Why should I ever trash a program?

[Michael73]

Simple question...with a 3TB drive in my MacPro, which translates to nearly unlimited space, why should I ever get rid of old versions of programs?

I feel like I want to tidy up my applications but I always seem to fall back to, "Why do it, if I don't need the space?"

I'm always afraid that although new versions of programs bring new features, sometimes they drop old ones and someday, I'll wish I still had it.

Case in point, I just upgraded to Adobe CS6 Web Premium but I still have CS5 and CS4. I have Office for Mac 2011 AND 2008. I have iMovie and the previous version - iMovie HD. I have iWork 08 and iWork 09. I have Toast 8 Titanium and Toast 9 Titanium. The list goes on and on...

 

[Arelunde]

I have CS1, CS3 and CS6. I keep CS6 and don't use the others. I don't even have them on my MBP. To me keeping old versions of apps is a waste of space and has the potential for conflicts. If you really MUST keep an old program to accommodate shops that haven't upgraded, why did you waste your bucks on the upgrade?

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

If you change the topic to stuff in general, you'd be the definition of a hoarder. As for Office, 2011 has everything 2008 has plus more. iWork 09 didn't drop any iWork 08 features and is backwards compatible.

I don't keep old versions. Why? Even if the world doesn't move to the new version, you can't keep using the old version forever. At best, it's a temporary delay of the inevitable. So instead of resisting what will eventually come anyway, just make life a little bit less painful and move on.

 

[benwiggy]

If you're talking about keeping applications that you don't use rather than deleting them, then fair point.

But keeping different versions is likely to end in tears and confusion. There's nothing more annoying than double clicking on a file and having to wait while the wrong application starts bouncing up. Or discovering you've been working in the wrong version for two hours.

If you do professional work with clients who require specific versions, then that's one reason to keep older Creative Suites. Otherwise, ditch the older ones.

What then to do with all that space? DATA!!!!

 

[DisplacedMic]

my garage isn't full, but i still throw away or get rid of things i don't want or need.

this is especially true for different "versions" of the same thing.

Example: I have a nice measuring tape and at least 2 of the crappy kind. I didn't get rid of the crappy ones at first because i thought it would be a good idea to keep extras around in case i misplaced the good one or for whatever reason. Turns out - i just get frustrated when i grab one of the crappy ones and end up going back and getting the good one anyway...

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If you change the topic to stuff in general, you'd be the definition of a hoarder. As for Office, 2011 has everything 2008 has plus more. iWork 09 didn't drop any iWork 08 features and is backwards compatible.

I don't keep old versions. Why? Even if the world doesn't move to the new version, you can't keep using the old version forever. At best, it's a temporary delay of the inevitable. So instead of resisting what will eventually come anyway, just make life a little bit less painful and move on.

i agree with this. i see nothing wrong with A - delaying upgrading a bit or B - keeping maybe 1 version back around temporarily in case they break something you need...but keeping crap you don't need for no reason seems silly to me.

The reality is you're just delaying the inevitable, and making it harder in the long run. Assuming 3TB isn't the bottleneck in your system over time of course. It's entirely possible that it isn't- but even then you'll likely either want to move that drive into your new system, transfer the data over to it or delete it for security purposes later. And the roads from all 3 scenarios lead to data cleanup sooner or later... why not just stay on top of it while it happens? Unless of course you don't care about the security of the data on it or just want to drill a hole in it and throw it away when you're done...

you know what they say about procrastination...

 

[vistadude]

You might want to keep the installers or dmg files, but keeping multiple versions of the same program make it harder to open programs, especially if you use spotlight search and keyboard shortcuts.

Most software developers don't drop features, other than Apple, so new versions contain all of the old features plus new ones.