Well, Apple did it again.
In 2013, Apple upgraded the MacOS to Mountain Lion MacOS 10.8). At the time, I was using the original Mac Pro from 2006.
To my chagrin, I found that the new OS required a 64-bit Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) module. The Mac Pro 2006 supported 64-bit instructions, but, for some reason, sported a 32-bit EFI. Go figure.
So, I retired my Mac Pro; replacing it with a new 2013 27″ iMac. But the replacement came after an extended struggle wherein I added hardware and performed customizations that allowed MacOS Mavericks to debut on my Mac Pro. I was happy at the moment, but this happiness dissipated when I had to contend with maintaining compatibility with OS updates. I surrendered to the inevitable and purchased the iMac. Now I could run the latest MacOS and the reduced power draw lowered my monthly utility bill by $50. Problem solved…until now.
In the fall of 2020, here comes MacOS Big Sur with a bevy of new features… and a bevy of older Macs that fell off the support table, including my 2013 iMac.
I toyed for a while with the “customization” that would allow the installation of Big Sur on an unsupported Mac. I even downloaded the tools and made an attempt, but could never get this or that to download. In addition, the “customization” would have to be re-applied every time Big Sur pushed out an update. I did not want the hastle.
Apple taketh away, but also giveth in the form of the new ARM-based Macs introduced at the end of 2020. I chose the get a new MacBook Air with upgrade to 16 GB RAM and a 1 TB SSD. I traded in my 2018 MacBook Air to cover the costs of the upgrades. I did not like the 2018 MacBook Air, too noisy and too little power to do much more than surf the web and read email.
Now, I am ARM’ed And Dangerous. I am using the M1 MacBook Air both as my desktop and laptop. The iMac is still hanging in there due to lack of support by the M1 for OS virtualization; Parallels, VMWare, VirtualBox, etc. I require the support for work-related operations. I am hoping the virtualization comes to the ARM-based Macs. At present, I use the iMac via Screen Sharing to run virtual OS sessions.
A new era has started.
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