My MacBook was purchased in January 2008. What did I need to upgrade?

Buy more RAM from a source such as OWC or Crucial. That Mac can’t use a version of Safari newer than 6.1.6(which requires upgrading to Lion); you’ll likely need to switch to a product such as Firefox to get a new-enough web browser.

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Look up your exact model on the everymac.com web site to see what it is capable of doing. Another good resource is OWC or macsales.com Your computer is just a little bit too old to run any modern generation system software such as OSX 10.8 - 10.11 (current). This will preclude you from updating your Apple software to newest versions but going to 10.7 Lion might make a few more third party things available.

More RAM is a must, even if you continue to run 10.6.8. The OWC site is a good starting place. If you do buy more RAM make sure you get something reputable (OWC, Crucial, others?) as Macs can be picky. You can upgrade RAM for a few tens of $ if you do it yourself.

Instead of Safari, check Firefox or TenFourFox as there is still old Mac support.

Do NOT buy any new iPhone or i-anything. You cannot run the newest iTunes required by those.

I would avoid spending too much on this computer in terms of upgrades. Since it cannot upgrade any further than Lion you have hit a ceiling. Continue to use it (I have one made in 2002!) and save the upgrade money for a newer used computer.

Kappy, April 2015 post - Upgrading from Snow Leopard to Lion or later - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6992760?answerId=28062766022#28062766022

1) There are many, many posts on this site from people who own older i-devices such as your iPhone who upgraded the iOS software to the latest and then discover they have to buy a new computer because theirs cannot upgrade the OSX software to run the newest iTunes iOS9 demands. If you buy a new phone it will require that newer software and you will have to buy a newer computer or never sync your phone directly to your computer.

2) Keep using your MacBook. You decide what you need. Until last week I was using a 2002 G4 with OSX 10.4.11. I don't have any i-gadgets and even now under Mavericks I still use iTunes 7.5. If all you need is a newer browser then use Firefox (I prefer it over Safari anyway because it has lots of nice extensions). On my G4 I used TenFourFox which is up to date.

My wife has an iPhone 5s but has never upgraded iOS, so it is happy with her old iTunes. It is really kind of up to you if you want to join the Apple software upgrade rat race. Eventually when you do get a newer iPhone, then you will be forced to have a newer computer unless you do as my wife does which is never syncs her phone to iTunes (even though she can with her computer now). Back when we only had my G4 she had an iPhone 4s and it was impossible to sync, but it didn't matter because she never plays media on her phone.

Apple will recycle your MacBook. For them it is too old to sell. If you want to get money for it you are better off selling it yourself, but realize that because it has that ceiling it has kind of reached a breakpoint. I was glad to get my current late 2008 MacBook because it could still run new generation software and was worth the hardware upgrades I did (8GB RAM, new, big, fast hard drive).

I would definitely recommend more RAM though. 1 GB is very little, even for Snow Leopard (I used 1.5 GB with OSX 10.4 and it was too little). I am not familiar with your MacBook but for mine it took me about 15 minutes to upgrade RAM. It requires an unusual size screwdriver but you can probably buy one for a couple of $ from the same place you buy RAM. I haven't priced it out but I bet 2 GB would cost $20-$30, depending upon how many slots your computers has, what is in there now, and what you need to get.

Too little RAM really can slow down a computer. If it can't find the quick-access space on RAM chips to store things while running applications it resorts to using the hard drive which in a MacBook is a slow, energy-saving model.

Hi may i ask your advice as well. i have early 2009 macbook. could not upgrade. happy to use for excel and word and streaming news. wonder if it is ok to keep using without google chrome support ? my question mainly related to security reason. thank you in advance

You should be okay if you use Firefox since it is still being updated.