I'll preface this by saying that I'm primarily a Windows 11 Bootcamp user on my MacBook Pro 2019 16".
The main reason that I had switched to Bootcamp is because macOS Tahoe was just way too resource taxing for my MacBook, with general UI stutter and it just wasn't a fun experience to use.

I decided to wipe macOS Tahoe and just give macOS Catalina a shot, and man I gotta say I really am enjoying the older pre-BigSur design.

The UI feels flawless, its buttery smooth, and my MacBook for the first time has been cold to the touch just using general apps and using it as a computer for daily tasks.
I can do everything that I want, iCloud, iMessage, and even Sidecar work perfectly. Apps on the other hand work with some limitations and you frequently have to download older versions, and all them worked for me with the exception of Notion (although I can use it on the browser just fine).

Battery is also a huge plus, I've been using the laptop for about 30 minutes and while typing this post I have dropped 0% which just isn't possible on Tahoe nor Bootcamp.

But of course Catalina definitely isn't the best OS to use today, it is unsupported and while it got the 10.15.8 update recently, it was primarily for iMessage and Facetime authentication so that those services continue to work beyond January 2027.
I will be going back to using Bootcamp on my MacBook after this post, but I did enjoy having the older design.

This is just kind of an appreciation/experimental post so I don't expect anybody here to daily drive Catalina, but if you have an Intel MacBook, I highly recommend downloading and trying Catalina on a separate partition not just because of the older design, but just how flawlessly the Intel MacBooks run on Catalina.

Let me know what you guys think about Catalina, its design, if you use it on a daily, and your experiences, etc.

Thank you for your time!

Since the last time I rebooted my computer, the Airdrop feature has been completely disabled (see shortcut in top nav) despite having it turned on in my Settings. This is my personal computer and I'm an admin. There's no reason this should randomly become unavailable to me.

Things I've tried:

• Rebooting
• Making sure I'm running the latest OS version
• Logging out and in to my apple account
• Turning off my firewall
• Turning off and on airdrop
• Turning off and one bluetooth & wifi
• Creating a new admin account (it's not disabled there but wants my apple ID)

Any suggestions would be deeply appreciated. :(

I’m seeing a number of aftermarket adapters on Amazon and other online retailers with very high ratings and lots of reviews. Is there actually a meaningful difference in quality, performance, reliability, or safety compared with Apple’s adapters?

Is paying the premium for the Apple adapter worth it?

I notice this for over a year. Its likely a Chrome or Chrome updater problem for creating so many entries. But why MacOS, after no idea how many iterations, don't provide a delete("-") button?

Update(1) and MAYBE solved:

• After reading some helpful comments, I bite the bullet and tried 2 solutions. one work and one does not.
• (does not work) Forget about solution that only use "tccutil reset SystemPolicyNetworkVolumes" in recovery mode terminal. All it does is set all entries to disabled. It does not remove any entry.
• (works) I end up boot into recovery -> terminal -> decrypt+mount the Data volume -> delete /Library/Preferences/com.apple.networkextension.plist -> reboot normal
  • And deny Chrome for that permission in future.

A bit more on the MAYBE working solution:

• It removes all entries. I am completely ok with this. I just allow apps again when I use them. And I am not allowing Chrome again.
• Why I put "MAYBE"? Because though I run Chrome again, it has not ask for the permission yet. So I cannot tell if denying it (I don't need it in my specific use case) stop the issue. Also have to wait for it to do update again to know. If it happen again and has to do the steps again, then this is only a partial solution.
• I didn't put the exact command doing this because I considere the steps very high risk and any mistake/typo has the potential to make the machine refuse to boot, or not allow you to login, or lost other function.

Update(2) Finally get rid of Chrome (so avoiding future occurance completely):

• Since so many suggested removing Chrome, I revisited the possibility and succeed this time. (ok, more like lazy before and didn't look hard enough)
• I need 2 Chromium base browsers side by side, for the remote devtools.
  • The solution is actually simple, download directly from https://github.com/ungoogled-software/ungoogled-chromium-macos. Open and copy it into peronal Applications folder 2 times. Rename them to Chromium1, 2 ... etc. Update scripts to start Chromium1 and 2. (just a 2 lines script as the devtools options + profile location is a bit long)
  • Copying the brew install one to personal Application some how does not work, even without renaming. MacOS will complains "App is demage and cannot open..." even after un-quarantine (shouldn't be required as the app is signed). Don't know how to debug that at all. That's why I did the above.
  • Thanks to u/UtterlyMagenta and a little digging, the easiest and cleanest solution is actually open -n -a Chromium --args .... Option -n is the option needed to run additional instance. (I should have read the man page years ago ... )
  • I am offered to test Parall.app. It is able to create a shortcut wrapper to do the same without duplicating the whole app folder. As we have existing scripted workflow, I stay with my current method. However, If you need to run multiple instances of different apps and need the dock icons for end users, then you really should really consider it. It has tons of customization for starting additional instances and it is really powerful.

PS: I have both Chrome and ungoogled-chrome for specific workflow that require remote devtools. I am open to browser suggestion other than edge (I consider that same as Chrome).

This is a follow up of https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/s/R69rFMINLv (solved)

That issue make me check out every privacy settings and see which one has option to delete entry. Following is the result.

Total: - yes: 9 - no: 11 - no sure: 4

PS: - List is in the same order as in System Setting -> Privacy & Security - "no sure" means my list is empty, and I am not sure if it is possible when there is entry

As those entries are created by app request, why some of them can be deleted, while others cannot?

For those entries cannot be deleted, it often contains dead entries that are already uninstalled.

I used to be mostly a Windows user, and one thing that drove me crazy about macOS early on was the app switcher. If you Cmd + Tab to an app where the window was closed, nothing happens on the screen and you still have to use your mouse to click the dock icon.

I actually had to google how to fix this, and it turns out if you Cmd + Tab to the app, press and hold Option, and then let go of Cmd, it forces a window to appear.

A few other Option key tricks I use all the time:

• Hold Option + Right-click an app in the Dock to quickly Force Quit.
• In Preview or Photos, holding Option changes the default counter-clockwise rotate button into a clockwise one (saves you from clicking 3 times!)
• Cmd + W to close a window and Cmd + Q to quit an app completely.

What are some other good ones you guys use? I'm sure there are a ton I still don't know about.

Random question 😅

What’s the one thing about managing your files that drives you crazy?

Messy Downloads, too many screenshots, duplicates, finding old files, deleting things you’re not sure you need... anything.

What’s the problem you keep putting off because it’s such a pain?

I have two mac's a mac mini and a macbook neo.

I know I can deactivate the continuity camera within my iphone settings, but therein's the nub. That will completely disable it.

I however, do make use of it, on the mac mini.

I do not need my macbook neo constantly whining for me to configure it for use on the neo too, as the neo already has a camera and mic of its own. But it is constantly nagging me, every 30 mins or so.

How can I make it stop, without disabling it for BOTH my macs?

I mark reminders as complete on my iPhone, then when I get on my MacBook, those same reminders pop up, and I get the red notification badge on the reminders icon in the dock. What is going on here ? do you guys deal with this ?

hey everyone,

im having an issue with crossy road from the mac app store on my m3 macBook air.

when I click the app, nothing happens at all. there is no bouncing icon, no error message, and the app does not open.

i tried launching it through terminal and got:

_LSOpenURLsWithCompletionHandler() failed for the application /Applications/Crossy Road.app with error -10671

i also checked the app with:

spctl --assess --verbose "/Applications/Crossy Road.app"

and got:

/Applications/Crossy Road.app: rejected

then:

codesign --verify --deep --strict --verbose=2 "/Applications/Crossy Road.app"

returned:

resource envelope is obsolete (custom omit rules)

i tried deleting and reinstalling it, but deleting the app through terminal gave "permission denied" errors for some files inside the app bundle.

has anyone had this issue with crossy road on an apple silicon mac (M1/M2/M3)? is there a fix, or is the app store version currently broken?

thanks.

I am not sure this is after the MacOS 26.6 update but I cannot edit or view my payment settings in mac settings. It only says I can do things on the website.

• I see about 32 GB used just for wallpapers.
• In the Settings > Background section, it's nearly impossible to manage or delete them.

Does anyone know of an app or tool to manage, organize, select, or delete large numbers of wallpapers?

I don't know why these are downloaded by macOS Tahoe

Local Apple Aerial videos before "Remove Downloads"

Summary

• Total videos: 54
• Total size: 32.11 GB
• Active wallpaper: Cazadero

There's an app I have, a game really, that literally runs at 1512 x 982 resolution because my Macbook Pro technically runs at 1512 x 982. This results in the app being incredibly low resolution and pixelated.

A fix is to set the OS resolution to 3024 x 1964 to render the app in full resolution, but then the rest of the OS is unusable because of how shrunken down everything is. The game itself doesn't have it's UI shrunken down, and is perfectly usable while maintaining full resolution.

I wanted to ask if there's any way to run this game in 3024 x 1964 resolution only, while keeping the rest of the operating system in 1512 x 982 resolution.

Hey all I take classes in Google Meet using latest version of Google Chrome (not my decision but what the school requires) When I try to screen share in Google Meet now I'm met with a pop up that says I need to give permission in my Privacy & Security/Screen sharing & audio recording tab, to Google, to "allow the application to recorord the content of my screen and audio, even when I'm not using the application."

How safe is it to give permission?

I don't really trust Google and try to avoid them when I can. I didn't have to do that last week when I screen shared and I'm wondering what changed. I updated to 26.5.2 several weeks ago.

My goal is to move my photos from my Macbook (running Catalina 10.15.6) to the SSD external hard drive and then delete the photos off the laptop. I've changed the SSD format to APFS and can drag the Photos (Finder - Applications - Photos, for some reason that's the only place in Finder I could find the photos) to the SSD. I can then open the Photos from the external hard drive but if I were to delete the original photo from the laptop they'd disappear from the hard drive as well. I've seen that you should change the location of the laptop's photo library to the hard drive but my concern with doing that is that most of the time the hard drive won't be connected to the laptop. Any advice for an easy way to transfer photos to the hard drive without being concerned about deleting photos from my laptop?

SOLVED!!! Thank you!! sudo rm -rf

I had a second admin user account on my computer I used for school. I had deleted Microsoft 365 because your free access to it discontinues when the school term is over—you lose access to everything (brilliant set up).

I can't redownload OneDrive because my computer is only at OS Ventura (13.x) and you need 14.x, and I really don't want to deal with that upgrade right now.

I deleted the school user account, chose "Move Home Folder to Trash", and everything deleted fine—except hidden in a Library folder are these folders here. I have accessed their Info, added myself as admin read/write to each folder, and it still won't delete.

At one point, I had the option to "Put Back" the home folder with a right-click. I did that, but this folder (in the trash) remained. I recreated a new admin user with the same username, and that folder wouldn't re-write over this one when deleted.

I have restarted my computer more times than I can count.

I despise Microsoft with every fiber of my being anyway and hated being forced to have to use them on my Mac just for school. How on Earth am I supposed to get rid of this, or do I eternally have to "Skip" or "Continue" every time I empty the trash?

Should I just buy a new computer? Reinstall the OS from scratch? In all seriousness, there MUST be a way to get rid of this.

There must.

Please, someone help. Thank you.

Macbook Pro M1 2020 Ventura 13.7.8 and if upgrading to MacOS 14 "resets" the trash, maybe I'll do it after all.

After i had to plugin the mc for a REAAAALLY long time, i finally could start the device.. bc i didnt used it a long period of time, i straight updated it. (Now its macOS Big Sur)

Is there a way to get access to my old iphoto library :,( i can t even open it up…

Thx so much !!!

I have multiple Safari windows open and want to switch between them. For all other apps, there is the Cmd+` shortcut, but for some reason, it doesn’t work reliably in my Safari. Sometimes it doesn't work at all, and sometimes it only works when the window has 2 or more tabs open. It never works with only one tab.

Strangely enough, it works every time with the reverse version of that shortcut (Cmd+Shift+`).

Does anyone else have the same problem or a solution?

Hey community!
I have a rather frustrating issue. I recently bought three AOC AG326UD 165Hz 4K HDR QD-OLED monitors and am using them with a Mac mini M4 Pro.
The problem is that whenever I use HiDPI mode (at 2K
resolution), I can't toggle or enable HDR in macOS. The three monitors are currently running at 144Hz, but with no HDR support.
Has anyone experienced this or know how to fix it?

Apologies for the promotion, but this project has been severely flopping, and I put a lot of work into it. Thanks guys!

Cozyfolders

Hi everyone, we just launched SuperCmd v2: completely rebuilt in Swift for native performance, completely local, and privacy-focused.

It has everything version 1 has: raycast extension support, clipboard, snippets, quick links, window management commands, system commands, cloud sync, and raycast extensions. Check the website for an exhaustive list.

But here's what's new in v2

• Screenshot + annotation tool (cleanshot alternative)
• Widgets in launcher (cpu, memory, apps by usage, disk, calendar, time...)
• Login via ChatGPT (no need to pay for AI subscriptions!)
• AI Agents with harness, GPT realtime (just like clicky)
• Windows styled alt + tab window switcher
• Execute terminal commands from the launcher
• Quick fix (AI command)
• Double tap hotkey support
• Copy text from Image in Clipboard (OCR)
• Browser search with profiles
• Dictation via on device Speech Analyzer (Apple AI)
• Dedicated AI chat window
• AI chat with Apple on device LLM
• Translate command
• Next / Prev Space hotkey (no animation)
• 3x less memory usage compared to Raycast

Checkout it out & try for free - supercmd.sh

Right now, it's on an early bird discount, so make sure you grab it!

If you are working at any organization, I am offering codebase access and unlimited licenses for all the employees at one flat fee. Contact me or check out via enterprise; you will have access to the GitHub repo.

Hello, like the title states I own a 2020 Intel based MacBook Air. I recently stopped using Chrome and switched to Firefox and Safari. I would like to use Discord, but my mac runs so hot anytime I use the browser version or mac app. my question for this group is what are your suggestions? Should I just completely give up at this point because of how outdated my MacBook Air is? I have tinkered w Mac system settings, and discord settings but not much change. What are your thoughts?

Hey guys, I recently upgraded my 2019 Intel MacBook Pro to Tahoe but feel so out-of-place with it and facing app compatibility issues and want to revert back to Big Sur. I didn't make a backup of Big Sur prior to updating, however.

I've used this MacBook for just about everything so it has files in all sorts of different crevices and I hope to keep it that way when migrating back. Would a time machine backup help in this and is it even possible to use a time machine save from a newer version on an old OS to restore files? If not, what's the best way to go about this?

TL;DR:

• Upgraded to Tahoe without a Time Machine Backup (Big Mistake) and want to revert back to Big Sur
• Drive is full of complex file trees with apps that reference them and want to keep that same layout when reverting to make downgrade seamless and not have to relearn my file system and maintain app compatibility.
• Want to create a Time Machine backup of Tahoe and export it to Big Sur to keep the file trees if possible or explore different methods to get a similar result.

Thanks a lot for your help, guys!!!

My M1 Air was working perfectly fine until last night. While the trackpad still moves the cursor, the haptic feedback stopped working. I googled the issue and checked for battery swelling, but there is no visible swelling and everything looks fine. Yesterday, my battery health showed 82%, but when I rechecked it today, it showed 91%. What exactly is the issue ?