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Why should I "upgrade" to Sierra?

K

kattskrall

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 8, 2012
182
235
Can someone explain why I should upgrade from el capitan?

Sierra brings these features:

1. Siri: I often use my computer where other people see me in the public space. I don't want to do things slower while looking like a complete tool doing it. It's just a horrible idea. Add to that i talk Swedish and it just doesn't work in Swedish.

2. Copy paste on other devices: I have no other apple devices.

3. Log in with apple watch: I don't have an apple watch since I don't have an iPhone.

4. Access documents on all your apple devices: see 2 and 3.

5. pay, quote from sales pitch: "Your Mac has always been the perfect place to sit down and do some serious online shopping." :Nobody really accept that payment method in Sweden any ways. How is paying for more stuff a feature any ways? Get real apple.

6. Optimized storage: I have 60% free hdd space and no problem managing it.

7. New iPhoto: I don't use that app. I don't like locking my photos in a proprietary system made for the  eco system, see 2 and 3 again.

8. Emojis: No thanks, i'm fine with the ones in whatsapp already.

9. New iTunes: I use spotify.

10: Tabs in finder: that might be useful actually.

11: Picture in picture: Really? I can just pop out a video from a web browser if i would want to do that, which i dont.


TLDR: Is it worth upgrading for tabs in finder? I feel like this update is insulting my intelligence as a serious user of  computers.

The language they use to promote it somehow underline people using their computers are not capable human beings.
 
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Maybe i should have made the post more general. I'm having a hard time coming up why anyone would want to upgrade, but then again I'm looking at the world from my perspective ;)
 
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I am in pretty much the same situation. I don't own any Apple mobile devices and I can't see myself ever using Siri. There is no reason I can see to move past El Capitan at this point. People upgrade too frequently. I think most problems people have with their systems could be solved by staying with the OS their machine was designed for, unless compelling reasons exist to move. Apple has a difficult time supporting its own legacy hardware.
 
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kattskrall said:
10: Tabs in finder: that might be useful actually.
Click to expand...

It's actually not only for Finder. Finder had this feature for quite some time now. But now you can also use Tabs in Pages, Maps, and all kinds of Apps. I can see that this might be useful to have, but to be honest I haven't used that feature in any App other than Safari and Finder yet.
 
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Stay with El Capitan then. Two more years of security updates.

In general, I don’t understand this attitude. I can understand that you are not interested in particular new features, but an OS consists of numerous little components that are constantly improved. Even if you cannot see anything new, Sierra is technically more up-to-date. Unless you have particular reasons for not upgrading, why not make updating a habit when you can?
 
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kattskrall said:
Can someone explain why I should upgrade from el capitan?

Sierra brings these features:

1. Siri: I often use my computer where other people see me in the public space. I don't want to do things slower while looking like a complete tool doing it. It's just a horrible idea. Add to that i talk Swedish and it just doesn't work in Swedish.

2. Copy paste on other devices: I have no other apple devices.

3. Log in with apple watch: I don't have an apple watch since I don't have an iPhone.

4. Access documents on all your apple devices: see 2 and 3.

5. pay, quote from sales pitch: "Your Mac has always been the perfect place to sit down and do some serious online shopping." :Nobody really accept that payment method in Sweden any ways. How is paying for more stuff a feature any ways? Get real apple.

6. Optimized storage: I have 60% free hdd space and no problem managing it.

7. New iPhoto: I don't use that app. I don't like locking my photos in a proprietary system made for the  eco system, see 2 and 3 again.

8. Emojis: No thanks, i'm fine with the ones in whatsapp already.

9. New iTunes: I use spotify.

10: Tabs in finder: that might be useful actually.

11: Picture in picture: Really? I can just pop out a video from a web browser if i would want to do that, which i dont.


TLDR: Is it worth upgrading for tabs in finder? I feel like this update is insulting my intelligence as a serious user of  computers.

The language they use to promote it somehow underline people using their computers are not capable human beings.
Click to expand...

Looks like you don't need Sierra, and I can tell you I just went back to El Capitan. Watch out you don't get it automatically.
 
KALLT said:
Stay with El Capitan then. Two more years of security updates.

In general, I don’t understand this attitude. I can understand that you are not interested in particular new features, but an OS consists of numerous little components that are constantly improved. Even if you cannot see anything new, Sierra is technically more up-to-date. Unless you have particular reasons for not upgrading, why not make updating a habit when you can?
Click to expand...

That's assuming that the new OS doesnt break anything. For me it breaks karabiner (keyboard shortcuts) so that's a no go. CS6 also seems to have some issues as with Office 2016 and possibly 2011 so im gonna sit on 10.11.6. Like OP said, the only "new feature" worthwhile TO ME is the tabs.
 
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I updated. Used Siri a few times. It's OK.
Finder is still slow, and it's gotten harder to connect to other Macs on my network.
Yet more security theatre, with the passwords and such.
Managed to hold onto my old version of iTunes (10.4.1), so that's OK.
Not very many busted Apps. That's nice.
Mouse zoom and scrolling weirdness.
The file system is getting downright hostile to Linux.
All things considered, it feels more like a 0.0.2 update than a 0.1.0 update.
I guess they have to come out with a 'major' update once a year, but for this, I'm not seeing why.
 
saudor said:
That's assuming that the new OS doesnt break anything. For me it breaks karabiner (keyboard shortcuts) so that's a no go. CS6 also seems to have some issues as with Office 2016 and possibly 2011 so im gonna sit on 10.11.6. Like OP said, the only "new feature" worthwhile TO ME is the tabs.
Click to expand...

That is a valid point, but the OP talks about features, not compatibility issues or other problems. It is certainly not a bad idea to wait for a bit.
 
new OS's also bring changes and enhancements under the hood, which, in fact, is my main interest. it's the apps i care about, how they work, how i get my work done. in this respect, sierra is running really well for me.
 
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bent christian said:
I don't see any documentation that shows Sierra offers significant improvements (or any improvements) over El Capitan.
Click to expand...

which means? it's just el cap with siri added? or, possibly (as is the case with each new iteration of the OS) there are changes that happen outside of what we see on the surface.
 
fisherking said:
which means? it's just el cap with siri added? or, possibly (as is the case with each new iteration of the OS) there are changes that happen outside of what we see on the surface.
Click to expand...

I am not prepared to make assumptions based on no facts. Apple hasn't talked about under the hood improvements. I will assume there are none.
 
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KALLT wrote:
"Unless you have particular reasons for not upgrading, why not make updating a habit when you can?"

Still using 10.6.8 (and it runs just fine) on my 2010 MacBook Pro.
Guess I've fallen "out of the habit...." ;)
 
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These days macOS updates are all about brining Apple devices together. So, if you don't own other Apple devices, not much reason to update. I updated because of the improvements to Photos, which are definitely worth the while.
 
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bent christian said:
I am not prepared to make assumptions based on no facts. Apple hasn't talked about under the hood improvements. I will assume there are none.
Click to expand...

You clearly have not looked then. May I direct you to developer.apple.com, for a start? Apple never discloses the full extendt of the improvements, only that which pertains to source code and developer documentation. It is still a proprietary system with lots of secrets.

Fishrrman said:
Still using 10.6.8 (and it runs just fine) on my 2010 MacBook Pro.
Guess I've fallen "out of the habit...." ;)
Click to expand...

Snow Leopard is ancient and has numerous, documented, critical security problems. You are just one of many known exploits away of having your data compromised. Windows XP with IE 5 run just fine too, but at this point you’d be mental for keeping personal documents on it and have it connected to the Internet.
 
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I "upgraded" to Sierra simply because I've some pain to update the underlying Apache and may as well do it on the current code branch.

There's sod all difference except for a load of annoyances and some more things to turn off - Siri for example.

Best annoyance is if you use the headphone button (that's the 3.5mm jack into a standard analogue high-quality, wear all day, set of headphones) and up pops a nag screen about enabling some slurping Siri spyware. There's also a Siri service which you can't kill.

Siri_nagware.png


Slurping Sierra, the pointless so-called upgrade...
 
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KALLT wrote:
"Snow Leopard is ancient and has numerous, documented, critical security problems. You are just one of many known exploits away of having your data compromised"

Frankly, I couldn't care less, and I really mean that.

I've been using Macs since 1987, have never run any kind of virus or security or other protection (with the exception of something called "Disinfectant" back in the classic Mac days), and never had ANY infections, security compromises, etc, of ANY kind, ever.

There's really no data on the old MacBook of any consequence to be compromised.

My "main Mac" (late 2012 Mini) still uses 10.8.5. Excellent OS and runs fast and clean.
No problems with that one, either.

I refuse to become a slave to Apple's upgrade policies, being dragged along with the threat that using older versions of the OS leaves one "unsafe" in some miniscule way.

I use the versions of the OS that I like best, and don't worry about it.

I suppose everything could go bonkers tomorrow.
If that happens, then I'll start worrying... :)
 
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Fishrrman said:
KALLT wrote:
"Snow Leopard is ancient and has numerous, documented, critical security problems. You are just one of many known exploits away of having your data compromised"

Frankly, I couldn't care less, and I really mean that.

I've been using Macs since 1987, have never run any kind of virus or security or other protection (with the exception of something called "Disinfectant" back in the classic Mac days), and never had ANY infections, security compromises, etc, of ANY kind, ever.

There's really no data on the old MacBook of any consequence to be compromised.

My "main Mac" (late 2012 Mini) still uses 10.8.5. Excellent OS and runs fast and clean.
No problems with that one, either.

I refuse to become a slave to Apple's upgrade policies, being dragged along with the threat that using older versions of the OS leaves one "unsafe" in some miniscule way.

I use the versions of the OS that I like best, and don't worry about it.

I suppose everything could go bonkers tomorrow.
If that happens, then I'll start worrying... :)
Click to expand...


no harm in driving a model t either, or watching a black & white tv; seems fine to me to use whatever you choose to use, but updating to a newer OS hardly makes one a slave; we have choices, and we make them.
 
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Fishrrman said:
I've been using Macs since 1987, have never run any kind of virus or security or other protection (with the exception of something called "Disinfectant" back in the classic Mac days), and never had ANY infections, security compromises, etc, of ANY kind, ever.
Click to expand...

‘I have been driving without a seatbelt for [insert epoch here], never had an accident!’

Fishrrman said:
My "main Mac" (late 2012 Mini) still uses 10.8.5. Excellent OS and runs fast and clean.
Click to expand...

Windows XP runs fast and clean too, but that does not mean that there is no room for improvement. Try a decent web browser on El Capitan, the speed and performance differences are beyond comparison. Whatever perceived speed gains an older system may have, it is also increasingly inefficient for modern computing and today’s networking conditions.
 
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