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Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
#53962 04/13/20 05:44 PM
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Hi Guys:

I still have Sierra 10.12.6 and have no issues except......Now on Amazon the website doesn't completely work for me, and I do a lot of shopping there. Anyway, I called AppleCare and after troubleshooting, we determined that perhaps Amazon changed something on the back end and I need to update. I was sent a link to Mojave since I didn't want to go all the way up to Catalina yet. I just read the pros and cons on Mojave and wasn't happy with what I read.

I just want to know if you guys like Mojave or Catalina or have had any major negative issues. I've already backed up my computer on my external hard drive should I hate any updates. But, I need to get a fix for my issues on Amazon. No lectures please about how Amazon treats their employees. I know all about it and hate it, but I have to do what I have to do with the budget I am allotted.

Thanks for your help.

Rita


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Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
plantsower #53966 04/13/20 07:44 PM
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One thing you could run into with Catalina, it drops all support for 32 bit applications. They simply will not run. so if you have any old 32 bit apps they will either need to be updated or replaced. The bigger the upgrade step you take the more likely you will be to run into issue with third party apps, utilities, kernel extensions, etc. As far as general operation goes I have found Catalina remarkably problem free from the first beta release. I had more problems with the upgrade to Mojave. Both Mojave and particularly Catalina introduce significant changes relating to security and that can be annoying until you get used to the change.

I always push the envelope, but I would encourage you to go to Catalina. You will have a bit steeper learning/re-learning curve but you will be in better position to then go on to MacOS 10.16 when it ships next fall.


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

— Albert Einstein
Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
plantsower #53968 04/13/20 08:38 PM
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I have one 32-bit app that I still want functional, so I made a clone of my Mojave system prior to upgrading to Catalina. I'm keeping that clone viable until I know that I don't need the app anymore. I also have two Catalina clones plus Time Machine, so I'm completely backed up. My experience with Catalina has been similar to Joe's; no problems.

You could consider something similar with your Sierra installation.


Jon

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Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
joemikeb #53969 04/13/20 09:41 PM
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Thanks, Joe. I will think about this as I am NOT one to push the envelope with my OS versions. They always take away a favorite feature or two at least. If I do go to Catalina, expect to see me here more often until I can master it. smirk


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Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
plantsower #53970 04/13/20 10:00 PM
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Originally Posted By: plantsower
They always take away a favorite feature or two at least. If I do go to Catalina, expect to see me here more often until I can master it. smirk

That's okay, we can live with that quite happily 😜


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

— Albert Einstein
Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
jchuzi #53971 04/13/20 10:00 PM
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Thanks, Jon. I did back up Sierra onto my external drive. I am assuming that is similar to a clone??? I checked my apps and most of them are good for 64 bits. The funny things was it said my DVD player was 32 bit, but my Mac doesn't have a slot for a DVD. I looked and I do have the DVD player software. Do you know why I would have one without a DVD slot in my Mac? Confused. confused Thanks.


Originally Posted By: jchuzi
I have one 32-bit app that I still want functional, so I made a clone of my Mojave system prior to upgrading to Catalina. I'm keeping that clone viable until I know that I don't need the app anymore. I also have two Catalina clones plus Time Machine, so I'm completely backed up. My experience with Catalina has been similar to Joe's; no problems.

You could consider something similar with your Sierra installation.


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Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
plantsower #53972 04/13/20 10:01 PM
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Maybe the DVD software can be used with an external DVD player? That's all that makes sense to me.


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Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
plantsower #53973 04/13/20 10:05 PM
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DVD player can work with an external optical (DVD) drive (both my wife and I have external optical drives and neither of us has used them in at least two years). DVD player is bundled with MacOS and the version that is installed as part of Catalina is 64 bit.

ADDENDUM I just remembered I burned my tax return and supporting data to aa archival quality CD last month, so I have used the drive.

Last edited by joemikeb; 04/13/20 10:12 PM. Reason: Addendum

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

— Albert Einstein
Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
joemikeb #53974 04/13/20 10:19 PM
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Good. Thanks. cool


Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Originally Posted By: plantsower
They always take away a favorite feature or two at least. If I do go to Catalina, expect to see me here more often until I can master it. smirk

That's okay, we can live with that quite happily 😜


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Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
joemikeb #53975 04/13/20 10:21 PM
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Okie dokie!!


Originally Posted By: joemikeb
DVD player can work with an external optical (DVD) drive (both my wife and I have external optical drives and neither of us has used them in at least two years). DVD player is bundled with MacOS and the version that is installed as part of Catalina is 64 bit.

ADDENDUM I just remembered I burned my tax return and supporting data to aa archival quality CD last month, so I have used the drive.


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Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
plantsower #53976 04/13/20 10:54 PM
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Originally Posted By: plantsower
I did back up Sierra onto my external drive. I am assuming that is similar to a clone???
How did you make the backup? A clone is an exact copy of the entire volume. You can boot from the clone and use it as if it were an internal drive. Did you use a cloning app? Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper are the ones that I am familiar with. Both work very well but I prefer CCC because it has some features that I like.

If your backup was made by drag-and-drop, you copied the files but not the essential system. You may be able to access those files, but you won't be able to boot into the backup. For that, you absolutely need a cloning app. Disk Utility can do it, but I have never used DU for that purpose and I can't speak for how well it works.


Jon

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Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
jchuzi #53978 04/14/20 12:06 AM
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Hi Jon: Yes, I used SuperDuper. I found it easier to use than CCC. Thanks for clarifying in case I didn't do that.


Originally Posted By: jchuzi
Originally Posted By: plantsower
I did back up Sierra onto my external drive. I am assuming that is similar to a clone???
How did you make the backup? A clone is an exact copy of the entire volume. You can boot from the clone and use it as if it were an internal drive. Did you use a cloning app? Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper are the ones that I am familiar with. Both work very well but I prefer CCC because it has some features that I like.

If your backup was made by drag-and-drop, you copied the files but not the essential system. You may be able to access those files, but you won't be able to boot into the backup. For that, you absolutely need a cloning app. Disk Utility can do it, but I have never used DU for that purpose and I can't speak for how well it works.


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Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
plantsower #53999 04/14/20 12:44 PM
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Originally Posted By: plantsower
I just want to know if you guys like Mojave or Catalina or have had any major negative issues.

I changed to Mojave a few months back and have been extremely happy with it. My motivation was that I wanted, more than anything else, always to have the best security. An older, no longer updated OS was not going to provide that.

Mojave also accommodated a second priority, which was to keep a bunch of 32 bit apps that I was not about to abandon. Before moving from High Sierra, I actually installed Mojave on a separate drive and put all of my 32 bit apps through their paces.

When the time comes that security forces me to move to Catalina, I will have a separate drive with Mojave and my 32 bit apps.


ryck

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Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
ryck #54003 04/14/20 02:25 PM
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That's almost exactly what I did. I have a Mojave clone that I made just before upgrading to Catalina. I'm keeping that clone in case I want to use the one 32-bit app that I need. My internal drive has Catalina and I have not had any problems with it.


Jon

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Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
plantsower #54005 04/14/20 03:28 PM
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Another factor to consider is your hardware: how much RAM, size of internal hard drive, the generation of Intel chips. While your MacBook may be new enough for Catalina, that operating system could push your setup to its limits. Mojave should be no problem.

Personally, if everything can take Catalina, do that, although Mojave is an equally good choice and commonly used by many. How's that for hedging! wink


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Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
ryck #54009 04/14/20 04:14 PM
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OK. Something to think about. Thanks.


Originally Posted By: ryck
Originally Posted By: plantsower
I just want to know if you guys like Mojave or Catalina or have had any major negative issues.

I changed to Mojave a few months back and have been extremely happy with it. My motivation was that I wanted, more than anything else, always to have the best security. An older, no longer updated OS was not going to provide that.

Mojave also accommodated a second priority, which was to keep a bunch of 32 bit apps that I was not about to abandon. Before moving from High Sierra, I actually installed Mojave on a separate drive and put all of my 32 bit apps through their paces.

When the time comes that security forces me to move to Catalina, I will have a separate drive with Mojave and my 32 bit apps.


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Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
Ira L #54010 04/14/20 04:22 PM
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I have 8 gigs of RAM. I also have 88 gigs of storage available on my HD right now. Not sure how that works with a new OS. Intel Iris Graphics 6100 1536 MB. Processor: 2.7 GHz. Intel Core i5. Does this help?

Originally Posted By: Ira L
Another factor to consider is your hardware: how much RAM, size of internal hard drive, the generation of Intel chips. While your MacBook may be new enough for Catalina, that operating system could push your setup to its limits. Mojave should be no problem.

Personally, if everything can take Catalina, do that, although Mojave is an equally good choice and commonly used by many. How's that for hedging! wink


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Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
plantsower #54023 04/14/20 09:41 PM
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89 gigs of RAM is minimal (just don't keep a lot of apps open and running at the same time), but definitely usable, your processor, by todays standard is relatively slow and 88 GB of storage will work for either Mojave or Catalina. Mojave will offer the opportunity to non-destructively reformat your HD to APFS and Catalina doesn't even ask when you have an SSD, I don't know what it does when installing on an HD. Catalina also moves things around and creates new partitions to further isolate and protect system files from inadvertent damage or malware intrusion but that is largely invisible to most users. I doubt you will see any performance differences between the two.

I will make one final argument in favor of Catalina, it won't become out-of-date for at least six or seven months while Mojave is already behind the power curve. 😎


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

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Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
joemikeb #54032 04/15/20 02:51 AM
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I only have 120 gigs on my SSD to begin with. That's why there is hardly any.



Originally Posted By: joemikeb
89 gigs of RAM is minimal (just don't keep a lot of apps open and running at the same time), but definitely usable, your processor, by todays standard is relatively slow and 88 GB of storage will work for either Mojave or Catalina. Mojave will offer the opportunity to non-destructively reformat your HD to APFS and Catalina doesn't even ask when you have an SSD, I don't know what it does when installing on an HD. Catalina also moves things around and creates new partitions to further isolate and protect system files from inadvertent damage or malware intrusion but that is largely invisible to most users. I doubt you will see any performance differences between the two.

I will make one final argument in favor of Catalina, it won't become out-of-date for at least six or seven months while Mojave is already behind the power curve. 😎


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Re: Mojave pros and cons?? Catalina pros and cons??
plantsower #54050 04/15/20 03:45 PM
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Originally Posted By: plantsower
I only have 120 gigs on my SSD to begin with. That's why there is hardly any.
That's what I guessed based on the 8GB of memory. That is Apple'a recommended minimum configuration for several MacOS versions and still remains as the minimum recommendation for Catalina. There are a lot of Macs out there with the same storage and memory.


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

— Albert Einstein

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