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Is Catalina stable now?
- Thread starter Kevsurf
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Since you have waited this long, what not wait until 10.15.6 is released? Even so, don‘t directly upgrade Mojave. Instead create APFS container to install Catalina and keep Mojave resulting in a dual-boot system. Use Migration Assistant to move all over from Mojave to Catalina.
Other than the auto dark mode bug, it has never had any real issues for me. Also important though, do you still have 32-bit apps you can't live without? For some reason, unlike Windows 10, they took out 32-bit support for some reason. Windows 10 64-bit still works fine with 32-bit apps so there is no reason Apple couldn't have left that in, especially for us gamers who still adore Portal or Half-Life.
I am running macOS Catalina 10.15.5 on a 2015 13" MacBook Pro with 8GB RAM and it runs very well. Nothing sluggish so far. I have been running Catalina since 10.15.4. If you are unsure take @Shadow Demon advice and create a new APFS partition and install Catalina to the new partition and take it for a test drive. Don't like it, boot back to Mojave and delete the Catalina partition.
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Thank you all for your replies!
i don bit rely on 32-not apps. So that’s not an issue for me. I hesitated to upgrade since I’ve read so many bad things about Catalina on this board. I will give it a try and create a container like shadow deamon suggested. However, my keyboard broke again yesterday. After the repair is finished I’ll give it a go ??
i don bit rely on 32-not apps. So that’s not an issue for me. I hesitated to upgrade since I’ve read so many bad things about Catalina on this board. I will give it a try and create a container like shadow deamon suggested. However, my keyboard broke again yesterday. After the repair is finished I’ll give it a go ??
I've now downgraded both my main machines (an iMac Pro & a Mac Mini 2018) to Mojave. The errors and crashes copying large files (100GB+ VM Images) over 10GBe and TB3 were massively annoying. Now both machines back on Mojave no more issues.
Infuriating the amount of time I spent trying to resolve that.
I wouldn't go near Catalina at all. Completely regret it all round.
Infuriating the amount of time I spent trying to resolve that.
I wouldn't go near Catalina at all. Completely regret it all round.
I like the OS Catalina and it runs well and stable. The new apps for Music and Books are beyond disappointing and have taken several steps back in functionality and stability.
I don't wish to sound a grump or anything, but ain't it disappointing we have to question wether Catalina is any good, after all this time?
I am beyond disappointed in how bad the Music app is. Microsoft is making better software and hardware than Apple these days. Its just so sad..
It was unstable?
Been on Catalina on my work MBP since a few days after release. Zero issues thus far.
Still on Mojave at home simply because I'm still playing the only 32 bit steam game I've got.
Why does everyone complain about the iTunes Music app? It actually looks closer to the iTunes app on my PowerBook running OS X 10.2 Jaguar. You'd think that would be a welcome bit of nostalgia from the Aqua era. But no. Complain about nothing more than a name change. It's the same app people, works the same way!
I do remember reading a ton of hate about iTunes. People wishing it'd burn and never see the light of day ever again. My, the times, they indeed, are a'changin'.
I'm glad you can actually downgrade a Mac myself. I remember what a nasty pastel mess Yosemite was at the time and was happy to know I could get
OS X Mountain Lion back. I believe one can still downgrade even today, using the internet recovery. I do wish that same option were available back when iOS 7 took over my iPhone 4 and iPad 3.
I do remember reading a ton of hate about iTunes. People wishing it'd burn and never see the light of day ever again. My, the times, they indeed, are a'changin'.
I'm glad you can actually downgrade a Mac myself. I remember what a nasty pastel mess Yosemite was at the time and was happy to know I could get
OS X Mountain Lion back. I believe one can still downgrade even today, using the internet recovery. I do wish that same option were available back when iOS 7 took over my iPhone 4 and iPad 3.
You can downgrade to Mojave if your machine came with it or earlier. I don’t want to. I want the App to work. It’s not the same as iTunes. Here’s some light reading for you.
Music - Missing Features, Bugs, Issues & Troubleshooting
Catalina 10.15.5 - Music 1.0.5.14 On Big Sur? Revision history: Missing Features Internet radio (old style streaming stations) Filter playlists (search in playlists) View -> Show Filter Field (Still does not persist between switching playlists Music 1.0.5.x ) very annoying when using column...
forums.macrumors.com
I admit I never liked having to use iTunes in the past to transfer music to an iPhone/iPod (back when you couldn't download music via the phone/pod itself) as it felt more like a throwback to 1998 when the Palm Pilot was all the rage. Here we were in 2007 using docks and cables to transfer data to a futuristic smartphone as if it were the year 1998.
So admittedly, I hated that part. I wanted a solution where I could just use wifi on my iPhone and download my entire library without needing a computer at all tethered to it. Eventually that came true and iCloud has been doing the syncing with any new Apple product wirelessly since. So I do know they removed that part of the app. But The UI has become more reminiscent of the old 10.2 app and I can still buy music through it so that myth is gone as well. I really only use it to play music or add music to my library and thank god the cable is finally gone!!!
So I have only noticed the name change. Even the icon still looks like iTunes' icon. The UI is a flatter version of my G4's UI. Missing brushed aluminum, sure, but that's merely aesthetics.
OS X 10.2 app:
New Music app:
Your article also claims radio was removed--I've read others claiming the same. But check my screenshot out--there's radio tab right on the left. So it was never removed at all!
So admittedly, I hated that part. I wanted a solution where I could just use wifi on my iPhone and download my entire library without needing a computer at all tethered to it. Eventually that came true and iCloud has been doing the syncing with any new Apple product wirelessly since. So I do know they removed that part of the app. But The UI has become more reminiscent of the old 10.2 app and I can still buy music through it so that myth is gone as well. I really only use it to play music or add music to my library and thank god the cable is finally gone!!!
So I have only noticed the name change. Even the icon still looks like iTunes' icon. The UI is a flatter version of my G4's UI. Missing brushed aluminum, sure, but that's merely aesthetics.
OS X 10.2 app:
New Music app:
Your article also claims radio was removed--I've read others claiming the same. But check my screenshot out--there's radio tab right on the left. So it was never removed at all!
I was given my PB (G4 Titanium complete with two batteries and the iconic 'chipped' hinges) back in 2014, but it had permissions issues, (was running 10.3 during that time) and the hard drive often sounded like it were dying and the system would freeze. I got a disc image from Archive.org of 10.2 Jaguar and wiped and reinstalled it. No more hard drive clicking issue, no permissions issue and it appears to work. Downloaded Netscape 9 (the last version released) and it can still pull up a limited number of SSL secured sites. Still a quite usable machine. I download podcasts to it and use itunes to play them, but could do the same on my current MBP.
If you play with Jaguar again, I highly recommend setting the built-in Internet Explorer browser's home page to http://theoldnet.com for a nostalgia trip!
When I did an initial upgrade, I felt that my mac slowed down a bit; as a result, I used time machine to get back to Mojave...I don’t have any 32bit apps. My biggest fear is that my ma is getting slower with each MacOS iteration...
Im a Mac user for 13 years now and since Lion, I think that Apple is in an update rush and the OS‘s get worse...
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What do you mean?
That it isn’t stable for some people after being released months ago. I won’t go near it with my 2018 MacMini using hdmi. Mojave works and I’m keeping it that way.
Might as well wait for 10.16. Although then you don't want to install 10.16.0 but wait for 10.16.4 or even .5 instead. Which means you might just as well wait for 10.17. But then you don't want to install 10.17.0.... see where this is going?
The issues with Catalina are blown way out of proportion on the internet. Yes, there were/are a few bugs, some of which Apple still hasn't addressed and fixed. But almost none of them are critical, and almost all of them can be filed under (minor) annoyance. Yes, 32-bit support has been dropped, which can be a major issue for some users but is a no-brainer for most. Keep in mind that there are millions of Macs out there that run Catalina just fine without any issues at all. The internet, whether its Facebook, Reddit, or forums like these, is filled with a large group of incredibly vocal complainypants that will get upset no matter what ("mimimimimi they changed the button me want old button mimimimimi", or "mimimimi i want to continue using this software like i did for the last 20 years mimimimimi"... you get the picture).
I dare say that most users did not have any issues with Catalina at all, 32-bit incompatibilities aside. Case in point: I avoided Mojave because it was a major disaster on my iMac, but have been running Catalina since the early days of 10.15.0 without any issues at all on both my iMac and my MacBook. So yes, it is definitely stable and usable, and has been for a very long time. However, as always, YMMV.
The issues with Catalina are blown way out of proportion on the internet. Yes, there were/are a few bugs, some of which Apple still hasn't addressed and fixed. But almost none of them are critical, and almost all of them can be filed under (minor) annoyance. Yes, 32-bit support has been dropped, which can be a major issue for some users but is a no-brainer for most. Keep in mind that there are millions of Macs out there that run Catalina just fine without any issues at all. The internet, whether its Facebook, Reddit, or forums like these, is filled with a large group of incredibly vocal complainypants that will get upset no matter what ("mimimimimi they changed the button me want old button mimimimimi", or "mimimimi i want to continue using this software like i did for the last 20 years mimimimimi"... you get the picture).
I dare say that most users did not have any issues with Catalina at all, 32-bit incompatibilities aside. Case in point: I avoided Mojave because it was a major disaster on my iMac, but have been running Catalina since the early days of 10.15.0 without any issues at all on both my iMac and my MacBook. So yes, it is definitely stable and usable, and has been for a very long time. However, as always, YMMV.