My browser wants me to buy a new Mac

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Fiendish

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Okay so I'm running 10.5.8 on a 2009 MBP. I also run Firefox and it did its automatic update and I've been informed that my OS is no longer supported. It's recommendation? To buy a new Mac. Now spending £1000 on a new laptop is currently not an option. I've looked at other browsers. Chrome doesn't support 10.5.8 and to be honest I don't want to use Safari (I haven't checked if that supports my OS).

So now I have to have think. Is it genuinely dangerous to continue running the latest Firefox (or Chrome)? Are there browsers that DO support my OS? Is my MBP suitable for being upgraded? And, if I can, seeing as I bought an iMac only 12 months ago with a nice new shiny OS, am I entitled to upgrade without spending more money? That would seem to be logical although I'm betting Apple don't allow it...

Thanks in advance.
 
You could just upgrade your OS X to something newer.

You can still purchase Snow Leopard, and the last I heard, it's only $20, but could still be the original $30. Even so, that's not purchasing a new Mac, just a few quid to get your system updated, and you can then use that updated FireFox again
You have to call Apple sales direct, and talk to a sales agent to get it.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4283444?start=0&tstart=0

Update Snow Leopard to latest with Software Update, and you will then be able to purchase and upgrade to the current Mountain Lion, if you want to do that.
 
Thanks DeltaMac. Seeing as I spent nearly £2000 on an iMac you'd think I'd be entitled to upgrade my other machine for free - as far as I'm concerned I've already bought a new OS as part of the cost of the machine. I guess it's too much to hope for...
 
Sure, you can do that.
If your iMac is a year old, it came with Lion.
Upgrade to Mountain Lion on your newer Mac.
Make an installer partition on an external hard drive, or save the Mountain Lion install to a USB flash drive (8GB, super cheap these days)
You can upgrade any system that meets the requirements, and that you own with that same install for Mountain Lion.
Problem is - you can't upgrade the Leopard system directly to Mountain Lion, so you would need to also purchase Snow Leopard first.
OR, you can backup your files on the Leopard system. Do an erase and install of Mountain Lion on that older Mac, then restore your old files from the backup. Easy Peasy!
And, if you already own Mountain Lion, that makes it even better!
 
Backing up and doing a clean install sounds good to me. Of course Apple stopped shipping discs with iMacs so I don't have Mountain Lion to hand. I'll call Apple tomorrow and see where I stand. Thanks again.
 
If you have upgraded to Mountain Lion, then all you need to do is download it through your App Store.
There is no extra charge to do this download, if you have already purchased Mountain Lion.
DON'T continue with the install.
DO download and run a utility that will easily help you make a drive, like a USB flash drive, into an OS X installer, that you can use on any compatible Mac: LionDiskmaker is really good, and easy to use. I would NOT suggest burning an OS X installer DVD. The utility can do that, but a hard drive partition or USB flash is MUCH better.
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/39701/lion-diskmaker
 
Diskmaker only works with 10.6 or higher but I will have a go at doing this (I have many USB drives) and report back!
 
Yes, that's right.
Use Diskmaker on your newer iMac, which would be running that newer OS X, too!
You do have to download the Mountain Lion installer (if you don't already have that saved somewhere), as that is what Lion DiskMaker uses to create the install.
 
Thank you DeltaMac - worked like a dream. It's always good to format a computer's drive every now and then. Can't believe how much quicker my MBP is running compared to before the upgrade.
 
I have a MAC OS X bought in 2003. Have been told that it is worth upgrading for my son who has just started at college and really wants an IMAC pro (all i really know is that this will cost £999). Have been told that I need to add memory and get "Leopard"...can you tell m where i can get these please. Have also been told that there is a good second hand market for these computers. Any idea how much I could get, once upgraded? Thanks, in advance.
 
@EileenR
If you would like someone to give you some recommendations, we'll need to know more about which Mac you have now.
"MAC OS X bought in 2003" could be one of 5 different Macs:
PowerMac (tower)
iMac G4
eMac
iBook
PowerBook G4
 
IMHO, in any case above, it's a Power PC chip. Therefore, it would be mostly only useful for browsing and eMail. Certainly not worth putting any $ into it. Also, not worth much as a used unit. Leopard, alone, will cost you around $150 USD.
 
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