Yesterday (Nov. 12) morning, Apple released a major new upgrade to the macOS: Big Sur. So big, in fact, that Apple calls it macOS 11 (the “X” is no more.).
While this contains a wealth of new features, the big news for media professionals is to be cautious – don’t upgrade any production-critical systems for a while. My general advice is to wait until a .1 upgrade is available.
Operating systems are vast, complex and devilishly tricky in the details. Apple works very hard to get it right. But there are SO MANY moving parts in any operating system that it isn’t until it is released and tested in the real-world that we find out what works and what doesn’t.
For example, not all effects plug-ins work currently in this new system. Developers are now contacting users to let them know about compatibility issues. They are also working diligently to update their software for the new OS, but these things take time.
Making this transition even more complex, Apple is also introducing the new Apple silicon, who’s first iteration is the M1 SoC (System on a Chip). This extraordinary hardware technology promises great things for the future, but, again, developers need time to test, tweak and update their software.
For all these reasons, be careful in deciding which systems to upgrade. Upgrade non-production systems for testing; no problem. discover potential problems on systems that are not mission-critical. However, there’s no harm in delaying upgrading your core systems to give the developers time to test and polish their software.
Caution is always a good idea, when new versions of the OS are released.
7 Responses to Apple Releases macOS 11 – Big Sur
Thanks.
I have not downloaded macOS-Big Sur, but looking for you in the lobby, meanwhile, I got the answer. I will wait
Yaso:
Waiting to upgrade – at least for a while – is a very good idea.
Larry
Adobe has announcements on it’s support pages that they will not be supporting 11 until 2021 for their major pro packages. In fact, they specify that most of these packages will *break* including Pr. Buyer be warned.
Al:
Thanks for the heads-up. Here’s one page where Adobe discusses this:
https://helpx.adobe.com/download-install/kb/macos-big-sur.html
Also, Avid is reporting they are not compatible with Big Sur, either:
https://avid.secure.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/Compatibility/macOS-Big-Sur-Support
Larry
Hi Larry,
I’m finally considering upgrading (I haven’t updated to Catalina yet), and was wondering if you knew if MKV files were compatible with the 64 bit OS?
Thank you 🙂
Liron:
Sorry for the delay in posting this, but I needed time to do research.
MKV files are not supported, as you know, in QuickTime Player. So, whether you can plan MKV files is dependent upon the player software that you use. Here’s an article listing the top five – at least in their opinion:
https://mac.eltima.com/list-of-best-mkv-players.html
If the player works in Big Sur then the media files should also work. However this is not a format I use personally, so I can’t be more specific than that.
Larry
Thank you so much, Larry, for researching the subject! I have always used VLC player and I believe it does work in 64 bit, so hopefully I’m good to go.
Truly appreciate the help!