Writer Torrent

As far as disk space is concerned, on most installations of Mac OS X, space in /Applications is the same as space in any other directory: space on the primary system drive. While these applications do indeed take up a non-zero amount of space, relative to the size of the operating system, the space saved by removing them is fairly trivial. I downvoted for 3 reasons. One was touched on by @spudwaffle: the product is not entirely safe. The second is because the guys that run MacPaw (makers of CleanMyMac) exploit the review system of sites like MacUpdate to artificially inflate their rankings (by giving out. Learn how to create and deploy a FileVault recovery key for Mac computers in your company, school, or other institution. If you're using FileVault in Mac OS X Snow Leopard, you can upgrade to FileVault 2 by upgrading to OS X Lion or later. After upgrading OS X, open FileVault preferences and follow the onscreen instructions to upgrade FileVault. Something Fishy: 3D Desktop Aquarium Screen Saver Latest Version - Mac: v1.7.1 - Windows: v1.1DX Watch as your monitor fills with water and real 3D fish begin.

1. The Useless Bat Mac Os X
2. The Useless Bat Mac Os 8

Which Mac operating system is the best is a topic of numerous debates among Apple fans.

Since the mission of this blog is to refute myths and legends around Macs, it’s time for me to provide my 2 cents about the issue on hand. While everything below is just my opinion, as a long-time Mac user and veteran software engineer, I hope my opinion worth something.

The best Mac OS version is the one that your Mac is eligible to upgrade to. In 2021 it is macOS Big Sur. However, for users that need to run 32-bit apps on Mac, the best macOS is Mojave. Also, older Macs would benefit if upgraded at least to macOS Sierra for which Apple still releases security patches.

How to Tell Which macOS You Are Running

To find out which macOS is currently running on your Mac, follow these steps:

1. Click on Apple logo in the top left corner of the menubar
2. In the dropdown click on the first item: About This Mac
3. The first line in the Overview tab is the name of the current OS.

What Version of OS Can My Mac Run?

Not all Macs can be upgraded to the latest OS version. For instance, old Macs powered by PowerPC CPUs cannot run OS intended for Intel-based computers. Also, some versions have hardware limitations.

For instance, Mojave cannot be installed on MacBook Pro earlier than Mid 2012 model.

Check below to know exactly what version of OS your Mac can run.

Which OS is Best for my Mac

Anytime someone asks me which OS is best for them I always suggested going with the latest. Things have changed recently, however.

Should I Upgrade to macOS Catalina or Big Sur?

While personally I like macOS Big Sur and have it installed on my MacBook Pro, it comes with serious breaking changes.

The first issue is compatibility.

Big Sur is a transition OS which is designed to help Apple to move from Intel processors to their own chips on ARM.

After I installed Big Sur on my MacBook Pro mid 2020 (pre-Silicon), most of my apps, including Microsoft Office, were working as expected.

However, my VMWare Fusion 11 does not start anymore, so I have to purchase a new license if I want to keep using it (or roll back to Catalina). Luckily, I took a full backup before the upgrade.

The second breaking issue is the lack of 32-bit app support.

macOS Catalina and Big Sur can only run 64-bit apps.

If you wondering whether you should upgrade to macOS Catalina or Big Sur, first verify that you don’t have any 32-bit apps. But first, take a back up, so you can go back in case something breaks after the upgrade.

For instance, I had to remove uTorrent after upgrade. And I didn’t know that uTorrent is 32-bit!

How to Know If App is 32-bit or 64-bit

To find out whether the app on your Mac is 32-bit or 64-bit follow these steps:

1. Click on Apple logo in the top left corner of the Mac screen
2. Click on About This Mac option
3. Click on System Report button in Overview tab (first one)
4. Scroll down to Software -> Applications
5. Find the app and check Kind

Which macOS Should I Use

If you have an older Mac which is not eligible to upgrade with some latest software or hardware, I’d suggest upgrading at least to Sierra (or better High Sierra) for the following reasons:

• Sierra is still supported by Apple, and it gets security updates
• APFS file system is available
• It supports Siri
• Significant security improvements

The most important point when choosing the best OS is the ability to get security updates. While Apple generally does not announce the OS end of life dates, it is possible to know when they stop releasing security updates from this page.

For instance, according to the page, the last security update for OS X Yosemite was released on September 12, 2017. The last update for OS X El Capitan was in July 2018, and Carnegie Mellon University confirmed that El Capitan’s end of life date was August 2018.

Snow Leopard Myth

I know that some users on forums believe that the best OS version for Macs was Snow Leopard. But that is a myth. And I know how such myths get created.

Once I worked in the company, which was selling a 20-year old product. And customers were still using and didn’t want to switch to new versions, because the old one was rock solid.

I then talked to the engineer who worked on the project, and he revealed that the product was a total disaster when it was first deployed. Engineers had to work on-site for almost a year in order to fix all bugs.

After five or so years of polishing the product, it becomes virtually bug-free, and nobody now remembers how bad it was when it was first rolled out. A similar thing happened Snow Leopard, and it was recognized as best mac os version after some time.

How to Update to the Latest Version

There are two ways to update to the latest OS version on Mac:

• From the Software Update section in System Preferences
• Use a download link

Using Software Update

This is by far the best option, but it only available if you have Yosemite, or later OS installed already. If you enabled automatic updates, then Mac will inform you that the next macOS is available.

Just open System Preferences, go to Software Update and click on the Upgrade Now button.

This method is also best if wondering how to check if you have the latest version of OS installed on your Mac. Only the version compatible with your hardware will appear here.

For instance, my the latest version for Mac Mini 2012 is Mojave, I can’t install anything newer than that.

If you are having problems with updates or having issues post-upgrade check my post about troubleshooting macOS.

Using download links

For older systems or in case you need to downgrade, you have to download a standalone installer in DMG format. DMG stands for disk image, similar to ISO, just different formats.

After downloading the installer, just double click on it and follow instructions. Again, do not forget to take a backup before the upgrade.

Mac OS Comparisons: Requirements, Features, Compatibility, Download Links

Following is a high-level description of all Mac operating systems as early as Mountain Lion.

You can refer to those descriptions when deciding which operating system is best for your iMac, Mac Pro, Mac mini, or MacBook.

With each OS description, I included a list of Macs supported. However, you can use Mac OS compatibility checker for more detailed information.

macOS 11 Big Sur

macOS v11 (codename Big Sur) is the latest version of the operating system for Apple computers.

Release date: October 13, 2020

Hardware Requirements: RAM requirement 4GB. Big Sur is the first OS to support new Macs using ARM technology (in the future).

Features

• The biggest design refresh since macOS X.
• Support for new ARM processors.
• Safar improved performance and power consumption.
• Time Machine supports backup to APFS volumes.
• One-click translation for 7 languages.
• Redesigned maps

The Useless Bat Mac Os X

Software Compatibility Issues

Only 64-bit apps are allowed to run on Big Sur.

How to install

There are two ways to install Big Sur: enable automatic updates in System Preferences or download by using the following link.

Or check my post with tips on installing macOS on unsupported devices.

List of Apple computers compatible with macOS Big Sur

• MacBook (2015 and later)
• MacBook Air (2013 and later)
• MacBook Pro (2013 and later)
• Mac mini (2014 and later)
• iMac models (2014 and later)
• iMac Pro (2017 and later)
• Mac Pro (2013 and later)

macOS 10.15 Catalina

Release date: October 7, 2019

Hardware Requirements: RAM requirement increased from 2GB to 4GB.

Features

• Introduced Sidecar, which allows for Macs to use an iPad as an external display.
• iTunes was replaced by separate apps: Music, Podcasts, and TV.
• Find My Mac and Find My Friends have merged into one app.

Software Compatibility Issues

macOS Catalina is the first Mac operating system that does not support 32-bit applications. Only 64-bit apps are allowed to run on Catalina.

How to install

There are two ways to install Catalina: enable automatic updates in System Preferences or download by using the following link.

List of Apple computers compatible with macOS Catalina

• MacBook (Early 2015 or later)
• MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or later)
• MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or later)
• Mac mini (Late 2012 or later)
• iMac models (Late 2012 or later)
• iMac Pro (All models)
• Mac Pro (Late 2013)

macOS 10.14 Mojave

Release date: September 24, 2018

Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 18.5GB free space on disk

Features

• The main feature of Mojave is “Dark Mode”
• FaceTime adds group feature which allows chatting with up to 32 people
• News, Stocks, Voice Memos, and Home apps were ported from iOS to Mac.

How to install

If your Mac is eligible to update to Mojave, then the easiest way to install it is by enabling automatic updates. Downloading a standalone Mojave installer could be a little tricky.

List of Apple computers compatible with macOS Mojave

• MacBook (Early 2015 or later)
• MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or later)
• MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or later)
• Mac mini (Late 2012 or later)
• iMac (Late 2012 or later)
• iMac Pro (All models)
• Mac Pro (Late 2013 and 2010-2012 models with upgraded GPU)

macOS 10.13 High Sierra

Release date: September 25, 2017

Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 14.3GB free space on disk

Features

• APFS (Apple File System) becomes the default file system in High Sierra. It’s a significant upgrade from the older HFS+ in terms of speed, size, and security
• iCloud support of Messages which allows sync messages of the account across multiple devices
• Mail app uses 35% less storage space due to optimizations

List of Apple computers compatible with macOS High Sierra

• MacBook (Late 2009 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer)
• Mac mini (Mid 2010 or newer)
• iMac (Late 2009 or newer)
• Mac Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)

How to install

Here is a High Sierra download link.

macOS 10.12 Sierra

This is the first macOS version. Previous OS versions for Macs were called OS X (X stands for 10).

Release date: September 20, 2016

Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk

Features

• Siri was introduced to Macs
• Optimized storage with iCloud sync
• Auto-lock feature allows unlocking MacBook with paired Apple Watch
• APFS preview available
• Disk Utility can manage RAID sets again
• Significant security improvements

How to install

Here is a Sierra download link.

List of Apple computers compatible with macOS Sierra

• MacBook (Late 2009 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer)
• Mac mini (Mid 2010 or newer)
• iMac (Late 2009 or newer)
• Mac Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)

The Useless Bat Mac Os 8

OS X 10.11 El Capitan

Last OS X version.

Release date: September 30, 2015

Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk

Features

• System Integrity Protection – a security feature that protects even when the root user executes the process
• Performance improvements: open PDF files four times faster, Mail is twice faster, launching apps 40% faster
• Notes app similar to the app in iOS

Macs compatible with OS X El Capitan

same as OS Mountain Lion.

How to install

Here is El Capitan download link.

OS X 10.10 Yosemite

Release date: October 16, 2014

Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk

Macs compatible with OS X Yosemite

Same as OS Mountain Lion.

Features

• Major user design overhaul
• Introduction of Handoff and Continuity features
• Photos app replaced iPhoto and Aperture

How to install

Here is Yosemite download link.

OS X 10.9 Mavericks

First free Mac OS. Previous OS versions vary from $19.99 to $129.

Release date: October 22, 2013

Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk

Features

• Compressed Memory feature automatically compresses inactive apps when approaching maximum memory capacity
• Timer coalescing is a feature that reduces CPU usage by up to 72 percent
• App Nap puts apps that are not currently visible to sleep

Macs compatible with OS X Mavericks

Same as OS Mountain Lion.

How to install

OS X Mavericks installer is not available on Apple Site. Follow instructions here to install Mavericks.

OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion

Must be purchased. Fixed many bugs introduced in OS X Lion.

Release date: July 25, 2012

System Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk

Features

• New apps: Notification Center, Notes, Messages, Game Center
• AirPlay mirroring allowed to mirror Mac screen to Apple TV
• Application updates automatically install from the App Store

List of Apple computers compatible with OS X Mountain Lion

• iMac (Mid-2007 or newer)
• MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
• Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
• Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
• Xserve (Early 2009)

How to install

Mountain Lion installer is not available on Apple Site. Follow instructions here to install OS X Mountain Lion.

List of older Mac OS Versions

Following Mac OS versions are still running on older Macs, but Apple does not support them anymore, and there is no point to upgrade (or downgrade) to them:

• OS X 10.7 Lion
• OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
• Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
• Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
• Mac OS X 10.3 Panther
• Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar
• Mac OS X 10.1 Puma
• Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah

Comments

• Hi Narayan,
  Can you please give a example as to how to execute a test Suit on Mac OS X. I went through the documention and examples provided by sahi. Most of the examples are only for Windows. There are not many Mac or Linux examples.
  It would be really helpfull, if we have examples or documentaion for Mac and Linux also.
• Hi Wasim,
  As stated here: http://sahi.co.in/w/Running+multiple+tests+in+batch+mode, you need to use the correct paths to the Safari executable
  Try:
  If 'open -a Safari' does not work, try with 'open' or '/full/path/to/Safari'
  Regards,
  Narayan
• edited June 2010

  Thanks Narayan Open -a works.
  For other sahi users commands to work on Mac:
  switch over to sahi bin directory:
  cd sahi
  cd bin
  Safari Browser:
  java -cp ../lib/ant-sahi.jar net.sf.sahi.test.TestRunner 'scripts/Vita_G3_Framework/Test_Scripts/Execution.suite' 'open -a Safari' 'http://s2k3-2106.local/' 'scripts/Vita_G3_Framework/Results/Safari' Localhost 9999 1 'Safari' 'Safari' '-noframemerging'
  Firefox Browser:
  java -cp ../lib/ant-sahi.jar net.sf.sahi.test.TestRunner 'scripts/Vita_G3_Framework/Test_Scripts/Execution.suite' 'open -a Firefox' 'http://s2k3-2106.local/' 'scripts/Vita_G3_Framework/Results/Firefox' Localhost 9999 1 'Firefox' 'Firefox' '-profile browser/ff/profiles/sahi$threadNo -no-remote'
  Chrome:
  java -cp ../lib/ant-sahi.jar net.sf.sahi.test.TestRunner 'scripts/Vita_G3_Framework/Test_Scripts/Execution.suite' 'open -a 'Google Chrome' ' 'http://s2k3-2106.local/' 'scripts/Vita_G3_Framework/Results/Chrome' Localhost 9999 1 'Google Chrome' 'Google Chrome' '--user-data-dir=$userDir/browser/chrome/profiles/sahi$threadNo --proxy-server=localhost:9999 --disable-popup-blocking'
  [For Chrome - You need to use (open -a 'Google Chrome') in single quotes]. Ensure your proxy settings are set right.
  Batch mode execution works on Mac.
• Thanks a lot wasimhbr for contributing back : )
  Regards,
  Narayan
• Hi,
  Thanks for the usefull tips for using Sahi on MAC. It works great!
  I am still facing an issue using sahi in batch mode on MAC. The firefox profiles doesn't seem to work as the proxy settings are not done automatically when using the batch mode. Also I tried running Sahi on Safari but am getting out of memory error. I am sure I am missing out something. Please share if you have any insights.
  Regards,
  Pankaj Kumar
• Hi Pankaj,
  You hit the same error as i got it. Even i struggled with this error. To be honest, i dono what’s going wrong here. I feel there might be something in depth we are missing or there might be a bug in Sahi or its something silly we are missing. (Narayan can put a light on this).
  First Part:
  I will tell you what I did to overcome this:
  1. Stop sahi proxy server.
  2. Change settings on safari such that it does not use proxy server.
  3. Close the browser.
  4. Launch browser and connect to some website like google.com
  5. Once google launches without using proxy server.
  6. Don’t close the browser, change back ur browser settings to use sahi proxy server .
  7. Go back to the terminal and start sahi.sh file from bin directory.
  8. Now launch you application, It will not throw Java out of memory error on console.
  9. Once its starts working then any number of times you can open and close browser no-issues.
  Second Part:
  When you are running scripts on windows you just call batch file which remains in the same bin directory until it completes execution on all browsers. But that’s not the case with Mac.
  After you complete execution on one browser, you need to set back the execution path to bin directory:
  I am sharing the code for .sh file i had written for my application:
  _________________________________________________________________
  #!/bin/bash
  echo 'Executing Automation Suite'
  cd ~
  cd Sahi/bin
  echo 'Execution on Safari'
  java -cp ../lib/ant-sahi.jar net.sf.sahi.test.TestRunner 'scripts/Vita_G3_Framework/Test_Scripts/Execution.suite' 'open -a Safari' 'http://s2k3-2106.verdad.local/' 'scripts/Vita_G3_Framework/Results/Safari' Localhost 9999 1 'Safari' 'Safari' '-noframemerging'
  echo 'Execution on Firefox'
  cd ~
  cd Sahi/bin
  java -cp ../lib/ant-sahi.jar net.sf.sahi.test.TestRunner 'scripts/Vita_G3_Framework/Test_Scripts/Execution.suite' 'open -a Firefox' 'http://s2k3-2106.verdad.local/' 'scripts/Vita_G3_Framework/Results/Firefox' Localhost 9999 1 'Firefox' 'Firefox' '-profile browser/ff/profiles/sahi$threadNo -no-remote'
  echo 'Execution on Google Chrome'
  cd ~
  cd Sahi/bin
  java -cp ../lib/ant-sahi.jar net.sf.sahi.test.TestRunner 'scripts/Vita_G3_Framework/Test_Scripts/Execution.suite' 'open -a 'Google Chrome' ' 'http://s2k3-2106.verdad.local/' 'scripts/Vita_G3_Framework/Results/Chrome' Localhost 9999 1 'Google Chrome' 'Google Chrome' '--user-data-dir=$userDir/browser/chrome/profiles/sahi$threadNo --proxy-server=localhost:9999 --disable-popup-blocking'
  echos 'Completed execution on all 3 browsers'
  cd ~
  cd Sahi/userdata/Scripts/Vita_G3_Framework/Test_Scripts - (Replace this with your path)
  _____________________________________________________________________________
  You can execute this script from any where but change the paths accordingly.
  Launch firefox manually once and check if is it launching. while scripting be carefull with case. Mac is case sensitive.
  We can successfuly do a batch mode execution, Give a try !!
• Hi wasimhbr,
  Thanks for your valuable inputs. I tried the steps you have suggested but it is not working for me. The strange thing is that I was able to execute my scripts individually through the Sahi controller earlier. After I tried my hands on batch execution using sahi suites I started getting the errors like:But now i get the same error even if try to execute a single script through the sahi controller.
  This is happenning on both Firefox as well as Safari.
  I also tried fiddling with the heap size using the -Xms and -Xmx parameters.
  I updated my sahi.sh like this:Please let me know where I am doing it wrong or any suggestions/workrounds.
  This error message provided here is just a snippet of the long error message. I can mail the complete error message if needed.
  Regards,
  Pankaj
• Hi,
  Got the problem resolved for the single script execution through Sahi controller.
  Honestly speaking the problem is still not clear to me but what I did was update Java, restart the MAC, and download fresh copy of Sahi. This worked for me. Now I will try to work upon the suite/batch thing. Lets see which way the cookie crumbles!
  I will keep posting my findings.
  Regards,
  Pankaj Kumar
• Guys the problem of outofmemory is because of how Java uses proxy settings on Mac.
  We configure the browser to use Sahi as its proxy.
  On Mac, Java uses the system wide proxy. So now, Browser and Java both use Sahi as its proxy. (What wasimhbr noticed. If you configure the proxy and then start Java, it will use Sahi as its proxy too. If you change the proxy after starting Java, then things are fine)
  It should have been
  browser -> Sahi -> Java (urlconnection) -> Website
  but it has become
  browser -> Sahi -> Java (urlconnection picks Sahi proxy now) -> Sahi
  This is where the recursion comes in.
  To fix this, open userdata.properties and set these properties:
  Basically we are forcing Java to use a direct connection here.
  Let me know if this fixes your issue.
  Regards,
  Narayan
• Thanks Narayan!
  I tried the same and was able to execute the batch/suite. But I had to keep
  ext.http.proxy.enable=false
  and also had to follow the sequence mentioned by wasimhbr. The only challenge remaining is to use profiles to automatically set firefox proxy settings.
  I have the following shell script that will automatically invoke sahi proxy and then launch the suite runner:This works fine if I have already set the Firefox proxy to point to localhost:9999
  But the suite execution on Safari through my shell script still gives the out of memory error.
  Regards,
  Pankaj Kumar
• Hi, i'm trying to launch suites on MAC OS X, too (i have 10.6.3) and i'm experiencing problems, though i've read instruction and this post carefully and tried to do all according to them.
  For example, i'm trying to run test under Safari (running from sahi/bin dir):
  after this, i'm getting a message from which i think that everything is right in syntax:
  In other terminal tab, where Sahi server is running, i get:
  So suite file was accessed and Sahi tells that it's running scripts, but browaser not opens and nothing happens.
  After some time, a log file appears telling:
  I'm not getting any other error messages so i don't understand what exactly i make wrong. Can you please help me? ( i removed site URLs from post because forum not allows me to post them)
• edited July 2010

  btw i've tried absolute path to browser as well (/Applications/Safari.app/Contents/MacOS/Safari) and tried the same for FireFox and Chrome, with same effect.
• There are couple of things that might be causing this:
  1. If you are trying on Safari Browser, you need to change the browser security settings to always accept cookies.
  2. Just have a look at relative paths.
  3. Try launching browser from terminal and check whether you are able to launch your application.
  4. Execute a single script before running a batch script.
  5. Re-verify the Sahi proxy settings.
• Hi, i've re-checked all of these several times and i sure in all settings and paths, running 'open -a Safari' or 'open -a Firefox' in terminal also works. Running single script is not working too (but works manually through Sahi tool)
• Hi,
  Do ensure that you have followed the instructions provided by wasimhbr (post #7 in this thread) and Narayan (post #10 in this thread).
  Regards,
  Pankaj
• Hi Psylence,
  For Safari, browserOptions should be blank.
  Regards,
  Narayan
• Hi,
  I want to do the following on MAC+Safari:
  1. Write a shell script that does the following:
  > Launch the sahi proxy as a background job
  > Run a suite
  Now my problem is that if I follow the mentioned sequence I have to first manually set Safari to use sahi as its proxy listening at port 9999. Now if I execute my shell script it goes into an endless loop resulting into Out of memory error. I tried all the suggestions given above, but in vain.
  Please give some suggestion.
  Regards,
  Pankaj Kumar
• Hi all,
  i moved a step further but i still cannotmake things working for me.
  FIrst, browser finally opens (that's good), but only if browserOptions is empty (that relates to FireFox, too, not only to Safari)
  Second, when i set proxy options in Safari (on MacOS these are global system proxy options) i getting the same out of memory error already described above. So i'm able to use only FF.
  Third, and the worst problem is that Sahi ignores port for some reason when i'm trying to run batch job. I mean, i'm using port 3000 to run my local application that i test and i'm providing URL with port when runnning batch job, but after opening browser, Sahi tries to open URL without port (and of course, cannot reach application). I think it's a bug.
  Regards, psylence
• Hi again,
  I finally managed to run tests, by changing my app port from 3000 to 80, but i still think that it would be greate for Sahi to support custom ports in batch mode, as many developers use them.
  psylence