There was a time, not too long ago, when software that was more than two years old was NOT considered obsolete. Over the last decade, as update cycles have gotten shorter and shorter, software publishers have become increasingly anxious to drop legacy software from their support programs. I’ve had numerous battles with software companies lately over various issues that needed (in my opinion) some minor attention; retrieval of a serial number or a challenge/response code for example. Unfortunately I found that these companies (Steinberg, GRM, Waves to name a few) were completely unwilling, and in their opinion unable, to offer any assistance.

My problem it seems was that I was using software that was up to five years old. My reasons for keeping the digital status quo on my workstation are not unreasonable, either. To the software publishers though, I have outstayed my welcome and am now invited to sod off on my merry way unless I want to part some of my hard-earned yet scarce Nelson Eddie’s.

As I said, I have my reasons for resisting the upgrade urge. The last major upgrade I did was to migrate from Mac OSX Leopard to Snow Leopard, and this was one of the most brutally painful and disruptive upgrades I have performed. Not since the move from OS9 to OSX did an operating system cause so much havoc and disharmony to my Applications folder and my workflow. That’s another story, suffice to say it took many months to get my workstation back to peak operation. With this in mind, I’ve been reluctant go through another upheaval, so it has been a decision to stay pat. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. (more…)