Just a few hours ago, Apple shared with the world their upcoming updates for tvOS, watchOS, iOS and Mac OS X – which has been renamed macOS. The event was the WWDC, which stands for the WorldWide Developers Conference. Please note the word developer is in bold for a reason.
When Apple released a new operating system, like they mentioned today – many clients want to jump on it as soon as possible. “But it’s from Apple” they will claim. The fact is todays announcement is for NO one except developers. Apple makes announcements like this so the millions of programmers can get their hands on an unfinished, unpolished version of the operating system so they can start making sure that their apps work in the new OS. This goes for the iOS 10, watchOS 3 and tvOS 2 announcements as well.
To rephrase, if you are not a developer, do not expect to get the new macOS Sierra until the Fall when it’s publicly released. We aren’t trying to be annoying here, we are trying to keep you working. Many times someone will install a beta OS without realizing the ramifications of what can happen. I can share from experience that installing a beta OS is problematic. When OS X 10.9 came out I was over zealous and installed it. Without realizing it my accounting software was no longer able to print. This means I couldn’t send invoices, and could not run my business. I had to wipe my computer clean and restore from a back up (more on that in a minute) in order to get back to work. Eighteen pain staking hours later I was up and running again. This could have been avoided.
If you are a developer, and you want to try out the new OS – go for it. Just remember to do so in a smart way. This means the following:
1. Have backups of your current system – in multiple ways. Consider going Virtua Compliant, to make sure this is done correctly.
2. Test the new OS in a virtual machine. If you don’t know what a virtual machine is – then testing new OS’s isn’t for you.
The same is true for iOS. Download and install it on a device you don’t mind losing or wiping the data from.
When new OS’s come out like this at a developer conference, consider waiting until an Authorize Apple Consultant tells you it’s okay to install.
Have questions about the announcement?