Up-dating the System?

J

Jay Kay

Registered
I have a G4 tower running OSX 10.2.7 and a 17" G4 laptop running OSX 10.4: from time to time both machines show a message "there are software/system updates available - do you want to download?" (or something similar).

Should I do this every time the message shows, sometimes with some applications, or never? (ALSO should I download Application updates as soon as they are available?)

My guess is that the tower's system should be replaced with Tiger so both machines run the same. I note elsewhere the discussion about buying Family System versions, but don't think the other computers are modern enough to run Tiger (beige G3, IIsi and SE!) So intend to get another single user copy of Tiger - but again what's the latest version available, and should I download the updates as soon as they become available?

Jay Kay - London UK
 
yes, always update via software update.

the tower would definatly benefit from tiger, but i would reccomend 768mb ram or higher.
 
I agree - I download the system updates unless I know for sure I do not need the software suggested (but this is rare - for example any airport updates I ignore because my iMac does not have airport). My experience has been they are quite stable and really cause no problem.
 
You can be glad that you're running Mac OS X ;; Ignoring updates is the sure way to hell on a windows system, but luckily for you there's no working exploits for Mac OS X. There's a reason - a very good reason - for Apple to have made the Software Update default to look for and prompt for installing updates: Security, performance, and just general bug-fixes. You are ignoring those things at your own peril !!!

As to the tower, all Power Mac G4 systems are able to run 10.4.x, but I'ld make sure to have at least 512MB - and more wouldn't be bad at all - of RAM installed. Especially on the slower systems you'll really notice the difference between eg 256MB and 512MB. The specifications say that 10.2 can run on 128MB, but 10.4 has a requirement of at least 256MB.

As to when to upgrade applications and the system you might want to wait a couple of days and watch http://macfixit.com/ for any serious issues that might affect you before upgrading.
 
If you wish to download the critical updates, head on over to System Preferences application, then to "Software Update." Under "Update Software," make sure "Check for updates:" is set to some reasonable length of time (I have mine on "Every Day," but it's up to you) and make sure "Download important updates in the background" is checked.

This way, even if you're not on the bleeding edge of version numbers, at least you've got critical security patches automatically downloading to keep you safe.
 
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