Ye Macce Threade

[Dusty Chalk]

My sister bought a MacBook Air from @strid3r, she’s extremely happy with it.  I bought a MacBook Air, myself.  This one:

https://www.microcenter.com/product/507657/macbook-air-md711ll-b-116-laptop-computer-pre-owned---silver

I’m pretty happy with it, but I’m not running Cubase or DJ software on it.  I’d definitely look for 16G on a mini or MBP or  some such if you’re going to go back to a 2014 model.

[strid3r]

I use a 2012 Mini myself as an entertainment center for 1080p output (YouTube, Twitch, Plex client). The new 2018 Mini's are nice and offer a nice spec boost, but do have some weird compatibility issues with the HDMI port where they just won't output to a display (using the USB-C ports work just fine, make sure you buy the right cables). This issue seems to be related to the T2 chip and encryption, but YMMV. If you do get an older Mini, I'd recommend at least 8GB ram and an SSD.

[ironbut]

I imagine most Mac users are aware that Catalina will be the first osx that is 64 bit only.

What that means is that some older applications/executables that haven't been updated from 32 bit to 64 will no longer work once 10.15 is installed.

IMHO it's kind of crazy that developers haven't updated their apps considering the 64 bit handwriting has been on the wall since before 2011.

Anywho, if you want to check your system for 32 bit apps you depend on and need to replace, here's a free app that will let you know where you stand.

Just point it at your Applications folder (it's default will start checking it automatically) and maybe your plugins folder (root level Library>Audio>Plugins).

I was happy to find only 31 apps/plugins that need some updating in my system.

https://www.stclairsoft.com/Go64/index.html

[EdipisReks1]

On 7/5/2019 at 7:59 AM, strid3r said:

Disclaimer: I'm in IT and my workplace is nearly all Apple/Macs. The butterfly keyboards are a bit love/hate and definitely not as robust as the pre-Touchbar keyboards. Issues/considerations for the Touchbar machines include:

• failure of individual keys due to dust/dirt getting underneath. In my experience, it's fixable 90-95% of the time with canned air, the other times, you have to send it in. Also, when Apple has official documentation on it, you know it's an issue.
• the early butterfly keyboards are almost as loud as some of the click-y mechanical keyboards. Some people don't mind, but I've had users tell me they get looks in cafes and coffee shops.
• include dongle and adapters in your budget, because all the ports are USB-C.
• more fragile design: the space tolerances in the Touchbar machines are smaller and thus more prone to fatal/major damage if dropped or struck. We've had a handful of users get cracked screens from being jostled around in their backpacks, so this might be an important consideration if you are rough with your machine or need something more rugged.

I'll be pretty happy to see them ditch the butterfly design myself. I also wouldn't mind if they made the chassis a little larger to allow for better cooling and general overall ruggedness instead of chasing the smaller-every-revision goal.

Part of my responsibilities at my last job was managing the certified repair shop for the universities bookstore (we were actually by far the largest IT organization for the campus, in terms of customer base, but had the smallest budget and fewest personnel; go figure).  We got very few repairs for the butterfly keyboard machines, and, trust me, the 17,000 students we supported were HARD on their laptops. The main keyboard related issue requiring replacement were actually failed trackpad cables and failed HD cables on 2012-2015 MBP due to flexing of the keyboard right over the cable connectors.

My main machine is currently my 2013 retina MBP with 8 GB of RAM.  I only break out the i7 iMac (also a 2013 machine), these days, when I'm using very large datasets in Excel, where 32GB of RAM and the much faster SSD come in real, real handy (the extra CPU horsepower also doesn't hurt) or when I'm listening to my headphone rig and sitting in my Eames clone. The MBP runs great on the Catalina beta. Better than El Capitan, actually.  I had been sort of thinking about upgrading this year, but I don't see any particular need to, at this point. Besides, this MBP is already nice and beat up, so I don't have to worry about OCD'ing over new scratches. When I do replace the MBP, it will almost certainly be with a new iPad Pro, which will replace both this and my first-get iPad Pro.

Edited August 7, 2019 by EdipisReks1

[crappyjones123]

Greetings from South Florida! 

Would anyone be interested in a mint condition 2018 13" MacBook Pro (2.3 ghz i5 quad core, 8gb ram, 256 gb ssd) with Touch Bar (space gray)? AppleCare+ until 08/21/2021. Figured I'd try here before I went to eBay and the likes. Currently has the Catalina beta but I can take it back down to the last stable release upon request. Comes with all the original box/papers. Grant work requires me to go back to a windows device  

Edited August 8, 2019 by crappyjones123

[EdipisReks1]

24 minutes ago, crappyjones123 said:

Greetings from South Florida! 

Would anyone be interested in a mint condition 2018 13" MacBook Pro (2.3 ghz i5 quad core, 8gb ram, 256 gb ssd) with Touch Bar (space gray)? AppleCare+ until 08/21/2021. Figured I'd try here before I went to eBay and the likes. Currently has the Catalina beta but I can take it back down to the last stable release upon request. Comes with all the original box/papers. Grant work requires me to go back to a windows device  

Just put windows on it.

[sbelyo]

9 minutes ago, EdipisReks1 said:

Just put windows on it.

+1

[morphsci]

37 minutes ago, EdipisReks1 said:

Just put windows on it.

27 minutes ago, sbelyo said:

+1

Agreed! Windows sucks, but it sucks a lot less on a Mac.

[crappyjones123]

31 minutes ago, EdipisReks1 said:

Just put windows on it.

Can't do that. Institutional guidelines for computers storing data for NSF projects say clean windows install on a PC that can be remotely wiped in case of theft/loss. IT won't install windows or let me do it on a Mac. 

[morphsci]

I'm so glad that I am old enough to tell IT and any institution I work for to go pound dirt or I will bring in my grants as a private consultant. Science is not for political hacks, i.e campus administrators.

[crappyjones123]

3 minutes ago, morphsci said:

I'm so glad that I am old enough to tell IT and any institution I work for to go pound dirt or I will bring in my grants as a private consultant. Science is not for political hacks, i.e campus administrators.

I don't have tenure so can't do that  

[morphsci]

Oh, I understand completely.

[EdipisReks1]

27 minutes ago, crappyjones123 said:

Can't do that. Institutional guidelines for computers storing data for NSF projects say clean windows install on a PC that can be remotely wiped in case of theft/loss. IT won't install windows or let me do it on a Mac. 

You can easily remotely wipe a windows install in Bootcamp, the same way you can on a PC. They are both basically the same hardware.  I used to set this up for NSF and NIH grant stuff all the time. There is no difference, and it's certainly a "clean install" on a new partition.

Edited August 8, 2019 by EdipisReks1

[crappyjones123]

1 minute ago, EdipisReks1 said:

You can easily remotely wipe a windows install in Bootcamp, the same way you can on a PC. They are both basically the same hardware.  I used to set this up for NSF and NIH grant stuff all the time.

I have no doubt it is possible. The IT dolts refuse to do it. To them, OS X goes on a Mac and Windows goes on a PC. Anything else and they stick their heads back in the sand. 

[EdipisReks1]

Just now, crappyjones123 said:

I have no doubt it is possible. The IT dolts refuse to do it. To them, OS X goes on a Mac and Windows goes on a PC. Anything else and they stick their heads back in the sand. 

I'm sorry your IT department sucks.  The unwillingness to learn is a lot more common than actual technical issues, in my experience, and we all know how common actual technical issues are.  Good luck selling the laptop, it's certainly a nice one.

[sbelyo]

In similar situations I sometimes make the techs realize that the client is paying their salary.  I usually get silence after that and then my way.  However I understand the situation

[EdipisReks1]

43 minutes ago, sbelyo said:

In similar situations I sometimes make the techs realize that the client is paying their salary.  I usually get silence after that and then my way.  However I understand the situation

Too many IT support organizations have come to believe that they are the boss instead of being there to the make sure that the mission of the organization can be completed. I've found this at every level, and I've been pretty high up the totem pole in IT support.  It's a shame.

[Knuckledragger]

 

[Grahame]

Meanwhile ...

 

 

"

But, is it really titanium? The least green metal in existence?

I mean boil ilmenite in sulfuric acid until the iron dissolves out.

Filter, dry, and heat to red heat, then add chlorine gas to make TiCl4.

Condense that out of the exhaust, gather it up, and place into a reaction vessel with either sodium or calcium metal. Light it off, when the vessel stops bouncing, you have titanium sponge with salt. When it cools down, wash out the salt, and melt the titanium in a vacuum furnace to get a metal.

The good news is when you need a new number, given how hot titanium burns, disposing of the old card will be very entertaining.

Note, class D fire extinguishers do not work on titanium. Your choices are vacuum, carbon monoxide, and argon or helium."

Edited August 23, 2019 by Grahame

[Hopstretch]

So. Much. Butthurt.

[Knuckledragger]

Phew.  Just did the biggest rsync of my life:

sent 5660.55G bytes  received 14.84M bytes  36.49M bytes/sec
total size is 6496.07G  speedup is 1.15

That's not all of it, I had to restart after the first TB because I'm an idiot.  Now of course I need to prune and do it again.  O_o

[Dusty Chalk]

That’s a lot of porn.

Aye keed aye keed

[Grahame]

That’s a lot of porn. Aye keed aye keed

 

 

684,352GB

 

#CrocodileDundeeVoice

 

Now that's a lot of porn

 

 

 

[Kerry]

Here's a Mac'ish question...

I want to cast from my Windows 10 PC to an Allo media streamer that supports AirPlay.  I need it so I can play all the music videos you all post on my fancy rig  

Any recommendations?

Edited September 3, 2019 by Kerry

[strid3r]

21 hours ago, Kerry said:

Here's a Mac'ish question...

I want to cast from my Windows 10 PC to an Allo media streamer that supports AirPlay.  I need it so I can play all the music videos you all post on my fancy rig  

Any recommendations?

Sounds like you want something like AirParrot? https://www.airsquirrels.com/airparrot/