New iPod/Mac OS question

[Bill]

Hi folks,

I just got a new iPod Nano today. I'm currently running OS 10.3.9 on my Mac. I followed the instructions and downloaded the newest version of iTunes and plugged in my iPod. The message I got was that my

"iPod cannot be used because it requires OS 10.4.8 or later."

So does this mean I have to go out now and buy OS 10.4.8 for another $100 or whatever? I tried looking to download it, but all I could find on Apple's website is that to download OS 10.4.8, you have to have OS 10.4.7.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[kp8]

Originally Posted by Bill

Hi folks,

I just got a new iPod Nano today. I'm currently running OS 10.3.9 on my Mac. I followed the instructions and downloaded the newest version of iTunes and plugged in my iPod. The message I got was that my

"iPod cannot be used because it requires OS 10.4.8 or later."

So does this mean I have to go out now and buy OS 10.4.8 for another $100 or whatever? I tried looking to download it, but all I could find on Apple's website is that to download OS 10.4.8, you have to have OS 10.4.7.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Sounds like you will need to upgrade... and the jump from 10.3.x to 10.4.x is not free (despite those silly coupons they put in each OS package!)

At the risk of sounding like a fanboy 10.4 is a really good upgrade and has been out a long while. You should make the leap if you can. The last few upgrades 10.2 --> 10.3 --> 10.4 have each brought nice improvements. 10.3 is pretty darned out of date by now, though i still run it on one machine.

Congrats on the new ipod. I just lost mine this week and am still sick about it. All my teaching materials were on it and i was using the iPod to play stuff in class. It was working great. ugh... so much for that!

Enjoy it. I loved my nano while i had it.

-kp8--

[Gibson]

Hi there,

A fellow Mac user!

I'm also using 10.3.9, which is the last iteration of Leopard.

10.4 onwards is Tiger, supposedly a whole new operating system. So yes, if you need 10.4, you'll have to pay to upgrade.

However in October Apple is due to launch Panther, the latest OS X incarnation -- presumably 10.5 -- so if you're shopping for a new OS you might want to wait for that?

That said, I think it's very bad form if Apple is demanding that Mac users upgrade their OS to use the newest iPod line! They work with competing OS's like Windows, so there's no excuse for not making them backwards compatible with their own operating system.

[Bill]

If that's the case, I will try and see if Apple will take the iPod back. I have no interest in spending another $100 for software who's sole purpose is to run my iPod. I don't need 10.4 for anything else.

You think they might have mentioned this somewhere along the line.

My wife has a new Mac that came with 10.4.7. Any chance I can use the operating system CD that came with her Mac to upgrade my Mac?

[Gibson]

Originally Posted by Bill

My wife has a new Mac that came with 10.4.7. Any chance I can use the operating system CD that came with her Mac to upgrade my Mac?

You should check the license details that came with it to be certain, or there's probably info on the Apple website.

But if I'm not mistaken, I think home users of OS X are allowed to install the same copy onto a maximum of two machines. So you might be alright!

[kp8]

Originally Posted by Bill

If that's the case, I will try and see if Apple will take the iPod back. I have no interest in spending another $100 for software who's sole purpose is to run my iPod. I don't need 10.4 for anything else.

You think they might have mentioned this somewhere along the line.

My wife has a new Mac that came with 10.4.7. Any chance I can use the operating system CD that came with her Mac to upgrade my Mac?

It doesn't say Requires 10.4 on the box? Odd... anyway your wife's CD would likely work.

The store here still has the plenty of old rectangular iPod Nanos... Maybe you can switch to an old model while they are still floating around? But my feeling is, sometime or another you will need 10.4 for something and you have a 10.4 install DVD there you might go for it as 10.5 is not worth waiting for and you don't want to install that when it is new anyway! (wait and let everyone else hose there systems first! hee hee).

Do yourself a favor and back-up before you upgrade incase the upgrade goes funky and you need to wipe the disk clean and reinstall.

-kp8--

[Bill]

Originally Posted by kp8

Do yourself a favor and back-up before you upgrade incase the upgrade goes funky and you need to wipe the disk clean and reinstall.

So add, say, another $100 for an external hard drive for the backup?

[kp8]

Originally Posted by Bill

So add, say, another $100 for an external hard drive?

You don't periodically backup already?

If you are just a casual user maybe that is fine, but if the work on your hard drive is mission critical to you, and especially if you are on a laptop, i have to say backing up is a really good idea, speaking as someone who learned the hard way. Hard disks fail. They really do. [note to self: due for a big back up myself do it this weekend] Laptop hard disks fail more often.

Anyway, if it all sounds like a big headache you can just use the iPod on your wife's machine or return it. But you will need to upgrade eventually for something and you should have something to back-up on to as a matter of course, for important documents.... or perhaps you can burn DVDs. I would advise you to charge ahead, but if our aren't wanting to do that just now i would say find some close out deals on the old iPod and send this one back.

but i have to say just one last time: You should be backing up anyway. It is an awful feeling to have a disk go south only to find you have no backups or really old backups to work with. It is like having your office catch fire.

-kp8--

[Bill]

It's OK, I was just in the process of getting and setting up a portable external hard drive for backups anyways. Tired of doing the DVD thing and externals are so cheap nowadays (just like me).

[tdu]

It usually says what operating system is required on the iPod box.

I know you said you don't want to upgrade, but I will echo others comments that 10.4 is well worth the upgrade. And as other's said, eventually you will have to upgrade to run current software versions.

[detuned]

Originally Posted by Gibson

However in October Apple is due to launch Panther, the latest OS X incarnation -- presumably 10.5 -- so if you're shopping for a new OS you might want to wait for that?

Be careful skipping versions, I once had a near disaster skipping from 10.2 to 10.4. Hosed my machine almost completely.

Fortunately, I was able to boot it in Target mode, copy my user files onto another drive, then format the machine completely & copy my files back in, but I wouldn't recommend that as best practices... :-/

Just sayin'

[11 Gauge]

I've got 10.3.9 on my machine at home, and 10.4.10 at work.

There simply is no comparison - the machine at work is a pleasure to operate iTunes with.

The good thing regarding OS 10 is that with every boot-up, the drive is defragged and optimized, automatically.

I don't know how clearly it was mentioned - hard drives have a shelf life. If your Mac is old, the drive could be near the end of its life cycle.

I've got an '01 Quicksilver G4 with original drive, and I know it's on borrowed time. That drive will be replaced shortly (don't have the $ for a newer Mac).

[KC]

for what it's worth, I used to have one of those quicksilver towers, and installing a second hard drive was ridiculously easy. If you're worried about your drive, scoot on over to OWC & pick up a spare -- about a two-minute job to install.

currently using a WD 240 gig external to make automatic backups of everything, every Monday afternoon -- which was like $100 at the local best buy. Cheap peace of mind.

[11 Gauge]

Originally Posted by KC

for what it's worth, I used to have one of those quicksilver towers, and installing a second hard drive was ridiculously easy. If you're worried about your drive, scoot on over to OWC & pick up a spare -- about a two-minute job to install.

currently using a WD 240 gig external to make automatic backups of everything, every Monday afternoon -- which was like $100 at the local best buy. Cheap peace of mind.

I'm actually a Mac geek. At one of my former jobs, I was the network admin, maintained all of the Graphites/G5s, and ran and maintained a XServe with the fibrechannel raid box, DLT jukebox, and 30 gig Sony tape drive (I forget the exact tape specs - I was holding out for blank Blue Ray technology).

I also worked strictly repairing/upgrading Macs for a short period. The Quicksilvers are a joy to modify and maintain. I can't say the same for most other recent Macs. Laptops are a nightmare, none of the iMacs have been much fun (the things that break on the G5 make it a pain), and thermally calibrating the processors on the G5 towers is no fun, either.

I think I'll grab a new external. I have a pair, but they're heavily used. One crashed after it was filled up (it was on a networked machine), and reformatted...

For anyone who has a few extra bucks - grab a copy of Retrospect, and set up a periodic script. You'll probably be grateful.