the (remote) possibility that I might be vulnerable without doing security updates, what is the downside to this strategy?

About as long as I will! I currently have 10.6.4 and 10.6.5 on my own Macs, 10.5.8 and 10.6.5 on my partner's.

Barring anything earth-shattering, that's pretty much where it will remain for the life of the machines.

In your case it's the iOS devices that may dictate sooner than anything OS X related.

I would definitely recommend a multiple-backup strategy, however. I have TM and a bootable clone for each iMac, plus extra drives with just the home folders backed up.

Message was edited by: noondaywitch

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Answer 9

Mr. Mellow Author

Level 1

31 points

Mar 25, 2012 4:11 PM in response to Mr. Mellow

Good comments and suggestions, I feel better about this now. Short of my MBA completely dying, running into a need that my current system can't meet seems to be the break point.

After owning several computers, I've found the axiom, "hardware giveth, and software taketh away" to be apt. It seems that each version of an OS, or software, adds features that use up every bit of the lastest processors, leaving "old" machines in the dust.

I used my "pizza box" Power Macintosh 6100 DOS-compatible from 1984 to 2003, and my PowerBook until late-2010. So, nine years for my Power Mac, seven years for my PowerBook, and now only 1 year for my MBA before I started to get that left-behind feeling. There's a pattern of diminishing returns, here, so I'm determined to avoid it for as long as possible.

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Answer 10

steve626

Level 6

10,073 points

Mar 25, 2012 4:50 PM in response to Mr. Mellow

I think in previous incarnations, people would have jumped all over you for your approach, but the Lion operating has generated decidely mixed or even negative reviews from users. So no one seems to disagree with you. I think many folks are simply staying with 10.6 and waiting to see if OS 10.8 is better than 10.7. I've mostly avoided upgrading OS's, or when I do I jump over one version completely because I've waited long enough that I'm two versions behind.

Here are the things that will/would motivate me to update the OS:

* incompatibility with MS-Office (I'm not a MS-Office fan but I do need to use it)

* incompatibility with flash or other tools needed to view modern web content (this might be a while as I am still using several different Macs, the oldest being a 2005 PPC iMac with 10.5.8 and an fairly old/outdated flash, but it seems to still do ok with most web content). Our 2008 Intel Core 2 Duo iMac runs 10.6.8 and can do just about anything we need -- like you, I decided not to go to Lion because it didn't look like much of an improvement.

* incompatibility with various commercial software, such as TurboTax, or with web sites I use to manage financial accounts and such things

We got my daughter a new Macbook Air just before she started college, and Lion plus a new Macbook Air model came out a month later. I am glad now about it actually, I think some of the Lion "issues" would have annoyed her greatly (especially the odd dropping of wireless access points under Lion, everyone is on wireless at colleges now). I'm hoping that the 10.8 OS will be better than Lion. We had (probably still have) a certificate for a free Lion upgrade but we decided not to use it.

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