macOS Catalina: The Missing Manual
by David Pogue
Copyright 2019 David Pogue. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
Editor: Julie Van Keuren
Proofreaders: Diana DAbruzzo, Kellee Katagi, and Judy Le
Illustrator: David Pogue
Interior book designer: Julie Van Keuren (based on a design by Phil Simpson)
Indexer: Julie Van Keuren
Published by OReilly Media, Inc.,
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December 2019: First Edition.
The Missing Manual is a registered trademark of OReilly Media, Inc. The Missing Manual logo, and The book that should have been in the box are trademarks of OReilly Media, Inc. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and OReilly Media is aware of a trademark claim, the designations are capitalized.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained in it.
ISBN: 978-1-492-07506-6
[LSCH] [12/19]
The Missing Credits
About the Author
David Pogue (author, illustrator) writes the Crowdwise column for TheNew York Times, where he was the weekly tech columnist from 2000 to 2013. (Somewhere in there, he took a five-year detour at Yahoo Finance.)
Hes also a five-time Emmy-winning correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning, the host of several NOVA miniseries on PBS, and the creator of the Missing Manual series. Hes written or co-written more than 100 books, including dozens in this series; six in the For Dummies line (including Macs, Magic, Opera, and Classical Music); two novels (one for middle-schoolers); The World According to Twitter; and three books of essential tips and shortcuts: Pogues Basics: Tech, Pogues Basics: Life, and Pogues Basics: Money. In his other life, David is a former Broadway show conductor, a magician, and a funny public speaker. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Nicki, and three awesome children.
You can find a complete list of Davids columns and videos, and sign up to get them by email, at .
About the Creative Team
Julie Van Keuren (editor, indexer, interior book designer) spent 14 years in print journalism before deciding to upend her life, move to Montana, and live the freelancing dream. She now works for a variety of terrific clients who understand that skilled editing, writing, book layout, and indexing dont have to come from inside a cubicle. She and her husband have two adult sons. Email: .
Diana DAbruzzo (proofreader) is a Virginia-based freelance editor with more than 20 years of experience in the journalism and book publishing industries. More information on her life and work can be found at dianadabruzzo.com.
Kellee Katagi (proofreader) has devoted most of her 20-plus-year writing and editing career to covering fitness, nutrition, travel, and outdoor sports. A former managing editor of SKI magazine, she now smiths words from her Colorado home, where she lives with her husband and three kids. Email: .
Judy Le (proofreader) is a magazine editor and newly elected school board member in Virginia, where she lives in a near-constant state of amazement with her husband and their son.
Acknowledgments
Over the years, over the many editions of this book, many friends and colleagues have contributed enthusiasm, expertise, and even prose to this Missing Manual. They include Tom Gewecke, Zachary Brass, Kirill Voronin, Dan Pourhadi, Rich Koster, J.D. Biersdorfer, Teresa Noelle Roberts, Ben Waldie, Brian Sawyer, Phil Simpson, and Lesa Snider.
I owe debts of thanks to OReillys Missing Manuals editor-in-chief, Nan Barber; to Apples Todd Benjamin and Bill Evans for going beyond the call of duty to chase down tweaky tech answers; and to Julie Van Keuren, whose Missing Manual role over the past decade has grown from humble copy editor to full-blown editorial and design factory.
I also wish I could send out an I Made the Book Better! T-shirt to every reader who ever took the time to write with corrections, suggestions, tips, and tricks. And thanks, as always, to David Rogelberg for believing in the idea.
Above all, this book owes its existence to the patience and affection of Nicki, Kelly, Tia, and Jeffrey. They make these booksand everything elsepossible.
David Pogue
About The Missing Manuals
Missing Manuals are witty, well-written guides to computer products that dont come with printed manuals (which is just about all of them). Each book features a handcrafted index, cross-references to specific page numbers (not just see ), and an ironclad promise never to put an apostrophe in the possessive pronoun its.
Also by David Pogue:
iPhone: The Missing Manual
Windows 10: The Missing Manual
David Pogues Digital Photography: The Missing Manual
Pogues Basics: Tech
Pogues Basics: Money
Pogues Basics: Life
Introduction
MacOS Catalina is the 16th major version of Apples operating system. Its got very little in common with the original Mac OS, the one that saw Apple through the 1980s and 1990s. Apple dumped that in 2001, when CEO Steve Jobs decided it was time for a change. Apple had spent too many years piling new features onto a software foundation originally poured in 1984. Programmers and customers complained of the spaghetti code the Mac OS had become.
So today, underneath macOSs classy, shining desktop is Unix, the industrial-strength, rock-solid OS that drives many a website and university. Its not new by any means; in fact, its decades old and has been polished by generations of programmers.
Note
Beginning with Sierra in 2016, Apple stopped calling the Mac operating system OS X. Its now macOS. Thats partly because Apple sought consistency with the software in its other productsiOS and watchOSand partly, no doubt, because it was tired of hearing people pronounce it oh ess sex.
Whats New in Catalina
Having run out of big cat species (Cheetah, Puma, Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Lion, and Mountain Lion), Apple started naming its Mac operating systems after places in California. There was the surfing site Mavericks, followed by Yosemite, El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra, and Mojave. And now theres Catalina, named after Santa Catalina, a rocky island off the coast of Southern California.
The changes in Catalina are either thoughtful and strategic or ridiculously minor, depending on your generosity of thought toward Apple products.
Herewith: a list of whats new.
Death of iTunes
The bloated behemoth program called iTunes is gone. In its place are smaller, simpler apps called TV, Music, and Podcasts. (The iTunes Store, however, still exists and is where you can continue to buy music.)
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