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?

[Daniel D.45]

Face the same issue.... OSX10.5.8 is the highest I can run and suddenly all these problems. For me to move away from apple. It's not only my computers, it's the 'old' mobile, the 'old' iPad, etc.

I have a over 10 years old laptop and I just move from one OS to the other and voila.. Sorry Apple, clever but for serious stuff never again...

[Michal M.]

It's not Apple's fault that Dropbox made the decision to pull support for one of its operating systems.

Why DB can still support XP and not 10.5.8 is a slap in the face though.

My entire lab group uses DB and we've roped other colleagues into the spider web, people with older machines as well, but as we pay an arm and a leg for it and have many legacy machines that run older mac software quite happily and productively,  I'm championing us looking at alternatives.

It's ironic that I can still post my discontent here from my PowerPC but can't utilize the product.

My understanding is that this DB decision has even put not just a few small businesses in a fatal bind as well. 

[Erik Y.]

So…yeah. As I mentioned earlier, there is a solution. Been using Dropbox on PowerPC since you cut us all off.

Neener, neener, Dropbox.

[Woody S.]

Don't be coy Erik Y.!

How many pages down do we have to go?

[Erik Y.]

Allright. At the risk of Dropbox shutting this down, take it while you can.

[Link removed by moderator. Please refrain from posting unofficial or modified Dropbox clients on these pages. If you have come here looking for the modified client, remember that what you are trying to download was modified by a third-party and is not supported by Dropbox. Be careful of what you download.]

[Richard Schletty]

I was also able to implement the Dropbox client v. 3.2.9 hack using Czo's solution on two of my Mac PPC G5s (Mac OS X 10.5.8). The only problem is that the gear does not work in the lower right corner of the Dropbox interface (invoked by clicking on top menu bar icon), making it difficult to stop Dropbox or set selective sync preferences. There is talk of this broken gear issue on one of the threads previously mentioned. 

I am syncing video files just like before – as large as 7 GB.

I can't understand why Dropbox has abandoned Mac PPCs. Surely, some well-paid staff programmer at Dropbox could come up with a fully functional Dropbox client for 10.5.8/PPC.

Any bells and whistles that are being added to Dropbox don't seem to be breaking the Windows XP Dropbox client app. So, what gives? And who asked for these new bells and whistles? Not me! I want basic file syncing.

[Erik Y.]

Hold down OPTN when you click on the Dropbox icon in the menubar. You'll get the old style settings which are clickable.

[Richard Schletty]

Erik Y: Thank you so much! Now I understand what another thread was talking about. I was holding down Option while clicking on the gear icon – nothing. I clicked on the menu bar Dropbox icon while holding Option key, as you suggested, and I have what I need – pause syncing, quit Dropbox and Dropbox Preferences,

[Nikolas M.]

Another option is, if you happen to have a NAS that supports Dropbox on hand, you can use that as a relatively easy workaround. I have a Synology DS213+ on my network connected to my Dropbox account. I just created aliases to the Dropbox folder on the NAS in place of the old Dropbox folder in my User folder on my 10.4 and 10.5 Macs, and I use those to access Dropbox.

Basically lost menubar access, but otherwise it works as seamlessly as using Dropbox on PPC ever did.

Just an option to consider for the rest of you still using PPC hardware like me. I was pretty enraged over this too, but using the DiskStation has largely solved my issues.

[Erik Y.]

There are a bunch of PowerPC Mac fans on MacRumors. We refuse to be marginalized by Apple or any other developer if we can help it.

We are a small part of the MR community as a whole, but we've managed to get Skype working again when MS cut us off (sans video) and Dropbox as well. And our users have posted lots of solutions for other issues.

If you love PowerPC Macs like we do, drop by.

http://forums.macrumors.com/forums/powerpc-macs.145/