It was minor news last week: In another step along the transition to 64-bit apps, Apple began warning users of 32-bit apps that these apps would need to be updated or they will stop running. The warning was news, but this is actually a story long in the making. Last year, Apple warned Mac developers that 32-bit apps would stop running “without compromise” this fall with the release of the successor to macOS High Sierra.
The writing’s been on the wall, more or less, since all the way back in 2009 when Apple began its 64-bit transition with the release of Snow Leopard. But the move to 64-bit apps will have casualties, namely a whole generation of apps that are no longer being updated, but are still used every day by Mac users. No software is forever—who out there is still writing with Microsoft Word 5.1?—but when you lose a whole generation of apps at once, it’s a bit more noticeable.
