Sonoma- The worst OS in human history?

[Iwavvns]

I've been on Macs since Mavericks was released, I used Linux and BSD before that. These days I use an M1 MacBook Air running Sonoma. I use my machines daily, for a lot of work, and I've not had any notable issues with any of the operating systems outside of having to learn something to remove an old habit.

I see people complaining about macOS like their world is ending and I have to wonder what those people are doing with their machines. It's simply not possible that I keep buying the only machines that have no issues.

 

[Miles Fu]

My 2019 16' MBP came with Catalina, lots of random reboots with an external monitor, and then I upgraded to
Big Sur,
Monterey,
Ventura,
Sonoma.

At least for my MBP, Sonoma is the most stable OS with the least problems.

 

[ultratiem]

Just discovered that After Effects built a 98GB cache this week. If a user didn't know how to check the cache folders they'd blame the OS for running out of space.

Almost all problems are app problems not OS problems.

Almost all problems are Adobe problems not OS problems. Fixed it for you.

 

[The1Biz]

I finally updated to Sonoma last week from Big Sur after I realized it wasn't being updated anymore.

I kind of dislike how they made it feel like less of a computer and more like an iPad in System Settings.

Also it added Adobe and Steam updaters to my Login Items. I had both on my machine for a short period a long time ago and got rid of them. I was quite surprised to see a reference to two software programs I don't even have on my computer.

Applications added in some crap I don't want and will never use. Stocks, Weather, Podcasts, and Freeform can't be deleted either. This again feels like an iPadification.

I hate having to shut off Siri and other options where it opts you in automatically when you update. It's like hide and seek.

The little note about advertising in Privacy and Security and how ads are served was quite frankly alarming. This made it feel like Apple is veering into Microsoft territory.

These are my annoyances. I've been slowly moving towards getting an AMD machine for my next computer and will install Linux. To test it out, instead of getting a new iPad I got an old Dell from the business refurb site and installed Mint. It's more of a travel computer than my daily but it's a first step, and it's a whole lot cheaper.

Plus, I don't care about the wave of AI coming, I don't feel like it's of any benefit to me, it's only for scraping more consumer data.

 

[Eric Idle]

I finally updated to Sonoma last week from Big Sur after I realized it wasn't being updated anymore.

I kind of dislike how they made it feel like less of a computer and more like an iPad in System Settings.

Also it added Adobe and Steam updaters to my Login Items. I had both on my machine for a short period a long time ago and got rid of them. I was quite surprised to see a reference to two software programs I don't even have on my computer.

Applications added in some crap I don't want and will never use. Stocks, Weather, Podcasts, and Freeform can't be deleted either. This again feels like an iPadification.

I hate having to shut off Siri and other options where it opts you in automatically when you update. It's like hide and seek.

The little note about advertising in Privacy and Security and how ads are served was quite frankly alarming. This made it feel like Apple is veering into Microsoft territory.

These are my annoyances. I've been slowly moving towards getting an AMD machine for my next computer and will install Linux. To test it out, instead of getting a new iPad I got an old Dell from the business refurb site and installed Mint. It's more of a travel computer than my daily but it's a first step, and it's a whole lot cheaper.

Plus, I don't care about the wave of AI coming, I don't feel like it's of any benefit to me, it's only for scraping more consumer data.

Yep, sounds like Sonoma is an abject disaster. A complete failure by Apple.

 

[The1Biz]

I honestly haven't seen anything crashy but now I wait to upgrade after a few versions are out. It was odd to see the differences because I skipped a few OS versions between then and now. Maybe things changed more gradually and I missed it.

i gave up on Windows 11, and am really not liking the direction Apple is going. It's like when early social media kept coming up with new platforms, by the time MySpace and Facebook came about I just didn't care and didn't join. Most of the features in OS X and Windows are lost on me as they move to act like consumer sales platforms. I don't use Siri and I don't want XBox integration into my computer, or iBooks, or even iCloud.

 

[kitKAC]

Also it added Adobe and Steam updaters to my Login Items. I had both on my machine for a short period a long time ago and got rid of them. I was quite surprised to see a reference to two software programs I don't even have on my computer.

More likely they were always still there because they weren't fully uninstalled and Sonoma made that fact visible to you.

 

[xDeadTechx]

That's what I keep reading, that no other OS in all of humanity is as bad as Sonoma.

I'm a Mac user since the Mac Plus days. This is the first time I have never upgraded to a new OS, ever. I'm still running Ventura. I don't want to experience the worst OS in human history. Hard to believe Apple produced an OS worse than Windows Me!

Not sure it's fair to put Sonoma and Windows ME in the same sentence, Windows ME should have never seen the light of day but Microsoft needed to release a newer "home" version of the OS due to Windows 2000.. remember it's all about optics.

I've personally had zero issues with Sonoma on my Mac mini or MacBook Air, but I wouldn't classify it (Sonoma) as the worst OS. Windows XP SP0 was pretty bad in terms of security and Windows 8 was a complete dud.. not to mention Windows Vista.

 

[Queen6]

Sonoma has been OK for my needs and objectively faster. I run a lot of Open Source SW. OP has no clue as too scared to try. Nothing's broken, everything works...

Q-6

 

[seggy]

Seems more problematic than most to me from personal history, though it's a sample of one so far. The iMac on Monterey I fished out from storage is now a live spare and a lead test machine for Sonoma and was supposed to be in normal rotation well before now (and it still isn't, because Sonoma).

I'm regretting it since I wouldn't have had the productivity sapping problem if I'd left it on Monterey like the majority of my other Macs.

I'm also relieved about it since I'll have to upgrade my remaining other Macs sooner or later and I get to preview the plentiful issues and any resolution for them before I get to the machines I'm actively using - or make the decision to just not bother upgrading until I'm fully off Macs.

 

[chrono1081]

That's what I keep reading, that no other OS in all of humanity is as bad as Sonoma.

I'm a Mac user since the Mac Plus days. This is the first time I have never upgraded to a new OS, ever. I'm still running Ventura. I don't want to experience the worst OS in human history. Hard to believe Apple produced an OS worse than Windows Me!

They didn't, Sonoma is perfectly fine. Anyone telling you otherwise never actually used it.

 

[Sciuriware]

Have a look at t

That's what I keep reading, that no other OS in all of humanity is as bad as Sonoma.

I'm a Mac user since the Mac Plus days. This is the first time I have never upgraded to a new OS, ever. I'm still running Ventura. I don't want to experience the worst OS in human history. Hard to believe Apple produced an OS worse than Windows Me!

Have a look at this and draw your conclusions:

;JOOP!

 

[seggy]

They didn't, Sonoma is perfectly fine. Anyone telling you otherwise never actually used it.

I'm using it now.

Commenting on usability, this is at most just like a Windows Service Pack. If everything in it works, it should be fine - it's not a brand new OS release in the wider computing world by any measure.

However it is easily the worst OS upgrade experience I've had on any platform in the last ten years at least. I'm really glad I just decided to test it on a whim on a spare instead of just rolling it out like I usually do after 9 months to a year of release. And while then I do often have problems on Macs in ways I don't on actually professional OS's (even the 'it kinda fell off' Windows 11 included), they've been manageable so far.

I've been on this Mac pretty much full time today, and the more I look the more is broken - and as I said before in the last post in this thread, this wasn't an in-place upgrade because Sonoma trashed the Mac during the upgrade process, so it is fresh + Migration Assistant - and *that* was after a full health / compatibility prep of the Mac before the upgrade.

To date, from what I've identified so far a truly impressive number of things are in fact broken or have to be completely rebuilt, and this with versions of apps qualified for Sonoma according to the vendor of each. And in fact I'm wondering if it's easier to just reinstall everything from scratch than troubleshooting the double-digit major (and by major I mean stuff straight up doens't work) issues so far to get *this* Mac working.

There is absolutely no way I'm going to upgrade any of my other Macs at this point.

 

[martint235]

Been running it since beta on Mac mini M2 and M2 MBA and haven’t had a single issue. Both machines are only rebooted for updates. I honestly don’t know how people manage to have so many issues.

 

[seggy]

You're a beta tester and have the mindset of one, that's why 🤣

 

[purplerainpurplerain]

How come people just post things like this broken that broken and no evidence?

 

[fisherking]

You're a beta tester and have the mindset of one, that's why 🤣

you mean, someone who would be even more experienced with bugs, problems? more tech-savvy, more immersed in the OS? makes sense to me 👍

 

[seggy]

you mean, someone who would be even more experienced with bugs, problems? more tech-savvy, more immersed in the OS? makes sense to me 👍

you say that (all of which is entirely true), and you don't see what I'm getting at? 🤣

 

[bousozoku]

I used Windows Me back in the day and all indications are Sonoma is much worse than that. I don't need that kind of trouble.

Hmm...are you sure your personal, internal memory is performing within specified parameters? 😆

 

[fisherking]

you say that (all of which is entirely true), and you don't see what I'm getting at? 🤣

perhaps if you say clearly what you mean; it's not my job to interpret your comment...

 

[ignatius345]

I used Windows Me back in the day and all indications are Sonoma is much worse than that. I don't need that kind of trouble.

Wait... "all indications are" and "I keep reading" -- are you saying you haven't installed Sonoma yourself but you heard there were problems on the internet? And the only actual experience you cite is some version of Windows a full-ass quarter century ago? And then you felt moved to start and vigorously defend this point of view? Wow, bold and weird move!

 

[bousozoku]

Almost all problems are Adobe problems not OS problems. Fixed it for you.

These days, it feels as though Apple has ripped a few pages out of Adobe's development book: add features, fix problems later, when absolutely necessary.

 

[bousozoku]

I've been on Macs since Mavericks was released, I used Linux and BSD before that. These days I use an M1 MacBook Air running Sonoma. I use my machines daily, for a lot of work, and I've not had any notable issues with any of the operating systems outside of having to learn something to remove an old habit.

I see people complaining about macOS like their world is ending and I have to wonder what those people are doing with their machines. It's simply not possible that I keep buying the only machines that have no issues.

I suspect the people with the least experience, the least knowledge, and the least patience are having the most problems.

 

[ultratiem]

These days, it feels as though Apple has ripped a few pages out of Adobe's development book: add features, fix problems later, when absolutely necessary.

I have been aching for a Snow Leopard pass. I don’t need new features. I’d prefer the existing ones actually worked and worked well. It’s such. Shame that we are in 2024 and software is still such a train wreck.

 

[bousozoku]

I have been aching for a Snow Leopard pass. I don’t need new features. I’d prefer the existing ones actually worked and worked well. It’s such. Shame that we are in 2024 and software is still such a train wreck.

I understand. I didn't like Snow Leopard, but it worked okay for the 2009 polycarbonate MacBook I had. I preferred Mac OS X 10.4.11 on my PowerBook G4. Besides, 10.4.x was a release where everything was working and it was so much faster than traditional MacOS.

Back then, they were concerned about getting it right and not trying to appeal to iPhone users.