High Sierra

Today, September 25th, Apple released the latest version of their new operating system for Macintosh computers. Dubbed “High Sierra,” macOS 10.13 includes many enhancements which continue to refine and polish the macOS experience. As before, Apple is offering the operating system for free through the online App Store.

In terms of new features, there are many, but some of the most compelling are:

• Mail: The app takes up less storage space, and search is smarter.
• Photos: More powerful editing tools in Photos, as well as support for editing in photos in third-party apps like Photoshop. The new Photos also features improved projects and more third-party printing options.
• Safari: Prevent websites from tracking your web browsing across sites. Customize Safari settings for each site you visit, like page zoom level, location services, notifications, auto media playback, and content blockers. Set Safari to automatically use reader view for every web article that supports it, so you can read pages without ads, navigation, and other distractions.
• Notes: Pin frequently-used notes to the top of the list. Format notes with to-do lists, tables, and more.
• iCloud Drive: Share files with other people from iCloud for collaborative work, not unlike Dropbox.

Apple has made upgrading to macOS High Sierra a straightforward and relatively simple process. However, potential problems could arise.

Specifically, we know about these issues:

• Upgrading a computer acting as a server will likely cause issues with file access that will be difficult to resolve quickly, due to Apple’s new file system.
• A vulnerability in Keychain, which stores key passwords on your system.
• According to Microsoft, versions of Office up to 2016 (up to and including version 15.34) will not be supported on High Sierra.
• Many applications have not announced compatibility yet.

Because of these potential pitfalls, and because it’s always much more difficult to resolve these problems after an upgrade has already occurred, we recommend that we be involved with the transition to any major operating system upgrade.

At this time we’re recommending to all clients to hold off upgrading to High Sierra. We will send an updated recommendation on November 1st after we’ve had a chance to thoroughly vet this version for you. Please be patient until then.

Our best practices upgrade method verifies the integrity of your system while giving it a tune up, confirms the status of backups, and ensures that all your third party applications are up-to-date and compatible with the new environment. Additionally, we’ll bring a copy of the latest version of the High Sierra installer to use, shortening the time of the install, and allowing you to start enjoying the benefits of High Sierra sooner.

So give us a call to discuss your plans for moving to High Sierra. 
 

As always, thank you for your continued reliance on us as your Mac IT resource.