Q: Why should anyone upgrade to Mavericks when 30% of the user feedback on the download site describes horrific results and rates Mavericks 1 out of 5???

Sometimes, but not always, the addition of a faster/higher class CPU (i.e., i7 vs. i5) is worth the additional cost...

Yes it is.

Csound1 wrote:

 

I buy the top of the line but with the least Ram and smallest HDD, then I put what I want in it. But I keep them for as long as I can (my G3 still lives, but has become more of an ornament lately)

I dread the progressive non-upgradability of Mac product lines because I highly favor the part of your approach where you buy with minimal RAM and storage and upgarde through third parties. I have also used this strategy to wait until the RAM prices for new models drop, and then I max it.

But with new Mac lines being largely non-upgradable and requiring the maximum needed spec from the time of purchase, it both means Apple's component upgrade prices cannot be bypassed and the Mac can not be upgraded after purchase, and this may mean I can't keep Macs as long as has been historically possible.

Network 23 wrote:

 

Csound1 wrote:

 

I buy the top of the line but with the least Ram and smallest HDD, then I put what I want in it. But I keep them for as long as I can (my G3 still lives, but has become more of an ornament lately)

I dread the progressive non-upgradability of Mac product lines because I highly favor the part of your approach where you buy with minimal RAM and storage and upgarde through third parties. I have also used this strategy to wait until the RAM prices for new models drop, and then I max it.

 

But with new Mac lines being largely non-upgradable and requiring the maximum needed spec from the time of purchase, it both means Apple's component upgrade prices cannot be bypassed and the Mac can not be upgraded after purchase, and this may mean I can't keep Macs as long as has been historically possible.

Yes, upgrading your own Mac is likely to become a thing of the past soon, but that's life and I'll deal with it (actually as the years go by and I slow down it may yet cease to be important )

I upgraded and I LOVE it !

Everything runs faster on my 2008 Imac. There is no running noise anymore. Facebook is working fast and I love the new format of Internal mail. Chrome is working perfectly. I lost 1 microsoft word app and it warned me of that . No Loss.

I would recommend.

My Mac has never run smoother !

Well, Apple starting down that road of being "Uber-Proprietary" once again with all of their wares - now that the completely logical, intelligent and business-savvy Steve Jobs is gone - was almost expected, or, at least feared by me. They went that direction after Joibs left the first time, they almost went out of business, and indeed would have if Jobs hadn't returned.

I switched to Mac when I fell in love with the Mac OS after being a PC user for years prior. I've been that enthusiastic, almost evangelistic Mac user now since the early-to-mid 90's. When Steve Jobs came back to Apple it was a joy, and I finally saw the Mac OS get the attention and recognition it deserved. Now, here we go again.

As for the comment "Upgrading your Mac is likely to become a thing of the past soon" it is an unacceptible prospect to me, and a comment that should have been followed with the word "again." As in, here we go "again"... Jobs leaves "again", and Apple starts making bone-headed decisions "again."

In my opinion, sadly, Windows gets better, more interesting and colorful, and more like a Mac every day and the Mac OS gets more boring, plain, bland, and unfortunately problematic at the same time. In some ways the PC gets more like the Mac used to be, and the Mac gets more like the problematic Windows PC platform used to be.

I purchased a new 27" iMac about a year ago, and it was so bad performance wise I went through the hassle required to strip my drive of Mountain Lion in order to install Snow Leopard. Snow Leopard is one of the best OSes Apple ever produced. Now, I upgraded to Mavericks, and all I can say is no wonder it was free... Apple would, and should have, been embarrassed to charge for something so bad as this.

Everything is nearly crawling, Safari is terrible, Mail is terrible, and my computer runs like a 5-6 year old machine nearing it's end of life.

Hey, Apple... remember this? "It Just Works!"

Now, with strange decisions coming from Cupertino about the entire Mac line and it's possible future "progression" (?), I am, for the first time in years considering moving back to Windows. I can build the computer I wish to build, cheap or expensive. I can have the components I wish in that system. And I have an OS that's actually gaining some real quality features, versatility and has nearly blazing speed.

A very sad decision for me... but bad performing OSes (Mavericks is absolutely terrible) and decisions to go even more proprietary than they've been in years is not a very attractive proposal for this long-time Mac user. Especially considering where the tech industry seems to be headed.

Mavericks is a dog... there's no doubt about it! To all of the "You need to do this, you need to do that, did you do this, did you do that?" crowd. Yes, and then some! The ONLY thing I didn't do was blow the drive and start all over "fresh" with a brand new Mavericks install. That's BS, and something no one should have to do... especially Mac users. That's the crap Windows users have been accustomed to having to do periodically because Windows didn't  "Just Work", and the only thing left to do WAS to blow the drive and reinstall Windows fresh.

Anyone remember the dreaded "Blue Screen of Death?" The only thing different about Mavericks is there is no blue screen of death... it just runs terribly.

Sorry for the rant. But Apple is, or at least "has been", better than this. I just hope this and other lackluster offerings from Apple [since Mr. Jobs left us] isn't a sign of things to come for Apple.

Very sad to this long-time veteran Mac user. Mavericks is absolutely terrible!

Well, Apple starting down that road of being "Uber-Proprietary" once again with all of their wares

That's absolute nonsense, virtually all of Apples services are open source, Dav for Contacts and Calendars, Imap for Mail and Notes, unlike Microsoft's proprietary services.

The rest of the post is pure speculation

Regardless of what most of the "Mac Failthful" say, yes, Mavericks is the worst dog of an OS Apple has produced in years. Lion was terrible, Mountain Lion was a little worse (performance-wise) and now Mavericks is, well, there's just absolutely no excuse for Mavericks when it comes to it's performance. Nevermind the other problems I've encountered.

I don't listen to the "Mac Faithful" anymore... most of them are evengelists only because chosen to use the Mac OS and their egos would allow nothing less than their opinion(s). The new Mac faithful seem to be the people who would allow crashes three to four times a day and still scream Apple's praises, claiming a superb OS release.

I've been a Mac/Apple-evangelist for more years than I care to count at this point in my technical life. And I can no longer stomach sitting around in a near-pile of crap telling everyone else they stink because they either don't agree with me or they refuse to acknowledge serious issues only because it's what they've chosen to use.

It's like the people who vote for politicians because they agree with them, or they promise to give them things they want. Yet the politicians continue to ruin everything they touch and make matters worse then they were before they were elected to fix the problems they "claim" to have "inherited".

It would seem people are becoming sheep in nearly every aspect of their lives.

Apple is better than the Mavericks release they've allowed on their users. Or, at least they USED TO BE better than this. Let's hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

Nevertheless, Mavericks needs to be fixed... or done away with altogether.

Come on Apple... you're better than this dog of an OS named "Mavericks"!

guitar_trance wrote:

 

Regardless of what most of the "Mac Failthful" say, yes, Mavericks is the worst dog of an OS Apple has produced in years.

Believe as you wish

Mavericks is the best OS X version since Snow Leopard, sorry you can't get yours to work for you. Maybe take it to a Pro?

"Version X+1 has broken my Mac. I'm going back to version X."

You can search this forum and find these comments with EVERY version of OS X,  even -- gasp -- Snow Leopard.

Yes, there are bugs.

Yes, some people will have unexplainable problems that others don't have.

(Many problems will be because of incompatible third-party software, or some strange user customisation, either of which may have been forgotten about.)

Guess what? Computers are difficult. No company is going to produce a seamless experience for 100% of people that handles every conceivable circumstance and combination of hardware and software. Microsoft's forums have people with problems. Linux forums have people with problems. Adobe's forums have people with problems.

Your options are:

1. Test the new OS, and then run back to the old OS as soon as you hit a problem.

2. Moan about how nothing is the same since Steve died and how this version of OS X is the worst ever.

3. Methodically and rigorously test the problem to determine its cause, which will take time, patience, effort and thought.

At least 50% of the problems reported in this forum are not bugs, but just "a problem on my computer right now". The good news is, that with a little bit of application (personal application) and help from those who give their time for free, you can probably get it fixed.

As for the bugs: well they can get reported and hopefully fixed, too. I've been in the Apple Seed for years, giving Apple a hard time about bugs, so don't tell me I'm some kind of unthinking drone.

Reading comprehension is a wonderfful thing, friend!

My speculation was indeed just that. However, it is based on things I've seen and commentary from Apple folks indicating they may in fact be headed that way. My commentary is one of a 'it's possible", "wait and see", "comments from Apple would seem to indicate" nature... nothing else.

Besides, what I was referring to was Apple's hardware becoming even more proprietary than it already is, NOT OS X. (Again... reading comprehension?)

If it is to be believed, some of the commentary I've read around tech sites would seem to indicate Apple may be trying to find ways of building iMacs so nothing can be changed inside except by them... drives, do-your-own-minor-maintenance/repair, etc. From what I understand, future iPhone releases will go back to near the original internal iPhone design... making changing out even a bad battery a lesson in futility. It was fairly easy to change out a battery in 3rd Gen through 4s iPhones . I read it may get much more difficult.

As far as the OS, I wouldn't be surprised if Apple stopped allowing a Windows install at some point in the future (Boot Camp). Typically, whenever Apple becomes lackluster in their offerings and problematic in OS releases they become paranoid and start playing the competition game. Jobs could have cared less about "the competition". He spent his time concerned only about great products and their performance... period! He could have cared less what Microsoft or anyone else was doing.

Isolation is no solution for future production interests.

One thing I CAN say for sure though, and once again... Mavericks is a performance dog of an OS! There's no debating that from my personal experience.

I wouldn't be surprised if none of your speculation was accurate.

Roll back to a previous OS version, one as knowledgable as you will have made a proper backup in order to revert, just in case of user errors.

You did backup right?

With your attitude it is clear that an upgrade will fail.

guitar_trance wrote:

 

Reading comprehension is a wonderfful thing, friend!

You're very rude, and you're not my friend, buddy

Besides, what I was referring to was Apple's hardware becoming even more proprietary than it already is, NOT OS X. (Again... reading comprehension?)

Again rude, and again, more nonsense, why not back up your claim by pointing out what aspect of Appe's hardware is proprietary? (as you clearly have no clue about their software services maybe you'll do better here) Think of this as time to put up or ......

"Believe as you wish

 

Mavericks is the best OS X version since Snow Leopard, sorry you can't get yours to work for you. Maybe take it to a Pro?"

Ahh... Mac Faithful? Funny, how people like you think simply because something suits your needs it should suit everyone else's too. Not to mention the rather childish jab at the end of your commentary. Which, in all my years dealing with self-absorbed people is exactly what those like yourself resort too when their "Apple Cart" is threatened to be turned over.

Furthermore, Mavericks is absolutely NOTHING even close to Snow Leopard in the performance category. I still have an older (2007) iMac sitting behind me running Snow Leopard and there is absolutely no comparison. Snow Leopard is comepletely responsive in all application... immediate even. Mavericks is a slug in comparison.

Some of Mavericks features are indeed nice, but what good are features when it performs like a slug moving across a 110 degree sidewalk at high noon?

What it apparently comes down to is "If it's good for you, then it MUST, or even WILL be good for everyone else, right?" Stop taking things so personal... it's an OS, not YOUR very life blood.

"Maybe take it to a Pro?"

Maybe a little personal maturity and a reality check would be in order here? I mean, your comment stabbed me to the core! Oh, wait... sorry, I lied!

I was a tech support person for over 5 years. I've encountered about every possible problem, both Mac OS and MS Windows, both Mac and "IBM compatible" hardware, and offered solutions to people for all of those years. I also own 7 PC's and 13 Macs (I collect Macs).  Don't think I need to take it to a Pro or waste my time on an Apple "Genius" at this point. On the other hand, uninstall Mavericks? Highly probable at this point.

I'm very glad Mavericks is working well for you. But don't expect that to be the case for everyone simply because you "wish" it so. I wish I could say the same for Mavericks on my end. One thing is for sure, if it were so, I wouldn't be here commenting on the issue with those who obviously live in a world where only their needs, personal experience and existence matters.

Enjoy Mavericks!

I was a tech support person for over 5 years. I've encountered about every possible problem, both Mac OS and MS Windows, both Mac and "IBM compatible" hardware, and offered solutions to people for all of those years. I also own 7 PC's and 13 Macs (I collect Macs).  Don't think I need to take it to a Pro or waste my time on an Apple "Genius" at this point. On the other hand, uninstall Mavericks? Highly probable at this point.

The fact that you've been a member of the Apple Support Communities for 6 1/2 years and have earned 0 points in comparison to Csound1's 32,850 points, for assisting others, speaks volumes.