Any way forward from OSX Mountain Lion ?

[Sereine]

I have issues when attempting to use a current OSX on my Mac eco system, causation - specific needs on three or four key apps.

My systems comprise of MacMini, MB Air, MB Pro on OSX 10.8.5 Mountain Lion, with an additional MacMini using El Capitan (for trial purposes) plus an iPadAir2 and an iPhone - both on iOS 9.

I joined the Mac eco system (from Windows) at Snow Leopard and happily used this for all of my needs; moving through Lion (quickly) and onto Mountain Lion, where I remain a happy user !

Failure to progress onward in OSX terms stems from.....

1. my extensive libraries of photos were worked up on iPhoto ‘09 (8.1.2) - which met my needs exactly - I have numerous albums in which the photos need to be sorted Manually - ie, not by Date, Oldest/Newest or Title order ! So, the current Photos app doesn’t work as well for me on album photo sorting, albeit it apparently permits single photo movement by mouse ?
2. I make ‘heavy’ use of iCal using many individual Alert entries (of my choosing as to day, time etc) and not the very limited Alert options afforded by the (iOS-like) latest versions of iCal, where I resort to Custom-making Alerts each and every time ! I avoid changing or making Alerts in iOS 9.
3. I am an avid spreadsheet user and delayed moving onto Numbers from Excel. I moved platforms during Mountain Lion and live happily on Numbers now, with copies stored online as well.

On attempting to work in El Capitan, I am "obliged" to upgrade my spreadsheets to the latest Numbers app and cannot then use the upgraded version on my Mountain Lion systems (where I still have unadulterated copies !) - similar events occur when using Pages; the lack of backwards connectivity is a major drawback as I seemingly need to retain Mountain Lion OSX to use my other “core” apps to meet my needs !

Are there any “clever” apps or workarounds to overcome any (or all) of these “drawbacks”, to enable update onto El Capitan OSX (and forward to Sierra in due course) ?

Do I need to start using a different Calendar system to have usable Alert options (which strays away from the eco system) ?

Should I revert to using Windows Excel (and/or Online) for my spreadsheets to have cross-OSX usability ?

Thanks.

 

[Buggyflayer]

1. Have you tried iPhoto 9.6.1 which does still work on El Capitan? Its still putting off the inevitable but may buy you time until/if Photos adds the functionality that you're looking for.
It would also give you opportunity to trial other applications like Adobe Lightroom or something with less function but cheaper like http://www.lynapp.com

2. Not really understanding the problem with making Custom Alerts in Calendar. Perhaps experiment with the Reminders app in El Capitan? as it syncs with iOS it may be an alternative tool for your needs. Other paid Calendar applications might suit you better though. http://www.busymac.com/busycal/index.html or http://flexibits.com/fantastical

3. goes away if you find solutions for 1. & 2. as you won't need to revert.

 

[Sereine]

1. Have you tried iPhoto 9.6.1 which does still work on El Capitan? Its still putting off the inevitable but may buy you time until/if Photos adds the functionality that you're looking for.
It would also give you opportunity to trial other applications like Adobe Lightroom or something with less function but cheaper like http://www.lynapp.com

2. Not really understanding the problem with making Custom Alerts in Calendar. Perhaps experiment with the Reminders app in El Capitan? as it syncs with iOS it may be an alternative tool for your needs. Other paid Calendar applications might suit you better though. http://www.busymac.com/busycal/index.html or http://flexibits.com/fantastical

3. goes away if you find solutions for 1. & 2. as you won't need to revert.

Thanks for the helpful comments and suggestions on Cal apps.

I think Cal is looking the easiest problem to fix and can be adapted in El Capitan to (generally) meet my needs; The idea of also using Reminders to assist is a further plus; I will look at the suggested apps as well - I think I tried Busycal previously, but will look at the current version; Thanks again.

iPhoto remains the biggest bugbear to resolve. I am on 8.1.2 (iLife 09) and purposely didn't move to 9.x (iLife 11) because the updated iPhotos "lost" a couple of key uses which I value. The position still holds true, so I wouldn't wish to take the (likely short-term) plunge to move to 9.6.1, but would rather attempt an alternative solution which has the possibility of remaining compatible with a few further OS updates by Apple !

I have been around the Adobe systems previously and haven't found one which met my needs; I will have another look at Lyn as you suggest.