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Mac OS Catalina: more trouble than it’s worth (Part 2)

morrick.me

221–230 of 248 posts

Re: Mac OS Catalina: more trouble than it’s worth (Part 2)

#221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I installed it on one computer, and no problems (other than the freeze during install that so many people had). However, that’s ignoring this question: > I didn’t even have to debate too much whether I should upgrade or not. The answer is no. The reasoning behind it is quite simple, actually, and it boils down to this: what Catalina takes away from me is more than what it gives me. And that seems to be the case for m…

File system support is changed, newer file system is the way better. Try LibreOffice, it’s free.

APFS came out earlier, and I'm already using it on Mojave. Is that what you're talking about?

Re: Mac OS Catalina: more trouble than it’s worth (Part 2)

#222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I installed it on one computer, and no problems (other than the freeze during install that so many people had). However, that’s ignoring this question: > I didn’t even have to debate too much whether I should upgrade or not. The answer is no. The reasoning behind it is quite simple, actually, and it boils down to this: what Catalina takes away from me is more than what it gives me. And that seems to be the case for m…

That pretty much sums up my experience. Let's hope it was all worth it and Catalina is indeed a transitional release that serves no other purpose than laying some under-the-hood groundwork for the next release. I wouldn't say "wish I didn't upgrade" because both my 2018 Mini and 2015 MBP are working fine, but I agree with the general sentiment that from an end user perspective there really isn't any reason to upgrade…

Well, that sounds like a good reason to be happy you updated. :)

Re: Mac OS Catalina: more trouble than it’s worth (Part 2)

#223
post #11

Am I the only person that doesn't have any significant issues with Catalina? I'll admit, some of the permissions-related pop-ups are a bit annoying, but overall it's been a rather stable macOS version for me (developer, working mostly in Xcode and JetBrains IDEs).

The article kind of addresses this: > The remaining 2% [of messages I've received] are neutral. They’re from people who simply wrote me to let me know they have upgraded to Catalina and ‘survived’, and that they have no issues to report so far. > It’s interesting to me how — apart from the usual fanboys — I still haven’t seen any unequivocally positive feedback about Mac OS Catalina. I still haven’t found someone say…

Yeah, I typically upgrade because I’m eager to get this or that new feature. There is nothing that attracts me to Catalina, and quite a bit that I’m scared of.

I think I’ll just stick to Mojave until the next version comes along.

Re: Mac OS Catalina: more trouble than it’s worth (Part 2)

#225
post #105
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One shouldn't have been running the bash that came with MacOS anyway. It was a decade out of date. You can still install your own bash now, or even continue to run the old, obsolete version. But yes, it won't be the default.

For the amount of work I use the CLI for, it was still perfectly alright for my 30 year old UNIX knowledge.

Really? https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-72/p...

Re: Mac OS Catalina: more trouble than it’s worth (Part 2)

#226
post #115

How can there still be people writing these yearly "I'm so disappointed" articles. It's the same for every single MacOS release . I bet if I look through the archives here, the last halfway usable OS release from Apple was Mac OS 8. You'd figure the people writing these articles wold leave for other platforms, and those that remain should be less likely to do hot-take duty next year, considering they didn't feel the…

This is absolutely not true. I haven’t been in the Mac ecosystem for some time now, but I can say for sure that no one was writing these articles until Snow Leopard at least. I thin what has led to the prevalence of these articles is Apples shift to an annual release cycle for their Mac OSes. It used to be well known that you didn’t upgrade to an OS until the .1 version at the earliest, and it was only until .3 or .4…

Snow Leopard was the first "cheap" version of OS X, $29 (IIRC). People who went Tiger -> Leopard had to pay for the privilege, and after Snow Leopard it was all free (EDIT: no, I was wrong, it was later.. but it was cheaper).

Maybe that had something to do with it?

Re: Mac OS Catalina: more trouble than it’s worth (Part 2)

#227
post #11

Am I the only person that doesn't have any significant issues with Catalina? I'll admit, some of the permissions-related pop-ups are a bit annoying, but overall it's been a rather stable macOS version for me (developer, working mostly in Xcode and JetBrains IDEs).

I haven't had any issues, and I appreciate being asked for permissions rather than assuming them. It makes me feel safer even if I haven't yet encountered a situation where I said no.

I agree. I think this was one of the motivating factors in the change.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/09/25/macwoes_google_chro...

Re: Mac OS Catalina: more trouble than it’s worth (Part 2)

#228
post #217
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing that drives me nuts is the way you get a security popup when you're working in a terminal. So you're ssh'd into a mac, you try to do something (like xcodebuild or whatever), and then it just sits there doing nothing while it waits for you to put in a password on a window you can't see. It's not exactly new in Catalina, but it's worse. Apple just does not even think about the fact that you might want to do t…

This is like having a firewall and getting upset that it's not passing everything through. I believe there should absolutely be intentional, physical, steps to allow full remote access. Intentionally setting the terminal for full disk access is no less crazy than intentionally exposing a port through your firewall.

Yeah a firewall where you open a port, but have to plug a monitor and keyboard into your router every time you want to use it.

I'm not "upset" that it needs authorization. I think it's a design flaw that you can't do it via a terminal, you don't even know that that's why your process has stalled, and you have to click a box every time.

Re: Mac OS Catalina: more trouble than it’s worth (Part 2)

#229
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This just started happening to me on Mojave, after I messed around with installing some third party USB managers to try to get my new keyboard and mouse to behave. Deleted the managers and returned the hardware, but some lingering issue crippled my multi-monitor setup. It’s particularly bad because I use one horizontal one vertical.

While I don’t have that particular issue, I have other issues related to external screens, with 10.14 and 2018 MBP: I usually run the laptop with closed lid and an external screen at work and at home; and use it in “laptop mode” during my commute. Now, sometimes (once a week?) when I plug it into the external screen, it just won’t wake up, unless I open the lid, and then it still won’t recognize the external screen.…

> I have other issues related to external screens, with 10.14 and 2018 MBP: I usually run the laptop with closed lid and an external screen at work and at home; and use it in “laptop mode” during my commute. Now, sometimes (once a week?) when I plug it into the external screen, it just won’t wake up, unless I open the lid, and then it still won’t recognize the external screen. Have not yet found out a reliable way to resolve this, but I usually manage with turning the monitor off and on again and/or unplugging/replugging it, possibly a couple times each.

I've previously had these problems, and they were made dramatically worse on Catalina. Each monitor has about 50% chance of correctly loading in, on what used to be 90%. My USB mouse (which is plugged in to the displayport monitor) also loads the incorrect drivers until I unplug and replug it.

Re: Mac OS Catalina: more trouble than it’s worth (Part 2)

#230
For a long time I've been baffled about what amounts to testing at Apple. I purposely avoid new releases for at least a year due to Apple's history of releasing beta-grade OS X updates. Testing seems to be an afterthought or maybe the users ARE the test suite. From one of the biggest tech companies on the planet as well - unfathomable.
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