Why macOS Catalina is breaking so many apps, and what to do about it

mood · Oct 21, 2019

Apple releases new version of macOS Catalina Supplemental Update
What Apple has changed is unclear, but it's available if you didn't grab the first
October 22, 2019
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/201...ersion-of-macos-catalina-supplemental-update/

Apple has released a new version of its macOS Catalina Supplemental Update. The first iteration of the update was made available to Macs running Catalina on October 15.

Like last week's update, of which this is apparently a new version, this Supplemental Update promises to fix problems some users encountered when there was limited disk space available.
It also fixes issues with saving Game Center data that users faced when playing Apple Arcade games offline, a Setup Assistant bug, and a problem that prevented users from being able to accept iCloud terms when logged into multiple iCloud accounts on the same machine.

[...] AppleInsider quotes "sources inside Apple" who say that users who already downloaded the previous update don't have to download this one.
Apple does not usually release a new version of an existing update without explanation or update notes that list any differences.
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mood · Oct 24, 2019

Apple's macOS Catalina: LibreOffice users still get 'scary' malware messages
October 24, 2019
https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple...ffice-users-still-get-scary-malware-messages/

Users of open-source office productivity software LibreOffice report running into overly alarming security warnings when installing the app on the recently released macOS 10.15 Catalina.

Apple warned macOS developers in June that all Mac apps that are signed with a Developer ID would also need to be 'notarized' by Apple. Apple promised this would enable a "more streamlined Gatekeeper interface" when users download macOS apps from the web.
While LibreOffice version 6.2 was not notarized, the latest 6.3 version apparently has been. However, users are still getting the GateKeeper alert with the additional warning that "macOS cannot verify that is app is free from malware", according to LibreOffice.

"Although we have duly followed the instructions, when users launch LibreOffice 6.3.x – which has been notarized by Apple – the system shows the following scary message: 'LibreOffice.app cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified', and provides only two options: Move to Bin (delete) and Cancel (revert the operation, ie, do not run LibreOffice)," writes LibreOffice's Italo Vignoli.
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To bypass the message, LibreOffice recommends user right-click the mouse on the LibreOffice icon. Then macOS Catalina will show a less alarming message: "macOS cannot verify the developer of LibreOffice.app. Are you sure you want to open it?".

The other way to resolve the issue is to click Cancel on the first alert, and then open System Preferences > Security & Privacy and then click on the Open Anyway button next to the message that the "App was blocked because it is not from an identified developer".
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mood · Oct 30, 2019

You'e yping i wong: macOS Catalina stops Twitter desktop app from accepting B, L, M, R, and T in passwords
October 30, 2019
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/10/30/macos_catalina_twitter/

Twitter says a bug in macOS 10.15.1 aka Catalina stops users of the social network's desktop Mac app from entering certain letters in account password fields.
When attempting to type their passwords into the application to log in, some characters are ignored, specifically 'b', 'l', 'm', 'r', and 't'. That would make it impossible to submit passwords using those keys to sign into Twitter accounts; pass phrases can be cut'n'pasted just fine.

Something changed within macOS to capture those shortcut keys, rather than pass them to the password field in the user interface as expected.
Other programs may also be similarly affected.

Root cause is Catalina regression that fails keyboard inputs when a UIKeyCommand is registered for the same key. UIResponder chain regression most likely.
— Nolan O'Brien (@NolanOBrien) October 30, 2019
There's no word yet on when a patch for the issue might be out. Apple did not respond to a request for comment. Chalk this up as another potential weird bug of the week.
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mood · Nov 14, 2019

macOS Catalina warning: Don't upgrade if you rely on a Drobo 8D
Here's a quick note of caution. Your Drobo drive array may be unstable if you upgrade to Catalina
November 14, 2019
https://www.zdnet.com/article/macos-catalina-warning-dont-upgrade-if-you-rely-on-a-drobo-8d/

November 14 Update: We originally published this article on October 10. Since then, we've gotten a statement from Rod Harrison, VP of Engineering at StorCentric, parent company of Drobo: [...]
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Yesterday, ZDNet's storage guru Robin Harris reported that he went ahead and upgraded his Mac to macOS Catalina as soon as it was released. As Robin told us, it was a mistake.
He described how many of his 300+ apps were not yet compatible with Catalina. That's no surprise. Every big OS upgrade causes some incompatibility.

But now, we've got a bigger warning for you. Some storage may be compromised.
Buried in the company's Upgrade Guide for macOS Catalina, where it discusses how to properly backup and then upgrade most Drobo storage arrays, was this warning:

"We have noticed an issue with connectivity over Thunderbolt 3 on macOS Catalina 10.15 and are actively working with Apple. For now, we recommend 5D3 customers to use the USB C port, and for Drobo 8D customers to wait on upgrading."
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mood · Jan 16, 2020

The Curse of macOS Catalina strikes again as AccountEdge stays 32-bit
January 16, 2020
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/01/16/curse_of_catalina/

The macOS Catalina bad news train kept on rolling this week as AccountEdge, friend of the Apple-using beancounters, threw in the towel over the forced migration of Macs to a 64-bit world.

Mamut software, a UK tentacle of the Oslo-based Visma group broke the bad news to customers this week that Acclivity Software (the developers of AccountEdge) would not be making the software Catalina compliant "now or in the future."
While Acclivity had embarked on a "multi-year 64-bit upgrade project", "In the end, AccountEdge's 30-year-old codebase proved too outdated to establish compatibility with Apple's newest operating system," Visma said.

The options available to users are stark. If you want to keep using AccountEdge (and get its updates), then don't upgrade. If you have upgraded, then consider something like Parallels to run an older OS in a virtualised environment or perhaps dust off that old Mac that's been lurking in the corner and use that instead.
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Despite considerable warning from Apple that it was coming, the dropping of 32-bit support caught many unawares. Indeed, even now Adobe recommends uninstalling 32-bit apps before attempting a Catalina upgrade and warns that little-used apps such as the 2018 release of the Creative Cloud (or earlier) probably won't work properly.

"We have no plans," Adobe's support page reads, "to update apps that we no longer support or develop."
Still, at least the beancounters get to join the creatives in Apple's Catalina pain-party.
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AccountEdge will not be Catalina compliant

We are extremely disappointed to share that Acclivity Software (the world-wide developers of AccountEdge) have informed us that AccountEdge will not be offered as a Catalina compliant product - now or in the future.
In spite of Acclivity’s multi-year 64-bit upgrade project, involving their full team of developers and analysts, it’s a project that has not been possible to complete. In the end, AccountEdge’s 30-year-old codebase proved too outdated to establish compatibility with Apple’s newest operating system.

We’ve outlined your options below for continuing to use AccountEdge on your Mac, including on macOS Catalina. [...]
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mood · May 31, 2020

macOS 10.15.5 causes backup problems
May 29, 2020
https://www.macworld.co.uk/news/mac-software/macos-10155-causes-backup-problems-3789545/

The developer behind a backup tool is disappointed that the latest update to macOS Catalina is causing problems for customers using his backup tool.

Mike Bombich, the developer behind Carbon Copy Cloner - the popular tool for creating backups and bootable system copies - says the latest Catalina update to version macOS 10.15.5 causes major problems with backups.
A system copy created with an older version of CCC is no longer bootable and does not appear to contain any data. According to Bombich, this is due to an obvious bug in the current version of macOS.

Luckily if your backup was created under an older version of macOS will remain bootable.
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A new beta version of Carbon Copy Cloner that enables the creation of bootable copies under macOS 10.15.5 has already been made available.

For Bombich this is only an emergency solution, since the tool offers fewer functions and is more prone to errors than his self-developed software. Other third-party backup programs such as Super Duper may also be affected by the problem.
The developer, who has already informed Apple about the error, is quite upset that such an obvious system error could occur in what is, after all, the fifth Catalina update.
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mood · Jul 27, 2020

VMware, VirtualBox tools impacted by macOS Catalina memory leaks
July 27, 2020
https://appleinsider.com/articles/2...tools-impacted-by-macos-catalina-memory-leaks

An issue with the App Sandbox is causing problems for some virtual machine software users, with the issue inducing a kernel panic in macOS Catalina 10.15.6 when used for a long period of time.

Owners of virtualization tools including those from VMware and VirtualBox have been raising faults in support forums, claiming their systems crash when using the software. In cases where it occurs, crashes happen with a regularity that the apps were suspected of causing the issue.
Posts in the VirtualBox forums indicate that, on multiple Macs using macOS Catalina 10.15.6, there was a kernel memory leakage for wired memory, which grew the amount of memory in use by approximately 1 gigabyte per hour.
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Another thread on the VMware forums discusses how the same issue is present in VMware Fusion, again running on macOS 10.15.6. The posters all seemingly agree that the problem of lock-ups and crashes commenced after upgrading to that version, with earlier macOS versions not encountering the error.

A comprehensive report has been provided to Apple, to help with diagnosing and fixing the issue in a future update to the operating system.
At this time, there are no workarounds for VMware Fusion customers, aside from not installing macOS 10.15.6 in the first place or periodically rebooting the host every few hours to wipe out the memory leak temporarily.
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Why macOS Catalina is breaking so many apps, and what to do about it

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Why macOS Catalina is breaking so many apps, and what to do about it

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