Wow, big thanks for the extensive response. And appreciate reminder of the security issue--which Mac users didn't have prior to the whole intel partnership. At least it seemed Mac code was better written.
FYI my main system is the Mac mini *and* a Dell PC sharing a monitor, mouse and tablet on a switch. They share peripherals via a home network. I like your solution--to clone Mavericks on an external drive and upgrade the main drive. I'd partition my main drive but at 500GB it's not so big these days. (My first computer was an IBM Headstart PC with no hard drive *at all--*everything stored on floppies. And my first Mac had a 20 MB HD and 8 or 16 MB RAM. Technology flies..) I'm wondering if I have to install Yosemite before upgrading to El Capitan. But I'm sure Apple has an FAQ on that. I confess I'm most reluctant to part with Mavericks because I live ten minutes away from the real thing, and seeing it on my desktop, I'm home. Thanks again. You know your stuff. <='o } On Mon, Sep 26, 2016 at 10:47 AM, Google <jesco...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > On Sep 26, 2016, at 9:51 AM, Julia Brinckloe <jmbri...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > I have a query regarding Mac system upgrades. > > > > I am currently running Mavericks (OSX 10.9.5) on my Mac Mini, 2.3 GHz > Intel Core i5, 16 GB RAM. > > > > I've been reluctant to upgrade to Yosemite or El Capitan because this > works well for me (and my peripherals). I know upgrades use more memory. > Not sure about support for older peripherals. > > > > Is there any real advantage to upgrading--enough to override "if it > ain't broke, don't fix it"..? > > > > Thanks in advance for opinion on this. jb > > The amount of installed RAM in your Mac Mini is more than enough to handle > even macOS 10.12 Sierra, so that’s not a problem. And the size of the basic > macOS software has been shrinking, so that’s not a concern either. What is > a concern, though, is the support Apple provides with security updates. > Beginning with OS X 10.7 Lion, Apple has settled into a regular 3-year > cycle. Mavericks was introduced on October 22, 2013 and thus is nearing the > end of the cycle during which Apple actively provides security and other > updates, such as to Safari. > > Since macOS updates to new versions have been free since Mavericks, it > makes sense to take advantage of them, if only to keep the operating system > up to date with today’s online environment, where security is an > ever-growing issue. For me, that’s reason enough to upgrade to the newest > version of macOS/OS X that my Macs will run. Yes, there are niggling > concerns about the need to update third-party software, and I just went > through about a half dozen updates of things such as Carbon Copy Cloner, > DiskWarrior and SpamSieve to make them work with Sierra, but a bunch of > other software providers including Apple had already automatically provided > updates to their software. > > As for peripherals, yes, that’s a concern. Printer manufacturers, to pick > an apt example, are notorious for pushing out new hardware and ignoring > operating system-compatible driver updates for older hardware. Often, > trying to make an older printer work with the latest version of an > operating system is impossible for that reason. But there’s a workaround > for all that. What I do — every year since Apple’s now on an annual OS > update cycle — is to keep a cloned copy of the most recent 2 or 3 versions > of OS X on an external drive. Right now, for example, I’ve got one 4 TB > drive loaded with a clone of Sierra which is backed up daily by Carbon Copy > Cloner. Then I’ve got a clone of El Capitan and Yosemite on that same > drive. The Sierra clone space was used for the Mavericks backup clone. When > macOS 10.13 comes out next fall, the Yosemite clone will disappear. This > setup allows me to reboot into an older OS X version should the need arise, > whether it’s because of hardware or software. I rarely have to use these > older clones, but it’s nice to know they’re there if I need them. The > Yosemite clone helped me get past the drastic changes to Disk Utility that > El Capitan introduced. > > On the other hand, an easier solution for you may be to partition the > internal drive so that you’ve got a Mavericks partition and a current-macOS > partition. Another solution would be to use software like Parallels which > permits users to run multiple versions of Mac operating systems side by > side without rebooting. Or you can stick with what you’ve got until it no > longer can do the job and then get all-new everything, which is a strategy > a lot of people I know use. Since I think you’re running a mid-2011 Mac > Mini, you’ve probably got a few more years to go on that platform. > > Good luck. > > -- > You received this message because you are a member of the iMac Group, a > group for those using Apple iMacs and eMacs. > The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml and our > netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml > To post to this group, send email to imaclist@googlegroups.com > To leave this group, send email to imaclist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/ > group/imaclist > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "iMac Group" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to imaclist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are a member of the iMac Group, a group for those using Apple iMacs and eMacs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to imaclist@googlegroups.com To leave this group, send email to imaclist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/imaclist --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "iMac Group" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to imaclist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
