Category: Software

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Intel Mac Support Ending: Time to Plan Your Upgrade

If you’re still using a Mac with an Intel processor, it’s time to start planning your next move. Apple has officially announced that macOS 26 Tahoe – releasing this fall – will be the final version of macOS to support Intel-based Macs. After 2025, your Intel Mac won’t receive new features, and security updates will stop by 2028.

The Timeline

  • Fall 2025: macOS 26 Tahoe releases – the last macOS for Intel Macs
  • 2026 and beyond: No new macOS versions for Intel hardware
  • Through 2028: Security updates continue
  • After 2028: No support at all

Which Macs Are Affected?

All Intel Macs from 2020 and earlier will lose support. If you bought your Mac before November 2020, you’re likely affected.

How to Check Your Processor

  1. Click the Apple logo → “About This Mac”
  2. Look for:
    • “Chip Apple M1/M2/M3/M4” = You’re safe
    • “Processor Intel Core” = You’re affected

What This Means

Your Intel Mac won’t stop working immediately, but you’ll gradually face:

  • No new macOS features after 2025
  • Apps stopping support for older systems
  • Security vulnerabilities after 2028
  • Compatibility issues with new software

Your Options

Upgrade to Apple Silicon: New MacBook Airs starts around $850. The speed difference is dramatic – M-series chips deliver significantly faster performance than Intel Macs, often 2-3x faster for everyday tasks, plus much better battery life on laptops.

Keep Your Intel Mac: Fine for basic tasks, but understand the growing limitations over time.

Plan Your Timeline: You have until end of 2025 for the transition, with security updates continuing through 2028.

Bottom Line

You have time to plan, but don’t wait too long. If your Intel Mac is critical for work, start budgeting for an upgrade now. For casual use, you can take a more relaxed approach, but remember that by 2026, you’ll want to have made the switch.

Need help planning your Mac upgrade? As a DC-area technology consultant, I help clients navigate these transitions every day.

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AI’s Future: Utopia or Nightmare

Artificial intelligence is racing ahead—so fast that some experts say we’re living through the most important tech shift since electricity. But where’s it all going?

Right now, there are two main visions of the future:

  1. The Optimists – Leaders like Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Dario Amodei (Anthropic) see AI as a game-changer for productivity, healthcare, and science. They predict tools that will help us work faster, solve complex problems, and maybe even extend human lifespans.
  2. The Pessimists – Others, like Geoffrey Hinton (the “Godfather of AI”) and Yann LeCun (Meta), warn we might be going too fast given that we don’t fully understand what we’ve created and how it works. Hinton even gives a 10–20% chance that advanced AI could pose an existential risk.

What’s on the Line?

  • Jobs: Most expect some degree of job losses. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic has warned that AI technology could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar positions within the next five years. The prediction suggests unemployment could reach 10-20% as AI systems transition from augmenting human work to replacing it entirely.
  • The Economy: AI might spark massive productivity growth for companies. But who benefits? That’s why people are now seriously discussing things like Universal Basic Income (UBI) to help distribute gains fairly.
  • Global Competition: The U.S. and China are locked in an AI arms race. Some experts are calling for international agreements—like we have for nuclear weapons—to slow things down and focus on safety.
  • Daily Life: AI is becoming your assistant, tutor, creative partner, and even your co-worker. But there are risks too: misinformation, deepfakes, a reliance on machines to think for us, and humans becoming more disconnected from each other.

So What Now?

Even the most bullish tech leaders agree: we need to be thoughtful. That means building systems we can trust, creating smart policy, and helping people adapt.

At TechDC, I help individuals and small businesses learn how to actually use AI in real life. If you’re curious, reach out.

Further Reading

AI is here and only growing in importance. Whether it becomes our greatest tool or our biggest mistake depends on how we shape it.

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Give Your Old Mac Modern Software With OpenCore Legacy Patcher

That 2013 MacBook Pro sitting in your closet isn’t broken—it’s just been abandoned by Apple. While the hardware remains perfectly functional, outdated macOS versions make it increasingly difficult to browse the web securely or run current applications.

The Compatibility Problem

Apple typically supports Macs with new macOS versions for 7-8 years. After that, you’re stuck with increasingly outdated software that can’t run modern browsers properly, lacks security updates, and struggles with today’s websites—not because your hardware is slow, but because the software is obsolete.

Enter OpenCore Legacy Patcher

OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP) is a free, open-source tool that extends macOS compatibility to unsupported hardware. Developed by Dortania, it uses sophisticated boot management to allow installation of current macOS versions on Macs as old as 2007.

The key benefit isn’t speed—it’s functionality. Your 2013 MacBook Pro can run macOS Sequoia with:

  • Modern browsers that actually work with current websites
  • Current security updates and encryption standards
  • Compatible applications that require newer macOS
  • Modern features like Sidecar, AirPlay to Mac, and Universal Control

How It Works

Unlike simple patchers that modify system files, OpenCore Legacy Patcher operates at the boot level. It maintains System Integrity Protection (SIP) and security features while providing compatibility patches in memory during startup. Your system files remain untouched and secure.

Supported Hardware

OpenCore Legacy Patcher supports a wide range of Intel-based Macs:

  • MacBook Pro: 2008-2017 models
  • MacBook Air: 2008-2017 models
  • iMac: 2007-2019 models
  • Mac Pro: 2008-2019 models
  • Mac mini: 2009-2018 models

Even pre-2012 models with legacy graphics can run current macOS, though with some feature limitations.

The Real-World Difference

Moving from Catalina to Sequoia won’t make your hardware faster, but it will make your computing experience dramatically more functional. Websites that break or crawl on outdated browsers will work properly. Security warnings disappear. Apps that require newer macOS become installable.

It’s not about performance—it’s about compatibility and security in 2025.

Getting Started

If you are technically adept, the process takes a couple of hours.

  1. Download OpenCore Legacy Patcher from GitHub
  2. Create a macOS installer using the built-in tool
  3. Install OpenCore to your USB drive
  4. Boot and install the new macOS version
  5. Apply post-install patches for full hardware support

Worth the Effort?

If you can afford a new Mac, that’s the way for you to go. Modern Macs with the M series of chips are a great value.

But if you enjoy tinkering, and have a Mac with decent specs (8GB+ RAM, SSD storage), absolutely. You’ll extend your Mac’s useful life by 5+ years with current software support, modern browser compatibility, and ongoing security updates.

Your old Mac won’t become faster, but it will become usable again.

OpenCore Legacy Patcher is available free at https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher/. Always backup your data before system modifications.

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AI Chatbots

AI chatbots are big news. People ask me what they should be doing with them. Here are my ideas to get started:

  • Search: Instead of searching Google for websites, consider using an AI chatbot.
  • Proofreading: Chatbots can offer suggestions and make changes based on grammar and content.
  • Shopping: If you have a specific need, for example for an appliance that fits in a particular set of dimensions and has particular needs, Chatbots can shortcut your research.

Keep in mind that these chatbots do “hallucinate” so always verify important information.

The key is to interact with the AI Chatbots. Don’t just ask it to write you an email. Tell it what you are trying to do and ask it to ask you questions so that it can do a better job. Then provide it feedback and tell it what kind of changes you would like.

I think of these chatbots as smart and very literal minded assistants. The more information that you can provide, the better that the assistant will be able to do what you want.

I personally like using Claude, but I also use ChatGPT. Deepmind (the new chatbot from China) is also highly regarded. Give them a try and see how they fit into your life.

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Uninstalling Apps in Windows 10

Windows often fills with malware and junk when kids are trying to install games. These are often “browser helpers,” alternative browsers, or other search tools. To fix these junked up computers, many users install more malware that is pretending to be helpful software.

Much of the software can not be removed using the standard “Add or remove programs” tool built into Windows. That’s when I turn to Geek Uninstaller, a lightweight tool that can force the removal of pernicious software and related traces left in the operating system registry.