This week, Apple held its long-awaited One More Thing live stream. During the session Apple announced, as expected the release of its new Operating System – Big Sur (Mac OS11). It also announced hardware lines that will use a new M1 processing chip.

Continue reading to learn more about how these announcements may impact you and your work at Clark.

Big Sur: Don’t Upgrade Just Yet.

As of today (November 12th) users can now install a new version of the Apple operating system, called Big Sur or Mac OS 11.

We know it’s exciting to upgrade your computer and see the new features, but upgrades to operating systems are complex, and may significantly change the way your computer works. Many software manufacturers need time to update their applications to be compatible.

In the past, users who upgrade too soon have experienced problems with applications failing to run, and had difficulties logging in, or connecting to the network.

Faculty & Staff

If you’re using a university-owned Mac, please do not upgrade to this new Operating System until ITS can verify that essential applications are compatible with this new version. We will follow up with an email when we have a better understanding of the compatibility concerns. An upgrade could result in the computer no longer working properly.

If you are a using a personally-owned Mac, we also recommend that you do not upgrade when the new Operating System is released.

Students

As many of the applications and programs that you rely on as a student may not yet be compatible, we are recommending waiting until ITS announces that all critical software is compatible before you upgrade. In the coming weeks ITS will email again with further information.

Purchasing new Apple Hardware

With the introduction of a new processor to their line-up, if you’re considering purchasing new Apple laptops or desktops in the next few months, research carefully which option is best for you. Apple has announced a new type of processor – the M1 – will be included in some of their new devices, while they will also continue to offer their tried-and-true Intel devices. Click here for more information on this announcement.

While this new processor will be extremely fast, it may cause some issues with software compatibility. The M1 is a brand new technology, and all programs and applications will need to be redeveloped to work on these devices. While big companies like Adobe and Microsoft will prioritize that development over the next year, smaller academically-focused companies may take even longer. For example, it’s projected that Adobe won’t have an M1-compatible version of Photoshop for over 6 months.

As a Clark community member, if using a wide range of software is important for your success, we’re recommending waiting before making the switch to an M1 device and looking at Apple’s Intel chip devices in the meantime.

Questions?

If you have any questions about our recommendations, please contact us at helpdesk@clarku.edu.