Apple Some Macs Getting Fewer Updates Than They Used To

[Biro]

A piece worthy of your attention if you're a Mac user.

Some Macs are getting fewer updates than they used to. Here’s why it’s a problem

Dropping old Macs can be justified, but some are dying before they should be.

arstechnica.com

 

[John King]

Yet another reason why I will never buy an Apple computer.

Even my 2010 Windows 7 Pro 64 computers still get security updates.

Windows 10 Pro 64 is running perfectly happily on one PC that's mostly 12 y.o. hardware.

There is plenty of waste on the planet already without making perfectly good computer hardware redundant ...

ALL solar panels are made to be 100% recyclable, yet 80% of old panels end up in landfill in Australia (the world? I can't remember which).

Wind generators at EoL in Australia cannot be recycled here (!!), so are sent to Europe or landfill. Guess which one is cheaper ...

This crap must stop, if we are to survive as a species.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Windows 7 was retired by MS in early 2020. You won't get updates and patches anymore.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/windows-7-end-of-life-support-information

Windows 7, maybe 8.1, were the last decent versions of Windows IMO. Windows 10 has always been an ugly mess with telemetry, and Windows 11 won't even let you move the taskbar. I fight the peculiarities of Windows 10 every weekday at work.

If I didn't use macOS, I'd use Linux. popOS or Manjaro are nice. If I had an old Intel Mac and was worried about EOL support, it would get Linux put on it.

While loss of support is definitely a problem, Apple will take any old device and offer a trade-in value for an Apple gift card. If the device isn't worth a dime (like it's broken), they will still recycle it for free. I think they might even take non-Apple hardware and recycle it.

 

[John King]

I get security updates on an almost daily basis ...

It is my preference to rely on my ISP's real time antivirus, my modem's firewall, and Malwarebytes for real time monitoring and protection of my various devices.

Windows 10 is usable with the Classic Menu (etc) interface rather than the useless, Apple-like crap GUI that MS provides. The underlying interface code is still there, just not accessible from the MS interface.

I will never use a command line interface again, unless completely unavoidable.

I even loathe and detest UNIX on my web site, even though I've used and managed UNIX machines since the early 1980s.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I dunno, Linux isn’t near as hard as it once was, especially since browsers do so much and sandbox rather well. For desktop machines, it’s incredibly easy. Laptops are a little trickier, but that’s because the hardware from each OEM has nuances that make simple support much harder. They rely on closed software to fix their shortcuts. I think it is also why Windows machines can suffer so much when it comes to wake/suspend.

MacOS isn’t for everyone, but it has maintained a certain consistency for more than a decade, and once you master the keyboard shortcuts and the ins and outs, it is pretty intuitive.

There is Malware bytes and antivirus for Mac as well, along with a built in firewall, and that can often be enough for those that keep their browsing behavior on the up and up. If you are one to open random attachments, visit sketchy corners of the internet, and install random freeware and shareware, then you are likely doomed on any platform.

 

[Glevum Owl]

A piece worthy of your attention if you're a Mac user.

Some Macs are getting fewer updates than they used to. Here’s why it’s a problem

Dropping old Macs can be justified, but some are dying before they should be.

arstechnica.com

After reading this thread, I started watching second hand Mac Mini prices and, sure enough, they dropped recently. I just snagged a late 2014 i5 Mini to display our home movies on the 4K TV in the lounge. I don't need the latest OS so long as it runs Elmedia Player. Job done.

So thanks for the info. Seriously.