Apple Releases Revised macOS Catalina Supplemental Update

[pine man]

spent a little more time fine tuning the OS or perhaps left it in Beta for a few more months?

I'll probably regret saying this but going back about five years I have always updated to the new OSX when it has been released and not really had many problems.

As far as Catalina goes I don't think it would have made any difference at all if Apple had spent more time with the development. Most of the, minimal, issues I encountered were related to app/software developers waiting until the new OSX was released before updating them - specifically Adobe with Photoshop and Canon with Printer software.

[Rod]

Personally I have in the past advised people to wait until at least the second version of any new macOS. These teething problems are not unique to Catalina. That's why my wife is still running iOS 12 on her mobile devices and Mojave on her laptop. So I would suggest that people stay with Mojave for now maybe even until the next macOS is about to be released. By that time Catalina should be about as good as Mojave is today.
I on the other hand like breaking in a new macOS, I have been involved in beta testing for a few years now and I love staying abreast of changes and "advances" in Mac development. It also gives me the opportunity to help others.
I do concede that Apple seem to have tied themselves to a yearly schedule of releasing new OS every year in September and maybe bit off a bit more than they could chew with integrated features across a new iOS, iPad OS, Apple Watch and Apple TV plus the new gaming and entertainment platforms not to mention new hardware. Hopefully we will not see such a diversity of simultaneous upgrades again for a while.
For now Mojave is quite stable, pretty much problem free, still runs 32bit apps, has dark mode and retains the familiar setup and features of iTunes. Additionally it appears to support iOS 13 and iPad OS 13 meaning you can still upgrade your portable devices to take advantage of the new features in them with the exception of Reminders (requires Catalina for full functionality).

[hempomatic]

By that time Catalina should be about as good as Mojave is today.
I on the other hand like breaking in a new macOS, I have been involved in beta testing for a few years now and I love staying abreast of changes and "advances" in Mac development.

"should be about as good as Mojave"

You know for a lot of folks that isn't exactly a ringing endorsement

"I on the other hand like breaking in a new macOS"

Boy do WE ever have different skill sets. I get that though. In my case, I remember trying to upgrade from Windows 3.0 to 3.1, lets just say it wasn't without a few tribulations. Thanks to sites like this, and folks like you that like to help troglodytes like me, I tend to muddle through relatively unscathed. Thanks.

ken

[chscag]

Boy do WE ever have different skill sets.

Hey Ken:

Some of us like to play with computers while other folks like you have the skills to mess with motorcycles.

Which reminds me, I went to an AllState Claims place not too long ago to collect on a claim, and the claims agent who worked there had a brand new Indian. Was a thing of beauty, and I was really surprised to learn that Indians were still being made and sold.

[MacInWin]

The challenge for Apple, and any software developer, for that matter, is that in testing there are so many variations of equipment/software/networking in the real world that it is practically impossible for them to test every combination. So they do the Alpha testing (does it crash just running by itself) and early Beta (does it work with some of OUR software and OUR equipment), then release to the private Beta testers (does it work with YOUR software and YOUR equipment) and finally to public Beta (does it work with a larger set of software/equipment combinations). Unfortunately, too many beta testers don't report back, either because they don't realize what a Beta test is for, or because the assume that someone else will report it and it will be magically fixed. Then the release comes and the number of software/hardware combination explodes to the real world and even more previously unfound bugs crop up. The world then decries how awful Apple is and that it wasn't this way under good ol' Steve (yes, it was, you just don't remember) and how bad it has become (the cry of the ancients of all time).

Are there problems with Catalina? Yes, most assuredly! Could it have been tested more? Yes, but with steadily decreasing returns. Apple can't enforce any standards on public Beta testers, so they have to react quickly with these unfound bugs appear.

Early adopters used to know that any .0 release was just barely out of Beta, and to expect problems. Somehow, we've forgotten that. Don't want problems? Wait for .1, or .2 release.

It's been the bane of developer life ever since Grace Hopper found the very first "bug" back in 1947. And it will be the bane of developers to the end of time. There has never been, and never will be, a bug-free non-trivial piece of software.

[hempomatic]

Jake, I TOTALLY understand that. I'm not sure about the steadily decreasing returns though, since they have the highest market value of any company in the world. LOL, I just got Mojave working right, so IF I ever decide to go with Catalina, it will be when the NEXT latest and greatest is released, UNLESS Catalina can do something I need in the near future. That's a pretty unlikely scenario however, I'm not what you'd call a power user.

Thanks for explaining the sequence of events though. My world isn't anywhere near that complicated. I'm retired now, but I worked with wrenches. Too big, get a smaller wrench, to small, ......... you get it. I got out of dodge just in the nick of time. I was an HVAC tech, and it was pretty zen after 40 years, and just as I was retiring, digital frequency drives and compressors started to rear their ugly heads. I was supposed to carry a laptop. I worked on 120º roofs, rain, snow, and in filthy boiler rooms. Have you ever actually SEEN the inside of an HVAC tech's truck ?

ken

[MacInWin]

I'm not sure about the steadily decreasing returns though, since they have the highest market value of any company in the world.

The "steadily decreasing returns" is not about corporate value, but about the fact that beyond a certain point continued testing yields smaller and smaller changes to be made.

As for HVAC, I do understand what you are talking about. I used to be a shade-tree mechanic, but about 10 years ago (maybe more) I opened the hood, took one look and closed it again. Didn't recognize a thing.

[hempomatic]

"steadily decreasing returns" is not about corporate value, but about the fact that beyond a certain point continued testing yields smaller and smaller changes to be made.

Boy I missed the boat on that one. Thanks.

As for HVAC, I do understand what you are talking about. I used to be a shade-tree mechanic, but about 10 years ago (maybe more) I opened the hood, took one look and closed it again. Didn't recognize a thing.

Yep, that pretty much sums things up.

ken