Everything Apple (the Mac heads thread)

I can’t find a link on my phone but while you have it in mind look up how to make a home brew script that will install all of these for you ... saves so much time in the future.

Edit: https://www.caseyliss.com/2019/10/8/brew-bundle

I used to use OmniGraffle a lot, then last year discovered drawio (now called https://app.diagrams.net/ ) useful and free.

VLC for media playing, or ElMedia Player is also not that bad and has more features.

BTW Docker for MacOS will shamelessly show "New Version Available" dialogs on top of Zwift (erm, full screen apps) true story.

Talked to an AppleCare specialist today, they couldn't help me with late remote returns. I would guess they'd also turn me back from the brick and mortar store when they reopen, as I purchased from the online store.

They're suggesting a SMC reset for my fan problems. It clearly can't handle my workload sometimes and will fire up the fan for a long time. I'll try the reset, but I don't think it will help. Not a fan.

My work Macbook has started to really struggle when running google hangouts.

I have Slack and google chrome running all the time but nothing else, average amount of tabs and very few extensions.

Suggestions?

I'll switch to Safari for Hangouts/Meet tomorrow and see if it makes a difference for me.

Anyone got an iPhone (6 is fine) they want to sell me? My borrowed SE with a broken home button has now started to get ominously hot for no reason and I think it’s time it retired.

have you looked at Activity Monitor while this happens?

Anyone run Parallels?
My work Mac mini has started to burn up when parallels is working, its been running perfectly until the last couple of days. Maybe its Windows causing the issue, usually Id hand it off to someone who knows what they are doing in the office, but CoVid.

What secondary displays are good?

The 13" MBP doesn't have a great deal of screen real estate... so I'm looking for a display to attach to it. Doesn't have to be excessively large (in fact I have a 32" monitor at home which I'll have access to in 4 months or so) but I would like it to have very high resolution and very good colour. Something in the 20-24" region but super high quality?!

Apple snobs dismiss them but I love my LG Ultrafine. Integrates really well, decent camera and speakers for remote work and looks lovely. Beware of bugs crawling into it though *.

* May only apply to screens in offices in Hitchin.

I’m about to sell a Samsung 32” 4K if you’re interested. Would be good value...

It’s the U32E850R.

Comes with original stand and gas lift mount.

Why are you selling it?

I'm wary of "this is a good monitor" + "I'm selling mine" :D I wouldn't sell the NEC I have at home for anything... so what's wrong with the Samsung? What are you replacing it with and why wouldn't I just buy that?

I'm actually wondering whether buying the largest iPad and using sidecar is plausible... has anyone done that?

The Dell Ultrasharp monitors are really nice, I've had one for ~5 years now and it still running flawlessly. Really good colour reproduction, matte surface and great pixel density (for the time).

Although there was chat a couple of pages back about certain monitors not playing nice with the "retina" scaling on macs?

Another vote for the LG Ultrafine 27", really like mine. My only niggle is that it's a bit unstable compared to an iMac

We have two offices right now as we’re both working from home. Wife stops working July 1st so we’re dismantling that setup, selling the gaming PC and getting rid of the desk.

I’ve now got a 27” 1440p monitor as it’s got USB C power delivery and I want minimum cabling for my work setup. Also, frankly, it’s too big for the window that it would sit in front of now.

New setup (27” Dell) / old setup (32” Samsung):

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Are those monitor stands good?

So much better than just the stand. Keeps the desk cleaner, easy to move around and really not expensive.

The one connected to the 27” was £25 on Amazon.

tempted to get one for my monitor now. I quite often need to have a notebook or pad open on my desk and I currently can't really put it above the keyboard as the monitor stand is there

How do people find using a 32" monitor? I currently have dual 22" HD monitors and am considering moving to one 32" monitor to make the setup a bit neater and mean it can also be used as a spare TV but am wondering what actually using one is like. Can you still sit in the same place or do you need to be further back? Main use would be internet, email, Excel and Word (with occasional gaming).
Cheers

New setup

..so that's a motorized / programmable desk you have there?

Yes. Made the desk top myself and bought the frame. Love it.

If you’ve got the room, a 32” is great. Definitely want it to be on an arm or a large desk so you can sit it back a bit.

Drool. Nice wall color and whites too.

Yeah Dell Ultrasharps are great (as long as they're not glossy... some are) I used U2412M both at home&work for about 8 years and then upgraded to a U2415 (thin bezel, USB3.0 hub, more ports) for the last 2, I really like it. For 24", 1920x1200 is still very good I think.

So which model is your 27"? Can you fit a front tyre/bike under that standing desk for Zwift? Did you consider moving Dock to the left, I find it much more productive, but then I've been using it that way for more than a decade.

It’s the Dell U2719DC.

No need for zwift at the desk. This is my setup:

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