BETA YOURSELF macOS CATALINA
It may be named after an island, but the new Apple OS makes the Mac less isolated than ever, linking up apps, services and devices – Craig Grannell delves into its best bits
THE BASICS
■ Prepare yourself
Before updating, choose ‘About This Mac’ from the Apple menu, then System Report. Under Software, click Applications. Anything listed as ‘No’ in the ‘64-Bit’ column is not compatible with Catalina. Check for updates, and hold off on installing the new OS if none are available and you consider those apps vital. Before you do update, make a full bootable backup using SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner – just in case.
■ Get your game face on
The Mac App Store now has an Arcade tab. If you’re already signed up to Apple Arcade, progress will sync from wherever you left a game on your other Apple devices. But note that not all titles are available on Mac, and on-boarding can be clunky, leaving you to figure out the controls.