Mac Studio confirmed, plopped right in between the iMac and the Mac Pro. My plan is to have a three screen set-up, so this desktop lets me do that (the Mac Mini is limited to two).
Also, how Apple keeps upping the ante with its M1 chip has to have PC makers crying in their beds at night. Fusing two Maxes to make an Ultra - I think they missed a trick not calling it “Station” - blows the doors off the already left-for-dust competition.
After an Apple event, I imagine Limey needs a cigarette and a few hours to recover before he can watch it again.
I’m not actually a rice grad, I just live within walking distance of the baseball stadium. I am a rice spouse though, so Kris can show you.
I’m pretty sure Limey watches these Apple events safely ensconced in his bunk.
I took a quick look at the Studio and saw that it’s a much more powerful Mini and that it supports 19 displays and decided that it shall receive my emphatic stamp of approval.
At least Intel has gotten off their duffs and started competing again with their 12th-gen CPUs, so the PC space is better off with a strong Intel and strong AMD. But right now no one can touch Apple’s performance per watt.
12th gen?!?!
/pours one out for the OG 286
8086?
I thought it was 280z?
80085, 8142, OU812…
I fucking hate Windows. My laptop wakes up in a new world every day, except for those days when it just doesn’t wake up.
Today it woke up and then decided it needed to do a software update (Macs do this while asleep). After completing the update that it downloaded from the internet, it decided it’s not connected to the internet.
There is a balcony within throwing distance and an 8 story drop therefrom…
Last week while trying to work in Excel, it took approximately 60 seconds to go from one cell to another. Then the input took forever. Restarting and turning off did not seem to help. So, I am looking forward to a new operating system.
I’d had enough, and something had to change. I had been eyeing a Mac Studio because I could use it with an ultrawide screen that I need for work (I have to have a minimum of 6 apps open at all times, not including an Office apps, so I need a lot of real estate), and it would be powerful enough for ripping/transcoding blurays. It would be replacing the iMac I bought less than 2 years ago, but the 27" model just went bye-bye, and they’re going for a premium on eBay (the 4:3 aspect ratio of the iMac screen is not conducive to laying out my work apps).
But, then, it’s $2000 for the base Mac Studio, and I’d want to boost the RAM (which is not user-upgradeable), before I buy the screen and external HDD (because I’m not paying $2400 for the 8TB SSD). So I had a rethink, and…BOOM!
I got the base M1 Mac Mini plus a 44" ultrawide screen with it works fantastically! The Mini has a gigabit network card, so I’m getting ~1gbps speeds both ways (my Surface laptop would get about 800kbps up, but only about 400kbps down, for some reason). That really helps with my Citrix connection, and the uninterrupted real estate of the ultrawide screen helps me mosaic the apps so much better.
The screen has built-in speakers, and they’re shit, so I got a pair of $20 no-name speakers and a webcam w/mic and I am perfectly set up for work. Before, I had to detach my laptop from the docking cable to use the webcam for video conferencing, which meant that my Citrix desktop was a Picasso when I connected it back up. Now, when a call comes in, all I have to do is put on my pants answer it.
Then, with a simple swipe on the touchpad, away goes work and hello Mac desktop. I used to have to physically walk over to my iMac to do personal computing as my company tracks everything on the laptop inside or outside of Citrix. But then a work call or email would come in and I had to migrate back to deal with it. Now I can swipe back and forth without the need to get off my ass.
The iMac is still more than fit for purpose, so splurging on a Mac Studio to replace it was overkill. The Mac mini is (relatively) cheap and perfect for this scenario. Yes, I’m spending money on my WFH setup, but the company-suppled kit was never intended to be a full-time solution. I’ve been WFH for 2 years now - and I ain’t going back - so this is a justifiable expense IMHO.
What was bigger, that screen or the erection you got when you bought that screen?
iRection
He even bought speakers with gloryholes.
Sound’s a little muffled on those.
Not that this isn’t an impressive setup, but…could you not just use a similar external camera on your laptop? Why would you have to undock it for a video call?
You are correct that I could’ve used a webcam in my laptop setting. That’s only a minor benefit in the overall scheme, though.
I guess if you still have to put your pants on, it’s not really much of a benefit at all.
