We're on the cusp of Apple's next Worldwide Developer Conference, and like many other developers, we've started to expect a new OS announcement during the Keynote. That inevitably raises the question, "Will CCC work with that new OS?"? The short answer is yes — by the time Apple ships that OS, we'll have CCC completely qualified and running on that OS. I posted a much longer explanation last year, however, that explains why the current version of CCC will not open on that new OS:
Will CCC work with [insert Apple's pre-release OS here]?
Long story short, the OS has far too many potential changes — changes in the filesystem, changes in services, system behavior, bootability requirements, etc. — it just doesn't make sense to blindly hope that it will just work. If we developed a calendar or drawing application, I'd be more comfortable allowing it to run on a new, untested OS. I don't play fast and loose with user data though, there's too much at risk.
Here's a timeline of how we anticipate things working in the next few weeks, on the assumption that Apple does actually announce a new OS:
- Apple announces the new OS
- Apple makes the developer preview available to developers
- We download the developer preview and load it on a couple test systems
- We load up a new build of CCC that accommodates the basics of the new OS (the name, version) and put it through a series of basic challenges
- We resolve any showstoppers, and identify and document any other concerns (e.g. compatibility with new OS features)
- Finally, after determining that CCC is safe on the new OS, we'll post a beta release of CCC 4 and make an announcement here, asking for user feedback that will help us refine CCC 4 on the next major OS
And, of course, what many people will be asking us...
Will I have to pay for an upgrade to CCC for the next major OS?
It is our intention to issue a nominal compatibility update to CCC 4 that is qualified on the next major OS by the time that OS is made available to the general public. This update will be free to existing CCC 4 license holders.
Update [June 16, 2015]: CCC 4.1.4-b2 posted
Today we posted CCC 4.1.4-b2 which offers preliminary support for OS X 10.11, El Capitan, which is currently available for beta testing. To apply the update within CCC (before upgrading to El Capitan), open CCC's Preferences window, click on Software Update, check the Inform me of beta releases checkbox, then click the Check for updates now button. If you're already running El Capitan, you can download the beta directly [NOTE: no longer available].
If you're using CCC on El Capitan (beta), please let us know what you think and inform... Read More