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What's New in macOS High Sierra: APFS, Metal 2, Photos Improvements, Safari Autoplay Blocking and More
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https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2017/715/
I just wish the Photos app can finally allow for copying edited photos between libraries. Such a basic feature but a nightmare that still not there so loose all edits and metadata updates.
I've not installed High Sierra yet (plain ol' Sierra for me at the moment) and my TimeMachine does that.
Let's say I'm near the end of a 5GB backup when I shut down my laptop or disconnect from wifi. When I reboot (or reconnect to wifi) the "Last Backup" date shows my previous backup. This is correct as the current one isn't complete. However, once I kick off a new backup, or it realises the backup drive is back and can do another backup, it doesn't start at 5GB, it starts at e.g. 100MB or whatever is left to do.
Any operating efficiency has two effects, one is better performance -- another is that it requires less power to do the same thing.... as such any improvements in performance such as Metal 2, file system etc. will have a secondary effect of when used.... it will improve battery life for the same workload.
Updates to Mail, Photos and Siri?
consider me unimpressed... Well, as I don't use any of them it is probably not that unexpected.
Mail? I use Thunderbird. Have been using it since 2003 or thereabouts and it does everything I need. It is OS neutral so I can if needed, move it lock stock and files to Linux or Windows.
Photos? Having a set of Lightroom Catalogues going back to 2003 (when I ditched Film and bought a Nikon D100) there really is no incentive for me to move. Oh, and the size of it all is 3.3TB with 269,000 images.
Siri? Well, I worked on a Voice Recog system at the back end of the 1980's and TBH, I really don't like talking to a computer. Swearing at it when things like a BSOD happens yes but talking and asking questions? Sorry No. But that it me.
I am interested in APFS. I wrote a simple filesystem for a PDP-11/40 in 1974 as a University project so I am going to upgrade pretty soon after release so that I can do some experimentation with it.
Just my own thoughs on H-S. YMMV
consider me unimpressed... Well, as I don't use any of them it is probably not that unexpected.
Mail? I use Thunderbird. Have been using it since 2003 or thereabouts and it does everything I need. It is OS neutral so I can if needed, move it lock stock and files to Linux or Windows.
Photos? Having a set of Lightroom Catalogues going back to 2003 (when I ditched Film and bought a Nikon D100) there really is no incentive for me to move. Oh, and the size of it all is 3.3TB with 269,000 images.
Siri? Well, I worked on a Voice Recog system at the back end of the 1980's and TBH, I really don't like talking to a computer. Swearing at it when things like a BSOD happens yes but talking and asking questions? Sorry No. But that it me.
I am interested in APFS. I wrote a simple filesystem for a PDP-11/40 in 1974 as a University project so I am going to upgrade pretty soon after release so that I can do some experimentation with it.
Just my own thoughs on H-S. YMMV
Mail, most mail clients connect to the server in IMAP not POP these days ... so moving clients is just a matter of installing new software.... If you did use POP against the server - and had more than one device, your mail would be all over the place.... So using mail software just because you are not locked in.... not really an important issue and a red herring. In fact I connect macOS mail to an exchange server at work and have Outlook also receive the same mail. Same with my personal accounts...
I don't use Siri, but it is my understanding that Siri (other than keyword) processing is done in the cloud so it is not operating system dependent... and would have no need to be "synced" with OS releases.
Photos, just another application that does not need to be synced with an OS release (it was released mid version)....
But all of those.... are fluff.... but it is what non-developers see.... With a mature operating system like macOS the customer facing stuff really does not need to be changed in the version. Windows 8 was a prime example of excitement is not necessarily good for the customers...
There is lots of stuff under the hood that is exciting for an annual release though, but it is not sexy for the end user.... not initially, but one day people wake up and they have amazing new features in some 3rd party app and say how wonderful the developer is and why can Apple not be as exciting or amazing.... yet without the plumbing ... the investment by 3rd party app makers would at most be .... dull....
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I guess, no improvement in copy/paste...unchanged since OS 7...no color fonts for address book or Notes...no improvements to Apple Mail...the basics will be ignored...I will pass on this.
All modern HDDs and SSDs use error correcting codes (ECC), which makes additional error correction superfluous.
As great as High Sierra is, there is still no support for HomeKit. Bit disappointed if I'm honest..
Of course they're susceptible to mechanical damage - can I borrow your SSD and a hammer?
Encryption is far more important than the very minor improvements offered by ZFS. Also the Oracle issue is a huge deterrent to ZFS.I wish APFS was a good enough replacement for ZFS, and I could go with something more integrated with the system for everything. Unfortunately, it doesn't come close. ZFS is still the best. Here's hoping for future improvements!
EDIT: Well, unless encryption is important enough to you to forego most of the ZFS feature set.
There is value in end to end CRC/integrity checks to make sure the entire data path from magnetic storage to the OS'es RAM buffer is validated. Depends on the use and application.
Nothing like that is needed. Data is in the same format for HFS and APFS, so no data need be copied during migration. Only the file system's metadata is updated (stuff like where your data is on disk, what your folder structure is like, ...). That takes up little room, comparatively. So it creates the APFS version of the metadata, and if successful, flips one more bit saying "now this drive is APFS". At any point up until then, if there's a failure then the drive is still HFS and effectively unchanged.
The same APFS migration has _already happened_ on *hundreds of millions* of iOS devices, which don't have partitions etc. Miraculously it appears to be a highly successful process. Congrats to Apple FS team.
Being through a upgrades that affect data (for banks - i.e. billions of dollars as oppose to billions of dollars worth of devices)..... even if you tested it over and over.... the event is extremely stressful and nerve-racking.... and "unknown unknowns" are always possible.
As such, I thank the Apple FS team for their work (as well) and also congratulate them on a job well done.... they deserve it.
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I disagree with your take and understanding of the mater. As someone understanding end to end data checks, the impact is not infinitesimal but real and very measurable. Depending on application, what you are saying is true. Servers? APFS is not there but it is not designed for that goal. It is designed for purely consumer based applications.
In this mindset, Apple made decisions (that I mostly understand) saying for the extremely RARE (and it is a rare, infinitesimal as you would say) event for a corrupted file and they will rely on file backups for recovery.
Protect the structure of the drive (meta data) and rely on redundant copies (backups) for the user data. If the user cares about their data, they will have backups.
From a consumer standpoint, I understand this mindset.
That's because it didn't actually copy it. APFS uses COW (Copy On Write), so duplicating a file just requires copying the metadata into a new file header. The new file points to the same storage blocks on the disk until either the old file or the new file are changed. At that point the file system allocates a new block for whichever file was changed. Very efficient and it makes versioning a file very easy, quick, and efficient, as only the blocks that are changed from version to version need to be stored on disk.
Basically it defers the actual duplicating of the file blocks until you actually need to do it. By doing this it spreads out that time and eliminates duplicating any part of the file that doesn't change.
If Apple rewrites Time Machine (I can't imagine they won't) to use this feature of APFS it'll drastically reduce the time it takes for all backups after the first all the hard stuff is built into the files system. I'm looking forward to APFS on macOS!
You can and should keep your files under High Sierra on an HFS+ partition... on your backup drive. You do have backups, right? If your files are as critical as you say, you should absolutely be backing up to Time Machine and at least one other place, preferably offsite.
I plan to not upgrade to high Sierra due to a recent disastrous iTunes release. I cannot lose the feature new version is missing.
I do have a time machine backup, albeit not so recent.
Thanks for your suggestions.