Catalina? Or Not?

[Ratsima]

I have yet to update my 2017 iMac to Catalina. Mojave seems to work fine for me with the exception that Reminders now only show up on my iOS devices. I was planning to do the update this week, but then I read this article by Bangkok-based Mac and Photography blogger, Graham Rogers. Graham is very knowledgeable about things Apple and formerly wrote a column for the Bangkok Post:

Banging my Head Against a Brick Wall - iOS and Catalina Unpredictability

Those of you who have already updated, are you glad you did or regretting it?

As for the rest of you, what's holding you back.

 

[chscag]

As for the rest of you, what's holding you back.

My holdup is that I have 32 bit app I use which is undergoing development to 64 bit. However, I do have Catalina 10.15.2 (updated today) loaded on a bootable Samsung T5 SSD so that I can keep up to date.

I too have a 2017 iMac (27").

 

[Ratsima]

I do have Catalina 10.15.2 (updated today) loaded on a bootable Samsung T5 SSD

So, you are happy enough with it that you plan to update once the 32 bit app situation is resolved?

(I don't have any 32 bit apps, so that's not a concern to me. I've delayed mainly because I've been away from home so much recently.)

 

[ferrarr]

I updated, but not today's update yet. My MM isn't for work anymore, just entertainment and personal enjoyment. But, I do end up spending about 8 hours a day using it.

 

[Ratsima]

Eight hours?

 

[MacInWin]

I upgraded a while ago and then updated today. Catalina works well for me, and works well with my iPhone and iPad. My Photos synchronizes through iCloud well, in fact it seem somewhat faster than I remember under Mojave. It could be just faulty memory, but in any case, it works well. I've also moved image files from the iPhone to the Mac using Image Capture. The iPad (mini) stays in sync with the MBP and iPhone just fine. I also have Messages synced and while I don't use it, have seen it offering to hand off phone calls to the MBP as well. As for 32bit apps, I had two, but both were updated by the developer to 64 bit and run just fine.

 

[chscag]

So, you are happy enough with it that you plan to update once the 32 bit app situation is resolved?

Yes, once that's resolved I will update my main machine to Catalina. It actually runs quite well on the external SSD.

 

[Ratsima]

Another interesting bit from Howard Oakley at The Eclectic Light Company:

Are you having weird problems with Catalina?

 

[MacInWin]

I read that. Interesting read. My Macs are all pretty "vanilla," in that I stay inside my own folder, don't add a lot of system extensions, and just use the system as it comes. And my upgrade to Catalina went very smoothly. I have one bug, which appeared before Catalina, and that is that if you open Mail, then enter Time Machine, it starts to show how you can restore a prior version of Mail, but then Mail immediately crashes out. I had not noticed it, but in researching, it was first reported 3-4 years ago and has not been fixed by Apple to date. Maybe nobody is complaining.

I think that when Steve Jobs said, "It just works," he was referring to what Apple built and installed, that is, the hardware and OS. He was signalling to those of us in the Windows world that what we were doing (Constantly fiddling with the OS, constantly messing with the Registry, having to run antivirus software, constantly tinkering with the OS) was not necessary. A properly built system would "just work" without all that "tuning" and tweaking. I remember when I first got my original iMac I was still in the "tinker" mode, but pretty soon I learned to just let it work. Sticking to vanilla makes that better. And my "reward" is that my updates and upgrades have all been pretty stress free. And for the most part, "It just works."

In reading that article, I kept thinking, "Why would anybody do that?" about all the changes that the author thought might complicate the upgrade to Catalina. "It just works," is still pretty true, in context.

 

[pm-r]

So, you are happy enough with it that you plan to update once the 32 bit app situation is resolved?
(I don't have any 32 bit apps, so that's not a concern to me. I've delayed mainly because I've been away from home so much recently.)

That's also what a lot of users said and thought until they did the Catalina upgrade, only to find a lot of their various extensions and plugins that they relied on and used to use happened to be 32-bit.

Just saying... something to be aware of...



- Patrick
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[Ratsima]

You make a good point which is why I do most of my tinkering on other machines, like the two Raspberry Pies sitting on my desk. I use MacPorts, which installs in /opt/local/bin and which Catalina seems to link to the data volume. AFAIK MacPorts continues to work if you do a proper migration.

BTW, if anyone's looking for a quick and dirty and non-GUI way to find 32 bit apps, this (which I got elsewhere) seems to work:

mdfind "kMDItemExecutableArchitectures == '*i386*' && kMDItemExecutableArchitectures != '*x86*'" | grep ^/Applications | grep  .app$  > ~/Documents/32bit.txt

As Patrick noted, there are kexts and other add-ons out there that won't work with Catalina. I only have one that I know of (a USB kext for an UPS). I'll have to do without. But, as for Catalina, I remain undecided.

 

[pm-r]

But, as for Catalina, I remain undecided.

What are some of the new features if any that you really must have or would like using, and IF your Mac supports them??

There just may not be anything worthwhile or worrying about doing any upgrading. If it ain't broke...



- Patrick
======

 

[MacInWin]

A good app to find "hidden" 32 bit stuff is Go64. It opens apps and looks at what's in them to see if any component is 32 bit. Just re-ran it on my Catalina system (10.15.2) and it found some debris from Adobe in /Library and some support files for some older Apple products there as well. They are orphans from previous apps, so they are unused. Maybe one day I'll use the list to clean up, but they don't seem to take a lot of space and I'm basically lazy, so...

 

[Ratsima]

A good app to find "hidden" 32 bit stuff

Yeah, I just used that command line tool that I posted to find 32 bit "Helper" programs. Found a dozen, including stuff for Plex, Dropbox, Real VNC and others.

What are some of the new features if any that you really must have or would like using, and IF your Mac supports them??

You know, not much. The biggest irritant of not having Catalina is the fact that my Reminders don't sync with my iMac. Although they show up on my Watch, it would be nice to be able create and edit Reminders on the Mac. Although some of the advanced security features turn out to be a PITA for many, I think Apple's new approach to the file system is a worthwhile advance. Finally, iCloud folder sharing would be great for my wife and I as we often collaborate on documents. Now we use DropBox which I would like to ditch.

 

[ferrarr]

Eight hours?

Usually streaming,

 

[MacInWin]

I know there are those who find Catalina problematic, but for me it has been rock solid. My two 32 bit apps were updated to 64 bit, the installation and updates have been easy and the integration with iOS is really handy. I feel like the system is slightly more secure with the new separation of system and user data on two different volumes.

I know some people hold back on upgrades, arguing that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," or "it took away features." I think those folks are missing out on the new features and options that come with the upgrades. It's a free choice, but I tend to stay closer to current. Sooner or later the folks who lag behind have to resort to third-party solutions as the world moves on and they are no longer able to browse, do business online, etc.

 

[pm-r]

A good app to find "hidden" 32 bit stuff is Go64

Some others for those who like to have various choices:
32-*****eck & ArchiChect (Why in **** does "32 b i t C h e c k" get blanked out when posted. Is someone super sensitive or is it a nasty word I'm not familiar with???)
The Eclectic Light Company – Macs, painting, and more



- Patrick
======

 

[MacInWin]

Patrick, methinks it's seeing b-i-t-c-h in the middle of the name. That's what it's blocking with asterisks. Sometimes used as a derogative term for a woman (or even a man, sometimes).

 

[pm-r]

Patrick, methinks it's seeing b-i-t-c-h in the middle of the name.

Gee, right you are Jake, the capitol "C" threw me off and basically camouflaging the naughty word. You veteran Pilots would have seen the whole naughty word of course with your un-camouflaging beady-eyed talents. Thanks


- Patrick
======

 

[MacInWin]

Would be tough to have a discussion of breeding canines on this site with that restriction, Patrick. Good thing that doesn't come up that often!