Hello,
I’m one of (I’m sure) many who saw the mentions of DevonThink in Steven Johnson’s new book and thought, “I have GOT to check that out.” After reading through the product pages and the forum, I’ve got one remaining unanswered question. I have a year old desktop running 10.6 and a 6 year old laptop running 10.4, and I use both on a daily basis. I understand that version 2.0 of DevonThink requires 10.5, and I’d have to install a previous version if I were to use it on the laptop. Assuming I put version 2.0 on the desktop, would my files transfer easily between the two versions? Or would I have to use an older version on my desktop to be able to sync the work from my laptop?
Thanks much!
Kirsten
The database formats are different in version 1.x and 2.x, and as far as I know, version 2.x will upgrade a 1.x database but there is no provision to take a 2.x database and make it compatible with 1.x. Running multiple versions of DEVONthink on the same machine is possible, but presents its own challenges, such as using the Services menu commands. Your best option may be to see if you can locate a copy of Leopard to upgrade your Tiger machine so that you can run 2.x on both.
Thanks for the reply. The laptop isn’t capable of running Leopard smoothly, so this may be just one more step on the road to retiring the computer. Hmm… if I can go from 1.x to 2.x, could I simply make my laptop a machine for mobile data collection and funnel the info in the 1.x version through to the master database on my desktop?
I would think that using the laptop for mobile data collection and then exporting the new documents and importing them into the 2.x database might be easier for something that you will be doing on a regular basis. Either way, importing the database or importing just the new documents will work, but I suspect that over time that workflow will become tiresome.
I don’t know what processor/memory you have in your laptop, but I’m still using a 7-year old PowerBook G4, 1.5 GHz processor, 1.5 MB RAM, Leopard 10.5.8, and DEVONthink 2.x and to this day I am still happy with its performance.
Re: the laptop, I’m going off of what the apple people have told me and the experiences of a friend who has the same laptop and dropped from 10.5 to 10.4 due to performance issues. It’s also a Powerbook G4, but with a 1.33 GHz processor and 756 megs of RAM. It’s also something of a frankenbook; I’ve taken it apart and pieced it back together with used parts three times now, but I’m beginning to reach the limits of what I’m willing to pay for parts to increase performance in a six year old computer. I might rip it all out and rebuild it from scratch someday, but that particular project isn’t on the agenda for any time soon. 
Thanks much for your thoughts! You’ve definitely given me something to chew over.
Been there, done that! I’m on my 4th hard drive, had to replace one of the memory modules, the keyboard ribbon, and the aluminum case is buckled in two places from drops to the floor. I don’t know how many power adapters I have been through as the tips keep getting trashed when I snag the cord with my feet. The palm rest areas on the keyboard are not only worn, they have a rough etching from the chemical reaction of the aluminum and the oils on my skin. It has been a real trooper though, and deserves to be in a museum of Apple history when I do retire it!
Yep, that’s part of the point of pride in keeping mine running. The thing went to all my classes in undergrad, across the US twice, over to Europe and back and I’ve replaced two hard drives, the logic board and the DC-in board. Now it’s coming with me to classes in grad school and it just keeps going and going! It’s like the little laptop that could. 