School me on what's happened since 10.6

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For the last ~7 years I've used a black Macbook with 10.6, and just today got a mid 2013 Macbook Air with 10.9.4. I haven't really followed OSX after I decided I didn't want 10.7 since 10.6 would be faster. At the time I followed Apple pretty closely. Is 10.9 as fast as 10.6? I assume that my MBA's 1.3 i5 is much faster than the MB's 2.4 C2D.

After getting the computer I immediately reinstalled 10.9 from the app store, why didn't all my files get erased? I expected a clean install. I don't trust a computer that retains data after an OS installation. On that note, is 10.9 still secure? Can I bootcamp Windows 7/XP?

What I really want to know is what the major changes since 10.6 are. I really enjoyed the optimization that was done in 10.6, has much on the technical side of OSX happened? I'm good with computers and understand the technology, I just haven't kept up on OSX.
 
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pigoo3

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Is 10.9 as fast as 10.6?

Not really super important...since the oldest OS a Mid-2013 MacBook Air can run is 10.8.4. Suffice it to say that...there are older Apple computer models that can run 10.6, 10.7, 10.8, 10.9...and soon 10.10...without too much trouble.:)

I assume that my MBA's 1.3 i5 is much faster than the MB's 2.4 C2D.

That would be a correct assumption.:)

After getting the computer I immediately reinstalled 10.9 from the app store, why didn't all my files get erased?

As with all versions of Mac OS X (since OS 10.0 was released almost 14 years ago)...when you launch the installer...by default...the new OS version simply replaces the old OS version (leaving all other files & apps that are installed untouched).

It would be a pretty unfriendly installer if it automatically erased everything...thus the owner loses all their apps, files, photos, movies, music, etc.

If you wanted everything erased...then you need to boot the computer from the recovery partition (press command + r on reboot)...or boot the computer from a bootable external HD or bootable USB stick.

On that note, is 10.9 still secure?

Why wouldn't it be...it's the newest Mac OS version with the newest security support.;)

What I really want to know is what the major changes since 10.6 are.

I think that you need to explore this yourself. You seem to know 10.6 pretty well...so compare & contrast.:) It's kind of like saying..."I've been asleep for the past 100 years...bring me up to speed on everything that's happened since 1914!";)

- Nick

p.s. Probably three BIG differences from 10.6 to 10.9 are:

1. After 10.6 there are no more physical disks (downloadable OS versions).
2. With OS 10.7 & later you have a "Recovery Partition" on the HD (accessed as I mentioned above).
3. If a brand new HD or SSD were installed (which would have no recovery partition on it)...you have what is called "Internet Recovery".

If these terms are new to you...and you want more info on them...get Googling!;)
 
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Now that I recall, upgrading from 10.5 to 10.6 caused no data loss either. I only asked about security because I know that there were some threats to OSX's total security a few years ago, haven't kept up though. I'm not so much interested in the obvious changes such as inertia/natural scrolling and the maps app so much as I am in the invisible, such as support for a modern file system. At this point three's been so much I won't know everything that's happened but I'm interested in what sticks out to people, and the poorly publicized that forum users may know of.
 

pigoo3

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As far as security (as I mentioned)...OS 10.9 is the newest OS version...so it should have the best security.

And as I mentioned...some of the biggest changes have been:

- disc based OS installs vs. download installers
- 10.9 is free
- storage devices have a recovery partition when an OS is first installed on them...which is needed since we no longer have discs to boot the computer from.

A lot of the other stuff are things that can be explored/discovered as you go.

It might also be a smart idea to do some Google searches for OS reviews:

- 10.6 vs. 10.7
- 10.7 vs. 10.8
- 10.8 vs. 10.9

If you cover this...then you will know the differences between 10.6 to 10.9.:)

- Nick
 
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chas_m

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Or you can just look on Apples web page for 10.9. Plenty of details on every new and major feature.
 
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honestly not much difference in 10.8 to 10.9 except in 10.9 we got ibooks and maps and a new contact and email system and color organization and some speed improvements not a lot
 
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chas_m

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Most of Apple's changes since 10.7 have been incremental in nature (up until 10.10). But if you missed out on things since 10.6, there's a lot that has changed.
 

Slydude

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One of the big changes people forget about is losing the ability to run Power PC software. Programs that are either Intel or Universal Binary should be OK (perhaps some minor updates needed). PowerPc apps no longer run beyond 10.6.
 

pigoo3

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One of the big changes people forget about is losing the ability to run Power PC software. Programs that are either Intel or Universal Binary should be OK (perhaps some minor updates needed). PowerPc apps no longer run beyond 10.6.

That's a good one!:)

- Nick
 

IWT


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And then there's iCloud. Only available from 10.7 onwards if you wish to sync almost anything across different Apple devices.

Ian
 

vansmith

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And then there's iCloud. Only available from 10.7 onwards if you wish to sync almost anything across different Apple devices.

Ian
This is not entirely true - there are multiple services that will let you sync content across devices. For example, Google has services that are equivalent to those offered by Apple and they work just about everywhere. If you're willing to give up a few things (like iWork integration), you can actually use various iCloud sync services anywhere. For example, calendar sync is provided by CalDAV and contact sync is provided by CardDAV, both of which are widely supported across platforms.
 

IWT


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Point well made and taken, vansmith. I was referring solely to Snow Leopard versus subsequent OS X upgrades.

Ian
 

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