Well That was easy…

So it’s that time of year, when Apple issues updates to everything.

In years past it’s been a relatively painless process but generally speaking I’ve always wanted to have all my ducks in a row before beginning the process. That’s just good computing practice.

This year, I’m very impressed.

My iPhone and iPad updated without any bumps in the road at all. Last night I started the process to upgrade the Mac OS on my computer. I updated all my applications, then backed everything up. 

Then I started the upgrade process expecting for it to take a couple of hours. I walked away figuring I’d let the computer do what it needed to.  Imagine my surprise when 45 minutes later I noticed my computer was patiently waiting for me to do something.

I initially thought something had gone wrong. It hadn’t, the system is fully upgraded and everything is working exactly as I’d hoped.

My little MacBoor Air from 2012 is as zippy as it ever was and will no doubt go for another year or two. This is amazing given that my company Windows computers have as a rule been completely replaced every two years or so.

Yes, I am dazzled by each new generation of Macs. Then I look at the price tag and think, “Yeah it would be nice but…” Oh sure, I could buy a low end Mac. However I’ve found that buying top of the line Macs typically means that I get a nice long life out of them. The way I’d configure a top of the line MacBook Pro works out to about 4 or 5 grand. Amortize the cost over 6 to 8 years and it’s reasonable, if I was looking at replacing a Mac every year as some folks do, it quickly becomes an unsustainably expensive habit.

So my little MacBook Air and I will just keep on moving into the future. At some point I know the little machine will not be able to take an OS upgrade. When that day comes, I’ll have to decide which of the newest Macs will replace it. But until then I have a machine that does everything I want it to do and is probably capable of a lot more.

I hope your upgrades go as smoothly.

I’m off to explore my new operating systems.