To Upgrade or Not: The Mountain Lion Dilemma

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Once again Apple, Inc. has blessed us with an upgrade to the software that drives our bright shiny Macintoshes. The computer that sets us apart from the drones and their Microsoft ladened devices. Oh what a special group we are. Limited viruses, great software and a legacy of “Think Different”. Everything is wonderful until we upgrade our software and some key piece of hardware or software refuses to work as before.

In my case it was my MBox Pro from Avid. This amazing audio interface has worked flawlessly since I bought it that is until I upgraded to Lion when it became available. Nothing ruins a day more than for something to quit working. Working with my Mac Pro in the past has been a joy. I looked forward to each new revision of the OS X software (I have been using it since the first public beta). So, was this release a fluke or can we all look forward to other incompatibilities in our future? Hopefully Apple will work closely with 3rd party vendors so these nightmares can be an exception rather than a cruel rule.

Their have been stories of others who have suffered the same fate with other vendors wares which were just not quite ready for the latest upgrade. So, what is a poor Mac user to do? Conventional wisdom dictates waiting until the first update before upgrading to a major revision of the operating system. Are there any features in the new version that is just too unbearable to not have on the first day? Well, that is a call everyone has to make for themselves. Personally, I wish I had just stayed with Snow Leopard because everything just worked. Oh I went to Avid’s website and downloaded all of the updates for my device but to no avail. Lion shows no love for my Pro Tools setup.

So now we have Mountain Lion which beckons us for the unheard of price of $19.99. But is it worth it if suddenly a key piece of software or hardware refuses to work? In my opinion, not really given the time it will take you overcome the fact that once worked well now does not work as well or as in my case, at all. Better to suffer through indignity of last years technology than to blaze a trail on the bleeding edge of technology and not be able to use the computer at all.

So, before upgrading I will wait a few weeks to see what problems are reported and if anything critical to my life will be affected. I do miss my MBox Pro which is now sitting in its original box waiting for the opportunity to live once again but I do look forward to the day when I can join the masses in Mountain Lion goodness just in a more rational approach rather than the running the latest and greatest just for the sake of running the latest and greatest. Happy upgrading and I hope your experience is a good one.

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