How many people have gone 'off the grid' in terms of ignoring new osx versions?

[CrickettGrrrl]

To OP, I wish you'd added a poll to this thread.

Any rate, I'm using Mavericks for my main HDD partition, Snow Leopard on the other half for an older version of Adobe Creative Suite, although I download & create installers of all the new OS's. I do have El Capitan on a 128GB USB stick & have downloaded Sierra. Not particularly impressed with either as they mess up some things with various graphics software & my tablet, plus, the flat UI fad/hiding most of the tools/buttons super irritates me. Mac OS has become so much less overtly functional. I hate having to take the extra bit of time to hunt for things.

 

[Draeconis]

Perhaps you will be able to explain why 10.6.8 and above will not run on the 32bit Atom N280 then?

What I said can still be correct even if what you say is true

I have no idea I'm afraid; there are plenty of 32-bit Macs running 10.6.8; it was the last many early Intel Macs could run. I'd surmise 10.6.8 and your hackintosh method conflict in some way, but I couldn't be sure.

 

[vexorg]

I'm sort of the opposite...I let everybody else beta test the new OS x (no pun intended) and hang on to the x-1 version. When they release the x+1 version, then I'll download & use the x version.

The problem with that is the latest are so unstable that you miss the entire OS if not careful. I've waited for el capitan to get some more general positive reviews and now it's too late!. I only updated to Yosemite at 10.10.5 due to poor performance reviews on earlier.

 

[entropi]

My Macs run Tiger, Leopard, Mavericks and the newest one runs El Capitan. I got no plans to run Sierra - I don't want to test if my audio interface will work or not, I know it's not recommended for my midi keyboard or scanner and I don't want to run iOS 10 on my phones or OS3 on my watch to make the whole ecosystem work. It works fine now.

 

[ITguy2016]

The problem with that is the latest are so unstable that you miss the entire OS if not careful. I've waited for el capitan to get some more general positive reviews and now it's too late!. I only updated to Yosemite at 10.10.5 due to poor performance reviews on earlier.

I usually download the latest OS just to have it in the event I want to use it. No need to install...just download and archive it somewhere.

 

[blesscheese]

The problem with that is the latest are so unstable that you miss the entire OS if not careful. I've waited for el capitan to get some more general positive reviews and now it's too late!. I only updated to Yosemite at 10.10.5 due to poor performance reviews on earlier.

If the x version is unstable, I'll keep using x-1 until x+1 or x+2 is stable enough.

I'm still on 10.9.5. Nothing in 10.10 or 10.11 impressed me. I have 10.12, sorry, "macOS" up and ready to go on my rig on a fresh SSD and I'm just waiting for an update or two to move over to it.

 

[vexorg]

I usually download the latest OS just to have it in the event I want to use it. No need to install...just download and archive it somewhere.

How do you download sierra and not install it?

 

[pastrychef]

Download from App Store, then when the installer starts, just quit.

 

[monkeybagel]

I am surprised how many users avoid upgrading. I wish Apple would publish an official OS Lifecycle document so it would be known if they are still actively developing security updates for that OS.

As easy as it is to partition a hard disk in OS X, I am surprised to read few people mention they test the current version on their machine in a secondary partition. I either run the current version, or wait a few weeks if the current version breaks an application I depend on. With that said, all of my Macintoshes run 10.12.

I of course make a full backup before upgrading in the event I must revert, but needing to revert has happened very infrequent.

I prefer Safari for a web browser, and want to insure I get the latest security updates for it, and of course, the kernel.

I don't really see the necessity of annual updates either. We have Google to thank for that. Microsoft is hoping everyone gets on the *-as-a-Service train like Adobe so they can continue to milk their customers if the customer wants to continue using the product. Microsoft has not officially announced any specifics, but I would not be afraid to bet they have either completed or almost completed their strategy for marketing and converting people to a subscription model.

If the aforementioned companies would improve their products and add features their customers actually want, they would find out they do not subscription model as users would be eager to pay for the current version or purchase Software Assurance on their business licenses.

That is one of the bad things the Internet has done, which is to allow companies to release shoddy software out of the gate knowing they can push out updates online. RTM quality has suffered as a result.

 

[Philocetes]

@monkeybagel, I don't blame the internet. Bill Gates is one of the richest men in the world because he sold vaporware before anybody else did. Back in the olden days of 8 bit intel chips, first to market with bugs (or first to market with announcement) prevailed over later to market with solid product.

Personally, I will avoid a subscription model if humanly possible--I feel like I should own the software permanently if I paid for it. We sort of have a subscription model now with windows because each new release promises to fix the problems in the current release, but it doesn't. So I may spend money as if there was a subscription model but psychologically, it doesn't feel that way. For instance, on the PC side, I tend to upgrade my hardware because its fun (I build my own) where strictly speaking, the systems I replaced were actually meeting my needs.

However, if adobe adopted a subscription model that metered actual use, I would go for that, as I use their stuff very rarely.

 

[fuchsdh]

I'm waiting for a .1 release of Sierra, and then I'll upgrade. My main obstacles to upgrading is a) as a guy with an older Mac a lot of the newer cool stuff I can't use, and b) my Adobe software is already trash that I loathe to upgrade for fear of what will happen, a new OS will only compound the problem, especially since it doesn't seem like Adobe does sufficient testing on macOS betas. Invariably show-stopping bugs with the latest 10.x version hit and Adobe's only advice is "don't upgrade until we spend two months pushing out a fix."

The only other consideration is it seems developers have decided to use Apple's software update strategy to purposefully break compatibility on old version to force you to buy a new one. My old copy of ScreenFlow doesn't work in El Cap, and the Sparkle updater, rather than allow me to upgrade my copy through free updates to a version that *does* work, demands I buy a whole new version. Thanks, but no thanks. Same thing with Parallels—I frankly don't buy that it costs so much to update the software to a new version that they have to break compatibility every two years.

Meanwhile, Adobe PhotoShop CS3 still works fine on a 10.11 machine.

 

[lowendlinux]

I'm waiting for a .1 release of Sierra, and then I'll upgrade. My main obstacles to upgrading is a) as a guy with an older Mac a lot of the newer cool stuff I can't use, and b) my Adobe software is already trash that I loathe to upgrade for fear of what will happen, a new OS will only compound the problem, especially since it doesn't seem like Adobe does sufficient testing on macOS betas. Invariably show-stopping bugs with the latest 10.x version hit and Adobe's only advice is "don't upgrade until we spend two months pushing out a fix."

The only other consideration is it seems developers have decided to use Apple's software update strategy to purposefully break compatibility on old version to force you to buy a new one. My old copy of ScreenFlow doesn't work in El Cap, and the Sparkle updater, rather than allow me to upgrade my copy through free updates to a version that *does* work, demands I buy a whole new version. Thanks, but no thanks. Same thing with Parallels—I frankly don't buy that it costs so much to update the software to a new version that they have to break compatibility every two years.

Meanwhile, Adobe PhotoShop CS3 still works fine on a 10.11 machine.

Until you print which is exactly why my MP runs 10.6.8. My iPF9100, CS3, and anything greater than 10.7 is a fuster cluck

 

[Philocetes]

For what its worth, this article notes that samples are being sent to high end customers. If apple wants to base a new mac pro on this architecture, they will not be in a position to ship it until these chips start coming out in volume. Does this explain a delay? Impossible to know.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-xeon-skylake-purley-3d-xpoint,32891.html

 

[BornAgainMac]

I have Panther running on an old Powerbook G4 and an iMac G3 running the latest OS 9. It is like going back in time when I use these machines.

My real Macs will always get the latest and greatest though.

 

[ITguy2016]

I don't really see the necessity of annual updates either. We have Google to thank for that. Microsoft is hoping everyone gets on the *-as-a-Service train like Adobe so they can continue to milk their customers if the customer wants to continue using the product. Microsoft has not officially announced any specifics, but I would not be afraid to bet they have either completed or almost completed their strategy for marketing and converting people to a subscription model.

The copy of Windows 10 I have running on all of my PCs does not require a subscription. I obtained it, free of charge (which one can still do despite the deadline having passed, and it will continue to function indefinitely.
[doublepost=1476995252][/doublepost]

@monkeybagel, I don't blame the internet. Bill Gates is one of the richest men in the world because he sold vaporware before anybody else did. Back in the olden days of 8 bit intel chips, first to market with bugs (or first to market with announcement) prevailed over later to market with solid product.

Personally, I will avoid a subscription model if humanly possible--I feel like I should own the software permanently if I paid for it. We sort of have a subscription model now with windows because each new release promises to fix the problems in the current release, but it doesn't. So I may spend money as if there was a subscription model but psychologically, it doesn't feel that way. For instance, on the PC side, I tend to upgrade my hardware because its fun (I build my own) where strictly speaking, the systems I replaced were actually meeting my needs.

However, if adobe adopted a subscription model that metered actual use, I would go for that, as I use their stuff very rarely.

You mean vaporware such as Taligent, Pink, and Copland?

 

[phybron]

Re. OP's original question, I've just split from the whole program. After about 14 years with Macs I'm done. I never imagined Windows would feel like a breath of fresh air, but it does. I can now run the applications I need to, with no flakey WINE or tiresome Boot Camp reboots, and I have a modular computer that I can keep up to date part-by-part as I see fit.

Windows is still a mess, under a fairly polished surface, but I've managed to wrangle it into something that gets out of the way, which is the whole idea of OSX isn't it? I no longer care about Apple's terminal decline in support of desktop computer users, their lack of information on what their strategy is, or the gaping hole in their lineup between Mac Mini and Mac Pro (for anyone that doesn't want a glossy monitor with a laptop soldered inside it).

 

[monkeybagel]

The copy of Windows 10 I have running on all of my PCs does not require a subscription. I obtained it, free of charge (which one can still do despite the deadline having passed, and it will continue to function indefinitely.
[doublepost=1476995252][/doublepost]
You mean vaporware such as Taligent, Pink, and Copland?

The copy you have now should not require a subscription for you to continue using it, so Microsoft will need to get creative in a way to entice users to pay a monthly or annual fee.

They have said on many occasions that Windows 10 is "Windows-as-a-Service" and will be the last version released, and Windows 10 will be serviced automatically through patches delivered online. This is not a sustainable business model for them; they will have to make it profitable somehow.

 

[ITguy2016]

The copy you have now should not require a subscription for you to continue using it, so Microsoft will need to get creative in a way to entice users to pay a monthly or annual fee.

At this time it requires no subscription. It cost me nothing to obtain and right now it costs me nothing to continue using. Should that change I'll re-evaluate the situation.

They have said on many occasions that Windows 10 is "Windows-as-a-Service" and will be the last version released, and Windows 10 will be serviced automatically through patches delivered online. This is not a sustainable business model for them; they will have to make it profitable somehow.

So far this appears to be the case and all without cost to the end user.

 

[jpine]

I had to upgrade regularly because I used my Mac to create iOS apps. Now that I have gladly left that behind, I will take a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach. I won't be leaving El Cap anytime soon.

 

[Philocetes]

I had to upgrade regularly because I used my Mac to create iOS apps. Now that I have gladly left that behind, I will take a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach. I won't be leaving El Cap anytime soon.

That's where I intend to stay as well. I use logic and final cut pro x, so I imagine it won't be too long before they put out updates to those apps that require sierra--so be it, I can sit tight unless something is unexpectedly attractive about an upgrade.

 

[monkeybagel]

At this time it requires no subscription. It cost me nothing to obtain and right now it costs me nothing to continue using. Should that change I'll re-evaluate the situation.


So far this appears to be the case and all without cost to the end user.

I feel it will have to change at some point as they are still primarily a software and services company. They will either bundle in advertisements, collect data for marketing purposes, or need to sell a subscription. The people that have upgraded to Windows 10 during their free upgrade period may have received a better than average arrangement, but one has to wonder what their exit strategy is from providing a "free" OS to all of these users? Perhaps a hard push to Office 365?

 

[tuxon86]

I feel it will have to change at some point as they are still primarily a software and services company. They will either bundle in advertisements, collect data for marketing purposes, or need to sell a subscription. The people that have upgraded to Windows 10 during their free upgrade period may have received a better than average arrangement, but one has to wonder what their exit strategy is from providing a "free" OS to all of these users? Perhaps a hard push to Office 365?

They are also more and more invested in hardware as their last keynote demonstrate.

 

[Macshroomer]

Running 10.10.5 on my 5,1 and 13" rMBP, not a fan of Adobe Cloud so I am happily cruising along with CS6, working scanners, etc. No plans to upgrade either OS or hardware until truly remarkable hardware advances are made.

 

[th0masp]

i had a not so great experience with my first mac and updating that one with newer OS'es as they came out. lots of early teething problems with fresh releases and not much gained in terms of functionality relevant to me to really make the whole process seem worthwhile to me.

since then i've simply stuck with the release that my hardware shipped with. that's currently 10.7 on the MBP and 10.9 on the mini. i know everyone regards 10.7 as a bad release but here it's very reliable and has had it's kinks removed a long time ago. in comparison i do experience more issues requiring workarounds with the often-praised 10.9.

i do download all the newer versions from the app store though so that i can install them should the need arise. AFAIK both my systems do support everything that has come out in the meantime so there'd be no compatibility issues using latest & greatest.