currently running 10.6.8 whats the easiest way to upgrade and to what

Open the Mac App Store and try downloading Yosemite. If you get told it's incompatible or otherwise desired, choose About this Mac from the Apple menu, check if the computer has at least a Xeon or Core 2 Duo(not Core Duo) CPU and 2GB of RAM, and if it does, click here and order a download code for Lion 10.7; the online Apple Store also sells download codes for Mountain Lion 10.8, but it has the same system requirements as Yosemite. You don't need any intermediate versions.

Back up your data and check your applications for compatibility before upgrading. In particular, Mac OS X 10.7 and newer don't support PowerPC programs such as versions of Microsoft Office prior to 2008.

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All true, but I'd also consider Mavericks (10.9) if you can still get it. It supposedly is faster on older machines, and overall i find it very stable.

Regardless of what you upgrade to, you may wish to bump your RAM and even speed up your hard drive at some point, newer system software taxes older machines.

Grant

Grant Lenahan wrote:

All true, but I'd also consider Mavericks (10.9) if you can still get it. It supposedly is faster on older machines, and overall i find it very stable.

Why recommend obsolete software on a supposition?

A long, long history of two facts:

1 all major updates use more processing, often lots more

2 Apple gets about 1/3 of major releases really right. 10.6 (hands down) and 10.9 (pretty darn good)seem to be among them.

but you are right, I'm not 100% sure, and that's why i qualified it.

but life is bets - making smart ones means you do well

Yosemite (on all my Macs) is faster and more stable than 10.9, and on the ones that can run 10.6, it's faster than that as well. If that is not the case on your Mac then your installation of Yosemite is borked.

Good data point. But hardly universal.

I think you either forgot that i don't have it installed (remember supposition?) or you just want to be argumentative....

Grant Lenahan wrote:

Good data point. But hardly universal.

Look, this isn't witchcraft, Yosemite is faster than Mavericks, if that is not your experience then an installation issue exists. If you do not use Yosemite and have no experience then what qualifies you to even post in this thread. Read the TOU, don't speculate and TEST YOUR ANSWERS before posting.