5 ms·

Installing a new Mac OS on a machine you care for has become an absolute no-go area. I wait for at least half a year and then only install in a place that I ca

Installing a new Mac OS on a machine you care for has become an absolute no-go area. I wait for at least half a year and then only install in a place that I can trash in case I still see problems.

javabean22 9y ago
> at least half a year oh yeah half a year, really? oh shut the fuck up. fuck off.
- sctb 9y ago
  We've asked you to please stop this already, so we've banned the account. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
rjzzleep 9y ago
I'm not sure why you say "has become". In the circles I've been it has been common practice to wait for the .2(but minimum .1) release before it goes onto real work machines. The early Mac OS X releases were even worse. Even if for some reason the OS itself was fine by itself, they almost always broke compat with a bunch of 3rd party applications. EDIT: typo
- arghwhat 9y ago
  "4rd party"...
  - jmnicolas 9y ago
    Nobody ever mentions the 2nd party either !
    - toyg 9y ago
      2nd party used to be the actual user :)
      - Fnoord 9y ago
        Does that make people who drink at birthday parties the 2nd party?
    - executesorder66 9y ago
      Vendor is 1st party, customer is 2nd party.
- Doctor_Fegg 9y ago
  Exactly. "Never buy the first version of any new Apple product", whether hardware or OS, has been well-known for at least 10 years: https://www.engadget.com/2006/06/03/why-first-generation-apple-products-suck/ https://www.engadget.com/2006/06/03/why-first-generation-app... (That said, I've found my first-gen Apple Watch to be a great product. First-gen iPad is a paperweight though...)
  - madeofpalk 9y ago
    Never buy the first version of any new product
    - jackhack 9y ago
      Mostly, that's true. Or at least understand you're on the edge. Cutting or bleeding, it's hard to say ahead of time but usually pretty obvious after a week of real-world use. I respect Apple, they take chances. Sometimes it pays off. Off the top of my head: Products where 1st generation was amazing: Apple ][ iPod Lisa iPhone Products where 1st gen was almost unusable, but v2+ was amazing: Macintosh (Amazing, but frequent disk swapping was an issue.) Messagepad (first gen soured the press and the public due to connectivity issues. Modem vs cellular.) DOA: Apple 3 (anyone else remember the service bulletin that asked users to slam it on the desk to reseat the chips?) Pippin
      - TheAceOfHearts 9y ago
        Original iPhone didn't have 3G, which many definitely considered to be a huge flaw. It also didn't have native applications.
        r00fus 9y ago
        It's not a huge flaw, as the mobile 3G (esp. AT&T's) networks weren't that good in 2007. The fact that you could get (edge speed) unlimited internet for $20/iPhone was pretty amazing. Same for Palm/Verizon was $45 and more for 3G. Native apps showed up in jailbreaks which I installed literally months after the release. The app install process was unparalleled.
- skgoa 9y ago
  That's the standard MO with pretty much any big piece of software. Other than security updates, you really don't want to take the risk of becoming the one who finds the inevitable bugs.
- coldcode 9y ago
  I've actually never had an issue updating to a .0 release for OS X/MacOS, though I always make sure I have a full disk backup. Xcode on the other hand...
aequitas 9y ago
It always has been, at least in a professional environment. I used to work at a Apple reseller. We would have to advise customers to keep running old versions (sometimes up to 2-3) because of 3rd party compatibility lag. From my point of view it has been improving over time with earlier dev. versions of the Os. But must agree I'm also still hesitant to run it on my workhorse.
eru 9y ago
Apart from the time it takes to restore from backups, should every place fall under "only install in a place that I can trash in case I still see problems?
cjsuk 9y ago
Let us not forget the butt clench of doom from Microsoft either. Every minor updates hoses people these days as well.
- tonyedgecombe 9y ago
  Half the problem with MS now is not the bugs, it's working as designed, it's the design that's the problem.
  - cjsuk 9y ago
    Fair point even if it is rather sad!
kbart 9y ago
It's not only Mac OS, that can be said about pretty much all software. As a developer, I always try to avoid fresh software and wait some time while it settles, unless it's a security update.

Installing a new Mac OS on a machine you care for has become an absolute no-go area. I wait for at least half a year and then only install in a place that I can trash in case I still see problems.

javabean22 9y ago

> at least half a year oh yeah half a year, really? oh shut the fuck up. fuck off.

sctb 9y ago
We've asked you to please stop this already, so we've banned the account. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

rjzzleep 9y ago

I'm not sure why you say "has become". In the circles I've been it has been common practice to wait for the .2(but minimum .1) release before it goes onto real work machines. The early Mac OS X releases were even worse. Even if for some reason the OS itself was fine by itself, they almost always broke compat with a bunch of 3rd party applications. EDIT: typo

arghwhat 9y ago
"4rd party"...
- jmnicolas 9y ago
  Nobody ever mentions the 2nd party either !
  - toyg 9y ago
    2nd party used to be the actual user :)
    - Fnoord 9y ago
      Does that make people who drink at birthday parties the 2nd party?
  - executesorder66 9y ago
    Vendor is 1st party, customer is 2nd party.
Doctor_Fegg 9y ago
Exactly. "Never buy the first version of any new Apple product", whether hardware or OS, has been well-known for at least 10 years: https://www.engadget.com/2006/06/03/why-first-generation-apple-products-suck/ https://www.engadget.com/2006/06/03/why-first-generation-app... (That said, I've found my first-gen Apple Watch to be a great product. First-gen iPad is a paperweight though...)
- madeofpalk 9y ago
  Never buy the first version of any new product
  - jackhack 9y ago
    Mostly, that's true. Or at least understand you're on the edge. Cutting or bleeding, it's hard to say ahead of time but usually pretty obvious after a week of real-world use. I respect Apple, they take chances. Sometimes it pays off. Off the top of my head: Products where 1st generation was amazing: Apple ][ iPod Lisa iPhone Products where 1st gen was almost unusable, but v2+ was amazing: Macintosh (Amazing, but frequent disk swapping was an issue.) Messagepad (first gen soured the press and the public due to connectivity issues. Modem vs cellular.) DOA: Apple 3 (anyone else remember the service bulletin that asked users to slam it on the desk to reseat the chips?) Pippin
    - TheAceOfHearts 9y ago
      Original iPhone didn't have 3G, which many definitely considered to be a huge flaw. It also didn't have native applications.
      - r00fus 9y ago
        It's not a huge flaw, as the mobile 3G (esp. AT&T's) networks weren't that good in 2007. The fact that you could get (edge speed) unlimited internet for $20/iPhone was pretty amazing. Same for Palm/Verizon was $45 and more for 3G. Native apps showed up in jailbreaks which I installed literally months after the release. The app install process was unparalleled.
skgoa 9y ago
That's the standard MO with pretty much any big piece of software. Other than security updates, you really don't want to take the risk of becoming the one who finds the inevitable bugs.
coldcode 9y ago
I've actually never had an issue updating to a .0 release for OS X/MacOS, though I always make sure I have a full disk backup. Xcode on the other hand...

aequitas 9y ago

It always has been, at least in a professional environment. I used to work at a Apple reseller. We would have to advise customers to keep running old versions (sometimes up to 2-3) because of 3rd party compatibility lag. From my point of view it has been improving over time with earlier dev. versions of the Os. But must agree I'm also still hesitant to run it on my workhorse.

eru 9y ago

Apart from the time it takes to restore from backups, should every place fall under "only install in a place that I can trash in case I still see problems?

cjsuk 9y ago

Let us not forget the butt clench of doom from Microsoft either. Every minor updates hoses people these days as well.

tonyedgecombe 9y ago
Half the problem with MS now is not the bugs, it's working as designed, it's the design that's the problem.
- cjsuk 9y ago
  Fair point even if it is rather sad!

kbart 9y ago

It's not only Mac OS, that can be said about pretty much all software. As a developer, I always try to avoid fresh software and wait some time while it settles, unless it's a security update.