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Posted By: jaybass changing OS on new imac - 08/01/13 01:53 PM
OS 10.6.8 8Gb ram I am thinking of buying a new imac but I don't want mountain lion. Could I erase the new imac and install snow leopard?
If possible, what advantages would I lose or anything else of note?
jaybass
Posted By: jchuzi Re: changing OS on new imac - 08/01/13 02:26 PM
It won't be possible. Generally, you can't run any OS that predates the computer. SL is two OSs back from ML so you don't have a prayer.
Posted By: Ira L Re: changing OS on new imac - 08/01/13 03:15 PM
Perhaps if you share your reasons for living with SL (must have software?) and not moving to Mountain Lion, others could provide options and/or reassurances.

Forget the operating systems for the moment, the new hardware is really noticeably better and worth it.
Posted By: jaybass Re: changing OS on new imac - 08/01/13 03:48 PM
jon,
If I am not mistaken, not too long ago you were praising the stability of SL which I concur. However if what you say is true, then I'll save my money. Thanks jon.
jaybass
Posted By: jaybass Re: changing OS on new imac - 08/01/13 03:51 PM
Ira,
I don't know if what I have is incompatible with MT i.e. TT6, virus barrier and toast 7. I wouldn't want to spend money upgrading at my age.
jaybass
Posted By: jchuzi Re: changing OS on new imac - 08/01/13 05:52 PM
Originally Posted By: jaybass
jon,
If I am not mistaken, not too long ago you were praising the stability of SL which I concur. However if what you say is true, then I'll save my money. Thanks jon.
jaybass
SL has been very good to me. I would keep it indefinitely except that, soon, Apple will stop supporting it and my computer will eventually go to spend eternity with His Steveness (hopefully not in the near future). So, like it or not, I'll have to upgrade sometime.
Posted By: jaybass Re: changing OS on new imac - 08/01/13 05:57 PM
jon,
Duly noted...I may have second thoughts! jaybass
Posted By: artie505 Re: changing OS on new imac - 08/01/13 07:38 PM
In a different vein from Jon, a couple of months ago I purchased a factory-refurbed April 2010 MacBook Pro i7 that runs Snow Leopard...as much OS as I need, but still has a bunch of OSs left to run should my world change. (Small Dog still has some lesser MBPs available.)

And as for Apple's discontinuing support for Snowy, I wonder... A recent report from a Website that tracks the OS versions of visitors showed Mounty having passed Lion at ~ 32% v 27% and Lion having fallen behind Snowy at ~ 29% v 27%, so it looks like Snowy isn't going anywhere any time soon.

On the other hand, though, it should be pretty easy for you to go through your apps and see which will need upgrading if you go past Snowy and how much it will cost.

Edit: I forgot to mention that my refurb came with AppleCare and the option to extend it, so I didn't buy a pig-in-a-poke.
Posted By: jaybass Re: changing OS on new imac - 08/01/13 07:57 PM
artie, Very interesting. I wonder if apple have made any comments regarding the popularity of SL. Perhaps a new SL+ would attract some mac users.
jaybass
Posted By: jchuzi Re: changing OS on new imac - 08/01/13 08:07 PM
Obviously, I can't predict when or if Apple will discontinue support for Snowy but my best guess is that it will happen as soon as Mavericks is released. Another wrinkle is that future updates to third-party apps may not work with Snowy. Ah, there's nothing like planned obsolescence... mad
Posted By: artie505 Re: changing OS on new imac - 08/01/13 09:11 PM
Originally Posted By: jchuzi
Obviously, I can't predict when or if Apple will discontinue support for Snowy but my best guess is that it will happen as soon as Mavericks is released. Another wrinkle is that future updates to third-party apps may not work with Snowy. Ah, there's nothing like planned obsolescence... mad

And I, obviously, can't make any predictions either, but it looks like Mavericks's hardware requirements are the same as Mounty's, and that may suggest something about Snowy's immediate future.

You're of course correct about future app updates/grades, but personally, running Snowy has not (Yet!) left me unable to run a single app version I'd prefer, even care, to run.

Support for iOS upgrades is critical, though, and it remains to be seen how long that will remain even if Apple continues to release Snowy security updates.
Posted By: tacit Re: changing OS on new imac - 08/01/13 09:18 PM
The last iMac that will support Snow Leopard is the iMac Mid-2011 (iMac12,1). I have heard that the core i7 version won't, but I don't know if that's true; the core i5 version definitely does.

I bought a refurbished iMac of that model specifically so that I could continue to run Snowy on it, since I develop software and need to be able to test and debug in that OS. (I have 10.6, 10.7, 10.8, and the developer preview of 10.9 on this machine, on various external hard drives.)

You can still find these iMacs on places like Smalldog and other used.refurbished Mac sellers.
Posted By: artie505 Re: changing OS on new imac - 08/01/13 09:30 PM
Originally Posted By: tacit
The last iMac that will support Snow Leopard is the iMac Mid-2011 (iMac12,1). I have heard that the core i7 version won't, but I don't know if that's true; the core i5 version definitely does.

That's confusing... According to MacTracker, both the Mid 2011 i5 and i7 iMacs shipped with Snowy. confused
Posted By: jchuzi Re: changing OS on new imac - 08/01/13 11:00 PM
Originally Posted By: tacit
I have heard that the core i7 version won't, but I don't know if that's true;
Just a few days ago, I upgraded a friend's iMac i7.1 (20 inch Mid 2007) from 10.5 to 10.6. It originally came with 10.4. According to MacTracker, the i7.1's last year was Mid 2007.
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