[Leica] Mac operating systems

[lrzeitlin at aol.com]

	Unlike some Luggers I never get free Leica cameras. But as the former chairman of the small computer committee of my university I was regularly deluged with laptop and desktop computers and software. By the middle of the 1980s my committee decided that Mac computers were the class of the field, easiest for neophytes to learn and to do meaningful work. Because we were in the middle of IBM territory and IBM gave us computers free, we couldn’t impose our decision on students. Instead we gave graduate students a $500 stipend to buy whatever computer they wanted. As a packrat, I kept many of the computers that I was given. I currently have 10 Macs, dating from the original to the latest Mac Air and a variety of other makes of machines. All work but it is far too many. Even Goodwill won’t take the older ones. That being said I run a variety of Mac operating systems including System 3, OS 7.6.1, OS 9.1 and OS 9.2, Tiger - OS 10.4, Snow Leopard - OS 10.6.8, Mavericks - OS 10.9.5 and El Capitan - OS 10.11.4. With Bootcamp I can run all Windows software too, something I have not felt the need to do for years. 
	There has been a consistent recent dumbing down of operating systems in fave of an IOS approach. Using a modern laptop is like using a big iPad with a keyboard. Since my 8 year old granddaughter can use an iPad perfectly well, I know the intellectual level the programmers are aiming at.
	To my mind, the most useful Mac OS for meaningful work is Snow Leopard - OS 10.6.8. It is relatively small. almost bombproof, and lets you run most useful photographic software. It also works on a MacBook Pro, the best of the laptops. Mavericks - OS 10.9.5 is a good second choice. It handcuffs the user a but but all current software can run on it. Using the latest Mac OS, El Capitan, is like using an iPad on steroids. Great if you are a teen ager who grew up using iPhones but hard to comprehend if you are computer literate. For legacy work on the Power PC laptops, including my favorite 11” MacBook, it is hard to beat OS 10.4. It runs all the legacy software including the original Photoshop. You can even make decent videos with iMovie and burn them to DVDs. 
	Now how about a Leica as a permanent loaner?

Larry Z