My wife is very attached to Panorama 6 that she is using with her Macbook Pro running Mojave OS. We tried before to upgrade but she found it too complicated to learn. If we stay with this version what is the OS for the Mac that will continue to run it? Is Mojave the last one? If so, do I dare upgrade Mojave to the latest version of it?
Thanks for any help.
— Richard
Yes. Apple discontinued support for 32 bit software starting with macOS 10.15 Catalina.
For those of you continuing to use Panorama 6, please keep in mind that the server that activates Panorama 6 serial numbers is running an old, obsolete version of macOS. Though there are no immediate plans to turn that server off, it won’t continue to be available indefinitely. It’s not free for us to operate, and certainly if that server computer had a hardware problem it would not be replaced. That shouldn’t affect any existing computers running Panorama 6, but you would no longer be able to install Panorama 6. Please factor this in to your business plans.
Hello Jim,
That is terrible news. Like rpitcairn’s wife, I am immensely attached to Pan 6 and have no plans to upgrade to Pan X (even though I purchased a 5-year subscription). But my MacBook Pro is showing its age, and I was hoping to run Pan 6 with “Parallels” software if I had to get a new M1 Macintosh. I’m not sure if Parallels will even run an old mac OS, but the strategy hinged on me loading Pan 6 onto a new computer.
Is there anything I can do now to ensure I can port Pan 6 to a new computer?
Best regards,
Vic
Parallels will not run an old Mac OS on the latest OS or on an M1.
At least for Pan 6 you’re going to need to keep using an old Mac and OS.
Your best bet is to ensure that you have a solid Time Machine backup of the entire system that contains Pan 6. You can use that to get the whole thing running again on a used Mac if your current MacBook Pro dies. There are still lots of them out there, many in good shape and cheap.
As one of my friends said, “Software has a shelf life.” So do computers.
This isn’t news, or at least it shouldn’t be news that software that was last updated a dozen years ago won’t work forever. However, I realized that some of you were imagining that it would be available forever, so I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you that nothing is forever, including Panorama 6.
It will not. You cannot run an old, Intel based version of macOS on an M1 computer, and I don’t think this will ever be possible.
new Macintosh
I don’t think Apple sells any new Macintosh that is capable of running Panorama 6. Maybe you could install Mojave on the remaining Intel Mac Mini? And I guess you could run Mojave using Parallels on a new Intel Mac Mini or the Mac Pro. Most likely those models will be discontinued by the end of the year.
Thanks, everybody
I was afraid of that. I hope Apple keeps fabricating parts for old Macs, so I can maintain my Mac in good running order.
Vic
Apple only supplies parts for a limited time. See Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty - Apple Support
Apple has been warning about this for years and 32-bit software was dropped with macOS 10.15. I am thankful that a version of Panorama was released, even if a new version. I understand if someone has done programming in Panorama that has a problem moving to version X.
Some suggestions. Apple still sells Mac minis running on Intel chips. Buy one and use Parallels to run macOS 10.14. I never tried it but should work.
Buy a used Mac that runs macOS 10.14. I recommend replacing the hard disk, if original, with a SSD. The original drive is beyond its expected life and a SSD will make the Mac run much faster. I have a Mac mini stuck at macOS 10.13 that I grabbed from work to run one app. It is a server app so I don’t even use a monitor, I use macOS built in screen sharing to control it whenever I need to actually use the Mac. I keep this Mac off of the Internet for security reasons. Which reminds me of another reason to not use old macOS, lack of security updates, though Apple surprised me recently with an update to macOS 10.12 (yup, I run old macOS when essential but have been getting rid of old Macs at office as quickly as possible this year).
I have a box of software that I was involved in in my attic. I haven’t been able to run any of it for years, they all required classic MacOS.
Dare I beg for Jim or someone else here to make a version or kin of Panorama for us mere mortals, something on the order of Bento, that I will never forgive Apple for dumping. I think there is a need out there. I am using Tap Forms for some things but it’s not really suitable for everything.
Panorama X is the version for mere mortals. For new users, Panorama X is much easier to learn than older versions of Panorama. In fact, for a long time Panorama had very few new users, only a slowly shrinking circle of the longtime users. In the last five years since Panorama X was released, that’s finally changed. In fact, about a third of new users that download the Panorama X trial wind up subscribing. That’s a pretty phenomenal number in this industry, and I’d say that indicates that typical Mac users are pleased with how Panorama X is designed.
It’s been a long time, but if you go back 30-35 years ago you’ll find that the reviews for early versions of Panorama weren’t all thumbs up. There were a lot of complaints that it was “quirky” and “non-standard”, including by members of earlier versions of this forum. There’s a small cohort of users that have gotten habituated to the old quirks and oddities. I understand where you’re coming from, but a primary goal of Panorama X was to make a program that really fit in as a native Mac program. Nothing is perfect but I think this effort has paid off.
Interesting that you would suggest that product that was a business failure for Apple. If Apple couldn’t make a go of it with all of their resources, it certainly doesn’t look like a model for other smaller companies to emulate.
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Re Bento…
I sure that I’d be happy with the success of a product that does 1% of what Apple considers a failure.
Panorama X seems quite fragile to me, maybe because I am no database expert. I brought up a problem last year where another record in my main database moved itself to replace the first record, ordered by date. You figured that I accidentally pasted the record there. Today it happened again. A record from 2/16/12 moved its notes field into that first record’s notes field. I have dated the first record 1/1/2030 just to keep the vulnerable first spot out of trouble. There is no way I accidentally pasted anything here. I have not looked at that 2012 record in years. BTW, thankfully the 2/16/12 record was also still in its proper place. A few people here related similar experiences. A database should be rock solid. How can this happen? That is why I would like something simpler that theoretically would be more reliable.
I realize that Bento was not a success. However, I think the main reason was that Apple didn’t do any marketing or education for it. It was a foster child and they were only interested in FileMaker. People who aren’t really into computers don’t even think of using a database except maybe for contacts and they don’t even think of that as a database. Apple could/should have done some trail blazing for Bento. But instead, they would rather crank exorbitant amounts of money out of FileMaker.
I am currently running Panorama 6 on my powerbook through Parallels running Catalina OS. I have been running this for a year and a half and thank God have no problems. Of course I would like to continue running Pan 6 and be the last person to be using Pan 6 for many years and possibly a decade longer if I could.
My question, under this scenario I realize I can never run Pan 6 with a M1 Mac. But what is the highest Mac system software that would allow me to continue running this with Parallels? Can I move up to either Big Sur or even Monterey if I am using the same Intel Mac that is using Catalina and Parallels?
Thanks and I can only hope at my age of 65 Panorama 6 out lives me 20 years from now.