Updates

Would be funny if it was true...but you never pay for OS updates on Mac.

lol i was about to say. Updates have been free since what , Lion? Lemmy is just hurr durr non Linux operating systems bad 🙄
- Yeah, it was Lion and even before then it was something like $35 to upgrade which was less than the cost to upgrade Windows at the time.
- This meme is older than Lion
- I’m pretty sure snow leopard was the last version you could buy physical media for at the very least because that’s the last version I have physical media for lol
- In my experience they are (comparatively) I absolutely hate using ipados and they messed up airdrop (because why support Bluetooth fileshare when you can have a proprietary protocol) between different versions of ipados with the latest update and now it doesn't work half the time...
- Are you kidding? Lemmy is overwhelmingly in favor of Linux. Like, holy persecution complex, Batman...
You pay it by buying new hardware.

My 2013 macbook pro with 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB SSD has been deprecated by apple so the latest OS it gets is Big Sur, it has now been barred from signing updates (since they require the latest XCode which I cannot get with Big Sur) so its only viable life is via Linux from now on.

I have had to buy a Mac Mini with 8 GB of RAM and a 250 GB SSD to be able to upload updates for my iOS apps.

I mean I can afford it, but yeah, we are paying for OS updates dude.

That's the reason they also updated their EULAs to set a minimum renting period of 24hs for providers like Amazon and MacStadium. They want you buying hardware, they don't want to leave any easy way out.
- There are still workarounds for getting new macOS on older not supported hardware (aka the OpenCore Legacy Patcher) which works very well, even with really old macs. But yes, of course, there are no official updates.
  
  That’s not an Apple problem per se though, that’s an industry problem. Windows 11 isn’t officially supported on Devices older than 2018 and unofficially not older than like 2015-ish, if you want full functionality and a non-hacky install (because of TPM 2.0). Also, most Android phones have a notoriously short period getting updates (although that is getting better with some manufacturers promising and delivering way more than before).
- It's the same with windows though, I can't get Windows 11 on my laptop.
  
  Same with many things, it's just not feasible to support decade old hardware with new updates.
I know we all get off on a little Apple hate from time to time, why do so many of these things feel they need to make shit up? There's so much real shit they do that you could just make fun of
- I think this comic might have been from the era when you did have to pay for new versions of OS X… they stopped doing that around Lion I think in 2011 or so.
- Because Apple bad obviously, get on the bandwagon
There was a time when you had to pay for the next major version. I think it went free around mountain lion or so?
- And even then it was only $20. The last time it was over $99 was 16 years ago.
- Are you telling me I can get a cougar for free?
- After 4 years, you have to pay $1999 to get a new iMac. (all numbers were made up)
You used to.
No, but you'll have to buy another 3000 dollar laptop that's only worth maybe 1200 bucks because they arbitrarily decide that their hardware can't support a new OS and lock you out of upgrading it.

We have them where I work and it's the biggest time sink for our service desk to deal with, replacing with Windows 10 machines absolutely saved us from having to deal with constant "network issues" and Adobe projects that can't be accessed on a workstation not running Monterrey or whatever version the person who last edited it was on, etc.

Fuck Mac, they're fine for personal use (if you like wasting money) but are absolutely dogshit for a commercial environment where work actually has to get done.
- I don't like apple but none of what you wrote has been reflected in my last 20 years of Mac experience. There is no "arbitrary" lack of support for older machines and in my experience machines usually get updates for several years.
- Uh, what? Have you owned a Mac in the last 30 years?
  
  That’s not how it works. I’ve had two macs in the last 20 years, and more than a dozen Windows machines. I had to reformat the Windows PCs every year or so for various reasons until they became obsolete after like 5 years, but my macs have worked for 10 years each with no issues, and always upgraded to the latest OS easily and always for free. Both my macs lasted 10+ years of heavy use (my current one is 5+ years and still young).
  
  Every time a Windows update came out it was an ordeal and I dreaded it; with each update I’d start looking at the cost of replacing the whole machine in case it bricks and it’s just not worth fixing things. Mac updates are barely a blip in my workflow.
  
  Adobe projects that can't be accessed on a workstation not running Monterrey or whatever
  
  This makes zero sense. The Adobe suite runs much better on OSX than Windows by orders of magnitude, even on outdated and non-updated OS. There’s a reason most designers and professional VXers have always preferred Mac. (eta: also, rereading, this makes even less sense because Adobe projects don’t care about your OS when opening; just the version of Adobe itself. You can easily open projects made on a whole different OS: Windows/OSX, any recentish version with no problem. Even files made in CS6/OSX can be opened in the latest cloud app on Windows easily. You’re either mistaken here or being deliberately dishonest for some reason.)
  
  I’ve been in IT/software development and VX design for a few decades and I’m really wondering how this is an ordeal for you. It makes no sense to me. My 3000 dollar laptop has outlasted 5 1000 dollar windows machines. You get what you pay for.
  
  e: some words were cut
  
  Also, in my few decades in the industry, the sales and marketing staff always ran Windows, but the design staff usually worked on Mac. That speaks for itself.
Macs only get support for three years now. So you're paying between $1,000 and $53,799 for a computer every three years instead of just updating the operating system in the same period of time.

So yeah, your right... This is inaccurate. It's not $99 any longer, it's starting at $1,000 every major update. If you're outside those three years, too bad. No updates for you, and in a year or less many of your favorite programs will get updates you can no longer ever use again.
- Apple machines are supported for like 7-8 years from launch
  
  macOS is only maintained for 3 years (3 generations).
  
  macOS 14 Sonoma just came out, so support for macOS 11 big sur just ended
  
  I think that the oldest system that is still officially supported is the Mac Pro from 2013. So 10 years of support. Likely will not be officially supported next year.
  
  Get your facts straight. Linux fan boyism is lazy and not supported in 2023
You pay for them when they slow down your hardware
- Hey, they could have taken the Google option and let the phones die at 20% charge because there was too much voltage draw for the aging battery to handle
- You can disable the throttling.

So, what? We're just straight up making shit up about Mac now when trashing it on Lemmy?

Its literally been over a decade since the last time Apple charged for an OS update

It's a comic from 2011. Here's the source: https://www.stickycomics.com/computer-update/
- I mean, that's cool - but it's still on the front page today
- Then Op is an idiot
And I believe they stopped charging for OS updates before Microsoft did, though I could be misremembering.
- They 100% did
  
  Don't get me wrong, there's plenty to gripe about with apple, just like every tech company, but I swear half the complaints I hear about Apple products on lemmy are either outdated or just plain wrong
  
  For some reason the anti-Apple circle jerk is supercharged on Lemmy. I'll never understand why people get themselves so worked up over a brand they never have to do business with
- You are not.
- The last paid Mac OS update was Mountain Lion in 2012. Wasn't the last paid Windows update Windows 7 in 2009, since it's technically possible to update all the way to Windows 11 without buying another license.
This meme is older than decade as well.
Bright to you by the same people who will trash Windows over some aspect of the OS, and in the same sentence praise Linux for how wonderful and innovative it is for doing the exact same thing.
- What exactly do people complain about Windows doing that Linux also does? Trying to be neutral here, but I can't think of a single issue that is a common windows complaint that is also an issue on Linux. I can think of plenty of issues for both OS's (and MacOS too fwiw), but the venn diagram of windows issues and Linux issues is just two non overlapping circles as far as I can tell lol
When their last paid update launched, Mac's were expected to last the better part of a decade, just like Windows (and certain Linux distros can last much longer.)

Today, Apple cuts off all support after just three years. Their "updates" are fluffy marketing bullshit. The latest one is just a bunch of wallpapers and screensavers.

Windows, on average, releases an update every three years, on average. Any computer thay can run it can get them for about $100. The cheapest Mac is $1,000.

So people are paying ten times more, all while they believe they are getting a great deal and "free" updates compared to the "paid" alternative.

Time to update the meme.

windows: oh no, I was in a meeting!
mac: oh no, I need a new mac for this to work!
Linux: I'm afraid to install this, my graphics will probably break again!

I haven't had to touch xorg.conf in many years
- It's been so long since X broke that most people won't know what you mean by xorg.conf
- what the hell that exists?
I’ve had some programs break because their dependencies updated before them but never the graphics
- Nvidia thing probably
You can pause and schedule update on Windows
- But you can't decline them or postpone indefinitely. It'll eventually force you to restart and update, and that's a problem.
  
  When updates break a piece of critical software and can't be postponed indefinitely it's a real problem.
  
  I've also run into instances where my PC was performing a task that required several weeks of processing time and Windows forced a restart because the process time was longer than the postponement window, so a task that's supposed to take 3 weeks suddenly takes 6 weeks.
  
  Yes, security is important, but sometimes it's secondary to the entire fucking reason a computer has been deployed, and Microsoft shouldn't be dictating my priorities.
- I forget the specifics, because I've had autoupdates turned off for a while now, but I think it would make you set "active hours" and then would do updates outside of your active hours. Regardless of you actually using your computer at the time. And, back in the day, my sleep schedule was non-existent, so there was no time that was completely safe for doing updates.
  
  There was a time when you could postpone, but they got rid of that, or limited it... eventually you'd end up with an unstoppable update. It seems microsoft is trying tons of things to get people to stay up to date, but none are satisfying to everyone.
  
  I prefer my method, which isn't easily accessible to all, manually updating periodically. Sometimes I'm a month or 2 late, but the worst of the worst vulnerabilities ends up news and that'll get me to update sooner.

There are high-schoolers alive today (maybe even in this thread) who were born after Apple stopped charging for updates. Maybe it's time to get some new jokes.

Obviously an apple shill getting paid in update money
This meme has been doing the rounds for few years now. Also, I don't remember the exact date now when Apple stopped charging for updates. I assume it has been a decent long time since they last did so. The only pain point is Windows which takes the most time to update and has basically made dual booting tougher than ever, thanks to their ever screwing of Grub configs.
- Last time they charged for an OS update was with Mountain Lion, which was also the last "big cat" OS. That was in 2012, and it was only 20$. The last OS release that was over 100$ (or even 50$) was Leopard, in 2007, at 130$. Back then, the only way to get it was on a CD, which is obviously much more expensive to manufacture and distribute than a download...

This meme is from an older time when all of this was true.

For all the people here commenting here about macOS updates being free forever, I guess they haven’t really used the OS long enough.

https://www.wired.com/2013/10/apple-ends-paid-oses/

Should the meme be updated before it is eventually reposted? Yes. But should it misinform people? No.

I remember paying for Snow Leopard and being excited about it. Apple is nothing if not great at marketing.
- i remember snow leopard being only £25 and being ecstatic

Windows: It's stuck again. Will force-reboot corrupt my system?
Rolling-release distro: Cool! New features. ...5 programs just stopped working all together.
Point-release distro: Let's see... under the hood improvements.
Gentoo: I don't have time for this.
LFS: I never planned to try updating it anyway.

The first part of this comment triggered some PTSD.
I dunno, OpenSUSE Tumbleweed and using mostly flatpacks for my apps have been pretty consistent for me lately, though that's the first rolling release distro I've tried.
My question is: why use Gentoo or LFS?

This comic is from a long time ago....

Regardless, I'll accept it.

Sweet I updated and broke my package manager and the system python. I guess I'll just reimage and start over.

:shrugs:

I don't have time for that tbh. I go with Mac for my laptop for that reason.
- Reminds me of Technology Connections:
  
  “I like to do work on my computer. Not work on my computer. And that’s why I don’t use Linux! Yea, I went there!”

If you use all three long enough, you have the middle reaction to updates for all three.

Free software as in freedom of speech, not necessarily as in free beer. Maintainers also need to pay the bills.

I've always been curious how people who give away software for a living make that living. I have a few OSS projects but I make my living other ways, those OSS projects are hobbies and my living takes precedence every time because I like to eat food and buy things.

Like they can sell support, but I have never paid for a solution. They can sell packaged solutions, but I can compile it myself. They can survive on donations but, while I have donated to a lot of FOSS projects, I imagine most people don't donate.
- A lot of good FOSS projects start off as a company’s internal tooling, which they release to the public. The main source of income is sometimes an entirely different product/service.

I don't think I've ever sat there and thought "cool free stuff" when updating. More so annoyed as it reminds me that our systems at work should probably get updated.

I once accidentally installed one on my Mac and I lost my shit.

Like, first it was an emotional reaction of losing my shit, then I actually lost a lot of important shit because there was no way to downgrade, and the latest OS cut off tools from my important tools and apps from being run.

Sweet I updated and gained more storage space!

Mac user: I’ve never once paid for a system update and am wildly confused by this meme.

And hardware support continues for so long I’ve never had a machine be unable to run a new OS before I already needed a new machine (I used my ‘08 MacBook Pro for a solid 10 years no problem).

I feel like some of y’all have never used an Apple machine before.

You had to pay for OS X updates before, but they changed that around 15 years ago. I remember paying I think $60 to upgrade from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion.
They used to charge for OS upgrades about 10 years ago, back when it was still called OSX.

I get the general point. Apple apps are more often paid and at a higher price generally. But Mac OS has been free forever. And when they did charge it was waaaaay cheaper than Windows

Which Apple apps are paid for? Their entire productivity suite is free, Office 365 is a hefty enough price. You get a free photo editing app, free video editing app and free music production app on every device. Of course there’s a couple of Pro apps for music and video but they are literally for pro users and generally the investment is worth what you can do with them.
- Suite
That's true, and I believe it was to lure people from using Windows computer / make the switch. I almost forgot that they charged it at some point though, it brings back memories!
Paying for upgrades was popularised by apps on Apple devices. I remember a time when upgrades were free for life.

Enterprise Linux: "we updated last night. We'll probably reboot this weekend. No cause for alarm."

Semi-related but I remember the ancient days when the original iPod touch (not iPhone though) initially had paid OS upgrades - not too crazy for back then when the firmware was often done when the device shipped save for maybe a small patch or three. But there were also larger updates too but not too common.

And then I remember Steve getting up on stage proclaiming that Apple “has found a way!” to make it free.

Debian Users: "It better fuckin not be"

As much as I hate Mac from the few times I used it for work and helping my wife I never remember paying for an update.

Also it may not be much but windows does get extra features in the yearly feature update. Recent updates brought built in winrar and the last one let you have tabs in notepad.

Also it may not be much but windows does get extra features in the yearly feature update.

And break tons of shit you already had figured out.
- I don't doubt it, but that has not really been my experience. Honestly the only OS I have used that breaks things after updating is Mac... applications, printers, and drivers just don't work until the developer updates them, which sometimes can be 3-6 months after the release.
And my last one (involuntary Windows update) overwrote GRUB because of course that's what I wanted, then after the first reboot not even Windows would boot and I had to create a live USB on my old laptop instead.
- Gosh that sucks.

You have to add Android now! I’d go with something like “cool, time for a new phone!”

More like, "Damn, another one, do I have to? Oh no, the new update removed that awesome feature/app I used and only added something super lame I never needed and will never use!"

In my setup I was partially upgraded to GNOME 45 before I can upgrade to Fedora 39 thanks to Flatpak

Words of a madman

Macs/MacOS has enough problems, no reason to make anything up

Yea, we should be complaining about the bug that has existed in the last three major versions of macOS but isn’t fixed in favor of adding a few new bugs (which also won’t be fixed any time soon).

I'm getting a bit tired of seeing this meme get reposted over and over and over and over again.

I see you're a Windows user.

I have worked around windows updates enough to make them not be a pain in the ass for me.

But in the last year I have been using Linux more, mostly Fedora and Mint. It is honestly embarrassing how much easier, more lightweight, and more streamlined the updates feel compared with Windows. It’s especially amusing when it’s like “hey we updated your fucking kernel so please do a reboot as soon as you feel like it. Please.”

general reposti, you are an ancient one

Hello there!

I miss when new macOS releases were actually paid and came with actually useful features that worked on pretty much every Macintosh they ran on for the most part.

As a Linux / Windows and Mac user this tired and inaccurate

Especially after Microsoft Updates kept bricking my computer during updates, but wouldnt stop trying to force them, even though every attempt to do so failed FOR THE LAST HALF YEAR. And the only way I could make the update fuck off from attempting to retry waz to turn on and off my computer until it gave up

And $99! is referring to $9.3x10^155 here...

Um, actually... it's 933262154439441526816992388562667004907159682643816214685929638952175999932299156089414639761565182862536979208272237582511852109168640000000000000000000000. 🤓
- Sorry, used to r/unexpectedfactorial being a thing... Forgot this isn't Reddit anymore.

Okay, to everyone who requires beta blockers after reading that joke: yes, you do not literally pay for updates on Mac. The joke is about the mindset of users. The overly enthusiastic Linux User stereotype (wow! Update! Much new, such awesome!), the Windows user who has just given up stereotype (oh no, not again!) And the Mac user stereotype who is just as enthusiastic as the Linux guy but isnised.to apple charging them money. It is not a "anti Mac circle jerk", it's a joke about mindset for crying out loud.

Delusional unhinged corporate hate.

How is this corporate hate 😂 wooow
- Whatever you need to tell yourself.
Being against a corporation due to their policies is not "hate".

This apologistic message you're pandering is nothing more than a delusional culture war Apple and other large companies have you fighting on their behalf.
- 👌👍