Tricks and tips on staying on Catalina (share them here).

[Heliotropen]

I'm still using Mojave (of which Catalina is the last iteration of the 32bit-capable and HFS+capable platform "early California" OS template, although Apple made it extremely cumbersome to reenable those features.)

Tips and observations:

1. Don't use Safari for anything. For the same reason you didn't use Internet Explorer in Windows. --Virus-writers and page-hijackers always target an OS's stock browser. On a Mac, use Firefox, Waterfox, Opera, Brave, and Vivaldi.

2. The biggest piece of malware on a Mac is Apple's own "security" software, which seems expressly designed to thrash drives (especially rotational drives) to pieces. This was a huge problem during the El Capitan / Sierra / High Sierra arc during boot-up, when MRT ("malicious removal tool"), Spotlight indexing, and myriad launchdaomons were all hammering the boot drive simultaneously to point memory usage would skyrocket (forcing caching on the drive!) and the spinning-wheel-of-wait-forever became a common sight. Terminal tricks to disable both MRT and Spotlight solved many of these problems. Fortunately, Mojave seems to be largely trouble free in this regard.

3. Open Library > LauchAgents and LaunchDeamons. Drag any Adobe and Microsoft specimens to a neutral folder, and restart. (This will turn off a lot of irksome phone-home behavior in those apps.)

4. If you are not running 32bit apps from a fast HFS+ partition, I'm not seeing a great reason to cease upgrading at Catalina given that you've already forfeited the vast existing library of 32bit apps and are now stuck with mostly subscription-model software. (The stock photos of California scenery are still available, so you're not stuck with the ugly new background wallpapers from Big Sur onward.)

Catalina runs much better on my machines than Mojave, and long ago I got rid of all 32 bit apps (or runs them trough Cloud conputing).


I both use Brave and Safari; but I actually still finds Safari extremely safe on Mac (even older versions that is no longer supported).

I disagree with the Security software on Catalina as well, it has only been serving my machines very well … I can go around it with a few terminal commands if I have to, but it Blocks if something or someone tries to install anything without me knowing it (experienced it many times), and it keeps the root parts of the system authentic.

I might try 3) but my Catalina Machines are running flawless … my biggest problems is 1) Apple trying to force me to update to big sur and beyond 2) Software updates and newer software that no longer is compatible with Catalina but demands a newer version to work (not that big småproblemer yet though).

Catalina does not run 32 bit apps, Mojave was the last one to do that, but I find my machines runs allot better on Catalina than Mojave and also I no longer use 32 bit apps.

With all that said, I’m glad I’m not the only one clinging to other stuff than the absolut newest.

They should have choosen to provide updates for Catalina for allot more years …

 

[Minghold]

Catalina does not run 32 bit apps,

Yes it does, with a simple Terminal command to turn them back on. (Catalina and Mojave are basically just High Sierra that Apple did some tinkering with to, first, mandate APFS, and then turn off 32bit app support. But the functionality for both is still within Catalina, although getting it running in an HFS+ partition is still troublesome, as other threads attest.)

also I no longer use 32 bit apps.

No Photoshop CS6 Extended launch-time of 1.8 seconds for you! (Also no Peggle and Angry Birds for the kids.) ...but the loss of Himmelbar is probably the biggest irritant.

They should have chosen to provide updates for Catalina for allot more years …

They will not, even though Microsoft is still there providing business support for Windows10Pro to 2025 for an over 15yr support period. --Providing goods of value to you is no longer Apple's business model. They are now a data-collection agency wearing a hardware manufacturer as a skinsuit. Which isn't to say they don't still want your all your monies, which is why their present scheme is endlessly revolving three current operating-systems for their customers to beta-test, with the finally fixed versions quickly declared "legacy" and no longer supported. Can you imagine if cars were sold like this, and the roads were redesigned every four years to preclude round wheels or square wheels or pentalobe wheels, and they made the new cars so that only their authorized service techs could change the wheels? --That's what they're doing now. (The next step will be a Facebook, YouTube, Google, MS & Apple smoke-filled-room agreement that support for 4k/60fps video ads will be the next hotness, and anything not capable of running their new walls-of-spam will be obsolesced. Think me absurd? They already did it once before with the last round of Facebook/YouTube forced browser obsolescences back in the core-duo era left Snow Leopard and Mountain Lion high and dry when they knew that the video processors of those machines were incapable of 1080p video, and just to be sure, jerryrigged the browsers to fail anyway unless they were updated with Sierra-requiring versions which didn't run on those machines.)

 

[Isamilis]

I really want to go back to Catalina, but had issues on battery drain during sleep. Do any of you had similar experience? Mine is MacBook Air Intel early 2020. I had tried few times reinstalling from scratch and still getting this issue.

 

[Heliotropen]

I really want to go back to Catalina, but had issues on battery drain during sleep. Do any of you had similar experience? Mine is MacBook Air Intel early 2020. I had tried few times reinstalling from scratch and still getting this issue.

Actually my 3 Mac’s have been running flawless on Catalina for a very long time … there is a few things: I boot my iMac from the Thunderbolt it seems like that disk is always running and never gets to sleep (but then again it also seems like it suffers data loss if I tuen off the Mac for too long, and its been running stable like this for years)… after the last update, when it goes for sleep for the night (hours) it sometimes can’t wake up without me rebooting it…. My MacBook 2015 with an unoeiginal batteri runs for like 3-4 hours of full work I guess; sadly its to long since I have run anything else.

My machines are all plugged in at night, so I can’t tell sadly.

I work Professional on these 3 machines all day, everyday.

 

[aespana]

I suffered that problem with my Macbook 12" 2017 and High Sierra. I installed Catalina again from scratch and I feel that all is fixed now.