Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > comp.sys.mac.system > #72404

Re: JR: My walled in garden just shrunk!

Show all headers | View raw

On 2015-03-24 20:18, David Empson wrote:
> Alan Browne <alan.browne@freelunchvideotron.ca> wrote:
>
>> On 2015-03-24 16:28, sctvguy1 wrote:
>>> Due to last week's family crisis(my 85yr old Mother fell, had to have hip
>>> surgery, and is going into a 20 day rehab facility, then hopefully, back
>>> to her Alzheimer's facility), my iMac has shrunk.
>>> I was going to get a refurbed Apple iMac 21.5-inch 3.06GHz Core i3 (Mid
>>> 2010) MC508LL/A for $650 from Mac of All Trades.
>>> Now, with all the recent expenses, I am having to downgrade to a Apple
>>> iMac 20-inch 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo (Early 2009) MB417LL/A for $399.
>>> Since this machine will be basically an iTunes machine to replace my old
>>> 2002 iMac G4, this will have to do!
>>> I know, JR, you said to stay away from the "Core 2 Duo", but financially,
>>> it is my only option. I read good reviews about this model from several
>>> Mac sites and looked up all the specs on everymac.com.
>>> I will still be in that walled in garden with Sarah Lane and JR, but now
>>> might not have enough room for Jason Snell, Andy Ihnatko and others!
>>> Forgive me, JR!
>>
>> There is nothing wrong with the Core 2 Duo except that it isn't the
>> latest intel processor .. which of course are faster/better/more.
>>
>> My SO's MBA has a Core 2 Duo as did my prior iMac.  Both are doing fine
>> with Mavericks.  Haven't updated my SO's MBA to Yosemite yet but it
>> should be okay.
>
> At this stage, my main concerns with a Core 2 Duo would be age related:
>
> 1. Older computers are more likely to have component failures due to
> aging, particularly hard drives, capacitors and LCD panels.
>
> 2. How long will Apple keep supporting Macs with Core 2 Duo processors
> in future OS X versions?
>
> There aren't any obvious technical reasons to drop support for the Core
> 2 Duo, but the other components in the computer are another matter: at
> some point Apple will want to reduce the number of older models for
> which they need to maintain support and testing for components like
> chipsets and GPUs only used in older Macs. This would also allow the
> minimum bar to be raised on GPU capabilities.
>
> Apple doesn't offer hardware support anywhere in the world for Macs
> discontinued more than seven years earlier, so software support beyond
> that point is mostly down to whether it shares enough in common with
> later models.
>
> When there is a cutoff, support is typically dropped for models
> discontinued between four and seven years earlier, though there have
> been several cases in the last few years where some models had as little
> as three years of being able to run the latest OS X version (last
> PowerMac G5). The best case ever was the PowerMac G3 (Blue & White)
> which could run the latest OS X version for just over eight years after
> being discontinued.
>
> We've just passed the point where the oldest Mac still supported by
> Yosemite was discontinued seven years ago (Mid/Late 2007 MacBook Pro,
> discontinued February 2008). When the next OS X version is released
> (probably October), the Early 2008 MacBook Pro (which has the same GPU)
> will have also reached the seven year mark, as will the Mid 2007 iMac.
> If OS X 10.11 drops support for those models, where does it make sense
> for Apple to draw the line?
>
> The last Mac with a Core 2 Duo processor was discontinued in August
> 2011, and a worst case cutoff of four years is in the right ballpark.
>
> After any such cutoff, if the Mac is upgraded to the last version of OS
> X which supports the model, it will get about two more years of Security
> and Safari updates, and a further year of iTunes updates.
>
> Therefore in the worst possible case, assuming consistent release and
> cutoff patterns, a Core 2 Duo Mac upgraded to Yosemite would be able to
> run iTunes versions released up to September 2018. If the cutoff comes
> in a later OS X version, add another year or two.
>
> The iTunes version is significant if there are iOS devices involved,
> since you need an iTunes update to support a new major version of iOS.
> Snow Leopard has had its final version of iTunes (11.4) and won't
> support devices running iOS 9 later this year.

Thanks David.

In theory there should be no tie between how old a Mac is and what iOS 
it can update.  In theory, it should just be "cargo" that any computer 
could deliver to the iPhone for updating as long as the computer has a 
USB port and could run an appropriate loader program (not necessarily 
iTunes).  In theory.

Back to comp.sys.mac.system | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

JR: My walled in garden just shrunk! sctvguy1 <sctvguy1@invalid.net> - 2015-03-24 20:28 +0000
  Re: JR: My walled in garden just shrunk! Alan Browne <alan.browne@freelunchvideotron.ca> - 2015-03-24 19:10 -0400
    Re: JR: My walled in garden just shrunk! Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> - 2015-03-24 23:26 +0000
      Re: JR: My walled in garden just shrunk! Alan Browne <alan.browne@freelunchvideotron.ca> - 2015-03-24 19:38 -0400
    Re: JR: My walled in garden just shrunk! dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson) - 2015-03-25 13:18 +1300
      Re: JR: My walled in garden just shrunk! Alan Browne <alan.browne@freelunchvideotron.ca> - 2015-03-30 16:08 -0400
        Re: JR: My walled in garden just shrunk! Lewis <g.kreme@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> - 2015-03-30 21:09 +0000
        Re: JR: My walled in garden just shrunk! dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson) - 2015-03-31 11:43 +1300

csiph-web