Technologically unsavvy. Can I upgrade to mavericks?

[lb1990]

Hey everyone.
I am completely clueless when it comes to technology.
I am currently running 10.6.8 with 4GB RAM. I purchased my macbook pro (aluminum) in April 2009.
I have been hesitant with upgrades because of iphoto (currently running '09 version 8.1.2). I have tons of pictures and I dont want my iphoto to not be able to open. Also my laptop is not new and the battery life is not great so I dont want that getting worse.

What do you think, should I upgrade? Let me know if you need any more information.

 

[Livewings]

Hey everyone.
I am completely clueless when it comes to technology.
I am currently running 10.6.8 with 4GB RAM. I purchased my macbook pro (aluminum) in April 2009.
I have been hesitant with upgrades because of iphoto (currently running '09 version 8.1.2). I have tons of pictures and I dont want my iphoto to not be able to open. Also my laptop is not new and the battery life is not great so I dont want that getting worse.

What do you think, should I upgrade? Let me know if you need any more information.

Yes you should. As Craig Federighi said, "Even laggards in Snow Leopard can upgrade to Mavericks in just a single click."

 

[lb1990]

but will my old applications work? I have been reading the reviews in the app store and people are having problems with my model of computer because the apps are old and are not compatible with the new software.

 

[Shmanky]

Hey everyone.
I am completely clueless when it comes to technology.
I am currently running 10.6.8 with 4GB RAM. I purchased my macbook pro (aluminum) in April 2009.
I have been hesitant with upgrades because of iphoto (currently running '09 version 8.1.2). I have tons of pictures and I dont want my iphoto to not be able to open. Also my laptop is not new and the battery life is not great so I dont want that getting worse.

What do you think, should I upgrade? Let me know if you need any more information.

Back up your photos right now! Buy an external USB hard drive, connect it, and let Time Machine back up your photos.

A Mac from 2009 with 4 GB is still pretty modern. You could upgrade to Mavericks or you can delay it for a while if there are bugs. Won't iPhoto '09 open in Mavericks? I don't see why it wouldn't. Then you could buy the new version of iPhoto, let it upgrade your iPhoto library, and it will likely open just fine. And if it doesn't you have your pictures backed up on the external hard drive or to an Internet-based backup service.

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but will my old applications work? I have been reading the reviews in the app store and people are having problems with my model of computer because the apps are old and are not compatible with the new software.

Which old apps?

 

[dusk007]

Unless you miss some feature of Mavericks I still wouldn't bother.
I got quite a few bugs here with Mavericks GUI on a 2010. I had Mountain Lion before.
I cannot use my older version of pathfinder anymore, because for some odd reason it completely messes up Mission Control in Mavericks.

In theory the process is really not difficult but you must do a full backup because otherwise if there a big problems getting your system back to snow leopard again will be quite difficult.

 

[ohbrilliance]

For what it's worth, I've upgraded my 2007 MBP to Mavericks and iPhoto 6 (which came with Tiger) runs fine and loads the few photos I have there.

 

[lb1990]

Yeah. Honestly I think I'm going to buy a new computer in a bout a year so I wont bother updating.

If it aint broke don't fix it, huh?

 

[ohbrilliance]

I don't see any reason to hesitate. Just upgrade the thing and get a years-newer OS till you get yourself a new laptop. You only live once.

 

[hachiman]

Either way, backup your photos. The iphoto picture is in your Picture folder. You can right click on the big iphoto file and view content to see the actual photos and how it is organized. Im not on my mac so you may have to research or someone tell you were exactly it is located.

 

[sabbyp]

get an ssd upgrade for your machine, and then upgrade to mavericks, it'll feel like a completely new machine.