Apple seeds fourth OS X 10.11.1 beta with potential Microsoft Office 2016 fix
Apple on Wednesday released the fourth pre-release version of its upcoming OS X 10.11.1 maintenance update to developers and public beta testers, bringing with it the usual stability, compatibility and security enhancements.
The fourth beta seed, build 15B38b, comes one week after Apple issued the previous build to developers and member of its public beta program with minor bug patches and performance bumps.
In the accompanying release notes, Apple asks beta testers to focus on Mail and Microsoft Office 2016, the latter of which has encountered serious compatibility issues since the latest Mac operating system debuted. Office 2016 for Mac users have reported a wide range of issues since updating, including complete system freezes, that have yet to be solved.
OS X 10.11 El Capitan went live last month as a free update for Mac users, adding a number of new features like Split View, a revamped Notes app, various user interface tweaks and multiple backend enhancements.
Developers and public beta testers can download the latest El Capitan build from the Mac App Store or Apple's developer website.
The fourth beta seed, build 15B38b, comes one week after Apple issued the previous build to developers and member of its public beta program with minor bug patches and performance bumps.
In the accompanying release notes, Apple asks beta testers to focus on Mail and Microsoft Office 2016, the latter of which has encountered serious compatibility issues since the latest Mac operating system debuted. Office 2016 for Mac users have reported a wide range of issues since updating, including complete system freezes, that have yet to be solved.
OS X 10.11 El Capitan went live last month as a free update for Mac users, adding a number of new features like Split View, a revamped Notes app, various user interface tweaks and multiple backend enhancements.
Developers and public beta testers can download the latest El Capitan build from the Mac App Store or Apple's developer website.
Comments
Support is aware of the issues and said hopefully the next update will work, I won't bother until I see it IS working first.
What a load of crap.
Most issues were around Mail, especially wth exchange accounts. These have been fixed for us.
OffIce ha the known issues. Adobe as well. But from an OS POV stuff "just works". Maybe lucky?
Or maybe Aplle is having problems ensuring all works when not doing a clean install? Did you try this?
Wow. I'm surprised at all the negative experiences. I'm using ElCap since the second PB and I'm still on the .1 PB cycle. I have it installed on three MBPs ranging from 2009 to 2014, all using peripherals, such as a canon printer/scanner, Canon DLR, external USB-drive, Wacom tablet etc. Apart from an occasional glitch things are stable for us. We did clean installs for the first ElCap, then incremental updates.
Most issues were around Mail, especially wth exchange accounts. These have been fixed for us.
OffIce ha the known issues. Adobe as well. But from an OS POV stuff "just works". Maybe lucky?
Or maybe Aplle is having problems ensuring all works when not doing a clean install? Did you try this?
It's been rock solid for me, as opposed to LaunchServices issues that have been popping up all over my Mavericks installation base. As the 14.5.6 update to Office2011 resolved the only issue I saw with MS Office and my company is not using Office2016, I regard office issues as a failing of Microsoft, not Apple.
It's been rock solid for me, as opposed to LaunchServices issues that have been popping up all over my Mavericks installation base. As the 14.5.6 update to Office2011 resolved the only issue I saw with MS Office and my company is not using Office2016, I regard office issues as a failing of Microsoft, not Apple.
Don't be so fast to point fingers, we can't update in our office because Apple's own FileMaker Pro software still has some issues and FM server is not supported at all. A fix isn't expected until next month.
El Cap is without a doubt the best macOS experience I've ever had, that includes Snow Leopard.
How much better it is than its immediate predecessor Yosemite is really astounding.
Every OS update of every platform breaks some kind of compatibility with some external hardware. It is to be expected. Breaking compatibility with a NAS is certainly disappointing, but the NAS vendor surely shares some responsibility in that.
I heard about issues associated with MS Office 2016 and El Cap, so I'm going to wait for a little while before updating. I don't even mind if it takes a month or so. It's not like Yosemite is so horrible to use. (Say what you will about Office, 2016 is better than 2011, IMO).
Bugs seem to abound
This is a YMMV issue. I had so many problems with Yosemite that El Capitan was a breath of fresh air. Not only has it banished (99%) my Bluetooth and Airplay problems but it's a lot faster doing some things too. Yosemite was, IMHO, Apple's worst OS X release for a long time with bugs in, well, everything (I think it's the first time that I've ever had a total crash of OS X).
El Capitan is better for me at the point-zero release, I look forward to it improving too.
Running 10.11 on a 27" 5k iMac (15,1), I've had issues with VoiceOver. I basically highlight text of an article and have the computer read it to me while I'm doing other things. I didn't have problems with 10.10, but 10.11 will miss words completely, say half a word often, and is annoying when reading bullet points with more than one line of text in them by saying "Bullet. Bullet" every line. I was surprised to see this bugginess occur, and have written Apple about it.
I've no interest in split view, I don't pin sites in Safari, I don't have a TV so AirPlay isn't something I use, and while Metal has been integrated, I haven't seen any difference in performance. Perhaps I don't do the things that Metal benefits. I'm happy with the release, though having my Mac read text isn't as good as it used to be. It'd be cool to see improvement in that area, and perhaps the ability to have Siri's voice do the talking, though Alex is great.
hey pmz, I had the same thoughts.
10.7 - 10.10 did not warrant me installing. I've been on 10.6 until now. With El Cap Full Screen alone was literally worth it for me. It's about as fast as Snow, maybe a little snappier here, a little slower there. Love a lot of the new interface things. Dark Mode, good. New Spotlight, notifications, good.
I had messed with 10.7 and a few other releases and they seemed much slower and clunkier. I think Apple's back on track 100% now on OS X. Only thing I hate is the window close buttons. They are smaller, really. And the flat look, not exactly great. I am going to look in to theming it back to look like Snow or somesuch. Yes I know the new System Integrity is in place, which I am a huge fan of. Love security by default, good design. But what the workflow now apparently is to mod OS X is to temp. turn it off, then turn it back on. I'm going to give that a go sometime to un-flatten the Ui. Otherwise... it's nice.Good job Apple.
Here's my story - Installed 10.11 on the 3rd day of availability. It seems rock solid, working great. Then problem with MS Office hits hard. Outlook was crashing the moment I opened it. Like it or not, Outlook and Office is indispensable. iWork or other Office suites are not really going to get the job done for me. After seeing that both Apple and MS acknowledging the problem but without any probable solution date forced me to go back to 10.10. Then the strangest thing happened. My Wifi stopped working. I had to do a clean install and do some advanced tricks to get my Wi-Fi back on track.
Yes, the OS seems solid but compatibility problem with world's number one productivity suite is not helping. I don't know whose fault it is but both Apple and MS need to share responsibility. I am not talking about any software. Whatever you say, compatibility with Office is very very important. In fact, if one software needs to work properly with your OS, it have to be MS Office.
Finally, Apple do most of the things right, more than anybody else. However, that does not mean they can't or didn't do anything wrong. People complaining here is facing genuine problems. It is working fine for you, good for you. But that did not mean it is working fine for everybody and you have to mock or insult them. It hurts more when your close/dear ones are giving you hard times.