End of support for OS X 10.4 and 10.5

[Matthew S.]

Why pull support and remove functionality? Why not just drop support -- just stop updating the app but still allow basic functionality? There are still a lot of legacy machines that are still in use and CANNOT upgrade to 10.6, as they are PowerPC based. Yes, old systems still work. Why stop the app from working totally instead of just deprecating support for those systems?

[Saul B.]

Running numerous PPC desktops & Powerbooks, and have neither the need, the inclination, or the funds to upgrade to Intel Macs.
Dropbox, please reconsider this thoughtless move to cut us off.

[Richard Schletty]

We need to demonstrate that there is still a significant PowerPC (PPC) user base out there which uses Dropbox Desktop Client. Just because it's old doesn't mean it should go away. We still use AFP and PostScript, don't we? I still use Timbuktu (originally developed by WOS Datasystems/Farallon/Netopia...) for remote control. A portion of a company's income should go toward supporting legacy hardware and software. Being backwardly compatible and cross platform should be an ideal, not a burden. I have Dropbox syncing nicely on my new Synology DS 1513+ NAS. For Dropbox to decommission Dropbox Desktop Client for Mac OS X 10.5.8 messes up my workflow and backup strategy.

I am curious as to which Open Source and Third-Party components are causing Dropbox to drop legacy PPC support and functionality for Dropbox Desktop Client. See http://bit.ly/DropboxDesktopClientforMacandLinuxOSThird‐PartySoftwareNotices

Screen shot of DDC 3.03 in service: http://www.schlettydesign.com/images/legacy-dropbox-support.png

[Michael F.2]

I just asked my clients how many are still using these older systems... 38% have them in their workflow. I think it would be a smart business move to find a fix.

[Jon C.1]

It isn't just marginalising PowerPC is it? I'm running Os 10.5.8 on an Intel Core Due iMac which I can't update any further because some essential (for me) apps aren't supported in later OsX versions. And ironically, I was just thinking about springing for a business account.

Sorry to see you go, Dropbox. It would be helpful if folk could post any recommendations for alternative utilities which do work with Os 10.5.

[Rick B.2]

I too, have PPC machines that I use with Dropbox. One of them is a G3 PowerBook that I use daily. It runs OSX 10.4 I would be greatful if you didn't discontinue support for these devices.

[Emmanuel P.1]

I am professor and my research laboratory has more than 10 older Macs running Mac OS 10.5. I use DropBox Pro with 1TB to share the results with students and colleagues and to work on papers, presentations etc. Losing functionality for 10.5 would be a blow for the lab and I would definitely cancel my Pro account. Why not just allow basic functionality and no support as Matthew suggested?

[Shel H.]

What is the point of disempowering thousands of happy users? I happen to have an OS 10.9 laptop, but I should not have to be forced to download everything there instead of to my desktop computer. I can understand not offering an upgrade path, but I can't understand yanking the rug out from under an existing happy user base. PS--when Microsoft did this to Skype, I started using Google hangout.

[Richard Schletty]

Jon C, wrote: "It would be helpful if folks could post any recommendations for alternative utilities which do work with Os 10.5."

Carbon Copy Cloner can do Dropbox folder backups to a Mac OS X 10.5.8 (Leopard) workstation, either by pulling from 10.5.8 with CCC 3.4.7 (if you can get it), or by pushing hourly to 10.5.8 from an Intel Mac (10.8+) with CCC 4.x. See https://bombich.com/download

[Chuck S.]

Please just discontinue support and do not kill the service for the PPC based machines. The thing that attracted me to Dropbox in the first place was the ability to share files across platforms and devices. This "update" is going to make things difficult for me. I have a G5 machine that cannot upgrade beyond OSX 10.5. I use it every day and need to be able to share files with my other devices.

[Richard Schletty]

We need to demonstrate that there is still a significant PowerPC (PPC) user base out there which uses Dropbox Desktop Client. Just because it's old doesn't mean it should go away. We still use AFP and PostScript, don't we? I still use Timbuktu (originally developed by WOS Datasystems/Farallon/Netopia...) for remote control. A portion of Dropbox's income should go toward continuing support of legacy hardware and software. Being backwardly compatible and cross platform should be an ideal, not a burden.

For Dropbox to decommission Dropbox Desktop Client for Mac OS X 10.5.8 messes up my workflow and backup strategy.

I have Dropbox syncing nicely on my new Synology DS 1513+ NAS using Synology CloudSync 1.0. Now do I have to live in fear that Dropbox will decommission syncing within CloudSync? The DiskStation Manager (DSM) web-based operating system, based on the Linux Kernel, runs on an INTEL Atom D2700 processor. I read that Synology's CloudSync uses Python and the Dropbox REST API which allow it to interact with Dropbox, in a similar way that the Dropbox client does for Windows, Linux and OSX.

There are Core API SDKs here: https://www.dropbox.com/developers/core/sdks/osx
And here: https://www.dropbox.com/developers/core/sdks/other

The ReadMe for Mac OS X SDK 1.3.13 (software development kit) says this:

"Getting Started Using the DropboxSDK for OSX:

Requirements:
1. You need Xcode version 5.1 or later.
2. You need to have registered your app at https://dropbox.com/developers/apps
You should have an app key and secret.

Note: The SDK is designed to work with OSX versions 10.7 and above."

There you have it. No more SDK support from Dropbox for Mac OS 10.5 and older. I'm not a programmer. Makes me dizzy thinking about a custom-programmed application to provide my studio with continuing desktop synchronization in Mac OS 10.5.8.

Regarding someone's question as to whether there is an FTP method for accessing Dropbox, the answer is currently "no". Here is a note from Dropbox's Help Center:

https://www.dropbox.com/en/help/62

"Do you offer WebDAV, Email Attachments, or FTP support?

WebDAV, email attachments, and FTP access is not on the current feature roadmap, and likely won't be for the foreseeable future.

No hard feelings. This isn't a "no it'll never happen." But we're currently working hard delivering other, equally exciting features."

I am curious as to which Open Source and Third-Party components are causing Dropbox to drop legacy PPC support and functionality for Dropbox Desktop Client. See http://bit.ly/DropboxDesktopClientforMacandLinuxOSThird‐PartySoftwareNotices
Screen shot of DDC 3.03 in service: http://www.schlettydesign.com/images/legacy-dropbox-support.png