Option-Click to run non-approved installers no longer works (Sequoia 15.3)

[James Steele]

Speak of the OS devil... I just got notified of a Sequoia 15.3.1 update. It doesn't mention much except the usual security fixes. Well... off I go! Besides--I like updating my signature frequently.

[mikehalloran]

BTW, macOS 14.7.4 and 15.3.1 were released today along with iOS & iPadOS 18.3.1. Security patches only so I went ahead—not noticing anything new which is what I want.

[bayswater]

Yeah... I get that. And I'm trying not to reflexively feel obligated to defend my choice to upgrade. Seems like that's a lot of social media these days. You post about something you chose to do, whether it's an upgrade or you express an opinion, and then you feel compelled to justify that choice to people.

I certainly don’t expect people to justify their choice to upgrade, but I am interested in hearing any advantages they experience. I used to routinely try new OS versions on a test volume when my main set up was based on 10.14. I did update to macOS 12 to get the newer versions of Logic, and not many things broke other than Waves, but there wasn’t anything to get excited about. I don’t bother any more — the effort was never justified by the outcomes.

I think we’re at the point where the question is whether there is a reason to upgrade, rather than whether there is a reason not to upgrade, which has been the usual question until now.

The other thing is a conversation with someone at the local Apple store who said the macOS developers were “chasing” the hardware people, and their main interest was enabling new hardware, and not to expect much unless you have a new Mac. I had to get a new laptop — an M2 Air that came with V14. It’s fine, but I haven’t seen any reason to update it to Sequoia. It would be nice to stop the endless nagging about that and iOS 18.

[James Steele]

I don't know if Apple takes the time to document every single change they make along the way with updates. I've sort of been operating on simply a gut feeling I have that given that this is still a relatively new architecture, that there possibly may be little efficiency tweaks along the way that make my Mac run better doing day-to-day, routine things. Of course, I have absolutely no proof of that. But I have noticed that it certainly hasn't slowed down my system any.

There are also little things that I wonder if Apple will be able to fix. One nagging example is that I have two external Time Machine drives and when I boot, the icon for one of them remains a generic external drive icon and doesn't change to the blue/green Time Machine volume icon. I have to grab it with the mouse and move it a little on the desktop, and it changes to what it should be.

Also, I'm never quite sure what issues might be fixed by Avid (for example) releasing an update... or Apple making a tweak to the OS. Another case in point: I am using an Avid S3 hardware control surface, Avid Control running on an iPad, and I also use an app called "Avid Desktop Control" which will let me position an on-screen meter bridge on my main display and size it so that it appears just above the channel strips on my S3. I have a hotkey setup to show/hide it. When I boot, it's rare that all three of those elements connect to the EuControl app like that should. Usually only Avid Control on my iPad will. Each time I boot, I have to add the S3 and Avid Desktop Control back to my configuration in the EuControl Settings dialog. I know Avid is on the case, but I always wonder if Apple might tweak something that will fix it as well.

[bayswater]

Well if Apple follows any sort of formal development process, every change will be documented with requirements, and acceptance tests, although very little if any of this would be reported to anyone.

On the other matter, yes, it’s difficult to figure out how coordinated the changes by Apple and app developers are. From the discussions I’ve heard, it seems Apple sets the stage and tells developers what conventions they have to follow. But not all developers, notably plugin developers, follow the “rules” and can rely on workarounds, and OS elements Apple no longer supports. If Apple and MOTU are arguing about how something in macOS should work, we can predicts who wins that debate.

[James Steele]

Well if Apple follows any sort of formal development process, every change will be documented with requirements, and acceptance tests, although very little if any of this would be reported to anyone.

What I'm trying to say is that yes, it might be documented internally, but I would imagine not every detail makes it into the publicly released update notes.

[bayswater]

Well if Apple follows any sort of formal development process, every change will be documented with requirements, and acceptance tests, although very little if any of this would be reported to anyone.

What I'm trying to say is that yes, it might be documented internally, but I would imagine not every detail makes it into the publicly released update notes.

Yes, very little of it appears in update notes.

[mikehalloran]

Nearly all of my support calls to Apple begin with me looking up the latest documentation before making the call. Then we go over it, see where it’s wrong and try to get my issue resolved. A internal document is looked up, the calls are generally successful and the incorrect documentation is eventually corrected.

Ok, the last one began with, “Text has worked since 1986, why is it broken in 14.7.2 and 15.2?” But those calls are rare. MacOS 14.7.3 and 15.3 fixed the problem with Text and many other apps.

Every once in a while, we get Engineering involved, they can’t find it, I do and then compensation ensues. That is never my initial goal, however.

Since I became handicapped, I’ve become deeply entrenched in the Apple universe. Having all of my devices working together makes my life a great deal easier than if they didn’t. They don’t always perform as advertised, unfortunately — I’ve some sync issues between my new iPad and everything else. Before I spend hours with Support, I will see if upgrading my Mac’s System drive to Sequoia has any effect. Since 15.3.1, I no longer have a reason not to.