Thursday, February 4, 2021

Safari 14.0.3 fixes 14.0.1 and .2

The problem with Safari that Mojave users (like me) first noticed in mid-November has been fixed. Safari 14.0.3 fixes a problem that began with 14.0.1 and continued with 14.0.2 — the inability to perform any task that involved opening the Finder from the browser, like, say, attaching or uploading a file. You know, trivial blue-moon stuff. Strange: Apple now offers updates for both 14.0.2 and 14.0.3 for Mojave, with the boxes for both downloads checked as a default.

After learning that Apple employees read all e-mail addressed to Tim Cook, I wrote to him, or them, in mid-December:

Hello Mr. Cook,

In 1985 my first computer was an Apple //c. I’m a liberal-arts type, but I nerded out creating macros for AppleWorks with Beagle Bros’ MacroWorks. I finally gave in and began using Windows in the 1990s. With Windows 7 on the horizon, I switched to a Mac in 2007 and have been a happy user ever since. My family and extended family are now all Mac, iPad, and iPhone users.

But right now I’m not a happy user. For those of us still (for whatever reasons) staying with Mojave, the recent 14.0.1 update breaks any button that opens the Finder to browse for a file. In other words: it’s no longer possible to attach a file in Gmail. (You can drag and drop, but sometimes that’s not appropriate.) It’s no longer possible to upload an image to Blogger. It’s no longer possible to do many, many ordinary tasks that require opening the Finder from Safari:

https://discussions.apple.com/search?page=1&q=safari%2014.0.1%20mojave&content=filterDiscussions

My solution to the problem was to reinstall Mojave, get the [then-new] security update, and stay with 14.0. From what I’ve read in Apple Community discussions, the problem that began with 14.0.1 persists with 14.0.2:

https://discussions.apple.com/search?page=1&q=safari%2014.0.2%20mojave&content=filterDiscussions

The problem with 14.0.1 has been a problem for over a month now, and 14.0.2 apparently does nothing to fix it. Several people have reported calls with tech support that yield no solution. At least a couple of people report being told by Apple tech support to use Chrome. Sheesh!

As I’m sure you will agree, Apple should do better by its customers. Please, make Safari work properly in Mojave.
As you can already guess, I received no reply. It’s impossible for me to tell from the one Apple document about 14.0.3 I can find that Apple is acknowledging a problem that has been fixed. But Safari, at least for now, works.

[Remember the Apple slogan “It just works”? Not so much, as this problem and the many problems with Catalina and Big Sur make clear.]

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