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Thoughts on macOS Ventura

Update: 11/8/2022:
It appears there is a bug in macOS Ventura 13.0 which impacts security software, such as Malwarebytes: https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2022/11/macos-ventura-bug-disables-security-software

There is currently no permanent fix. We’re waiting for the macOS Ventura 13.1 update (currently in beta).

This is an excellent example of why it makes sense to wait and NOT install the initial release (.0) of a major operating system update.

Update 11/7/2022:
In regards to the loss of the ability to manually prioritize/reorder which WiFi networks are joined when a Mac running Ventura wakes from sleep or restarts, Apple has provided the following (quite confusing) Support article: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202831

Update 11/5/2022:
As noted below, Apple replaced the familiar “System Preferences” interface with a newly rewritten “System Settings” application. I’m not a fan. System Settings sports an entirely new user interface which requires some digging around to find familiar settings (Time Machine, Software Update, Startup Disk, etc, are now listed under different categories and take a bit of digging to find). But my biggest complaint is that System Settings no longer has the ability to re-order and prioritize which WiFi network(s) a device joins when waking from sleep or restarting. This is a major step backwards, particularly for users who join a number of different WiFi networks and need to make sure their machine joins the right network, every time.

From 10/25/2022:
Apple released macOS 13.0 (“Ventura”) to the public today (10/25/2022). Here is a list of the reported new features: https://www.apple.com/macos/ventura/

And a more detailed features breakdown: https://www.apple.com/macos/ventura/features/

In marketing copy and technical documentation, Apple specifies that macOS Ventura runs on these Macs:

Compared to the previous version of macOS Monterey (macOS 12) — macOS Ventura no longer supports these Macs: 

As of this morning, my 2022 MacBook Air is running this new operating system quite smoothly. I do *not* recommend installing Ventura on any Mac with a spinning hard drive (i.e. some entry-level iMac models).

Initial notes and observations:

  • System Preferences has been renamed “System Settings” and has a completely different user interface. If you spend any time configuring your Mac in the System Preferences app (i.e. Network, Displays, Privacy & Security, etc.), expect to spend some time scratching your head and searching for settings which may have been relocated. For example, the Time Machine settings are now hidden in the “General” section and there is no longer a way to prioritize which WiFi networks your Mac looks for when it wakes from sleep.
The new “System Settings” in Ventura

A good article on the newly redesigned System Settings: https://www.intego.com/mac-security-blog/get-to-know-the-system-settings-app-on-macos-ventura/

I will update this post as new features or bugs dictate mention.

RIP Bootable Backups

If there is one thing we learn from the world of Technology: Things Change.

In days past, we made a “bootable clone” backup to an external drive, which could be used to start up a(nother) Mac. Need a new battery in your laptop or had to send your Mac to Apple for repair? Software update gone bad and your computer won’t boot? No problem, just connect your bootable clone drive to another computer, choose it as the Startup Disk and get work done while your machine is out for service.

The concept of a bootable clone has, very sadly, gone the way of the Dodo. Starting in Mojave (MacOS 10.14) and continuing through newer operating systems: Catalina (10.15), Big Sur (MacOS 11.x) and now Monterey (MacOS 12.x), and with modern Macintosh hardware (including Macs with the “T2” fingerprint scanner/security chip and Macs with Apple silicon “M1” processors), Apple has made making and keeping a bootable clone unreliable.

Mike Bombich discusses the details in this excellent article:

https://bombich.com/blog/2021/05/19/beyond-bootable-backups-adapting-recovery-strategies-evolving-platform

As noted in the article above, Apple’s operating system is now “cryptographically signed” upon installation and this signing is only possible with an Apple-built software tool. This means the clever tools Carbon Copy Cloner uses to make a backup drive “bootable” no longer work.

So how does this change the situation where you’ve had an issue with your computer and need to get back up and running ASAP? Given the inability to create a bootable external drive, Apple is now forcing us to rely on their “Migration Assistant” (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204350) to restore data from a “data only” backup. Unfortunately this can take hours while your data restores, vs. the near-immediate uptime of restarting from a bootable clone.

You may recall seeing a question during setup of a new Mac: “Do you want to transfer information from another Mac?” – that’s Migration Assistant.

In the event of a catastrophe on your Mac, the process of restoring will now look something like this:

1. Fix any hardware issues (i.e. replace internal storage device)
2. Erase internal storage device
3. Reinstall Mac OS (can take 1-2 hours, depending on the speed of your internet connection)
4. Migrate from your last backup (can take several hours to copy your data, depending on how much data you have)

Here is Apple’s Support article on the process: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204350

As you can see, this process can be quite time consuming (~3-6+ hours) vs. time it takes to boot from your external backup drive.

There is no “fix” for this situation. Apple has chosen to make Mac OS and the Mac hardware more secure (as required by customers and current security, virus, malware and ransomeware vulnerabilities). Security is a good thing; unfortunately it comes with an inconvenient price tag sometimes.

For now, there is nothing you need to change about your Carbon Copy Cloner backups. CCC will continue to make full backups of everything on your Mac and can be used in the future with Migration Assistant (your CCC backup is called a “Startup Disk” in Migration Assistant-speak) to copy your user account, data and settings to a new computer or an erased computer with a newly installed operating system. If you haven’t updated to Carbon Copy Cloner version 6 yet (provides important compatibility fixes for macOS Catalina, Big Sur and Monterey), I recommend doing so.  Choose “Check for Updates…” from the Carbon Copy Cloner menu. The update is only $20.

Avoid Making Dropbox Drive Backups of Your Backups!

There is a new feature in Dropbox which allows you to back up the contents of an external hard drive, SSD, flash drive, etc. You may see a message when you connect an external drive, asking if you want to back it up.

This can be a nice way to back up a flash drive or external data drive, but Dropbox may ask if you want to backup your Carbon Copy Cloner and/or Time Machine external backup drive(s). Unless there is a compelling reason to make a redundant backup of your backup drive(s) to Dropbox, I recommend you click the “Don’t ask me again” box and click the “Not now” button:

If you do allow Dropbox to backup your external backup drive(s), note that those drives can contain a LOT of data and will possibly fill the capacity of your Dropbox account. In addition, the upload process will likely take a long time, making your internet connection perform more slowly during the upload. I don’t recommend this.

If you don’t want to see requests from Dropbox to backup external drives when you connect them in the future, you can disable this feature in Dropbox:

1. Click the Dropbox icon in your menu bar
2. Click the circular icon at the upper right.
3. Choose “Preferences…”

4. Click the “Backups” icon at the top
5. UN-check “Show setup notifications when new external drives are plugged in.”:

Now when a new external drive, flash drive, etc. is connected, Dropbox won’t pester you about backing it up.

If you’ve already allowed Dropbox to backup your external backup drive(s), you will see an icon in your Dropbox with the name(s) of the external drives. For example, note the “Kirk’s Flash Drive” icon in my Dropbox below. You can safely delete these items from your Dropbox account to save space: