


Most Macs since 2007 can run at least OS X 10.7 Lion, though they may need an inexpensive RAM upgrade to be really usable. Apple publishes a table of which Macs support which Windows systems. I only mention it because it’s a solution that people often overlook. Windows might not be an appealing alternative because BootCamp on the the Macs which are obsolete only supports Windows Vista, which will stop receiving security updates in 2017. I won’t be covering this option any further here, but if this is something you can handle you’ll know where to begin. These systems, though fairly easy to use, are often difficult to set up and require a bit more technical skill than many users are comfortable with. You may want to check out a Linux distribution such as Fedora or Ubuntu. Even if Apple isn’t supporting your computer anymore, other software can replace OS X. Not an optimal solution but sometimes you have little choice.Īlternative OS. If you simply must stay with Snow Leopard because you run a legacy program or because you can’t afford to replace your computer, you can do things such as disable unused services, turn on your firewall, and check your router settings. PowerPC or 32-bit Intel Macs can’t be upgraded though, and may need to be retired or you may need to be extra careful.

Any Mac since about 2007 is capable of running Lion 10.7 or later, though you may need to give your computer a simple and inexpensive RAM (memory) upgrade. This is what I recommend because it means that your computer will be receiving the attention from Apple that keeps your computer safe. You can upgrade your software and/or computer. It also means that application developers will be more likely to discontinue Snow Leopard support, leaving you missing out on new features and security updates from third-party applications. In other words, if a security hole is discovered, your computer may be vulnerable to attack. What does this mean? If you’re still running OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.8, you may have already seen your last security update. Apple has never announced end-of-life for products, so it’s left up to the consumer to notice when Apple no longer releases security updates. With the last round of updates for Mavericks, Mountain Lion, and Lion, Apple appears to have left Snow Leopard off of the update list. I believe this is just a small tweak so that the upgrade path to the latest OS continues to work** **Update : Apple did release a Mac App Store update for Snow Leopard, but I’m not convinced this means that they are still supporting Snow Leopard.
