Dangerous Updating

It’s very well known that Apple updates Mac operating systems very often. They have already made it the whole way to Lion, and I’m sure the next update is due soon. All these updates can cause a lot of compatibility issues for digital audio workstations and other digital audio programs. I have had issues with this myself in upgrading to Lion.

In the industry, it is common knowledge that you should check compatibility before updating your computer or your software. Pro Tools, one of the most popular digital Audio workstations (DAW), even has a page to tell you when it is safe to update your operating system. Different operating systems can cause a lot of weird bugs in audio programs. With as many Macs as there are in the industry, it is surprising that there are still so many OS updates.  Lately, it seems the updates have not been that much different than the previous version anyway.

It’s not only in the audio and recording industry that new operating systems can cause problems. The latest version for Mac, Lion, is not compatible with anything previously made for Adobe. Though this brings in a lot of money for other companies that update their software and sell it as a new version, this can be hard on a lot of people. Not everyone can afford to upgrade all the time, whether it is the operating system or his or her software. After upgrading one, it’s not likely you want to spend the money on even more upgrading.

It seems that most companies are starting to upgrade more often. This is fine as long as the upgrade is worth it. Even Pro Tools has released two new versions in the last two years (Pro Tools 9 in 2010 and Pro Tools 10 in 2011). Luckily, for those that recently upgraded or bought Pro Tools 9, Avid gave free upgrades.

Upgrading is a very tricky business. It is very necessary to be aware of the upgrades and what they will actually mean and do to your computer.

Resources:

Osx lion: Welcome to the jungle!. (2012, January 10). Retrieved from http://www.recordingmag.com/blogs/post/151.html