Mac OS X upgrade
When it's time to upgrade from an older version of Mac OS (possibly on an older computer) to Mac OS X, there are a number of things to consider. So, in the interest of making that transition much easier and more straightforward, here is some common sense advice.
Make sure your computer is compatible
Mac OS X is simply more demanding than any previous version of Mac OS. It wants a faster computer with more memory than Mac OS 8 or 9 did. So first, we recommend you check out our Mac OS X system requirements page. There, we've listed Apple's requirements, and also provided some real-world experience to help guide you in getting the most out of Mac OS X -- which may mean getting a newer, faster computer, or just upgrading your old one selectively.
Because Mac OS X is now more than two years old as of this writing, we definitely think you should compare any new Macintosh computers you are considering against the system recommendations linked above. If the new computer does not seem to meet or exceed all of the requirements, we would recommend considering a different system.
The good news is that if your computer is already compatible, you should have a good experience with Mac OS X. Even compatible computers can benefit from several kinds of improvements. For that reason, we suggest you take a look at our "Mac OS X performance" page, which we think will provide additional guidance for those running Mac OS X on an existing computer -- or those looking to get a new system entirely.
Native software
Mac OS X can run many different kinds of software, but traditional Mac users will likely be concerned almost exclusively with how it runs the everyday applications we've come to know and love on classic Mac OS. You know -- software like Microsoft Office, FileMaker Pro, Adobe's suite (Acrobat, Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign), Macromedia's Studio (Dreamweaver, Freehand, Flash, and Fireworks), Wolfram Mathematica, and QuarkXPress.
We always recommend upgrading to Mac OS X native versions of your software, if there is a version available. Mac OS X has ways of running the exact same software that you run on your Mac OS 9-based computer today, but you will have a much better Mac OS X experience with upgraded versions. ITS, RIT Purchasing, and the RIT Campus Connections bookstore may have special licensing deals with vendors that allow you to upgrade at minimal cost -- many times, the shrinkwrapped box copy of the software (even at an educational discount) is not the best deal available.
There are also new programs that come exclusively to Mac OS X. Some of these are from Apple -- because, now that Mac OS X is more than two years old, the company is working to streamline its new software applications development. Other packages come from vendors unfamiliar to traditional Mac users -- look at vendors like Omni Group and Stone Design. We think that you'll like what you see when you explore the choices of software that's available for Mac OS X -- there are enough choices that we aren't able to support them all in ITS at this time, but they are worth seeking out.
