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Any benefit to running Monterey on either late 2013 or mid 2014 MBP?
- Thread starter larob
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What are you running now?
Only a fraction of the bugs I reported from OS 10.15 or 11 have been fixed (running on a supported system) so I don't really feel like I gained anything by upgrading through those...
Only a fraction of the bugs I reported from OS 10.15 or 11 have been fixed (running on a supported system) so I don't really feel like I gained anything by upgrading through those...
Basically, security.
See this post: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/big-sur-beta-11-6-6-available.2341340/
https://www.macintouch.com/ has articles about the security status of Monterey and the very recent release of Big Sur 11.6.6 in beta form with the same security patches as Monterey.
If Big Sur is working for you, running all the software you need, then the upcoming 11.6.6 update should be sufficient.
I went through the learning process to set up Open Core Legacy Patcher 0.4.3 on an iMac 15,1 late 2014 model and it was relatively easy, using an external SSD in a USB 3 case.
That ease of use may change depending on your hardware. There is a whole - long - thread here about using OCLP, but with that 11.6.6 update on the way, I am not sure it is worth the time and effort to learn how to use it.
There must be some famous latin or French quote meaning "Your choice", but sadly I don't know it, and the English does lack power and charm.
Thank you! Since I have a new Mac Mini with Monterey and this old MBP, I will keep the MBP running Big Sur (properly updated), since it seems Apple will support Big Sur updates at least till 2023 or 2024 (not sure). Whenever Big Sur stop being updated I will then consider all the options I have, from upgrading to Monterey with OCLP (or even better IF dosdude1 makes a patch like the one he did for Catalina) or keeping it just as it is.
I feel sorry that Big Sur is the last MacOS to be available for my MBP mid-2014. Despite having a basic hardware configuration in it, it has been a "war tank" and worked hard and a lot with me throughout all those years without one single hardware or software problem. So much that I have never, not even for one second, thought to get a new MBP in the past years. To the point that last year I took it to the Apple Store to change a swollen battery. I really, really hoped it could "last" more.
I know Apple dumped all Intel-based products as quickly as they could, still I hoped at least the MBP would be an exception (specially since some newer MBP models (see 2016, 2016, for example) had so many problems in past with keyboards, batteries, graphic card, etc.
But this is how business are done in the last decades. We are bombed with new things all the time and companies try to convince us to pay (a lot!) for their products, even though we might not need them.
PS 1. I still have a fully upgraded Polycarbonate Macbook from 2009 working flawless (running dosdude1 Catalina patch) as a backup computer.
PS 2. My husband still uses his iPad (bought in 2016) to read books.
PS 3. I do love Apple products, but I only buy them (or change them) when they are not fulfilling my needs anymore. That said, till they work I keep them around just changing whatever function they had for me (or my family). I know, I'm /We are strange...
The OCLP choice is actually very usable on this 2014 iMac, which may be quite similar to your 2014 MBP.
Is that the basic (cheapest) 15" or the 13" model? On my 27" iMac, with 24GB of RAM, I notice no speed difference compared with Big Sur. It seems that Monterey is a natural evolutionary system, improving on the mistakes made in the design of Catalina and then Big Sur. That is just an impression mind you, this Monterey system at version 12.3.1, running under the OCLP version 0.4.3 "feels" at least as solid as Big Sur and maybe better. We will see as Apple makes more changes in the coming updates.
Personally, I hate the current practice of introducing a completely new OS every year. Big Sur has just begun to settle down, and Monterey is still somewhat like a talented 14-15 year old tennis player with lots of potential.
I have an old 15" MBP from 2011 that still works very well running High Sierra, and the battery will last almost 2 hours!
Some of the old Apple hardware can be used for more than 10 years, and in the computer business that is a very long time indeed. The Mac Studio Ultra is probably far more capable than the mainframes they were using 10 years ago!
Mine is a 13" MBP Retina mid-2014 with 256GB HD and 8GB RAM.
And you are ABSOLUTELY right, Apple hardware is awesome. Between the 90's and the 2000's I have worked with Microsoft Windows around a decade, and coming from IBM-PC compatible computers, to have an Apple computer was like having the Saint Graal in your hands. I must say that the same happened when I changed from Android mobile phones to iPhones. Both changes were the best thing I did in my life.
If you want to extend the life of that MBP, you can buy 2 8GB RAM chips and install them yourself. Check OWC for the RAM and maybe iFixit for the 2 tools required. If you are planning a trip to Japan and make it to Kyoto, I will install them for you. I have opened my MBP many times, HD to HD to SSD and RAM upgrades. It is actually easy, but watch those pesky small screws, they like to fall off the desk and hide in or behind rugs!
That MBP has a Haswell CPU chip, and an Intel Iris 5100 graphics chip, which is not so bad at all. It's a keeper for sure.
While you have the back open, you might want to replace the SSD with a bigger faster model, not really necessary for sure. See this;
Thank you so very much! I have never been in Japan yet, but I would really love to visit your country. My daughter is simply amazed and in love with anything linked to Japan, so I promised her that as soon as I will be able to afford a trip for 2 to Japan I'll take her to visit it (and I may accept your offer, as long as it won't give you much trouble to help me with my MBP).
Yes, this MBP is a keeper. it has never, EVER failed me.
While I would be very willing to install RAM in your MBP while you are in Japan, now is certainly not the time to visit this country. The pandemic has hit Japan very hard, and the daily news programs, all channels, have degenerated into counts of new cases per Prefecture. The situation is getting a little better, but "after" the pandemic would be much more prudent. As for your daughter's "crush" on Japan, what can I say? It is normal and healthy for young people to dream, but in this case what is she enamored with. In so many cases, the Japanese have turned away from their own culture, and incorporated the dregs of the western world. There are some high points left, like the textile industry - see wiki for the Nishijin Ori 'weaving) for example. There are more examples in the field of pottery, where some modern artists have successfully revitalized the field by reconstructing the techniques created hundreds of years ago, but that is a rare case.
To put it mildly, you wouldn't believe the low level of music that is on the tube here in Japan! I personally do not like or approve of the country at all, but we all admit that the South Korean music and dance industry is miles above what you see in Japan. That list goes on and on, so I am having trouble understanding what your daughter has seen that makes her in love with Japan. There are exception of course, check out "Onihey hankacho" on Google. It is a TV series about the leader of a police group in the Edo era in Tokyo. Some of the best actors and actresses appeared in the series, and the stories were written by a famous author, Ikenami Shotaro. Now that is Japanese culture.
ONIHEI
Head of the Arson Theft Control, Heizo Hasegawa, `Heizo the Oni,' does not tolerate thieves and is feared by all, even the deadliest of criminals.
www.google.com
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Thank you again for your help and for all your advices to my daughter. We're Europeans and speak at least 3 languages fluently (each one of us) so studying a language is not a problem. She started to learn Japanese on her own (hiragana). She interrupted for a while because of the demands of her school, but soon as she will have some time to dedicate to her own interests, I'm pretty sure she will surely will get back to it.While I would be very willing to install RAM in your MBP while you are in Japan, now is certainly not the time to visit this country. The pandemic has hit Japan very hard, and the daily news programs, all channels, have degenerated into counts of new cases per Prefecture. The situation is getting a little better, but "after" the pandemic would be much more prudent. As for your daughter's "crush" on Japan, what can I say? It is normal and healthy for young people to dream, but in this case what is she enamored with. In so many cases, the Japanese have turned away from their own culture, and incorporated the dregs of the western world. There are some high points left, like the textile industry - see wiki for the Nishijin Ori 'weaving) for example. There are more examples in the field of pottery, where some modern artists have successfully revitalized the field by reconstructing the techniques created hundreds of years ago, but that is a rare case.
To put it mildly, you wouldn't believe the low level of music that is on the tube here in Japan! I personally do not like or approve of the country at all, but we all admit that the South Korean music and dance industry is miles above what you see in Japan. That list goes on and on, so I am having trouble understanding what your daughter has seen that makes her in love with Japan. There are exception of course, check out "Onihey hankacho" on Google. It is a TV series about the leader of a police group in the Edo era in Tokyo. Some of the best actors and actresses appeared in the series, and the stories were written by a famous author, Ikenami Shotaro. Now that is Japanese culture.
The best advice I can give your daughter is, in order to really understand Japan, you must learn the language. Start by learning hiragana and katakana, then the Kanji, the Japanese characters based on Chinese. That should keep her busy for more than a few years! I highly recommend a good school and a course designed to teach foreigners. Most Americans will quit any plan or project that takes more than 2 years to produce results. In Asia, the concept of an "apprentice" is closer, where dedicating one's life to a study or other path is normal. The concepts of time and the effort given are different. Have you heard that short story about a man walking in China who noticed an old man sitting outside his house along the road working on something set out before him. Coming closer, the traveler saw that the old man was shaving a long piece of thick steel about the size of his thumb on a polishing stone usually used to sharpen knives, a very fine grade, which seemed pointless. So he asked the old man what he was doing. The old man looked up and said, making a needle of course!
ONIHEI
Head of the Arson Theft Control, Heizo Hasegawa, `Heizo the Oni,' does not tolerate thieves and is feared by all, even the deadliest of criminals.www.google.com
Yes, the pandemics hit really hard also here in Europe. Hopefully it will started to "fade away" soon.
I apologize to the OP if talking about Japan was a bit OT. I didn't mean to "kidnap" the thread.
davidlv feel free to contact me privately to continue the topic about Japan ( I would love to discuss about it, I really do). I also find Japan fascinating. My husband has worked many years (here in Europe) on a Japanese company, so we have a little knowledge about Japanese culture.
Wish you (and everyone else in the topic) a good day, and again, OP, please, forgive me for starting to go OT.
Thanks to everyone for their reply – very insightful!
At this point it seems like the best thing to do will be to wait for Big Sur 11.6.6 to be released and stay up to date on security patches as they are released. Perhaps, when I have zero tech issues to manage (which is not now – I need to migrate my email from an Exchange Server to Google Workspaces for multiple family members), I can consider digging in and using OpenCore for a Monterey install. It will be interesting to see if the 2013 and 2014 model will support (with OC and not many challenges) the new version of MacOS being released this fall.
At this point it seems like the best thing to do will be to wait for Big Sur 11.6.6 to be released and stay up to date on security patches as they are released. Perhaps, when I have zero tech issues to manage (which is not now – I need to migrate my email from an Exchange Server to Google Workspaces for multiple family members), I can consider digging in and using OpenCore for a Monterey install. It will be interesting to see if the 2013 and 2014 model will support (with OC and not many challenges) the new version of MacOS being released this fall.
Just recently updated my Daughters MacBook Pro late model 2013 to Big Sur and had nothing but problems. Her computer was sluggish and ran very slow. Ended up reinstalling the original OS and her 9 year old MBP 13" is running like it's brand new.
Too bad. We are running Big Sur on 15” from late 2013 and mid 2014 with no issues whatsoever. EXCEPT for nag screen notifications to upgrade to Monterey which is not officially supported.
Some times Apple is soooo lame.