I got my first Apple computer in 1984. A one-piece monolith, it sat about 18 inches tall. Floppy disks (which did not bend much less flop) could only hold ten pages of data. (Hence the truncated chapters of my second novel.) I have stuck with Apple all these years, mostly for their support system. I am not xenophobic, but by the time I call the support line I am already beyond flustered. I need instructions in English-as-first-language help. Apple is very good at that.
Apple recently upgraded to the Catalonia OS system. I might just as well have taken an axe to the head. Suddenly, many of my workhorse applications were unusable. Apple slapped white circles with diagonals through the dock icons. My Photoshop Elements, gone. My scanner, kaput, my spreadsheet photos and records of 400 plus paintings, unretrievable. Photos are essential to my business. I paint from them and I sell them.
I never feel so old as when I have to wrestle with a new program. Once I upgraded to Photoshop Elements 11, but that was too daunting. Elements 6 is my comfort zone. I have used it daily for 13 years. When Apple refused to run it, I hoped the Elements 11 version might pass muster. Ha. Only Elements 2020 ($99)will do. I bought two books on how to use 2020. I am still mystified.
Photoshop 2020 seems to have issues Apple's OS Catalina. My printer is mad and reports that it can not print at 300 dpi. As one website said, Catalina has ended Apple's "32-bit app support, forcing such apps to run in complex workarounds." I'll say.
The coup de grace came this morning. I plugged in my shuffle to download podcasts and the computer went black. I unplugged the shuffle and got the screen back. Tried again. Black again.
