Do I need to update my iMac OS?

[p_rod]

Good morning, everyone!

I have 2 iMacs.....my first foray into Macs is still here and humming along, it is a late 2009 27" and currently running El Capitan, version 10.11.6. I've been told this is the about the latest OS this machine will run but my question is about my other iMac.

It is a mid 2017 iMac, 27", running High Sierra 10.13.6 I use this machine exclusively for photography post processing. Lightroom, Photoshop and a couple of other photo programs and that is it. It NEVER sees the internet either. The only cable going into it is from the wall plug. It sees no email, no iTunes, no surfing and is only connected to the net via WiFi in case a processing program needs an upgrade (once, so far in 2 years). It has 24 gigs of RAM and out of a 1TB HD it still has over 700GB of space available. I keep ALL photos on several external HDs and import them to LR when needed to adjust them..otherwise no photos are on the HD full time. Oh, I do occasionally hook it into the old iMac to transfer pictures over to in order to email them to clients and friends but when the transfer from the new machine to the old machine is complete, I disconnect the cable between the two computers.

Today I turned on the WiFI to see if there are OS upgrades available and there are two upgrades for it. One is for Garage band, a program I never use so I'll bypass that upgrade. The second upgrade reads iTunes device support update, Safari 13.0.3, Security Update 2019-006 10.13.6

So my question is this... even though this is a stand alone machine that never sees the net (well, maybe once a year), should I go ahead and upgrade to the 13.0.3 OS? Is the upgrade going to install programs I will never use? Will it run differently with stuff I do not have now and do not want to have added (like the iPhone updates....always adding crap I don't want and cannot get rid of).

Thanks to all who respond on this topic!

Cheers!

Pat

 

[pigoo3]

...should I go ahead and upgrade to the 13.0.3 OS?

This is not an OS update or upgrade...it's a newer version of Safari. If this computer does not go on the internet...then no worries if Safari isn't the latest & greatest.

- Nick

 

[NSMacGuru]

FWIW, All of my gear is now on Mojave, and likely to stay there for the foreseeable future. There were initial concerns with Mojave causing data loss in some scenarios, but after a few dot-updates, it's pretty rock solid now. And it runs very well on older gear, in my experience. No reason not to upgrade, as it's the last 32-bit compatible OS from Apple. But do hold off on Catalina for awhile...

 

[p_rod]

Nick and NSM:

Thank you for your replies, guys! I really appreciate it.

Cheers!

Pat

 

[MacInWin]

Pat, the one, albeit small, caution in not upgrading is that you don't want to fall too far behind what Apple has out now. And you may want to download the installers for all of the OS versions between HS and Catalina for when HS is deprecated and no longer supported with security updates. Mojave was the last version to support 32-bit applications, so that's another consideration as you drop behind. The biggest challenge to falling far behind is that the catch-up can be much more painful when it does have to happen.

But, as they say, if it ain't broken...

 

[p_rod]

Jake just advised me: "And you may want to download the installers for all of the OS versions between HS and Catalina for when HS is deprecated and no longer supported with security updates."

That is definitely something to consider, Jake. I may have to ask you the best way to download those installers...since I am not what would be considered an expert with these machines. ;-) And should I just upgrade to Mojave whilst the bugs are getting worked out in Catalina?

I do agree that I do not want to fall too far behind...did that with my original machine and it was somewhat of a PITA to get things right again.

Thanks, Jake! It's always good to hear from you!

Cheers!

Pat

 

[MacInWin]

Pat, the installers are still at Apple, but finding them is a bit of an adventure these days. I found the Mojave installer in the App Store by going to Apple.com, clicking on support and typing in the search block "install Mojave." One of the results was "Download macOS Mojave from the App Store" and that article had a link to the installer in the store. At that point I stopped because I know hat if I clicked on the "Get" that it would open Sys Prefs and then refuse to download because it's older than my current Catalina version. But given you are on HS, it should download the installer. It will launch automatically, but just cancel out of the installer and you should find it in your Applications folder.

 

[p_rod]

Excellent advice, Jake!

I really appreciate it!

I've said it before and I'll repeat it here....this forum is one of the best on the net! No drama, no BS... just knowledgeable folks helping out others who have the same machinery but lots (like me) who don't have a clue as how to use them to their fullest!


Cheers!

Pat

 

[jpdemers]

I have a fair number of programs that I rarely if ever run (Numbers and Keynote, for example), but I install updates as they become available nonetheless. This ensures that they'll work with one another, and also that the security remains up to snuff. Fall too far behind, and an upgrade that you do want might require installing intermediate upgrades that you skipped, which you'd then have to track down and run. (Probably not as horrible as bringing an old Windows installation up to par, but still a pain in the neck.)
My recommendation is to stay up-to-date on everything. The only exception would be holding off on Catalina, which will kill off old 32-bit applications and make hash of your iTunes collections. (An issue for me since I have an iMac and a MacBook that I try to keep synced, and the older one can't run Catalina.)