Lion vs Snow Leopard ?

[Klaus]

Searching for reports on the subject,
esp. reliability and speed...
trying to keep up with time
I use Mac Minis C2D upgraded...for live work
Anyone ?
Thanks a lot
and cheers to all

Klaus

[bayswater]

I can't think of a good reason to leave Snow Leopard for Lion as long as SL works with all your applications. If for some reason you have to leave SL behind, I'd go at least to 10.5.8. Then I'd skip to 10.10.4, but it is my impression that 10.10.x demands more RAM to run smoothly than 10.8.5.

OS X development since 10.6.8 seems to have been driven by Apple's desire to get better inter-device integration (e.g. iPhone), and internal aesthetic GUI arguments -- not performance and stability. Apparently, 10.11 is targeted to address that problem more directly.

My measure is time between restarts. I had to restart Lion and Mavericks every few days. I can leave 10.8.5 running for a week or more before it starts getting weird. Yosemite is looking pretty good at a couple of weeks or more, then it starts wheezing and wandering off to do who-knows-what. I have two Macs running 10.6.8 and they have been up for at least six months -- pretty much what you expect from a production Unix machine.

[Klaus]

Thanks a lot bayswater !
Behringer spread on their forum that 10.6.8 wasn't reliably recording more than 16 channels via USB...and that this was solved by Apple from 10.7 upwards.
I'm using firewire now, but had corrupt recordings, but it may be related to Rogue's LineIn and / or onboard vs firewire interface - buffers. Trying to sort this out...
Rogue's LineIn was used to play ext. music via Mac onboard line-in jack.
Anyway, I want to get ready for the day, when the remote software for the X32Core
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/X32-CORE.aspx
will be 10.7 upwards only, and if 10.7 works nicely, I may update now...

best

Klaus

[mikehalloran]

10.7 was never ready for Prime Time. Apple broke too much and didn't start fixing things till 10.8.2.

10.8/9/10 are all faster on my iMac than 10.6.8 ever was. OTOH, you may find that some of your old apps and plugs may no longer run in the 64bit kernel.

I liked 10.8.5 and really like 10.10.4. OS 10.9.5 was ok while earlier versions of 10.9 have serious bugs that make it unacceptable.

I rarely recommend a dual-boot but will do so here. Keep 10.6.8 on one part (or drive) and try 10.8.5 or 10.10.4 on the other.

Going 64bit all the way is much easier on your system resources. When I made the move, it was like upgrading my machine – only better because it didn't cost me more $$$$ for a new Mac.

it is my impression that 10.10.x demands more RAM to run smoothly than 10.8.5.

That has not been my experience but I can't imagine that you and I use our iMacs the same way. You may be absolutely right.

[bayswater]

Thanks a lot bayswater !
Behringer spread on their forum that 10.6.8 wasn't reliably recording more than 16 channels via USB...and that this was solved by Apple from 10.7 upwards.
I'm using firewire now, but had corrupt recordings, but it may be related to Rogue's LineIn and / or onboard vs firewire interface - buffers. Trying to sort this out...
Rogue's LineIn was used to play ext. music via Mac onboard line-in jack.
Anyway, I want to get ready for the day, when the remote software for the X32Core
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/X32-CORE.aspx
will be 10.7 upwards only, and if 10.7 works nicely, I may update now...

best

Klaus

Klaus, I didn't realize this limitation was the reason for the question. But as Mike says, I wouldn't bother with 10.7 You'd have to pay for it, and it doesn't work nicely. The X32 has to work on later versions of OS X -- newer computers need versions later than 10.6.

[mikehalloran]

Mac Minis C2D

I will assume that's the Intel Core 2 Duo, right?

Last week, I upgraded my daughter's 2008 iMac Core 2 Duo with a SSD, then installed 10.6.8 in one partition (Rosetta Stone Danish Language course was never updated) and 10.10.4 on the main partition. She does not run DP but all of her other apps are running better than ever. She only has 4G RAM.

OK, it's no match for my iMac i7 with 20G RAM but I'm surprised as to its performance.

With 480G SSDs in the sub $200 range now. If you haven't done that update, probably time to consider it (replace the CR2032 battery while you're at it). You should be able to get many more years out of that Mini if you do. Perhaps not as your main production Mac but as a live performance machine, you should be fine.

[bayswater]

She does not run DP but all of her other apps are running better than ever. She only has 4G RAM.

4G? She can run Photos with 4G?

[mikehalloran]

She does not run DP but all of her other apps are running better than ever. She only has 4G RAM.

4G? She can run Photos with 4G?

It fires up and she hasn't complained or I would hear about it. Her iMac maxes out at 6G RAM – another $100 from OWC if I upgrade her.

I found the 500G Sanyo 850 EVO at Frys for $165. I cringe at putting any more $ into that machine. Hopefully, next year she'll be in grad school or have a good job and that will be the time to buy a new Mac.

Her 2010 MacBook battery blew up to 5x its size taking out the motherboard and other components. This necessitated upgrading her iMac so she'd have all of her apps and files on one Mac.

[Klaus]

Thanks a lot bayswater !
Behringer spread on their forum that 10.6.8 wasn't reliably recording more than 16 channels via USB...and that this was solved by Apple from 10.7 upwards.
I'm using firewire now, but had corrupt recordings, but it may be related to Rogue's LineIn and / or onboard vs firewire interface - buffers. Trying to sort this out...
Rogue's LineIn was used to play ext. music via Mac onboard line-in jack.
Anyway, I want to get ready for the day, when the remote software for the X32Core
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/X32-CORE.aspx
will be 10.7 upwards only, and if 10.7 works nicely, I may update now...

best

Klaus

Klaus, I didn't realize this limitation was the reason for the question. But as Mike says, I wouldn't bother with 10.7 You'd have to pay for it, and it doesn't work nicely. The X32 has to work on later versions of OS X -- newer computers need versions later than 10.6.

Anybody has info or links of what exactly doesn't work nicely in 10.7 ?
Thanks in advance

Klaus

[mikehalloran]

Anybody has info or links of what exactly doesn't work nicely in 10.7 ?
Thanks in advance

Scanning was broken big time and wasn't fixed till OS 10.8.2 which also supported wireless scanning for the first time. AppleWorks also comes to mind. Office before 2004 is another. Toast before 9 (there may have been a 7 update), Jam, the drivers for my CS-32

Other than that, here's a partial alphabetized list. Note that it does not tell you what versions do and do not work by OS, only whether or not the app can run at all. You may need to update software that you have.

http://roaringapps.com/apps?index=a

The Search function (magnifying glass icon at the top of the page) works and will save a lot of time.

[bayswater]

It does "work". Just goes flaky faster than 10.6, 10.8, or 10.10. IIRC, you do live shows.

[Klaus]

Anybody has info or links of what exactly doesn't work nicely in 10.7 ?
Thanks in advance

Scanning was broken big time and wasn't fixed till OS 10.8.2 which also supported wireless scanning for the first time. AppleWorks also comes to mind. Office before 2004 is another. Toast before 9 (there may have been a 7 update), Jam, the drivers for my CS-32

Other than that, here's a partial alphabetized list. Note that it does not tell you what versions do and do not work by OS, only whether or not the app can run at all. You may need to update software that you have.

http://roaringapps.com/apps?index=a

The Search function (magnifying glass icon at the top of the page) works and will save a lot of time.

I understand that apps have to be updated for a new OS...
I meant to ask for info about what

*doesn't work nicely **inside** 10.7*

...roger

Klaus

[mikehalloran]

I understand that apps have to be updated for a new OS...
I meant to ask for info about what

*doesn't work nicely **inside** 10.7*

I have no idea where you will find this other than the site I linked. Its accuracy is only as good as the people posting. Sure, I'm a contributor but I haven't had a Mac running OS 10.7 in years (actually, I have an old Core Duo MacBook but it has major problems so it's been mothballed).

Now that we're on 10.10, there will be no accurate list of software that doesn't work well with 10.7 only. 10.7 is just too old for anyone to keep track anymore. A Google search may provide clues but many of the incompatible apps may have been updated since those articles were written.

[bongo_x]

I only switched to 10.8 a year and a half ago (amazing since I used to upgrade on day 1). Spent a day making all my customizations and making it just like 10.6 on both machines. I like it just fine, I really can’t tell the difference. I don’t of any reason to choose 10.7 over 10.8.

I’ve skipped 10.5, 10.7 and 10.9, maybe I should look at 10.10. Someday. The thing for me is that Apple hasn’t really offered anything I want in an upgrade since 10.6, I’ve only done it for software compatibility, and I’ve lost some of that with the upgrade.

[Klaus]

snip
I don’t of any reason to choose 10.7 over 10.8.

First I don't need the 'iGadget' sync stuff that's new in 10.8...( I think )
and
I've spent 'some' time lately trying to install 10.8 on the Mac Mini 1,1 with Core2Duo cpu upgrade...
i.e.
http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/gui ... c.1325709/
but wasn't successful, with MLPostFactor
if somrbody can help, great
10.7 runs fine until now, but it seems to run the test-Mac Mini hotter...I'm trying with fan control...
If 10.8 is 'more stable' for DP 7.24 multitrackrecording, please report,

thank you all !

best

Klaus