Don’t update to macOS Catalina without reading this first
Don’t update to macOS Catalina without reading this first
By Chris Ridzon . January 17, 2020
Have you been itching to update your Mac’s operating system to Catalina? Before clicking the upgrade button, you may want to read this article to avoid a possible nightmare situation. The new Mac operating system makes some serious changes, which means that at least a handful of apps on your Mac will no longer work. If you’re a long-time Mac user who has not upgraded your software in a while, the Catalina update could bring you to tears. This is particularly true for some creatives, including DJs, writers, graphic designers, video editors, architects and photographers if they immediately upgrade without talking to a Basics-n-Beyond certified tech first.
Adobe, makers of Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere and Lightroom, are telling users to hold off on updating to macOS Catalina until it can iron out a number of compatibility issues. Music DJ’s will lose iTunes capabilities. They also lose XML file support used to sort tracks into playlists. Third-party DJ apps. like Traktor and Rekordobx that use the XML format, will be obsolete with Catalina. The biggest change in Catalina is that all your 32-bit apps will no longer work. This has been coming for a while. Way back in High Sierra, Apple started warning us that certain apps were no longer compatible and would stop working in future. That future arrived with the macOS Catalina update. Apple began transitioning to 64-bit hardware and software technology for Mac over a decade ago, and all modern Macs now include powerful 64-bit processors that can run advanced 64-bit apps. These apps can access dramatically more memory, enable faster system performance, and take advantage of technologies that define today’s Mac experience.
Apple has been working with developers to transition their apps, and in 2018 Apple informed them that macOS Mojave would be the last version of macOS to run 32-bit apps. Unfortunately, some application makers have lagged behind or have decided to use this transition period to force people to buy upgraded software. A good example of this would be Microsoft Office 2011 which is a 32-bit application. If you upgrade to macOS Catalina your Office 2011 software will no longer work and you will be forced to purchase Office 365 if you expect to use Word, Excel or PowerPoint.
With all this being said, with the right precautions and a Basics-n-Beyond Apple certified tech supporting you, macOS Catalina could be an exciting upgrade. However, be forewarned do your research first and always have a current Time Machine backup before clicking that update button.
As always, if you are at all apprehensive about upgrading, we suggest that you stop by our shop anytime Monday through Friday between 9am and 6pm to speak to a Basics-n-Beyond tech before doing anything. We are always happy to help you achieve greatness.
