Don't upgrade to Catalina if...

[Paddy]

...you use Photoshop and/or Lightroom CC or Classic - or the older standalone versions. Seems even the non-perpetual license versions are having issues (some of them fairly serious, depending on what you're trying to do): https://petapixel.com/2019/10/08/dont-update-to-macos-catalina-yet-if-you-use-photoshop-or-lightroom/

https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/10/08/minor-lightroom-and-photoshop-bugs-pop-up-in-macos-catalina

ADOBE are telling people not to upgrade yet...

And I'm seeing some reports of the perpetual license version of Lightroom (6.14) having some issues as well: can't quit unless you force quit.* And if you keep doing that, eventually your catalogue will likely be corrupted. So not a good idea to update to Catalina unless you want to replace LR standalone with something else. Of course - you also can't reinstall as the installer and uninstaller is 32 bit, so if trying to continue using LR 6.14, you should make sure you have a complete cloned backup at all times.

*Someone at DPreview reports "Uninstalled/deleted Adobe application managers and all outdated remains (hundreds of files). Now, LR starts with an Adobe warning for AAM update, but passing to open LR, everything is fine, even quitting LR is now works normally." So...potentially workable, other than the issue of never being able to reinstall it should things go sideways.

And Office 2011 doesn't work either. And Sony and CaptureOne aren't on the bandwagon quite yet either:

https://briansmith.com/mac-os-catalina-warning/

Think I'll be waiting a while on this one - got too many big projects on the go as it is. The MBP is running Mojave - the iMac is still running High Sierra. Unusual for me to be more than one release behind, but I don't have time to troubleshoot right now.

[jchuzi]

Thanks for the heads up about Photoshop CC and Lightroom. I will definitely wait until Adobe fixes these issues before upgrading to Catalina.

[gunug]

There was a brief discussion about Catalina at my Repair Team Meeting this morning.  We are not allowing the update because I guess in terms of our network and JAMF it is not thought to be secure; we seem to have a method of preventing the update from the Store directly!

[sluggo]

Just read a Forbes article that said Apple is basically leaving behind any apps 32 bit and moved to 64. Many developers have elected to either not support Catalina or stop making an app altogether.

[Xairbusdriver]

Forbes is a wee bit behind. Of course, they are not exactly known for tech news.

Apple announced the coming move over a decade ago. They have confirmed it (and reminded folks) at every WWDC since then. No experienced dev would have been surprised at this happening. Most made their decision to update well before macOS 10.13 High Sierra.

[sluggo]

Forbes is a wee bit behind. Of course, they are not exactly known for tech news.

Apple announced the coming move over a decade ago. They have confirmed it (and reminded folks) at every WWDC since then. No experienced dev would have been surprised at this happening. Most made their decision to update well before macOS 10.13 High Sierra.

Not really a Forbes reader. The story just popped up on the News app on my phone.

[Paddy]

The Forbes article is a tad hysterical in tone, to say the least.  And some of it verges on the inaccurate.

1. What's with the headline? Nonsensical...
2. As Jim notes - Apple has been warning of the demise of 32-bit support for 10 years now. This is no surprise.
3. Overdrive? Really? Who the heck uses Overdrive on a Mac? If you're using it to read library books (the most popular use) you are almost certainly using it on an iPad or iPhone. Not a Mac. Talk about picking a rare use case.
4. Dragthing? Hasn't been updated in three years. There are alternatives. (Station, for instance). If it was truly THAT popular, then the developer would have incentive to update it - but it's not, and so he's moved on.
5. Microsoft Office? Um...yeah, Office 2011 won't work any more. It was released Oct. 26, 2010. That's NINE YEARS ago. Office 2016 received updates to make it 64-bit compatible. So yeah, occasionally you DO have to upgrade your software if you upgrade the OS. You know...every decade or so.

Of far more concern are the things that should work but have some serious glitches - ie: Adobe's online apps. However, I would expect those things to be fixed pretty quickly. And in a production environment, most people don't live on the bleeding edge either, waiting to update until the initial bugs and issues are sorted.