If you're using a Mac with Apple silicon: You can connect one external display to your Mac using either of the Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports. The number of displays your Mac supports appears under Video Support or Graphics. #1582: iOS 15.0.1 and iPadOS 15.0.1, Apple Watch Series 7 dates, cautionary tale about backups, using Live Text and Safari extensionsClick the specs page for your Mac.Smart displays, iOS 12.5.5 and Catalina security update, iPhone 13 problem with Apple Watch unlocking #1581: New Safari 15 features, Center Stage vs. MacOS: Any Mac made since 2015 should be able to accomplish this without issue (Intel core i3 processor, 8GB of RAM) Windows 10: Intel i3 processor (or.#1578: Apple delays CSAM detection, upgrade Quicken 2007 to Quicken Deluxe, App Store settlement and regulatory changesIs It Safe to Upgrade to macOS 11 Big Sur?“Is it safe to upgrade yet?” That’s the question I’ve been asked repeatedly since Apple first released macOS 11 Big Sur in November 2020. Apple lawsuit decided, Internet privacy limitations, combine Mac speakers #1579: Apple “California Streaming” event, OS security updates, Epic Games v.
![]() ![]() Quickbooks 2015 High Sierra Compatiblity Mac With AppleThe security threats that Apple addresses with updates are real, and developers continually enhance their apps to take advantage of new core capabilities that Apple builds into macOS. And thanks in part to Apple’s acquisition of Dark Sky, the Weather widgets provide next-hour precipitation charts, severe weather alerts, and warnings of significant weather shifts.Honestly, though, the main reason to upgrade eventually is to stay current. Maps gains city guides, cycling routes in a few major cities, and indoor maps of major airports and shopping centers. By this point last year, Catalina was on its sixth update, with a seventh supplemental update coming soon.In contrast, Big Sur has so far received only five updates, with only 11 non-security bugs explicitly addressed. When forced by circumstance, I did upgrade my primary Mac to Catalina last April with no real problems (see “ Six Lessons Learned from Dealing with an iMac’s Dead SSD,” 27 April 2020), but Apple’s chaotic updates early in the cycle had poisoned the well for many people. I never officially recommended an upgrade to Catalina because it never felt entirely baked, even after Apple announced Big Sur. External EvidenceI will say that I think Big Sur has proven itself more solid than 10.15 Catalina. Amf roadmaster serial number lookupIt addressed just five bugs again, but 43 security fixes. 11.2: Despite the version number suggesting new features, version 11.2 focused on bug and security fixes. See “ Apple Releases Apple Fitness+, macOS 11.1 Big Sur, iOS 14.3, iPadOS 14.3, watchOS 7.2, and tvOS 14.3” (14 December 2020). Apple’s release notes listed only five bug fixes, although we heard it also addressed problems in Rosetta 2 for M1-based Macs. 11.1: Largely a feature release, version 11.1 kept macOS in feature parity with iOS 14.3. See “ macOS 11.2.2 Protects MacBook Pro and MacBook Air from Non-Compliant USB-C Hubs and Docks” (26 February 2021). 11.2.2: Apple released version 11.2.2 purely to protect recent MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models from dangerous USB-C hubs and docks. See “ macOS 11.2.1 Big Sur Fixes MacBook Pro Charging Bug and sudo Vulnerability” (9 February 2021). It also fixed three important security vulnerabilities. 11.2.1: A focused release, version 11.2.1 addressed a rare but nasty bug affecting some 20 MacBook Pro models. However, based on my experience with the Big Sur public beta, with running it on my M1-based MacBook Air, and now having upgraded my primary Mac—a 2020 27-inch iMac—I can say that Big Sur feels stable and predictable. 11.3: Undoubtedly due out soon, version 11.3 will likely fix a few bugs and address newly discovered security vulnerabilities, but it is also slated to add new features and enhance existing capabilities.The conspiracy-minded might say that Apple could be fixing vast numbers of bugs without acknowledging them in its release notes. See “ iOS 14.4.1, iPadOS 14.4.1, macOS 11.2.3 Big Sur, and watchOS 7.3.2 Address WebKit Security Vulnerability” (8 March 2021). It’s tempting to attribute the extremely low upgrade rate to users rendered gun-shy by Catalina’s troubles or to people scared off by the significant user interface changes in Big Sur.However, when Tonya and I discussed these numbers, she rightly pointed out that the pandemic is likely the prime factor in upgrade hesitancy. That’s despite all the bad press Catalina received early on.In contrast, the first 100 days of Big Sur show that a mere 13% of tidbits.com visitors have upgraded or bought an M1-based Mac, with a whopping 65% remaining on Catalina. That upgrade was positive enough that the first 100 days after the release of Catalina showed that 49% of people had upgraded to Catalina, with 33% staying on Mojave. FirstYou can see that, in the first 100 days after the release of Mojave, 39% of people visiting tidbits.com had upgraded, with 38% remaining on High Sierra. I compared the first 100 days after the release of each of the last three versions of macOS, focusing on how many people had upgraded to the latest versus staying on the previous release. One slight exception is the site-specific browser Epichrome, which says it was not developed or fully tested with Big Sur and whose helper app crashed on first launch, although my site-specific browsers work fine in daily usage.The fiddling required in the wake of the upgrade was driven mostly by the massive state changes inherent in upgrading macOS. Nearly every app I’ve needed to use—even the elderly ScreenFlow 7.3 from 2017, which I pulled out for a project last weekend—has worked just as it did before I upgraded. My Immediate Post-Upgrade ExperiencesThe quick summary of my upgrade is that, after a short time of fiddling with things that needed resetting, I returned to work with no significant interruption or productivity hit. The upgrade might go faster, but between the huge download, the long installation time (coupled with a conversion to APFS for drives still using HFS+), and getting everything reconfigured afterward, it’s best to allow plenty of time. However, as I noted, I bit the bullet a few weeks back for my primary Mac, making sure, as always, to follow Joe Kissell’s upgrading advice, now in Take Control of Big Sur.As a broad outline, I recommend that you make at least one backup right before you upgrade, ensure you have a bare minimum of 36 GB free, and plan for your Mac to be inaccessible for at least half a day. (Interestingly, 90% of our iOS/iPadOS traffic now comes from some version of iOS/iPadOS 14, showing that people are much quicker to upgrade their iPhones and iPads.)There’s still no shame in delaying, and at this point, I would encourage anyone who isn’t champing at the bit to wait until version 11.3 has been out for a week or two.
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