Not impressed with Apple OS X Mavericks

prowla

It won't install on my Mac mini; apparently Apple think my machine is too old to support.

Curiously, Microsoft don't and I could Install Windows 8 on it if I wanted.

The Mac mini is only a media player sat under my TV, so it's not the end of the world.

But I'm not impressed with Apple's decision not to support their computers.

WTFH

How old is your Mac mini? What is the spec of it?

Would you prefer that apple stopped developing new software to run on new, higher performance machines?
Sorry, it doesn't work like that.


So, back to your thread title, how can you be "not impressed" with something you don't use?

prowla

WTFH wrote: »

How old is your Mac mini? What is the spec of it?

Would you prefer that apple stopped developing new software to run on new, higher performance machines?
Sorry, it doesn't work like that.


So, back to your thread title, how can you be "not impressed" with something you don't use?

It's an Intel Core Duo 1.66 GHz with 2 GB memory. Not a fantastic spec, but a perfectly viable machine for most applications.

I would prefer that Apple develop software which runs on existing and new, higher performance machines, as do other developers.

The reason it doesn't work like that is because Apple made a decision, not because it is not possible.

The reason I am not impressed is because it fell at the first hurdle.

WTFH

Can I just check - is that the Mac mini from 2006?

The simple reason why it won't work is because your Mac mini is 32bit architecture and it doesn't support open CL.

Mac minis from 2009 onwards are 64-bit and will run Mavericks.

The most up-to-date version your machine can run is Snow Leopard, after which Apple stopped development of 32-bit OS. It is not, as you stated that your machine is "too old to support", it's that the architecture in your machine is too slow to give the performance expected from modern systems. Apple will still support your machine, they are just not developing software for it any more.

Mr_Toad

prowla wrote: »

It's an Intel Core Duo 1.66 GHz with 2 GB memory. Not a fantastic spec, but a perfectly viable machine for most applications.

I would prefer that Apple develop software which runs on existing and new, higher performance machines, as do other developers.

The reason it doesn't work like that is because Apple made a decision, not because it is not possible.

The reason I am not impressed is because it fell at the first hurdle.

Of course it's possible but look at the grief Windows users can suffer because MS try to be backwards compatible with older hardware.

Part of the Apple ethos is that you only support certain hardware and a couple of generations back then end it. It might be a pain for some people but it's something I wish MS had adopted too.

Is there any reason why you want to upgrade to Mavericks? Does it give you any significant usability that you don't already have?

I know my iMac will drop off the support chart in the future but it doesn't make it useless. My wife has an old Mac that can't run the latest OS and is still on 9.something.

It still does everything she wants/needs, it still boots quickly and is still a terrific machine. She isn't bothered about Snow Leopard, Lion....Mavericks.

When my time comes I shall have to decide to either stick with the last usable OS or buy a new machine and considering how long the memsahib has had hers it turned out to be a sound investment and certainly not expensive when you consider that some people have spent far more upgrading and replacing their PC over the same period of time.

prowla

WTFH wrote: »

Can I just check - is that the Mac mini from 2006?

The simple reason why it won't work is because your Mac mini is 32bit architecture and it doesn't support open CL.

Mac minis from 2009 onwards are 64-bit and will run Mavericks.

The most up-to-date version your machine can run is Snow Leopard, after which Apple stopped development of 32-bit OS. It is not, as you stated that your machine is "too old to support", it's that the architecture in your machine is too slow to give the performance expected from modern systems. Apple will still support your machine, they are just not developing software for it any more.

Aha - you are right.

The computer has a 32-bit processor, and so can't run 64-bit OS.

That make sense; I wish that Apple had just clearly said that.

(It's not speed per-se, but rather the data width question.)

It'll carry on doing its job anyway...