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Re: Santa Catalina is running for me...
joemikeb #52040 07/11/19 08:43 AM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
I am confident that there are those out there that <snip> could easily wind up owning your entire worldly goods and collecting your Social Security and other retirement benefits. If you want to test your security try placing an add in a Ukrainian or Russian newspaper 😄

I'd love to sit down with you over an ice cold beer and discuss the specific risk you think using the same password at n different websites, NONE OF WHICH has any more information about me than my address...possibly my phone number poses. OK, a few of those sites make me enter credit card info (None of them has EVER had my SSN.) but do NOT retain it, and Amazon does retain it, but I delete it instantly.

Caution, maybe even extreme caution is necessary on the Internet, but it seems to me that your position in this instance crosses over the line to paranoia.

Tacit, where are you?


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Santa Catalina is running for me...
artie505 #52045 07/12/19 08:03 PM
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GRANTING ACCESS

I have already mentioned the necessity of granting apps access to various system function on a app-by-app basis but there are additional complications…
  1. some apps throw up a Preview or Safari window with instructions to
    1. open System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy
    2. enter your password
    3. add the app to the appropriate permissions list
    4. check the box next to the app on the list to activate it
  2. Some
    1. open System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy for you
    2. you then must enter your password
    3. add the app to the appropriate permissions list
    4. check the box next to the app on the list to activate it
  3. Other apps will launch System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy and fill in the app name so all the user has to do is
    1. enter their password
    2. check the box next to the app to activate it
  4. still others
    1. Throw up a dialogue box requesting permission to access the resource
    2. all the time
    3. one time
    4. deny access
  5. and some just ask permission to access the resource with no information on whether it is all the time or one time only.
  6. I have encountered cases (mostly older apps I beleive) where the app simply quit or quit with a notice that it was denied access to the resource.
Obviously how this is handled is the app developer's choice but if they have not provided for getting permission the Catalina steps in and doesn't permit the app to run. If you see this happening go back to case 1 to fix the issue. It appears it will be the rare app that does not need at least some tweaking to not run into access issues in Catalina.

The good news is most of those permissions can be easily revoked by the user at any time. The bad news is there are some legacy apps that apparently can get around these permissions — until Apple can figure out how to shut them off and give the developers time to come into line that is.

Last edited by joemikeb; 07/12/19 08:07 PM.

If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Santa Catalina is running for me...
joemikeb #52111 07/22/19 09:00 PM
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In case you ever wondered if Apple Trouble Reports are ever read, I received this email this afternoon…
Originally Posted By: Apple
As a result of your feedback, there are software changes in build 19A512f that have resolved this issue.

Has this issue been fixed for you?

Feedback ID 6525156, App Store Download Hung

Do not reply to this email. Please login to Feedback Assistant to let us know if the problem is fixed for you.

Unfortunately although build 19A512f was released to Developers over a week ago, it has not been released to the Public Beta testers, so I can't tell if the problem has been fixed or not. 🤷‍♂️


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Santa Catalina is running for me...
joemikeb #52112 07/22/19 10:34 PM
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I know from experience that attention is paid to the Bug Reporter, but I"ve got my doubts about the Feedback page.

I've reported issues that have never been addressed, and I know of others reported by others.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Santa Catalina is running for me...
artie505 #52156 07/27/19 05:00 PM
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SAY WHAT???

Don't ask why I haven't discovered this before but here is the Scenario…
  1. System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud > iCloud Drive > Options > Desktop & Documents Folders is checked (✔) just as it is in Mojave
  2. I decide to drill down from the Drive to the user account Documents folder (/Users/myaccountid/Documents) using Finder
    • result — THERE IS NO DOCUMENTS OR DESKTOP FOLDER. 😟
  3. I repeat the exercise, this time using Finder > Go > Go to folder (⇧⌘G)
    • result — I find both the Documents and Desktop folders as expected ⁇
  4. I go digging to find where the Documents and Desktop folders are actually located and find them in ~/Library/Cloud Storage/iCloud Drive along with all the other files that are synched to iCloud
  5. It appears the new location is hard-linked(?) in the system and can be accessed by what appears to be a normal file path that points to the new locations instead of where we are used to finding them.
  6. To verify this I check my wife's Mac mini that is also running Catalina and the situation is the same. I suppose moving those files accounts for the initial sluggish performance when Catalina was first installed.
This is taking a while to mentally adapt to the new situation and I can only speculate why the change was made. Among my speculations are:
  1. Hiding the Documents and Desktop folders to reduce the risk of uninformed user deletions
  2. Make the actual location of the folders more closely match their physical location in the hierarchy and at the same time preserve their logical location for the users. (As a software designer this has a lot of appeal to me.()
  3. this change presages a forthcoming security enhancement
  4. This is intended to make the logical file structure in macOS closer to that of iOS.IpadOS.

BY-THE-WAY: If this bothers you too much you can still use Apple aliases and/or Smart folders to create your own unique hierarchical structure.

Last edited by joemikeb; 07/27/19 05:08 PM. Reason: new thoughts

If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Santa Catalina is running for me...
joemikeb #52172 08/04/19 08:25 PM
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CATALINA PUBLIC BETA 4

  1. For some unexplained reason Software Update has refused to recognize or install public betas 3 and 4. 🤬 Today I "fixed" that by booting from the Recovery Drive (⌘R) and re-installing Catalina which, of course is, the public beta 4 build.
    • Problem solved — at least until Public Beta 5 😳
  2. The good news is most of the significant problems I had previously encountered have been resolved in Public Beta 4 😀
    • DEVONThink 3 beta runs perfectly and I have been able to remove DEVONThink Pro Office 2.11 👍
    • So far Safari & Safari Technology Preview have been very stable 🤞
    • Files placed on the Desktop are uploading to iCloud Drive almost immediately which is the desired performance
    • A bunch of system files and folders on the drive root have disappeared and I can't find where they have disappeared to. 🤷‍♂️
    • One of my scanner apps still refuses to recognize the scanner 👎 but Vuescan still sees the drivers and works just fine 👌
  3. So far I have been able to close 10 problem reports as either unrepeatable or solved by PB 4 👏
  4. Unless I run into something unexpected Catalina has reached the stage of being a fully usable OS with only some minor quirks and issues needing to be worked out by third party software developers.
NOTE: In spite of this relatively robust stage of development, I am confident there are still lots of bugs I have not encountered and on top of that there are several very significant planned features that have yet to be introduced and each of those has the potential for creating new issues in any and every part of the OS.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Santa Catalina is running for me...
joemikeb #52182 08/06/19 02:17 PM
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Joe, just in case you might be able to pick the scab and replicate my "discovery"....

On my 2017 MBP 13" with Touch Bar MacOS 10.14.5, I had lost the ability to print PDF's to my HP LaserJet M1536dnf MFP which had been working fine for years....it would now print the following error message instead of the chosen page:

ERROR: limitcheck
OFFENDING COMMAND: imagemask

STACK:

(r)
(Sys/Start)
(Sys/Start)

This was unveiled when I couldn't print my USAA updated insurance cards....

Before deleting and reinstalling the printer, I tried:

1. sending the PDF to the Preview app prior to sending it to the printer - same result

2. changing the default printer driver from "AirPrint" to the HP M1536 driver - same result

3. printing the offending file from a different computer (and from my iPhone using AirPrint) - SUCCESS! So it wasn't a corrupted PDF.

4. my other multi-function printer, a Brother MFC-985DW worked just fine with printing and scanning using the Print / Scan prefpane....

Upon deleting then reinstalling the HP M1536 printer I discovered that the new printer was no longer recognized as a multi function device, and there was no longer a SCAN option.....very annoying!

So now I went through the driver update process with HP's support site to ensure that I had their latest releases, deleted and reinstalled the printer again and still no scan option....even more annoying!

Looked a little further on the HP support site and discovered a later firmware release for the M1536 MFP, however, there was no MacOS way to get that into the printer....now I'm digging out a legacy Windows computer to run the firmware installer. End result, it will now print the PDF correctly, but still no scan option using my MBP....now I'm starting to get concerned.

Ran the MacOS 10.14.6 update (and supplemental)....still no scan option using the System Preferences Print & Scan prefpane.

Ultimately researched the scanning work-around solution to be:

Use the Image Capture app that Apple now includes since 2018 in the Applications folder.

This new app has the same UI as the previously functional Scan portion of the Printer/Scanner prefpane, so once you find it you are on familiar territory.

Immediate issue resolved....it prints correctly and I can use a different work-flow to scan.

Now, the rest of the story.....

Same OS, same printer, same network, 2014 Mac Mini.....no change to the ability to print PDF's correctly....no error messages, no loss of Scan option using the Printer / Scanner prefpane, no need to use the Image Capture app as a work-around.

Any suggestions for me on kext research/comparison between platforms? FWIW, the HP scanning software that was in their latest release also works just fine (their older scanning software utility was 32 bit...)


Freedom is never free....thank a Service member today.
Re: Santa Catalina is running for me...
MacManiac #52183 08/06/19 02:56 PM
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My wife ran into a somewhat analogous situation in Catalina (although she/we did not explore it as deeply as you). It was resolved by resetting the print system...
Originally Posted By: Mac Help
  1. On your Mac choose Apple Menu  > System Preferences > Printers &* Scanners
  2. Hold down the control (∧) key as you click on the list at the left, then choose "Reset Printing System" on the menu that appears. After you reset the printing system, the list of printers in Printers & scanners is empty
  3. Re-add any printers
For one reason or another, I have had to reset the print system every six months to a year. Deleting and re-installing a printer doesn't get the job done, rather I have found it necessary to completely flush CUPS (Common Unix Print System).


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Santa Catalina is running for me...
joemikeb #52184 08/06/19 03:12 PM
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Thanks Joe, I'll give that a try and report back.....it could go one of two ways - I'll either regain the Scan option for my HP M1536 MFP, or I will lose my Scan option for my Brother MFC-J985 multi-function printer.

Wish me luck!

....and the answer is.....

You nailed it!!! I regained all lost functionality on the HP and didn't affect the functionality of the Brother.

edited to update the result of resetting the print system...

Last edited by MacManiac; 08/06/19 03:21 PM.

Freedom is never free....thank a Service member today.
Re: Santa Catalina is running for me...
MacManiac #52189 08/07/19 02:27 PM
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👍



If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Santa Catalina is running for me...
joemikeb #52207 08/08/19 05:59 PM
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Thread on Services Menu: Print Selection split into it own topic at this point.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Santa Catalina is running for me...
joemikeb #52212 08/10/19 10:13 PM
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CATALINA CROSSES THE RUBICON

There are still some notable things not working or not working 100% in Catalina Public Beta 4. the most prominent to me is Fujitsu's ScanSnap Home which refuses to "see" the Fujitsu scanner (I think that all is in Fujitsu's court). But many of the really annoying glitches such as Safari's & Safari Technology Preview's annoying tendency to crash any time I selected a block of text have completely disappeared and I have found at least usable if not ideal workarounds for others like the aforementioned problem with ScanSnap Home. Some third party developers such as Mike Bombich seem to have come to terms with the internal changes — Mike's Carbon Copy Cloner Version 5.1.10-b6 (5769) now deals with the structural changes including Recovery Drive quite nicely. And on top of all that this morning I realized I had not booted into Mojave in weeks.

While I can't claim any scientific findings or well thought out rationale for this decision but when I found the CCC beta update I decided the time had come to declare Catalina as my production OS. The Mojave installation is officially history, having been replaced with a Clone of my Catalina drive.

While this is definitely NOT a step for the faint of heart or the technology challenged, I think it is significant the beta has become sufficient stable that I feel I can rely on it.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Santa Catalina is running for me...
joemikeb #52213 08/11/19 09:39 PM
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PHOTOS SURPRISE

This afternoon I opened Photos in Catalina for the first time, and was immediately reminded of all the promised new features (although IIRC they were mostly mentioned in relation to Photos on iPhone/iPad) by in a immediate paroxysm of
  • Gathering Favorites
  • Composing Layout
  • Detecting Duplicates
  • Analyzing Scenes
  • Curating Best Photos
and a subtext of
Originally Posted By: Photos
Leave device connected to power
This has been going on for a couple of hours now and the progress bar would leave me to believe the tasks are ~20% completed, & it doesn't seem to be progressing. Either that or it is progressing v e r y s l o w l y.

I have four comments at this point:
  1. I hope that the tasks eventually completes
  2. I am curious to see the results
  3. I hope the results are worth all the CPU cycles
  4. I am SO glad I didn't start this on my iPhone!


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Santa Catalina is running for me...
joemikeb #52221 08/14/19 02:49 PM
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UPDATE ON PHOTOS

All of the processing finally completed sometime late in the afternoon. I was anxious to see all the new features, but at this point it turns out stability is an issue. Every time I try to do something with slideshows, Photos crashes 😢 More Feedback to Apple and hopefully this will. be fixed in the next Catalina beta.

On the other hand the enhanced editing features work very well and are a nice upgrade. While Photos is no competition for Adobe Photoshop or Affinity Photo, and even Graphic Converter offers more features, but it should satisfy the photo touchup and enhancement needs for a good 90% of users. It is easy to use; offers automatic, select the image, and tweak the details levels of editing. Even better, with appropriate adaptations to accommodate the screen size, this is all replicated the in the iOS and iPadOS versions of Photos. (NOTE: I don't do much editing on the iPhone. Even when I am wearing glasses the image is too 🤬 small for any level of detail work.)


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Watch For An Upgrade Soon
joemikeb #52332 08/29/19 02:02 PM
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PROGRESS REPORT

From my viewpoint the Gold Master should be close. The one lingering major incompatibility (Fujitsu ScanSnap was unable to "see" the iX500 scanner) was fixed by last weeks Catalina beta update, but that update broke Banktivity 7. (That was fixed by a quick update of Banktivity yesterday morning). As of today I have three open bug reports:
  1. one minor App Store app (Radium) that still crashes immediately on launch, but it has not been updated in two years and may no longer be supported. It would be no big loss if it doesn't get fixed.
  2. An interesting situation with a beta version of DEVONThink that has to be quit twice unless its window is on the MBP's display
  3. One third party app that displays perfectly in "dark mode" but is unreadable in "light mode".
…and none of those are in Apple's control. A new Catalina update yesterday afternoon didn't break anything and did not introduce anything new.

Watch for a MacOS upgrade soon!


Last edited by joemikeb; 08/29/19 09:46 PM. Reason: App updates this afternoon cleared two of my three outstanding issues

If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
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