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PowerPC-based Macs and SiteMaker
Gary
posted this on Jan 27 17:55
This week we released a further update to our SiteMaker Software that is part of the ongoing evolution of our product. This update provides a platform for us to make future changes and enhancements to the product that will benefit the wider community of users now and into the future.
These changes mean that users who wish to edit their websites will need to upgrade their Adobe Flash Player to a minimum of 10.2. This in itself will not be an issue for most customers as they can upgrade to the latest version of the Flash Player and continue editing their websites. However earlier versions of some operating systems including MS Windows 2000, MS Windows 98 and some hardware like Mac Power PC are no longer supported by Adobe. Without access to Flash Player 10.2 the full SiteMaker Editing environment (and all modern features) is no longer available. Viewing websites on earlier versions of Flash Player back to FP9 is still of course possible, so visitors will not be affected with a reasonably current Flash Player installed.
As a software company we have to look to the future, continually developing our Software so that our customers benefit. Occasionally this progress comes at a price when we can no longer support older versions of software or systems. With regards Mac PPC, PPC G4 and PPC G5 we note that Apple themselves stopped upgrade support in August 2009. We looked at the impact this would have on our community and we saw that this software update affected less than 0.5% of our users. For the benefit of the other 99.5% of customers we need to be progressive with our updates to ensure the future of the software is maintained.
So what are the options?
1. We can revert the toolbar to an earlier version that will work on FP 10.1. This will have an impact on several features like the Blog, Shop and People (membership) which cannot be supported on the older toolbar
2. Use another system/computer to edit your site. All Macs running Intel processors and an OS of 10.4 (Tiger) and above will permit upgrading the Flash Player to the latest version (10.2 minimum)
3. We can suggest using a VM with Windows to edit but this could have an impact on speed and performance
We appreciate the impact this could have on the editing of your sites and we are sorry for any inconvenience caused but it has become essential for us to move our software development forward.
Comments
surely you could do something to allow everyone to access their sites. One toolbar for users with intel and another toolbar for users with older machines and keep everyone happy. What will your users with older systems do now ?
1. We can revert the toolbar to an earlier version that will work on FP 10.1. This will have an impact on several features like the Blog, Shop and People (membership) which cannot be supported on the older toolbar
so-how can I get this?
Surely I'm not reading this right? Are you really saying that without any warning, people with non-Intel Macs can't edit their sites, or at least can't edit the Blog, Shop and People membership? Is this really what's happened?
Exactly. I was happily editing my website, yakimafreepress.com, almost every day. Then two days ago, bingo, I cannot access it and my iMac is too old for Flashplayer 10.2. I am planning to go to the public library to use their computer, but what a pain and I will have trouble adding jpgs. I have dreamweaver and know how to use that--am wondering if I can access my moonfruit website with that. I havea perfectly good computer with a large monitor, its just older. I would have never started on moonfruit if I knew I was going to lose access to my own website. Hello? There are lots of us with older macs out there! I should not have to buy a new computer (can't afford it at this time) when two days ago my website worked, and now it doesn't.
But this is shocking. This particular update doesn't affect me because I'm using Mac OS 10.6.8 but suppose next time there's an update, it doesn't work on anything less than 10.7 which is Lion. I want to avoid Lion like the plague, I've heard so many bad things about it. But the point is, this could seriously affect some people's business. I understand moonfruit's need to progress, and I even understand that eventually, older operating systems can't be supported. But to do it with no warning is just terrible. Suppose somebody has told a client that their site will be ready to launch the next day, only to discover that they suddenly can't access it? We need warning if certain operating systems are no longer going to be supported. If we suddenly find that we need to spend several hundred (over a thousand?) pounds on a new system, we need time to shop around for a suitable model, not to mention budgeting. I would suggest that notice of at least a month should be given if support for certain operating systems are going to be dropped. I still can't quite believe that moonfruit has dropped some of its customers in the proverbial like this.
Hi,
Thank you all for your comments.
@abbie-escort and @maryb7: There is an older version of the software that you would still be able to use, as Gary stated. If you'd like to switch to the old toolbar, just let us know and we'll take care of that for you. But please note that doing so will restrict access to some of the functionality, such as Blog and Shop for example.
@lotusleaf: I understand your point, and I've passed your comments on to our management. To be honest I'm not sure whether this particular issue was anticipated.
Please remember that this issue does not affect visitors. We understand the frustration this can cause, but there are other workarounds that do not involve operating system or hardware upgrades - Gary's mentioned using a virtual machine to edit your site for example.
Unfortunately technology is in constant evolution, and without these changes we would not be able to improve the software and its performance.
Antoine
Small businesses must weigh costs when upgrading all production equipment, including the constant calls for computer and program updates. Yes, technology moves rapidly and we want to keep current, but we often have to juggle changes and look for ways to sidestep and delay. The issue here is the disturbing disregard for giving customers advance notice. I may be part of a disposable 5% for you, but I have, as a new user, been singing moonfruit's praises to many would-be customers who've been admiring my site, in person, on facebook. You can't afford to disregard your reputation, even among those you consider sluggish. Basic customer care, moonfriends.
Yes, can I please go to the old toolbar? To have some access is better than having no access at all. By the way, I spent all day yesterday on this--installing Flash Player 10.1, and changing firefox to TenFourFox. Nothing worked. If I can get the old toolbar, I would be thrilled! Thank you. I do not want to have to drive to the library every day to use their computers...
Hi,
@kdcreate: Once again, hardware and operating systems upgrades are not the only solutions available - using a virtual machine to run a different OS should work too. About the announcements (or lack of it), as I previously said I am not quite sure whether this is actually something that we anticipated or not. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused. I have passed your comments on to our management .
@maryb7: Your account has been updated, you should now be able to use the old toolbar.
Antoine
Thanks for your reply, Antoine, and I certainly hope the management take this on board. It might sound easy to you to tell people to use a Virtual Machine but if I had been affected, I would have no idea how to use a VM. It would be a huge learning curve, and if a client was expecting me to have finished off a shop on the day when the update was launched in the morning, I would have been up the proverbial creek. I appreciate that the development team may not have been aware of the implications of the upgrade, and I can only urge moonfruit to please test this out another time and give us as much notice as possible if sites are no longer going to work on some operating systems. The updates are very welcome and it's great that moonfruit keeps pushing forward, but however small the percentage of your customers who are affected, each one is an individual for whom this sort of thing could cause tremendous problems. I confess to being relieved that it hasn't affected me this time, but another time, who knows...
I Really don't believe what I'm reading ? I could never run a business like that ! Extremely disappointed Moonfruit, and no heads up to your PAYING CUSTOMERS !!! I have no choice now but to ask if I could go back to the old toolbar if possible, but I will be investigating a switch to a more customer service friendly site provider when my contract is due for renewal ! Happy new year Moonfruit !
I’m self-employed, just little old me and this news has knocked me for six! I currently have no income to speak of (the economic climate!) and no way can I afford to update my iMAC. The dual processors in the new MACs won’t run anything under Creative Suite 5, so to upgrade my computer means I would have to fork out for CS5 too (have you any idea how much that costs for a small business?).
I appreciate technology is moving rapidly but I spent months transferring my websites to Moonfruit, it has taken me ages to get these sorted and now I can’t even get into them! We may just be in the 0.5% but some notice would have been nice!
I have no idea what a VM is?
So what is the plan for the future, seems a temporary workaround is on offer but what exactly happens next? So Flash is on it’s way out? So presumably you have some other plans afoot? Do you have something else planned to replace Flash in the future? Do I need to go find another website builder site and rebuild yet again?
I thought Moonfruit was awesome?
Hi,
Firstly, we are very sorry about this. We do take all opportunities to test the software on a wide variety of Operating Systems, browsers and hardware. Unfortunately, we were affected here by both Apple and Adobe having stopped support for PPC-based devices some time ago. If we had been aware of this impact we certainly would have given notice as we have done many time before regarding changes to the software over the last 11 years.
It is obviously not in our best interests to handicap any groups of customers, and we do understand that any impact is bad, no matter what number of people are ultimately affected. The suggestions we offer at the moment are to be switched to the older toolbar, or to use a Virtual Machine with a supported version of Flash. We do appreciate that the latter option is not for everyone, but it is one that should work.
We will continue to test the software with all available options, and notify customers where we see an issue ahead of release. We will also ensure, under those circumstances, that we offer options or upgrades if and where possible. Moonfruit does work hard at keeping its customers up to date on outages, issues and development. We are sorry that we were unable to advise of this issue ahead of time.
HTH,
Gary
Dear Antoine and Gary,
In my case, you guys stepped right in and somehow restored my account to the old system. That is awesome customer service! And it relieved all my worries for now--like was I going to have to borrow money to buy a new computer (and I am a Mac person so more expensive than a PC. but, ha ha, what is a virus?).
So thank you so much! I had better get back to work on my website.... again, great customer service! Mary
Thank you for your quick reply Gary and glad to see Moonfruit taking this issue seriously!
If I could also have the old toolbar restored that would be great, thank you. First though, I remember reading somewhere that using the old toolbar could impact on Blog, Shop & Members, is that correct? I am only using the latter on one of my sites, so my question is, how does it impact on Members? For example, will I lose my Members list?
I also have more than one account, I look after some sites for friends. So what information would I need to give you to revert these ones too please? One account has 4 sites, the rest 1 each.
Your reply is appreciated Gary. I appreciate that it was an unforeseen problem and I just hope something can be done to help all the people who are badly affected by it.
PS. An explanation of how to access your sites via VM might be useful - as mentioned earlier, I would have no idea how to go about this and at least one other member is in the same position. I might look into this just in case I'm caught unawares in the future.
Shame. I am a new paying customer with a PowerPC-based Mac, and I'd like to be able to access and maintain the site I have just built. Please install the old toolbar, or whatever else needs to be done, to make this possible asap. Thank you.
Hi all,
unclebri: You have been switched to the older toolbar now.
sharonpitt: Ditto for you. I'm afraid you would lose access to the People menu, but we would be able to make changes for you if you needed them made. This is a per-account change, so they'd just need to send a ticket through to Support or post on here.
HTH,
Gary
Hi Gary
Thank you!
I have a Membership list on this site: www.crystalskullsmotherearth.moonfruit.com, if you could re-instate that for me that would be most appreciated.
Hi Sharon,
I should clarify - the current membership setup hasn't changed; it's only your access to the People menu that is affected.
HTH,
Gary
Hi Gary!
Sorry if I am being dense here… When I click on the People Menu to access my Member List or to Send A Message, for example, this message comes up: Upgrade your toolbar. This feature has recently been upgraded and can now only be accessed using the New Toolbar. Please click ‘Upgrade’ to change to the new toolbar. So have I lost my Members?
It seems I can’t submit a Support ticket for the other sites I manage, it keeps giving me an error!
So can you revert the toolbar on these sites too please, they have no members so I will be OK with these ones:
www.foxgloveandgingersnap.moonfruit.com
www.harmonycrystaltherapy.moonfruit.com
www.celestialgraphics.moonfruit.com
www.possumtree.moonfruit.com
I have a free site - do I have the option of changing to the old toolbar too?
We are a small business, and run three macs, only one of which will now edit all our websites, which has given us a huge shock but at least we can access the sites. I don't suppose it is possible to have the old toolbar on just some of our websites, so my colleagues can continue with moonfruit on their macs, but I can use the new system on my intel mac? I don't know how you came by the 0.5% figure of users on macs, I am frankly surprised it isn't higher than that.
Hi guys,
sharonpitt: Your members are still there, but you won't be able to access the panel to mange them. This is what we can do for you. I have switched those sites for you now.
carparkexperts: Yes, you do - I've done it for you too.
mindblockers: The toolbar is a per-user setting, so it would be possible for us to set Site Admins to have the older toolbar, while keeping your login on the new one.
For reference, the 0.5% figure was specifically visitors to our site whose user agent string identified them as a PPC Mac, rather than an Intel one. PowerPC-based Macs accounted for about 2% of all visits by Mac users.
HTH,
Gary
Thanks Gary, appreciate speedy reply. We use the same log in for all the websites. Are you suggesting I set up a new log in for me? I am the biggest user of moonfruit so I appreciate the new improvements, can I keep the site admin log in and set up a new user for my colleague to use the old toolbar? Bit confused!
Hi Gary!
Sorry perhaps I worded that incorrectly! I know I still have my members! But I need to be able to access that panel to message them and manage them… is that possible without the new toolbar? If so, please can you arrange that for me?
Hi,
@mindblockers: That's correct, if you have site admins, we can give them access to the old toolbar if necessary (just let us know the username and we'll take care of that for you).
@sharonpitt: Unfortunately this will not be possible, as Gary explained, the 'People' panel is not available on the old toolbar.
HTH
Antoine
Hi Antoine!
OK, thanks! I have 4 websites under this ID, so is it possible, to upgrade the toolbar just for ONE of my sites (the one that has a Members List) please? crystalskullsmotherearth.moonfruit.com
I will have to update it using a friend’s computer, but that would be better than losing my People Panel.
Thank you!
Hi,
That's not possible I'm afraid - the upgrade/downgrade of the toolbar applies to a whole account, not a site. So what you could do is create a member on your site with admin rights, to which we could then give access to the new toolbar.
Antoine
Hi Gary\Antoine,
I can no longer access my site from work but can from home. Can you please add a member with admin rights on the old toolbar.
Thanks,
Ben
Hi Antoine!
I have one member that has admin rights (me) but that is the same name as my account. I can’t add a new member because I need to upgrade the toolbar to access that? So could YOU create a member for me with admin rights, to which you could then give access to the new toolbar? Or explain to me the best way to achieve this result please?
Sorry to be a pain! I truly appreciate all the help…
When i try to view my site on my mac it is telling me i have to upgrade to flash 11.1 but wont allow me to do so. I have a Macbook with Mac OS X 10.5.8 and a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. I have no idea where to go from here and am worried that potential customers may not be able to view the site as i dont appear to be able to, not to mention the fact that i cant log in to update etc. Can you help
Hi,
@benmorgandesign and @sharonpit: We can indeed do that for you, however we need you to give us the username and password you want us to create for these admin accounts. It might be easier if you could submit a support query so we can discuss this in private.
@indiabradshaw: You are using an Intel Mac so you should be able to upgrade to Flash Player 11. Could you go to the following page and try again:
http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/
Antoine
Antoine,
thanks for advice but having followed the above link, for OS X 10.4 & 10.5 it will only give the option to install Flash 10.3. there is no other option offered. please advise
I am one of the 0.5%! Can I also have access to the old toolbar? Thanks Gary :)
Hi,
indiabradshaw: If you can download and install Flash 10.3, do that - that should allow you access to the editor. Visitors to your site only need Flash 9, which is extremely old now, so they shouldn't see any impact from this.
lthomas72: I have moved you onto the older toolbar.
HTH,
Gary
Thanks, can now access the site again since this morning but was already using flash 10.3 ????
Would suggest better communication to customers before the event next time to avoid these kind of issues.
A most unsatisfactory customer experience!
Dear Antoine and Gary,
Help! (You already saved me once before, so thanks for that). I was working with my partner on a newer computer...our website parameters had made a much shorter page than what we had before . Could only access that function by going to the newer toolbar. I forgot to set it back when we were done, now I am home and araghhh cannot access my website. Can I please have the old toolbar again? (but don't shorten my website, thank you).
Your fan,
Mary
yakimafreepress.com
Hi Mary,
Not a problem - I've set it back for you now.
HTH,
Gary
Hi I have another account for a charity fundraising organisation. The main member who updates the site uses a mac and is having difficulties accessing due to the flash player download. Could you please set to the old toolbar as this seems to solve the problem as mentioned above. Many thanks. The site is neladiesday.moonfruit.com
Hi,
I have set the toolbar on that account to the older version.
HTH,
Gary
Hi I am another one of the 0.5%! Can I also have access to the old toolbar? Thanks Gary
www.marked4u.com
Thanks
Hi Gary
Could I please have the older toolbar, to allow me to edit my site on a PowerPC?
Also, exactly how is this going to affect my Blog?
Many thanks
Dylan
www.dylankay.co.uk
Hi,
Both of your accounts have been switched to the old toolbar, as requested.
@dylankay: this means you won't have access to the 'Blog' tool any longer. Your existing blog posts will still be there but you won't be able to add new ones unless you switch back to the new toolbar.
Antoine
Without trawling through all these posts, I also have a pre intel mac and can only upgrade to fp 10.1. Is it possible for me to get the old toolbar. I'm aware of the fewer features but they won't really effect me at the moment.
What's this old toolbar? can I have it too please. I'm using a power pc mac.
Hi guys,
I have switched both of you to the older toolbar.
HTH,
Gary
Hi Gary and Antoine,
This thread has been very interesting to read, to say the least! I have a PowerPC and they make it actually impossible to run any other browser that will work with your site. It's not anyone's fault really; its superhard to gauge the pace that other tech companies are going to release compatible anything anymore...I love your platform! I am sure that you will come up with a great idea to solve this dilemma---moonfruit is by far the easiest sitebuilder, so user friendly! I have just switched to your platform, and have found it incredibly easy and straightforward...so much so that I have told my partner about it and now he has his online store with you as well :)
So...as I do have a PowerPC Mac, can you send me the Older Toolbar? And if this could support the Blog and Shop options that would be amazing! If not, I will wait for your next update, as I am sure you will do your best!
Super into Moonfruit!
A Fan
Ayanna Bohemia
http://www.suite11losangeles.com
Hi,
Not a problem - I have changed your toolbar to the old version.
HTH,
Gary
As I have a pre intel mac like most on here - is it possible for me to change to the old toolbar? Can I access this myself?
Hi,
You are already on the older toolbar, so should be able to log into the editor. If you can't, can you let me know what site you are trying to access?
Thanks,
Gary
Hi, can you please put me back on the old toolbar too. many thanks.
Paul
Hi Gary,
Can I have access to the old toolbar too? Thanks,
WB
Hi I have another account for a charity fundraising organisation. The main member who updates the site uses a mac and is having difficulties accessing due to the flash player download. Could you please set to the old toolbar as this seems to solve the problem as mentioned above. Many thanks. The site is neladiesday.moonfruit.com
Hi guys,
You have all been moved to the older toolbar.
HTH,
Gary
Hi Guys!
Just trying to set up my email accounts for my site. Has that been affected by the whole PowerPC thing? I am trying to log in and iit send me to another link , and my username and password don't work.
Tahnks for all of your promptness, u guys rock!
thanks
ayanna
Hi Ayanna,
This problem will affect your access to the editor, but shouldn't stop you from setting up mail. Can you confirm how you are trying to access your mailboxes?
Thanks,
Gary
Hi! Can you send/update me with the old toolbar for PowerPc as soon as possible? I am working on a PowerPc. Also is there a way to have this tab available on the main Moonfruit page to save time?
Peace!
Stephen G. Baldry
Hi Gary,
The is Stephen...my wife also have her site with moonfruit. We are working on the same computer. Is is possible for you to send me the old toolbar so that i can edit my site? This would be great...also is there a way that we can just login from her page and use her toolbar to edit my site?
I am getting alot of traffic and it is also a paid site. I don't want my customers to think I sell bikes and speak latin!
Best
Stephen G Baldry
loveheartlaservice@gmail.com
Hi Gary and Antoine,
Super into moonfruit by the way...is there a way for me to add my site to my wife's account so that i can edit if if there is a problem with the older toolbar?
My wife's site is http://www.suite11losangeles.com
Hi, you successfully reinstalled the old toolbar on woodcut and neverleatherland but it doesn't seem to have worked on petercrossley and whygoveggie? I wonder if it is because the system allowed us to use the same name for site admin, ie bunceboy? I have tried to add a new member but it just tells me the name is already taken no matter what I put in?
Please help! And thanks for all your help so far, 10/10 for customer service!
Hi,
@stephengbaldry: I can see that my colleague Sharif already got back to you via the support ticket. Let me know if you still need assistance with this though.
@mindblockers: Your account doesn't appear to be on the old toolbar at the moment. I'm really sorry but I'm not quite sure I understand the issue. Which site are you trying to add a member to?
Hi,
I have an intel mac and can access all my sites, but my colleagues can not, as they are on powermacs. At your suggestion, we created site admin users on the four sites we needed the old tool bar on- woodcut / neverleatherland / petercrossley / getveggiecated. You were able to make the first two sites accessable, using the site admin member name, and these work great, but the latter two sites haven't worked. I wondered if it was because we had used the same site admin name on 3 of the sites? I tried to add another member but got an error message. Hope this is enough info to help you resolve it! Thanks
Hi,
I just checked the admin accounts for petercrossley.moonfruit.com and whygoveggie.moonfruit.com, however everything should be working correctly at the moment. What happens when you try to log in using the admin account for these two sites?
What's the error message you're getting when you try to add another admin member?
Antoine
Hey Antoine,
Just tried it and it is all working great now! Don't know why, but thanks, you must have sprinkled some magic dust on it! (Technical term). Cheers!
June
Hi Antoine and Gary: another G4 and G5 user here who is reluctant (and too poor) to upgrade his Macs. Please would you give me the old tool bar back (if that is the correct terminology). I have a client waiting for updates! Thank you.
Hi,
I have moved you back to the old toolbar.
HTH,
Gary
Hi - I'm looking to move my site from wix.com to another company. I have a garden center site that i need to be able to upload photos from our departments, sales, etc. and be able to mobile optimize our site for iphone & blackberry users.
Will moonfruit let me do this? Does it make my site mobile optimized?
PS - I would of submitted this in the general contact us but after trying to write the passcode 10 times and each time it's wrong????? I gave up - I hope this isn't a sign for how hard it is to get any support.
Hi,
It's generally best to ask a new question in a new thread, rather than posting on one that isn't related - this avoids confusion and lets us get back to you to you more quickly.
We currently generate an HTML 5 version of your site for display on devices that don't support Flash. It can't be edited at this time, but we will be introducing an editor that offers limited control over it in the next few weeks. We also plan to introduce a 'proper' HTML 5 version of the site later in the year - full details can be found at the end of the links.
HTH,
Gary
Hi there,
I have an eMAC PowerPC and have been experiencing the same problems as most people here. I have not been able to access my site to edit for some time now. I sent a request about this in January which doesnt appear to have been answered. I have been using Moonfruit for over 5 years now and have been really happy until now. I cannot afford to buy a new Mac (or new versions of Creative Suite and Other great Apps currently installed on my mac). I do not much about Virtual Machines, I'm desperate and frustrated. Its having a negative affect on my business.
Hi there,
I can see that you contacted us on the 26th of January, however I replied to your ticket on the 27th but never received any reply from you. The ticket then got closed automatically after 10 days. Is the e-mail address on your account up to date? Have you double checked your spam folder?
As stated above, there are multiple solutions to this problem. If upgrading to a different OS or using a virtual machines are not suitable solution for you, then we can always downgrade your account to the old toolbar. Would you like us to do that for you?
Antoine
Hi, Having read the above, I am new to Moonfruit and am just constructing my site, however frustratingly I can"t paste any html snippets in the widget box????. I have tried and tried and it's driving me mad. I do have an iMac but it's not an old one and intel core 2 duo with OXS, so from what i've read it should be ok, so why is this happening, I have tried all the copy and paste instructions, it's so annoying as Widget site is telling me that I have downloaded them. Help help help
can I also have the old toolbar please -
www.biggathanben.co.uk
www.dv19.org
www.gasstation8.com
Hi,
louisavenables: Your problem isn't related to the one discussed in this thread - would you mind opening a new one? If you click on this link, you'll be taken straight to the right place.
suziehalewood: I have switched your toolbar as requested.
HTH,
Gary