Suggestions on OS names and versions for Download page and others

• Apr 22, 2017 - 19:18

I have some suggestions for the supported platforms and how we enumerate the versions on the Download page and elsewhere. I thought it best to discuss and leave it to those much more familiar with the page, who know the bigger impact of changing this and others like it, rather than just jump in and change it myself.

= macOS =

== Current ==

* Latest stable version is 2.0.3 / Nightly versions
macOS 10.12+
OS X 10.8–10.11
Mac OS X 10.7

* System Requirements
Mac OS X 10.7, OS X 10.8–10.11, macOS 10.12+

== What I would change it to =

macOS 10.7 and up

== Background ==

Apple have started retroactively rebranding older versions of their OS from Mac OS X and OS X to macOS
https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/256088/is-apple-changing-os-x…
Maintaining the above original/legacy names makes identifying if you are running a supported version unnecessary difficult. E.g, use only the latest variant, macOS to refer to all versions.

== Other options =

* range
macOS 10.7 - 10.12

* enumerate all
macOS 10.7, 10.8, 10.9, 10.10, 10.11, 10.12
(absurd, but for the sake of completeness, since it works for Windows)

= Windows =

== Current ==

* Latest stable version is 2.0.3 / Nightly versions
Windows 10
Windows 8
Windows 7

* System Requirements
Windows 10, 8, 7. (under System Requirements)

== What I would change it to ==

Windows 7 and up

* Minimum system requirement. IMHO most people just assume that if they run Windows, it will work. Those with older versions care if they meet the minimum system requirement.
* Only time one would want to do a range, e.g. Windows 7 - 10, is if a new version (e.g. 11) is released that is not compatible with MuseScore.

== Other options ==

* range
Windows 7 - 10

* enumerate all
Windows 7, 8, 10

= The + in 10.12+ =
If the supported version number is x.y (e.g. 10.12), it implies everything x.y.z (e.g. 10.12.2) is also supported. It is extremely unlikely that a dotZ OS update will break compatibility to cause MuseScore to stop working. E.g. the + is redundant.

= Versions order =

For software version numbers, I find it more natural to have oldest first (e.g. ascending order). Other places where this would apply

Download 1.3 for 10.6+ 64-bit
Download 1.2 for 10.6+ 32-bit Core Duo
Download 1.1 for 10.4+ Universal

change to

Download 1.1 for 10.4 Universal
Download 1.2 for 10.6 32-bit Core Duo
Download 1.3 for 10.6 64-bit
(no +)

Comments

• Apr 22, 2017 - 19:29

Apple changed the names not just the numbers, and so we use those
10.12+ includes 10.13 etc, so is not redundant

I'm fine with changing the the 1.x order, but would rather leave the rest as it is

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• Apr 24, 2017 - 16:21

Some time in May, I will make a call to start reworking all the main pages on musescore.org including the download page. It is helpful if you could state what your favorite download page is, meaning which other software package provides a great download page which we may copy.

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• Apr 24, 2017 - 16:46

I actually think MuseScore's download page is superior to any other I've seen. It's a clean design, not overly complicated, that puts the important download options right up front, all visible at once, nicely spaced, clearly identifiable by the OS logos. It's probably not at all mobile-friendly, but considering it's the download page for a desktop program, who cares?

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• Apr 25, 2017 - 14:05

I created page
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/download-mock
but it seems that a copy and paste of the markup from
https://musescore.org/en/download
does not render the same. (no pictures, limited formatting)

###

Other examples of download pages, and their ways to specify Windows / macOS:

Let me start with the conclusion: None of these sites
a) distinguish between the various variants of macOS / Mac OS X / OS X (they pick one, not necessarily the latest one and use it across version numbers)
b) list newest first, e.g. Windows 10, 8, 7, or 10.12 before 10.10
(like musescore.org/en/download does):

https://musescore.org/nl/download
OS X 10.7+ Intel
(comment - Intel has been the only option since 10.6, so not technically redundant. It uses the correct variant, OS X, for the version, 10.7, but may be less recognisable to newer users looking for "macOS")

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/53.0/system-requirements/
Windows Operating Systems (32-bit and 64-bit)
Windows 7
Windows 8
Windows 10
Mac Operating Systems
macOS 10.9
macOS 10.10
macOS 10.11
macOS 10.12

https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/7100626?hl=en
Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 or later
OS X Mavericks 10.9 or later

https://itunes.apple.com/za/app/musescore-songbook-sheet-music/id835731…
Requires iOS 7.0 or later.

https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
Windows 7 or later
OS X version 10.9.5 or later

https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/system-requirements/
Microsoft Windows XP SP3, Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, or Windows 10
macOS 10.8 (Mountain Lion) or higher

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• Apr 25, 2017 - 14:54

No idea why your mockup doesn't render the same as the 'original'. I guess the differences is your's is style 'Book' (but should better get converted to 'Book 2'), while the other is style 'Page'.

https://musescore.org/nl/download is a bad example, as that is our own. But yet, changing the order to chow newest first is OK

A page about iOS is not a good example, this it the mobile OD from Apple and is calld iOS all the way thru.

10.9 is OS X, so the "and later" isn't wrong. macOS 10.9 is plain wrong though, no need to copy something that is wrong. The only authoritative source for how an OS is named is the vendor him/her/itself

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• Apr 25, 2017 - 15:56

Assuming Apple is done with the rebranding, this will sort itself out over time; when MuseScore 3 is released, it will no longer run on 10.7 (which is Mac OS X), so then it will just be OS X 10.8–10.11 and macOS 10.12+, and some years later it will only be macOS 10.12+. In the meantime, let it stand.

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• Apr 25, 2017 - 21:01

(granted, iOS reference was not helping my case)

"macOS 10.9 is plain wrong though" "The only authoritative source for how an OS is named is the vendor him/her/itself"

Here is an example of how Apple are referencing multiple macOS versions/variants (even if they are using the code names and not version numbers), I am sure one can abstract the principle.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205081
... enabled in macOS Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, and Mavericks.
(there are more in the link in my original post)

"no need to copy something that is wrong."

If we are copying something that is "wrong" (strictly, when looking at an older version's "About this Mac" screen), we could definitely do worse than the following
http://doc.qt.io/qtcreator/creator-os-supported-platforms.html
Windows 7 or later
macOS 10.8 or later

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