About My Operating System

[jpmcwjr]

Tom-
Almost certainly your new Mac will have much more storage than the machine that's being replaced, so no need to erase (delete) anything.
If you get it at the Apple store, they should set it up completely for you. I've been upgrading for so long, I just use Migration Assistant, piece of cake. Since my current Mac has been in service for six years and is up to date O/S wise, you may have a long time with a new one.
If you have a current Time Machine® backup, just take that into the store. Otherwise, the setup will require you taking your old machine in.

 

[mikethompson]

Thanks for the heads up Tom, don't you go slipping through the cracks!
I'm a big fan of 'if its not broken don't fix it', but when you stop being able to access things, you gotta do it.

 

[taildraggin]

Tom, see if you can back your stuff up from the old machine to iCloud. It will automatically config the new machine. Good luck! -Charlie

 

[hawky454]

I’ve got the latest Mac Book Pro, it’s a total super computer and worth every cent. It makes me wonder how I stuck with PC’s for so long.

 

[mikethompson]

If we lose Tom in the Redesign it just may be too much for me to take!

 

[mso489]

Thanks for help and encouragement. I'll hang on here if possible, until I get a current device.

 

[sablebrush52]

Wouldn't it be cool if Apple devised a way to update the hardware, which they could no doubt do. But why would they?

Actually, that's what is promised in this latest Mac Pro release. The idea is that a pro user can reconfigure hardware architecture with greater ease and flexibility and Apple will have a new market they can supply.
I'm surprised that you can't get your email. My gear is older than yours and so far no problems with my email. I use my browser. I stopped using a dedicated email app years ago for a variety of reasons.

 

[mso489]

sable', this is through my browser. First I could override the non-connection by simply clicking continue; I think there was another two step process; and lately I have had to go through a "forwarding mail" step that worked. But now I come up against the wall I receive for web sites, "cannot establish a secure connection," which I suppose is the newer programming failing to connect with my older hardware. I'll call my wi-fi provider and see what temporary fixes might be done, and also how to get an email address with a new device that isn't a holdover from a passe wi-fi provider. The Mac Pro update availability is an excellent idea. I doubt I'll want to pay the price, but I'd like to do it. If they make good on the promise, it would be excellent. Updating hardware is an expense but also a set-back for a learning curve.

 

[elessar]

I too have a very old Macbook and feel your pain when things become obsolete. My work requires me to use some software that does not work on a Apple OS environment so I moved over to Windows years ago. I always liked Mac better, until I started building my own desktop computers running Windows 10. All of my systems have been rock solid and very fast. I am starting to be a believer in the newer Windows OS, but I have only limited experience with purchased machines ie. Dell.

 

[mso489]

I do admire your building your own system, elessar. It gives you a more complete sense of how things work and what's going on. My ineptitude is partly coming to the digital world relatively late, though I know some people who came to computers in their sixties and later who are fire-breathing digital operators. I don't really know, but I suspect, if I'd come to it as a kid or teenager, I would have reveled in it, the way I did things photographic and to some degree with radios. I think people who are starting as kids, and who consider a lot of their time on devices as play, have a much better sense of the logic, and especially the quirks, of the digital "mind." To me it's all frustration and insult except when everything is going as expected. To those steeped in the culture, it's more like a rollicking sport. Doesn't work? Watch this!

 

[puffy]

I think that part of what were good at depends on the culture we were brought up in.I can grow a beautiful garden.My grandmother taught me as a kid.She lived on a farm..I'm almost 77 years old and I can barely operate a 5 year old smart phone..I know nothing of what's being discussed in this thread.I don't know how folks learn all this stuff.Everything these days is so high tech I've got numbers coming out of my ears.Lucky for me I've got my son to guide me through this numbers crazed world..I hope you get set up with what you need..You're a valuable part of this forum'

 

[jpmcwjr]

I just hit my 3/4 C mark, and revel in all stuff electronic.

Tom, see if you can back your stuff up from the old machine to iCloud. It will automatically config the new machine. Good luck! -Charlie

I would advise against this, unless one has been using iCloud all along. Much better to have the Apple Store staff to the migration and set up on site.

 

[redone]

MSO - hope I’m not too late to chime in but you might be just fine with a new iPad Pro. I do most all of my work and web browsing on a new one. With the smart key board, pencil, and with my office using Office 365, I can do 99% of what I need to do on the iPad Pro. My older Mac Book Pro is still working fine for basic home functions but it may soon be in the position yours is in.

 

[hawky454]

^ You’re right, if all you are using the computer for is searching the web and checking emails there are much cheaper options than getting a Mac or some other high tech machine.

 

[cachimbero]

You can always plug the Ipad pro to a screen, and, after September you are going to be able to use a mouse and have real file management. My Ipad pro has changed the way I work and now I don´t have to carry around a laptop. I feel very reluctant to give up my home desktop, but, if IpadOS (expected in September) delivers as I hope, the 27 inch 7 years old Imac I am typing this on may well be my last PC.

 

[cossackjack]

+1 for iPadPro.

I also have a 2018 MacBook Pro 13” as my main computer, but use the iPadPro when mobile. I’m looking forward to iPad iOS 13 in September.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Do you use an external keyboard with the iPadPro? If so, an Apple one or 3rd party?

 

[cachimbero]

I take notes handwritten when in the go, with a wonderful app that converts into text if required (and indexes my hand written words), and use a regular bluetooth apple keyboard while at home with the iPad on an "atril" (don´t know the English word, a book stand like those used in churches). I used to have one of those Apple keyboard covers (which work really well) in my previous generation Ipad pro (10,5), but I have found it is not necessary (for my work/use anymore).

 

[mso489]

If portability really isn't a thing with a user, it seems like you get what you need with a desktop, or am I going down the wrong road again? My wife and I have taken to dark humor about our fading presence on devices. I call Forums my last connection to the world, and my imaginary friend. I sure get more information and considered opinion on here than I do from the various devices and the computer "kids" who chat with or field phone calls from the less computered masses. Other than my silly geezer flip phone, I don't want to bring the digital world with me. It's nice to be able to get up and leave that whole wasps nest on the desk. In ancient days, when I wanted to use a telephone, I didn't have to take a course in being a telephone lineman, which is sort of the learning curve on our "little digital friends."

 

[taildraggin]

MSO, It's a bit dear, but you you will be delighted with the 21" IMac. The screen is very good and you don't need a "big one" for your purposes. It's one of the few products that ranges between both the deepest and most casual users. It's a quality piece.
Beware the 'dates' - they are identified(and priced) by their release date. The latest is "Early 2019" and there are a lot of "Mid 2017" still on the market. (A new 2017 would be good for you, too, but you don't want to pay the price of the latest 2019 the still-sold-new 2017).
See: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=apple%20imac%2021.5%22&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ps
I've also bought Apple Refurbs and cannot distinguish them from new (aside from warranty). You can check here periodically - they come and go: https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/mac/21-5-inch-imac
Cheers, - Charlie