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Apple Pulls Older Software From 'Purchased' Tab in Mac App Store
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If you're part of an exclusive and little known Mac torrent community with download speeds better than the Mac App Store, this isn't much of a worry.
So people paid for a product, and Apple is no longer allowing them to access it? Seems like theft to me. What a joke on Apple's part, makes me think twice about digital purchases.
Just bought ML a month ago, now gone :-(
If this is new business as usual, I am very disappointed with Apple.
Maybe to little Hermes factor in old sw, however those who cared about making the brand solid now abandoned.
If this is new business as usual, I am very disappointed with Apple.
Maybe to little Hermes factor in old sw, however those who cared about making the brand solid now abandoned.
I think this is bad, especially concerning Aperture. They were very slow to remove the app from sale after they announced they would no longer support it. This means a lot of people bought the app quite recently. Also, a lot of us have huge Aperture libraries with thousands of hours of adjustments we'd like to access. Final Cut Pro 7 is still functional (and installable) 5 years after being abandoned. I don't think it is unreasonable to expect the same from Aperture.
The trouble is that this is software that is no longer supported by the company. When software is created, it most likely ties into a number of software services that may change over time. If the software if no longer supported, then that opens a vector of attack (security risks) and could also cause crashes or software malfunctions if Internet services are changed or discontinued. If the software if no longer supported by the company, it's impossible to make any changes moving forward and the company incurs a support liability for those users.
I'm not saying the manner in which Apple may have done this is correct, but if you are running non-supported versions of software, you are required to do a little more work to maintain that antiquated status. You'll need to store your software to disc and make backups. You also need to realize that as technology progresses you will not be able to make use of anything new. That's just the reality of technology.
I think it's always good to continue using what works, but if "what works" is no longer supported, you need to look into your upgrade path. For instance, I have a number of users that have the original iPad that is still stuck on iOS 5.1.1 due to technical limitations (not much RAM). If you want to continue getting support and updates from me, you need to use a modern version of iOS. It becomes very expensive to support and code for a smaller and smaller percentage of users (less than 2% at this point). Realize that you may just be in the minority and it's time to move on, or do the extra work to stay in the minority.
I'm not saying the manner in which Apple may have done this is correct, but if you are running non-supported versions of software, you are required to do a little more work to maintain that antiquated status. You'll need to store your software to disc and make backups. You also need to realize that as technology progresses you will not be able to make use of anything new. That's just the reality of technology.
I think it's always good to continue using what works, but if "what works" is no longer supported, you need to look into your upgrade path. For instance, I have a number of users that have the original iPad that is still stuck on iOS 5.1.1 due to technical limitations (not much RAM). If you want to continue getting support and updates from me, you need to use a modern version of iOS. It becomes very expensive to support and code for a smaller and smaller percentage of users (less than 2% at this point). Realize that you may just be in the minority and it's time to move on, or do the extra work to stay in the minority.
There is a big difference. They have removed items from the stores in the past, but they were almost always still available for redownload for existing owners. The only exceptions being if there were rights issues, which is obviously not the case with Apple's own software.
Whatever fine print is in the user agreement, it's pretty dishonest on their part unless they make it explicitly clear (not fine print in a user agreement) when purchasing that you can lose access to it at any time. It may not technically be stealing, but common sense tells you that if you "buy" something digitally, whether it be an Application or OS, you should be able to access that purchase at demand. The very least Apple could have done is provide an advanced warning so people could download their purchases if wanted before it was pulled.
And by extension:
If you like Yosemite, I encourage you to save the installer app now, while it is still available.
If you like Yosemite, I encourage you to save the installer app now, while it is still available.
Do I get a refund then on my purchase of Mountain Lion? cause you know, that **** wasn't free when you wanted to upgrade to it from Lion on 2011 MBA's
And its still to this day the best performing OSx that will run on them.
so yeah.
And its still to this day the best performing OSx that will run on them.
so yeah.
Doesn't matter. If I paid for it, it should be my decision whether or not I use it, not Apple's.
Not cool.
If you paid for it, you should be able to download it.
They should at least give EOL notice so you can download one last time.
If you paid for it, you should be able to download it.
They should at least give EOL notice so you can download one last time.
How long ago was it that Apple stopped collecting money for Aperture? In other words, how recently could some non-techie who doesn't read MacRumors have plunked down money for this software in the app store?
I am a reasonable person and I know nothing lasts forever, but this timing is extreme on Apple's part.
It says that if you buy this, they send you an email with a content code for the Mac App Store.
Being forced to upgrade is absolutely ridiculous. I'm not spending over $1,000 on a laptop every few years because they decide that I'm not allowed to revert to an older OS.
Come on man. You can't back bull **** up like this.
Wake up, you own nothing with this distribution model. Dig through your iTunes catalog and I promise you there's a few songs you thought you "owned" but don't anymore, because the rights were pulled, even re-download rights. If you didn't download them and back them up somewhere, you're screwed. It's all in the fine print.
This is the zero removable media utopia we now live in. Indefinite rental, not ownership.
This is the zero removable media utopia we now live in. Indefinite rental, not ownership.
In my opinion, a better public relations move would have been to provide a warning to users, that on a specified date, certain OS would not be available under the purchases tab anymore. For whatever reason, Apple chose not to do that.
I realize people are mad. However, Apple doesn't owe us access to the software indefinitely.
For years, Apple has encouraged people to backup their downloads and purchases from the store. If people don't do that because they are under the impression that once bought, the purchase will always be available in their account, they are sorely mistaken.
I don't think it is right to blame Apple for exercising their rights under the same user agreement one agreed to at the time of purchase and installation, and then complain about Apple, because one didn't exercise due diligence in creating a backup copy of the software.
They still sell or at least sold the software until a few days ago. Not via the App Store, but they did sell redeem codes.
you're completely overlooking broken compatibility issues. there are a lot of behind the scenes issues that keep people from being able to update to the latest and greatest software. Especially in cases of third-party hardware.
i understand no longer allowing older versions of Applications to be downloaded but there should always be access to previous versions of the operating system.
You should never purchase software on the Mac App Store if you have the option of purchasing and downloading it directly from the developer's site. Obviously that's not the case with Apple software anymore, but for all other purchases, avoid avoid avoid.
The reasons are too numerous to list.
Have you ever tried VueScan? That's what keeps my HP scanner going since they never updated drivers for neither Mavericks nor Yosemite. Now it's El Cap and VueScan keeps the scanner going.
Not only was the HP scanner software and driver a bug ridden POS that would freeze and hang in there like a sloth before it even worked, it was updated only once since I bought the thing. This just makes it blatantly clear that buying an HP product is just asking for the product to get EOLed within 18 months or so.
I still remember the uproar the driver incompatibility caused on HP's own product forum - to no avail.
So when my old computer becomes obsolete because I can't "rent the software" for it, I should get a refund for the brick sitting on my desk. Apple can't have it both ways, sell you a computer that you cannot use in 6 years and then say well sorry we pulled the rental agreement on the software that makes said machine run.