Apple is going to be releasing the next big thing, the latest major upgrade to Mac OS X, Lion, OS 10.7, sometime in July. Most all computer users know very well that, with each new major operating system updates, some programs break. As much was we Mac users like to believe that our computer world is one of rainbows and unicorns, we have the same problems as Windows users in this regard.
My rule of thumb for ALL major upgrades (i.e. to the next whole number) is that you should never install them without specific reasons to. Now, one of those reasons may well be that you like to be on the cutting edge, and that’s fine, but you have to dive in prepared to upgrade or replace programs that stop working. My other rule of thumb is that computers used to get work done should only be upgraded for really good specific reasons and only when you’re prepared to deal with down time.
With that general background, I’m here to tell you that you need to be REALLY cautious about Lion, more so than with any other Mac OS upgrade I can think of. Sure, all those previous upgrades made some programs stop working, but this time it’s going to be a doozy. Even Mac OS X 10.0, which was a complete from the ground up rewrite of the Mac OS, still let people use OS 9 and earlier programs in what Apple called “Classic” mode, and most programs kept right on working.
All subsequent upgrades from 10.1 through Tiger 10.4 went relatively smoothly. Then Apple switched from PowerPC processors to Intel in 2006, and the new Intel machines didn’t support Classic. Then Leopard 10.5 did away with Classic entirely, even on PowerPC Macs. This caused more than a few headaches, but by and large Mac users had stopped using Classic apps by then. Except for some small niche programs, most every commonly used program had been recompiled or rewritten to run in OS X.
The big issue with Lion is that it’s doing away with support for programs that were compiled specifically for PowerPC Macs. Unknown to the average Mac user, the only reason they were able continue using those programs when they replaced PowerPC Macs with Intel was because of technology Apple calls Rosetta. Rosetta works completely transparently, with no indication whatsoever that it’s in use. Therein lies part of the problem – people using Classic apps knew very well they were, in fact, Classic apps because the whole interface was different. That made them easy for anyone to identify. Not so with PowerPC apps and Rosetta. Oh, people got a bit of a hint when they moved from Leopard to Snow Leopard (10.6) and were prompted to install Rosetta the first time they tried to run a PowerPC program, but that was the one and only indication that something was different.
To put it bluntly, Lion is going to be a nightmare for a lot of Mac users. Not only will it do away with PowerPC apps, there are A LOT more of these apps still in wide usage, in strong contrast to Classic apps in 2006. I’m referring to such major programs as Microsoft Office 2004 and earlier, QuarkXpress 6, Adode CS2 and earlier, AppleWorks… I could go on and on, but the point is that, before upgrading your Mac to Lion, you really need to identify which programs won’t run and buy upgrades or replacements for them. The simplest way I can think of to identify them is to:
1. Go to About This Mac under the Apple Menu.
2. Click on More Info…
3. In the Software section, click on Applications.
4. Wait a couple of minutes while it compiles a complete list.
In the column called “Kind” (you’ll have to enlarge the window and/or scroll to the right to see it), look for everything that’s PowerPC. Any of those that matter to you need to be replaced. The ones IDed as Universal or Intel will continue to work. Oh, and I’m warning you, be prepared to gasp. You may well be using a whole bunch of PowerPC apps. Of course, you don’t HAVE TO upgrade to Lion, but new Macs are going to start shipping with it already installed, so you may just want to buy a new Mac before that happens if your work flow depends on running PowerPC apps.
Oh, and there’s one big bombshell you need to brace yourself for. All the programs I named above can be upgraded to Intel or Universal versions if you’re willing to pay for them, except for AppleWorks. If that’s important to you, well, it’s time to find a replacement. That’s not the bombshell, though. No, THAT would be Quicken. The last Mac version, Quicken 2007, is PowerPC only. Oh, Intuit does sell something they call Quicken Essentials for Mac, but as a lot of people have learned the hard way, that’s essentially not Quicken. Not only is it completely redesigned, but it does away with a lot of features that Quicken 2007 and earlier had and that Quicken 2011 for Windows still has. I have to this point met ONE person who’s tried Quicken Essentials and still uses it.
Fortunately, there are at least three other financial programs for Macintosh that have just about all of the features that the typical user wants: MoneyDance, iBank and SEE Finance. They’re all available on a free trial basis and all can import QIF files exported from Quicken, so you can try them all and see which one you like best before paying for it.
As for me, I’ve been using Quicken since version 1.5 back in 1989 or 1990 on my very first Mac, an SE/30. I still have all my data going back to the beginning, and while I’ve long since not needed most of it for IRS purposes, I’ve come to rely on it strongly. I’ve imported my data into the three programs I’ve mentioned. MoneyDance and iBank came up with huge errors in several of my accounts (I should be so lucky to have as much money as MoneyDance thinks I do!) and using either would have required tracking down and fixing the problems. SEE Finance, though, handled all of my accounts flawlessly, and that made my decision rather easy.
