Some users, as a matter of principle, never upgrade to a new major version of macOS until it is at least past its first update. Others are poised in the App Store on the day of release, and can’t wait to download and install it. Which should you be this year with macOS Catalina: an early adopter or cautious delayer?
The Catalina upgrade is going to be something of a heavyweight. It’s currently looking as if it will bring EFI firmware updates to all eligible models, something Apple managed to avoid with Mojave by bringing those updates forward into the last update to High Sierra. On top of that, Catalina brings major changes of its own. The most obvious is that all 32-bit software stops working the moment that you install the upgrade: Apple hasn’t relented and built in a ‘compatibility’ mode, so anything which uses 32-bit code won’t work.
Other changes in Catalina which are likely to cause significant problems for many users can’t be ignored. Its new read-only system volume means that software, scripts, or anything which uses paths to files which used to be in the /System folder (and some others, such as iCloud) could break suddenly. Apple has used ingenious means, including new ‘firmlinks’, to try to minimise disruption, but I know from my own apps that they don’t cover all the paths that can be used.
Read more at EclecticLight.co