Must I go to Big Sur?

[hobowankenobi]

I intending to stay on 10.15.7 for at least 7 years or until I get a new iMac!!

You can...if you can get all your stuff to still work. Historically, age issues have been about specific software, and often browsers.

If you never update software—and don't need to in order to be compatible with newer versions—great. No issue.

When browsers are too old to be supported/updated and are no longer secure, often folks can't do online banking and other security-specific things. When one hits that wall...in the past, there was no easy work-around, other than updating the OS enough to run supported/secure versions of browsers. As an example, Firefox still has support back to 10.12. At some point, that with ratchet up to 10.13, and so on. There are folks out there still running 10.10 and older...and would struggle to have a fully functional browser.

As long as you are aware...don't feel any pressure to update.

 

[Isamilis]

it is my humble opinion that Big Sur is the worst OS ever devised by Apple: it is unfinished, unpolished, bugged and all those little things that made OS a great OS are not here anymore. Unexplainable missing features, important features like being able to simply decide how long to snooze a calendar reminder and so many other annoyances I can't even start to number. All customisation software and possibilities (like changing icons) are gone: Liteicon, Candybar and many other useful piece of software are not working anymore.
And don't get me started on the user interface... amateurish, unclear, unpractical...
PLEASE DO NOT UPGRADE from Catalina... you'll regret it BIG TIME!

My experience using it since November last year is sluggish and unusual slow. Even opening app can be more than 10s. Today, finally I return back to Catalina (original OS for my MBA). Now I don't really care the uniform UI in Big Sur (which was my motivation to update), as long as the laptop is speedy and functional as I expect.

 

[newbph]

where did you post the original post from? because your others are fine; but it looks like you chose black text for the original post; and since dark mode just automatically shows white text... anyone on dark mode sees svanstrom showed u..

On further reflection, I'm guessing this is what happened. I typed out my concerns and questions in a text file first (OpenOffice) and cut and pasted into the box in this forum. Do you suppose that caused the visibility problem? But it seems like only one person received it with a dark background? So I guess I'm as baffled as ever.

 

[fisherking]

On further reflection, I'm guessing this is what happened. I typed out my concerns and questions in a text file first (OpenOffice) and cut and pasted into the box in this forum. Do you suppose that caused the visibility problem? But it seems like only one person received it with a dark background? So I guess I'm as baffled as ever.

no, anyone on dark mode sees the text that way, (as you can see, two of us posted images to show you that).

but yes, that's what happened (pasting from your text file). if you do a post that way, select 'paste and match style' from the edit menu, and it should paste your text into the forum window correctly.

 

[Unsupported]

Sorry, I did Google, but...

Argh! 😩

DuckDuckGo

duckduckgo.com

 

[Spudlicious]

If you're worried about updating just open system preferences > software update > advanced and uncheck all the boxes.

View attachment 1728864

Bingo, now you can keep using the same OS for as long as you want. You don't even technically have to update in a few years when Catalina is discontinued for support.

While it's certainly not recommend you can use an old OS for as long as you want.

The problem with your recommendation is that if you don't check for updates you miss out on security updates. If you do check for updates and decline to 'upgrade' you have to put up with at least daily nags about a new OS update being available; sadly you can't ask the OS to remind you next year.

Because the OP is already running Catalina with its lack of 32 bit app support and its bizarrely split home directory, I'm not sure Big Sur would actually cause him pain. I run it on both Intel and AS MacBooks and apart from the grievous loss of Network Utility I find it OK for me. It's all about running apps, isn't it?

 

[newbph]

If you're worried about updating just open system preferences > software update > advanced and uncheck all the boxes.

View attachment 1728864

Bingo, now you can keep using the same OS for as long as you want. You don't even technically have to update in a few years when Catalina is discontinued for support.

While it's certainly not recommend you can use an old OS for as long as you want.

Okay did that, now it's saying "Unable to check for updates. Make sure you are connected to the internet".

I'm guessing that I should periodically Check for updates (box 1) ???

I'm not sure about "Install system data files and security updates (box 5) Don't I need those even if staying with Catalina? Is that what I will see when I occasionally go in there and check Box 1 ????

And I should okay anything as long as it's not Big Sur?

Box 3 when it says "Install macOS updates" does it mean updates to the present, Catalina OS or does it mean it will then install a new operating system i.e. Big Sur which I do not want???

Sorry to be persistent, but folks who have been doing this for a long time take a lot for granted and know things y'all don't realize you know. But I'm practically a blank slate. Which is why I appreciate the such detailed help!

 

[newbph]

It wasn't about the dark background, that happens automatically here when the user has set that they prefer a dark theme; it was about the text color, which you can change when you write a post.

So, could that happen because I typed what I wanted to say in a word processing program (OpenOffice) first and cut and pasted it? Black text is always the default there.
If so I had NO IDEA it would be problematic. Sorry!

 

[svanstrom]

So, could that happen because I typed what I wanted to say in a word processing program (OpenOffice) first and cut and pasted it? Black text is always the default there.
If so I had NO IDEA it would be problematic. Sorry!

It just takes awhile to get used to a new forum.

Potentially that was it; if you had chosen "Paste and Match Style" the color wouldn't have been forced.

 

[newbph]

Argh! 😩

DuckDuckGo

duckduckgo.com

????? Oh never mind - It's because you like the other search engine better. You're probably right.
I thought for a moment that you were anti-looking stuff up online.

 

[newbph]

It just takes awhile to get used to a new forum.

Potentially that was it; if you had chosen "Paste and Match Style" the color wouldn't have been forced.

"Paste and match style!" Sir, you astonish me. If I ever copy and paste again, I'll do that. I'm making a note in my
"How to do MacRumors" file

 

[Unsupported]

?????

A more private alternative to G👀gle, for searching.

 

[Partron22]

It was a serious PITA updating a new M1 with apps and docs from a 2010 mini on Sierra, a four OS step. But it worked out fine in the end. Lots of manual removal of old, .hidden files after Migration Assistant use, but most were pretty obvious trash. When the OS gets to be too much for the Mac, I've always stopped updating. Until The USB bus went 6 months ago, I was running System 9/OSX 10.4 on my 2005 mini. Worked great with all the legacy software. As things get old, it becomes time to lock Macs off from the internet. Apple stops doing security updates after 2 or 3 versions.
Incidentally, I replaced that 2005 mini with a Raspberry pi 4 running Ubuntu. It does everything I need it to, and I can connect to network again in reasonable safety.

 

[fisherking]

"Paste and match style!" Sir, you astonish me. If I ever copy and paste again, I'll do that. I'm making a note in my
"How to do MacRumors" file

uh...

 

[D.T.]

[SIZE=4][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]

Hello,

I have iMac with Catalina version 10.15.7

[/COLOR][/SIZE]

@newbph Your post has font-color markup, either that's done through the style menu in the post editor, or manually. I'm showing your post above (main content slightly reduced for brevity ...), you can see the COLOR tag which is setting the text black (i.e., RGB = 0,0,0) If you simply edit it, and remove that tag manually or select the text and use the style menu and choose white (or "erase" the color), it will fix up the original post.

On topic: Got two machines running Big Sur, a semi-new M1 MBA, runs flawless, and a recently fixed-under-warranty '15 MBP 15", with a fresh install, it's running just fine, but hasn't really been "stress tested" yet I've got some dev tools installed, so I'll be knocking around on it this weekend.

My main machine is an '18 Mac Mini (i7/32/512), and I'm still running Mojave (10.14.6), doing dev work, general purpose type computing, no issues with being an OS version (or two) behind

 

[SpeQ]

My issues after upgrade. Both of my HP laser printers no longer supported. No drivers and I get message each time I try to print stating that printing will damage my computer.

Here's the answer to your problem, copied from Apple Discussions:

Delete the HP folder in ~Library/Printers then remove the printer from System Preferences.

Download the drivers from Apple Support
https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1888?viewlocale=en_GB&locale=en_GB

Reinstall software and add printer in System Preferences.

At least that worked for me, with my ancient printer.

 

[David-Brodosi]

Thanks for the tip... I'll give it a try.

 

[SpeQ]

Okay did that, now it's saying "Unable to check for updates. Make sure you are connected to the internet".

I'm guessing that I should periodically Check for updates (box 1) ???

I'm not sure about "Install system data files and security updates (box 5) Don't I need those even if staying with Catalina? Is that what I will see when I occasionally go in there and check Box 1 ????

And I should okay anything as long as it's not Big Sur?

Box 3 when it says "Install macOS updates" does it mean updates to the present, Catalina OS or does it mean it will then install a new operating system i.e. Big Sur which I do not want???

Sorry to be persistent, but folks who have been doing this for a long time take a lot for granted and know things y'all don't realize you know. But I'm practically a blank slate. Which is why I appreciate the such detailed help!

I think you want it set as shown in the picture here. It doesn't actually state clearly that those settings will prevent a new OS from being installed, but I'm pretty sure that's why there is a check box for "Install macOS updates", separate from "Install system data files and security updates".

 

[Ledgem]

is it 'opposite day'? 🤔

i find big sur (still a work-in-progress) to, overall, be more stable, sleeker, better than catalina (which i was fine with).

the point of all of this is: everyone has an opinion, and the OP (and anyone else) can read thru forum rants I MEAN posts, do some googling, and decide for themself whether they want to dive into the new OS or not. this has always been true, and will be true for the next OS, and so on...

Well, here's my rant: macOS 11 stinks. Normally I'm a .0-release updater, but for this one a combination of not having much time and also not feeling super enthused about the new features led me to wait a bit. .2 releases are usually considered safe even for those who are more skittish, and I had a bit more time, so I went for it. I've had kernel panics and slowdowns like you would not believe (late 2015 iMac), including a weird issue in which the computer occasionally lags when I am typing and acts like I held the key down for a second once every few minutes - a problem I can't recall experiencing in computing since the 1990's. I recall grumbling about slowdowns on Catalina but those were mostly fixed by the .2 or .3 release. This makes me wish I had skipped Big Sur entirely. Go figure Apple's first major OS release to also support ARM would have more rough edges than usual.

I'm still hoping a lot of this represents background-level cleanup in progress, much of which was disrupted by the kernel panics. Otherwise, it makes the system near-unusable for some tasks. I'd do a fresh install if it became 100% unbearable, but for now, I'll just whine on the internet 😄

 

[fisherking]

Well, here's my rant: macOS 11 stinks. Normally I'm a .0-release updater, but for this one a combination of not having much time and also not feeling super enthused about the new features led me to wait a bit. .2 releases are usually considered safe even for those who are more skittish, and I had a bit more time, so I went for it. I've had kernel panics and slowdowns like you would not believe (late 2015 iMac), including a weird issue in which the computer occasionally lags when I am typing and acts like I held the key down for a second once every few minutes - a problem I can't recall experiencing in computing since the 1990's. I recall grumbling about slowdowns on Catalina but those were mostly fixed by the .2 or .3 release. This makes me wish I had skipped Big Sur entirely. Go figure Apple's first major OS release to also support ARM would have more rough edges than usual.

I'm still hoping a lot of this represents background-level cleanup in progress, much of which was disrupted by the kernel panics. Otherwise, it makes the system near-unusable for some tasks. I'd do a fresh install if it became 100% unbearable, but for now, I'll just whine on the internet 😄

or you could have come to this forum, and started a thread, and asked for help. let's see, what's more productive? whining, or getting help. hmmm...

not everyone has these issues, so it's not the OS in general, it's something with your setup.

but people seem to prefer whining to fixing. go figure... 🤔

 

[zorinlynx]

It just takes awhile to get used to a new forum.

Potentially that was it; if you had chosen "Paste and Match Style" the color wouldn't have been forced.

Anyone else think that "Paste and match style" should be the default?

Never in my entire life of copy and pasting text have I wanted font color, size, etc. to be preserved from the original application. I always find myself having to "Undo" and then "Paste and match style" because for some reason even the freaking TERMINAL app will send its font sizes and color along with what is effectively plain text.

I wish there were an option to make paste and match style the default.

 

[svanstrom]

Anyone else think that "Paste and match style" should be the default?

[…]

I wish there were an option to make paste and match style the default.

System prefs - Shortcuts - App Shortcuts…

You can set "Paste and Match Style" as cmd-v; which will override the default.

 

[fisherking]

System prefs - Shortcuts - App Shortcuts…

You can set "Paste and Match Style" as cmd-v; which will override the default.

great tip! not sure i'd do that, tho.... after a million years of (almost) always choosing 'paste and match style', i'd need to change the shortcut in my brain to adapt to not doing that... 🤔

 

[yurc]

Just today, one of my colleagues inadvertently upgrade to Big Sur, and his Wacom tablet stopped working without much explanation. No warning or no clue at all to deciphering the problem.

Reinstall driver, reset SMC, VRAM, didn't help. Ended by unproductive day.

This is just simple pen tablet device, imagine if break something more complex like audio interface or control surface.

Anyone relevant with latest OS mostly only developer and software engineer, they need to test newest everything latest and need latest SDK/tools/Xcode to ensure upcoming OS working with their software/product without any surprise. For people who didn't rely of third party gear should be safe using Big Sur, e.g single MaBook only setup, not connected to any gears.

For creatives, newest OS doesn't make any difference, especially my Macs connected with bunch of myriad peripheral like audio interface and multiple control surface above. I am only updates if manufacturers declares safe to upgrades, heck I am still keep Mojave for 5,1 and Catalina for 7,1

As for me, I jump to Big Sur when Apple release MacOS 12 or whatever it called, looking from recent record Apple release quality, I prefer to use latest revision of prior OS rather than shiny new unpredictable system.

 

[fisherking]

Just today, one of my colleagues inadvertently upgrade to Big Sur, and his Wacom tablet stopped working without much explanation. No warning or no clue at all to deciphering the problem.

For creatives, newest OS doesn't make any difference, especially my Macs connected with bunch of myriad peripheral like audio interface and multiple control surface above.

'inadvertently'? how (& why) did that happen?

guess it's all relative; i live on logic pro, and final cut, and big sur (unsurprisingly) is a great match for both apps. plus my audio interfaces & controllers are all happy.