Update to Mojave or not?

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Good morning one and all, Please bear in mind that in reality my computer is basically an expensive toy and not a Workhorse; that said I am not a gamer and never will be. Now I have read about Mojave, the pro's and the con's but do not seem to be able to reach a conclusion - do I or don't I upgrade? It seems that if I do - then I am doing it just because it is there for the asking. On the other hand will I miss out on some blindingly quick bit of software if I decide not to upgrade? Lots of reviews seem to praise it as the best upgrade Apple has done in quite a few years, there has been good ones as well as the not such good ones. This appears to be a little out of the ordinary and rates quite high as far as workability goes or am I being optimistic?


Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.
 

IWT


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Keith, welcome again.

I am not being patronising when I say I think I "know you" having followed your many posts with interest.:)O:)

If I were you, I'd wait until there is at least a one point update to macOS Mojave. What I mean is the current version of Mojave is 10.14.0. I'd wait till updates got to 10.14.1 or even 10.14.2. This won't take long. 10.14.1 is already out for Beta testing.

By Christmas, it and possibly even .2 may be out. Then I'd go for it. That's what I'm doing.

By most accounts, Mojave has interesting innovations. The most talked-about is Dark Mode; but if you don't like it - and quite a few don't - then we are talking about important but, arguably, less interesting innovations.

This Apple site gives a good graphic and video account of the changes; just in case you missed it. https://www.apple.com/uk/macos/mojave/?cid=CDM-EU-48131&cp=em-P0018906-407354&sr=em

Remember, Keith, this is my personal view. Others may advise differently.

Ian
 
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Keith, the single best reason for upgrading to Mojave is to stay current with what Apple is planning. Eventually Apple abandons old versions of the operating system to concentrate support on the newer. It's ok to be one or two versions behind, but if you get much further behind you are in danger of being left without support (or updates) from Apple, and if you use third party software, they usually stop supporting old versions when Apple does. The software will still run, but you don't get bug fixes or security updates for abandoned software. But for now, Sierra should be supported. El Capitan is getting really long in the tooth and is near abandonment. Maybe at least move the El Cap machine to High Sierra, if it supports it and if you can find the installer for HS.

All that said, my personal experience is that Mojave seems to be quicker than High Sierra was. I haven't had any problems with it and the installation went fairly smoothly. Your iMac should support it pretty well, if you do decide to go to it.

If you wait, then when the replacement for Mojave comes along, I would be much more strong in the recommendation to make the move then. And definitely on the El Capitan machine.
 

Raz0rEdge

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Bottom line, if you are running the version of the OS previous to the currently released one with all of its updates, then you should be in no rush to upgrade unless you feel like you want to do it. Every person (based on their experiences) has their own technique for when to upgrade. Some do it on day one, some do it a couple of weeks later to see if any point releases show up to fix launch day issues. Others, will wait for about 6 months and a couple of points releases to know the bulk of the issues have been identified.

No software is going to obsolete the previous version of of the OS once a new one comes out. App developers traditionally keep the minimum to be about 3-4 releases. So right now most developers suggest 10.11 El Cap as the lowest minimum for the OS.

Next, you should be able to visit the Mojave site to see what features come along with it and see if that's something you would like to have access to now or later and the answer to that will depend on when you upgrade.

Lastly, you should absolutely upgrade before the next version of the OS is released.
 
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Just because you download Mojave, does not mean you "have to" install Mojave. You can "Get" Mojave, and just leave it in your Applications folder, until you're ready for it, or not. You could even decide to install it to an external drive, if you want to play with it, but not install it on your everyday toy. Then boot to it when you want something different to play with.
 
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Ian, Ashwin, Jake and Bob, Many thanks for your interest and comments on Mojave. Being slightly big headed they all seem to echo my sentiments except for Bob's comment regarding downloading but not installing particularly on an external drive. Downloading and not installing I understand (I think); but putting it on an external drive and experimenting with it is a step and a half too far! Sounds good, but beyond my comprehension! Remember I am NOT computer literate, I just like to play with them and find out just how ignorant I am, I often foul things up as you all know from previous posts from yours truly. I am ever grateful to this forum and a great number of members, yourselves included!

Perhaps I will do as Ian suggested and leave it until closer to Christmas, that way will have a new toy to play with over the festivities, How daft can I get I ask myself???

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.
 
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Just go for it Keith.

Mojave is fast with a great UI. Much better than Sierra or HS, and if you use SSDs to backup via cloning they simply fly under APFS.
 
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Thank you Harry and good morning, nothing as advanced as SSD's this way, just a bog standard 21 inch iMac purchased last year. I will upgrade to Mojave but in a month or two and see how things go, thank you very much for the interest and the reply - greatly appreciated.

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.
 
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This appears to be a little out of the ordinary and rates quite high as far as workability goes...

Some thoughts:

1. You won't likely be missing out on any "must-have" features if you don't upgrade your OS for one, two, or even three major versions of the Mac OS. I used to recommend that nearly everyone upgrade to the latest OS once it got to the point-two version and all the bugs were worked out. Both to have the latest security features and to be able to run all the latest technology and applications. But now I realize that many folks are too scared/paranoid about endeavoring upon such a task. It is extremely rare that you will miss out on anything critical by not upgrading. Upgrading is nice, but you usually don't HAVE to do it. And I can't remember a time when a previous OS version was one that folks wanted to badly leave behind.

2. If you are going to upgrade, you really should have a complete backup of all of your data FIRST. It's rare, but it's not unheard of that something can go sideways during a major OS upgrade. An upgrade can stress your old hard drive enough to make it decide that it's reached the end of its life. Software incompatibilities can bring your computer to its knees. Once again, it's rare, but it happens. Besides, you should have a complete backup that you maintain anyways, if you like your data. A complete up-to-date backup, especially a clone backup, will allow you to quickly get right back to where you started if things go sideways during an upgrade. Heck, even if your Mac just ups and dies, having a backup allows you to continue like nothing happened with a different Mac.

3. There is no question in my mind that doing a clean install of a major new version of the OS is a much better idea than doing the easier install-in-place upgrade. A clean install usually results in a Mac that's noticeably faster, and it precludes the possibility of there being stay-resident software left behind from the old OS version that will cause a software conflict with a resulting stability or performance hit. A clean install is a much more involved process that takes longer, but it doesn't have to be onerous. I believe that I've posted instructions to Mac-Forums previously on how to do a clean install the easy way, but if there is a demand I'd be happy to post such instructions again. If you are going to spend half an hour to 45 minutes upgrading your OS, why not spend a little extra time to ensure a much more satisfactory result?

4. Keep in mind that the first few days after doing a major OS upgrade that your Mac will be running unusually slowly. This is not because the new OS is slow. It's because the new installation of the Mac OS is doing things in the background like indexing the hard drive and caching things. What you should do is set your Mac not to go to sleep, and allow it to run for two or three days 24/7. Once all the background chores are complete, your Mac should fly.

5. BEFORE you upgrade to a major new version of the Mac OS, you should check to see if any of your mission critical applications will need to either be updated or replaced to run with the new OS. If they aren't compatible, and there is no update yet, or no satisfactory replacement, you should wait to upgrade. There is a nice, free, publicly sourced compatibility database your can check with here:
https://roaringapps.com/apps?platform=osx

6. Likewise, if you have important peripherals that require Macintosh drivers, such as printers and scanners, you should check the manufacturer Web site to see if your model of peripheral needs an updated driver for the new OS, and if so, if the updated drivers are available for download yet. If they aren't...you should wait to upgrade until they are.
 
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Hello Randy B. Singer, I thank you for your in depth reply but sorry it is just a tad outside my computer comprehension. Not computer literate by a long long way but I see a **** of a lot of good sense in there. Will re-read again and again to try to make it all convince myself one way or another. I do pick up on the fact that an update is not essential to the smooth running of the computer except perhaps for a security upgrade. Thank you for your time, I really do appreciate it.

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.
 
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Time to jump off.....

My two pennyworth: There possibly are reasons for moving to an updated OS, but there are other reasons (equally valid) for not doing so. I have in the past, followed convention and upgraded the OS, then had to (at cost!) upgrade certain essential software- or find that is legacy stuff or discontinued.

Approximately 12 months later - we do it all again.....

For me, I'm jumping off the merry-go-round. Hoping for a safe landing...

Mitch
 
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My two pennyworth: There possibly are reasons for moving to an updated OS, but there are other reasons (equally valid) for not doing so. I have in the past, followed convention and upgraded the OS, then had to (at cost!) upgrade certain essential software- or find that is legacy stuff or discontinued.

Approximately 12 months later - we do it all again.....

For me, I'm jumping off the merry-go-round. Hoping for a safe landing...

Mitch


+1!!! Agreed.

Welcome to the club Mitch, and I have been doing just that for years now and one of the main reasons I'm usually using Mavericks 10.9.5 with my 2011 27" iMac.

PS: just thought I would mention I can't remember feeling any large bumps on landing. And I don't really remember any small ones either.






- Patrick
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Hello Randy B. Singer, I thank you for your in depth reply but sorry it is just a tad outside my computer comprehension.

Feel free to ask questions about anything and everything that you don't understand. That's why we are here.
 

IWT


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Very interesting read, Harry. I don't claim to understand all of the science/technology; but the conclusions seem sound. Thank you for your research in finding this.

Ian
 
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Good morning harryb2448 and every one else, I have read the article you high lighted in red and thank you very much indeed. Conflicting evidence has now entered the field, so I am now back to square one - "do I or don't I?" I value my iMac as it was a present from my wonderful family (who else gets presents of that magnitude?) I have not got any desire to "muck it up" simply by updating to Mojave; do not have any solid state drives this way. In fact almost pure basics on the computer front, (still easily get out of my depth though) so I feel High Sierra is as far as I need to go. Cannot justify more expense this way, for how I use my computer I am over stocked by a mile and a half; in fact my Apple Mini is still in stock this way; as I stated earlier my computer is simply a very expensive toy. SSD's are out of my price range and my iMac is not for updating to SSD, cannot afford it anyway!

Thank you all for your interest and input, Very much appreciated this way!

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.
 
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I am over stocked by a mile and a half; in fact my Apple Mini is still in stock this way;…


Wow, you seem to have no shortage of Macs when you add the Apple mini to your posted list: 21inch iMac 2017, MacBook Pro 13 inch, and iPad Air2.


I'd suggest, if you don't need any of the new macOS Mohave features, to just stay where you are, but if you really want to give it a try, you could set up a separate partition on one of your Macs and give it a try, then you would still have your older partitioned OS X to use that you know works well and everything is compatible.





- Patrick
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but if you really want to give it a try, you could set up a separate partition on one of your Macs and give it a try, then you would still have your older partitioned OS X to use that you know works well and everything is compatible.





- Patrick
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I suggested to use an external drive the other day.
 
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I suggested to use an external drive the other day.


And that would probably be a better suggestion, especially considering the almost plethora of Macs the OP has. ;-)





- Patrick
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