Is this the end of my MBP? 😩

[Minghold]

Are you saying that things I use like Microsoft Word and Photoshop that I've used for decades are not just one and done anymore, and I have to pay subscriptions to be able to use new versions of them?

Correct.

They both were pre Sierra and was told they wouldn't work on High Sierra, but they both did. I know they're finished after HS, and would have to splash out on new software?

Most 32bit software (which is what your old MS and Adobe versions are) should also work in Mojave, which means any iMac or laptop up to mid-2019. (Note: newer does *not* mean better, because Apple sells half-a-dozen grades in any year, from top-end stuff to library-grade junk. E.g., the fastest 2012 is considerably faster than the slowest 2019.

I put Mojave on almost everything, and rely on Linux VMs for more recent requirements: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread....2285317/page-233?post=34278894#post-34278894

 

[goldmac2006]

Because of reasons below?

That's interesting and something I'd not thought about before, Are you saying that things I use like Microsoft Word and Photoshop that I've used for decades are not just one and done anymore, and I have to pay subscriptions to be able to use new versions of them? They both were pre Sierra and was told they wouldn't work on High Sierra, but they both did. I know they're finished after HS, and would have to splash out on new software?

Indeed y’all have to buy Microsoft 365 for Mac subscription online or in store to use ms word, etc… unless if you use it at school or work that has it!

 

[goldmac2006]

Those persons who liked their Intel-era MBs may be and often are disappointed with Apple's more recent machines. In particular, they cannot run much if any of their existing paid-for software (such as, say, CS6, FCP7, Pro Tools, etc) and are thus trapped in subscription-model hell, and the OS is now incredibly obtuse, ram-hungry beyond any rational reason, ridden with telemetry, and has a very Microsoft mentality when it comes to honoring the user's manual changes to system settings (such as instructing it to not auto-update).

If they have specific situations where they need x86 apps to use Boot Camp or Virtual Machines (VMs) on certain Autodesk applications that don’t run on ARM Windows programs, they would certainly consider purchasing a refurbished or used 2019-2020 MacBook Pro.

I had a few individuals who kept their 16 inch 2019 Intel MacBook Pro 💻 because they needed it for certain games, SolidWorks and Revit. However, if you all use UTM, which is a VM software specifically designed for Apple silicon Macs, it has built-in x86 emulation and can bridge it to virtual machines for Windows on an ARM Mac.

 

[Peter Franks]

Correct.

Most 32bit software (which is what your old MS and Adobe versions are) should also work in Mojave, which means any iMac or laptop up to mid-2019. (Note: newer does *not* mean better, because Apple sells half-a-dozen grades in any year, from top-end stuff to library-grade junk. E.g., the fastest 2012 is considerably faster than the slowest 2019.

I put Mojave on almost everything, and rely on Linux VMs for more recent requirements: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread....2285317/page-233?post=34278894#post-34278894

I don't understand the Linux thing, Linux I paid annually for a website, Still have no clue what it's for or means on there...

Indeed y’all have to buy Microsoft 365 for Mac subscription online or in store to use ms word, etc… unless if you use it at school or work that has it!

If they have specific situations where they need x86 apps to use Boot Camp or Virtual Machines (VMs) on certain Autodesk applications that don’t run on ARM Windows programs, they would certainly consider purchasing a refurbished or used 2019-2020 MacBook Pro.

I had a few individuals who kept their 16 inch 2019 Intel MacBook Pro 💻 because they needed it for certain games, SolidWorks and Revit. However, if you all use UTM, which is a VM software specifically designed for Apple silicon Macs, it has built-in x86 emulation and can bridge it to virtual machines for Windows on an ARM Mac.

So basically, ..... It's not just buying a new MBP, it will involve spending a few more hundred quid just to be able to use Word and Photoshop. Is that like common knowledge these days. I'm so out of it, blissfully it would appear for a decade or more since the last MBP

 

[goldmac2006]

I don't understand the Linux thing, Linux I paid annually for a website, Still have no clue what it's for or means on there...



So basically, ..... It's not just buying a new MBP, it will involve spending a few more hundred quid just to be able to use Word and Photoshop. Is that like common knowledge these days. I'm so out of it, blissfully it would appear for a decade or more since the last MBP

In terms of upgrading specs like ram and cpu right?

 

[Minghold]

Indeed y’all have to buy Microsoft 365 for Mac subscription online or in store to use ms word, etc… unless if you use it at school or work that has it!

I launch BigLinux (Parallels VM) in Mojave, then open LibreOffice2025 (free), which will open any MS document (and most Adobe too).

If they have specific situations where they need x86 apps to use Boot Camp or Virtual Machines (VMs) on certain Autodesk applications that don’t run on ARM Windows programs, they would certainly consider purchasing a refurbished or used 2019-2020 MacBook Pro.

I do not recommend those models (and definitely not the 16" 2019 or any 2020 due to Mojave & 32bit not being supported) for myriad reasons, not least of which is that hardware quality is poorer than previous generations. Failing ports, lousy keyboards, overheating processors, soldered drives, and security panic-theater are common complaints. On top of that, sellers still expect fairly high prices for their used machines.

IMO the laptop sweet-spot are the 2012-2015 MBPs. (Save as many as you can from area recyclers!)

 

[loopy123]

Just grab a new MacBook Pro. With enough RAM and SSD of course.
MS Office 365 deals are super cheap and the new machines are just gorgeous and well built. I’ve owned laptops back to the old TiBook and these new Mac laptops are brilliant.
Time to move on.

 

[Minghold]

Just grab a new MacBook Pro. With enough RAM and SSD of course.

How will the OP run his paid-for 32bit suites? That's what he wants.

MS Office 365 deals are super cheap

LibreOffice is free, and doesn't spy on you.

and the new machines are just gorgeous

I don't think any of them are as pretty as the featherweight 11" MBAs (2015 last year).

and well built.

Soldered SSDs = instant ***No.***

https://www.reddit.com/r/macbookair/comments/177nadx/comment/k4ultk3

I've owned laptops back to the old TiBook

I've owned portables back to the Apple //c.

and these new Mac laptops are brilliant.

Brilliant exercises in artificial-obsolescence and relentless data-harvesting for Apple's intelligence-entity overseers.

Time to move on.

Time to move on to dual-booting BigLinux* on those models built to last. (2013-14 seems to be the apogee of Mac reliability. Just keep Catalina off 'em.)

(*Loads as fast as Snow Leopard, sips ram like Mavericks, and pretty as Lion. It's amazeballs how lean and quick an OS can be when it's not 90% OEM spyware.)

 

[goldmac2006]

I launch BigLinux (Parallels VM) in Mojave, then open LibreOffice2025 (free), which will open any MS document (and most Adobe too).

I do not recommend those models (and definitely not the 16" 2019 or any 2020 due to Mojave & 32bit not being supported) for myriad reasons, not least of which is that hardware quality is poorer than previous generations. Failing ports, lousy keyboards, overheating processors, soldered drives, and security panic-theater are common complaints. On top of that, sellers still expect fairly high prices for their used machines.

IMO the laptop sweet-spot are the 2012-2015 MBPs. (Save as many as you can from area recyclers!)

Still an Intel ain’t gonna beat it if you need a Mac for a long time.

I was also advised against getting a m1 MacBook Pro as my first Mac, as even though the Touch Bar is still useful for me its specs wouldn’t last as long as the m3-m5s are designed for

 

[Minghold]

Still an Intel ain’t gonna beat it if you need a Mac for a long time.

Is thirteen years a long time? https://forums.macrumors.com/thread....2285317/page-233?post=34278894#post-34278894

Unless its owner drops it down a flight of stairs, that thing will still be accomplishing 99% of an average person's needs long after the last HID-locked M-series machine has bricked itself out of warranty.

 

[hanser]

I launch BigLinux (Parallels VM) in Mojave, then open LibreOffice2025 (free), which will open any MS document (and most Adobe too).

You make it seem that Linux/Parallels is needed for Libreoffice, but it works also under MacOS, no need for Linux or Parallels. I prefer Pages which by the way can also open Word documents and save as such, but in those cases I use Libreoffice, since it seems more compatible. I haven´t had Word on my computer for 15 years.

 

[Minghold]

You make it seem that Linux/Parallels is needed for Libreoffice, but it works also under MacOS, no need for Linux or Parallels.

LibreOffice *versions* require certain versions of MacOS, which require certain versions of Mac hardware. The latest version works in Linux, however. (Therefore, the procedure shown in the prior link enables running the maximum theoretical amount of software on a Mac from within a single partition: most 64bit Mac software, most 32bit, all non-hardware-specific Linux, and much Windows (from within Linux), while the Parallels hypervirtualization environment enables the Linux VM to share common space (such as trash, download, and desktop folders) without needing the otherwise troublesome APFS file-system.

 

[hanser]

I see. Why do it simple, if you can do it complicated? 🤷‍♂️ I dont think this is the way the OP wants to work.

 

[Minghold]

I see. Why do it simple, if you can do it complicated? 🤷‍♂️ I dont think this is the way the OP wants to work.

What is "it"? --From the OP, "it" is the paid-for software he likes, which is very likely 32bit. The M-series hardware recommended by others would preclude him from using that software since none of it supports Mojave (the last 32bit-sopporting OS). Unless Mojave is run as a VM....but if you're using VMs in, say, Sequoia, then you can just as easily be using VMs in Mojave on a replacement used machine costing a minuscule* fraction and which runs your favorite software natively (i.e., meaning you don't actually needs VMs at all -- they were just there in my 2012 MBA example to illustrate the possibility of running modern software on otherwise perfectly capable hardware that Apple chooses to no longer support for purely planned obsolence reasons).

(*I can literally buy fifty 10yo MBPs from an area recycler for less than the eyewatering price of a single new one, and every one will have an SSD and a Retina screen. "Old" hardware is now quite capable of doing almost everything the average person needs.)

 

[Peter Franks]

Is thirteen years a long time? https://forums.macrumors.com/thread....2285317/page-233?post=34278894#post-34278894

Unless its owner drops it down a flight of stairs, that thing will still be accomplishing 99% of an average person's needs long after the last HID-locked M-series machine has bricked itself out of warranty.

OK, now that was funny, but in fairness, I'm mostly confused
While we're on the subject, is OWC RAM guaranteed for life? They were the first things to die. Do they replace them still?

 

[goldmac2006]

Is thirteen years a long time? https://forums.macrumors.com/thread....2285317/page-233?post=34278894#post-34278894

Unless its owner drops it down a flight of stairs, that thing will still be accomplishing 99% of an average person's needs long after the last HID-locked M-series machine has bricked itself out of warranty.

If it didn’t have these rotating disk drives…

 

[Minghold]

If it didn’t have these rotating disk drives…

All Macbook Airs (debuted 2008) came with SSDs standard. (Only Pro and regular Macbook models with optical drives had hdds in base configuration.) While Apple made disassembly more irritating with Pentalobe screws, the drives in all Apple laptops were still replaceable through the late 20teens.

 

[goldmac2006]

All Macbook Airs (debuted 2008) came with SSDs standard. (Only Pro and regular Macbook models with optical drives had hdds in base configuration.) While Apple made disassembly more irritating with Pentalobe screws, the drives in all Apple laptops were still replaceable through the late 20teens.

Until the retina Mbps became a thing, right? Cos the retina MacBook Pro and 2016+ got thinner and now has to have ssds

 

[Minghold]

Until the retina Mbps became a thing, right? Cos the retina MacBook Pro and 2016+ got thinner and now has to have ssds

From 2012 to 2016, you could get two types of MBP: the mid-2012 13" (visually identical to the 2009-11 series), which came with a spinner drive, and the thinner no-DVD late-2012 15.4" version with an ssd. The thin models progressively updated, but Apple sold the popular* DVD model through Oct. 2016 in both a i5/500gb and i7/750gb configuration. El Capitan in HFS+ could launch off rotational media in thirty seconds (less if MRT were disabled), so many consumers didn't see a need for the faster SSD at the time.

(*It was the only remaining Mac with a DVD as well as inexpensive large-capacity drive options, whether hdd or sata-ssd, and the last Apple device you take apart with a Phillips screwdriver.)

 

[goldmac2006]

From 2012 to 2016, you could get two types of MBP: the mid-2012 13" (visually identical to the 2009-11 series), which came with a spinner drive, and the thinner no-DVD late-2012 15.4" version with an ssd. The thin models progressively updated, but Apple sold the popular* DVD model through Oct. 2016 in both a i5/500gb and i7/750gb configuration. El Capitan in HFS+ could launch off rotational media in thirty seconds (less if MRT were disabled), so many consumers didn't see a need for the faster SSD at the time.

(*It was the only remaining Mac with a DVD as well as inexpensive large-capacity drive options, whether hdd or sata-ssd, and the last Apple device you take apart with a Phillips screwdriver.)

Macs have phased out internal optical drives and SuperDrive after the discontinuation of these models.

Older Macs with spinning disk drives produced a spinning noise when booting up. However, regular HDDs should be handled with care, as dropping a MacBook Pro can damage the disk and its performance more easily than an SSD.