Everything Apple (the Mac heads thread)

Didn’t even occur to me that you could get apple parts for a 2013 MacBook

Managed to get big sur sorted, usb hub arrived so I set an external hard drive up as a boot drive and all worked fine. Huzzah.

🥳

Did you not try command r?

Anyone got one of these apple multi port adapters (a1621) or later model (a2119), or a non apple alternative. It’s the usb c one.

Had mine for about 6mths and think the cable’s gone, as external monitor isn’t getting any signal.
Let me know.

2 Attachments

Anyone else with a 2018 mini having bluetooth issues? Mine has been horrible since I got it but the other day google told me to avoid the usb3 outlets and only use the usbc ones. Got a usbc>usb dongle and voila, heaps better. Still not perfect but 95% usable now. Just ordered an extension lead, hoping that will sort out the last niggles.

(can't believe I'm having these issues with a top end apple device)

Why is my mac and my iPhone showing quite different weather forecasts ?

Different providers. iPhones are on Dark Sky (which Apple bought). Macs are still on weather.com.

..ah, that makes sense, thanks!

Anyone using https://tryshift.com/ ?

Giving it a go but not super impressed so far. Am I missing something?

I hadn't heard of it before but can't see what problem it's trying to solve.

'Tired of logging in and out of your accounts?'
No... I stay logged in, and tab between things if I need to, doesn't everyone?

All the apps they reference on their homepage have web versions so it just seems like they've skinned a browser and moved the tabs from the top to the left.

That's exactly it. It helps a few things though. Each trello board gets its own tab, same with slack. That removes a flew clicks for me which is good but the rest of the experience is quite meh

$100+ per year too

I’d have thought you could just use grouped tabs for that too. The urls should be trivial to find out for each slack or trello

And you can save tab groups
https://blog.google/products/chrome/manage-tabs-with-google-chrome/

$100 a year is definitely punchy for something that’s just a browser skin

I think it's for people who have multiple logins for the same site?

Although that must be a small niche once you deduct systems like gmail that allow multiple simultaneous logins natively.

Hard cover for a 2017 13 inch MBP, is the one below the go to, or are there better ones to consider? It's by far the nicest laptop I've ever had so I'm inclined to try and protect it. Are there any other protective things for it that are worth considering? I've got one of those zip cases for it already.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/UESWILL-MacBook-Smooth-Thunderbolt-without-Black/dp/B01MXL3CDD/ref=asc_df_B01MXL3CDD/

I never used hard covers for laptops. In my opinion they make the gorgeous thing look and feel shit, and still - if you drop it it will most likely brake, so you just don't drop it, like with expensive cameras.

What I did get (originally because I needed to use the laptop in rooms filled with sun regularly) is a proper anti-glare sheet for the screen:
https://www.moshi.com/en/product/ivisor-washable-screen-protector/black-clear-matte-for-macbook-pro-air-13-thunderbolt-3-usb-c/?model=51
..turns out I left it on even now I don't work in the sunny space any more, but matte appearance is just so nice on the eyes it's worth it. Plus no more oily smudges (from your keyboard) on the glossy screen (or you can wipe away super easy). Do recommend.

Seconded on cases/covers etc—I recommend getting something appropriately protective for transport eg neoprene sleeve, but use it unencumbered.

A long time ago I used to spec the matte [sic] screens on work MacBooks—so much better, it is a shame that Apple don’t do them any more.

Interesting! Do you know if there’s something similar for the LG 5K or iMac 27”?

The secondhand Macbook Air I bought came with a similar hard case. The tabs that hold the bottom half on got in the way and then quickly snapped off. But the screen half is still on, isn't noticable and I've knocked the thing off the arm of my sofa open onto a hard floor multiple times without ever breaking it, so maybe it does something useful.

(though that might be h*lm*t-saved-my-life thinking)

I think it's for people who have multiple logins for the same site?

I have multiple logins for the same sites, as we're managing a couple of different sub-brands. But, I just have a browser for each brand, otherwise the cookies start to get upset.

Interesting! Do you know if there’s something similar for the LG 5K or iMac 27”?

Yea, there is, just google it 😉

Shift is out. I like the idea but the implementation and UI leaves a few things to ask. Got everything set up yesterday and today when I started my machine a few trello tabs had reset into the main view so had to select all boards again. Slack had logged out of 3 teams of 6 without telling me, so no messages came through.

The UI doesn't allow for favicons or labels on the tabs (unless they're maxed out in size, taking up about 15-20% of the screen which is just a waste of space) so I either have to learn which of the 6 slack icons is which, and the same for the trello boards I'm on.

Also, I can duplicate the trello app and swap the app icon out, giving me direct access to boards, avoiding a click. win.

2013 MacBook Air has started freezing up completely - only way out is a hard restart. Seems linked to chrome use, but that may only be because chrome is basically the only thing I run on it these days.

It’s on big sur and I’m seeing others report similar issues with no obvious solution.

Tried pram and nvram (or whatever the two different resets are called), tried booting with “d” and running a hardware test. All made no difference.

Any ideas before I buy a chrome book?

I’m guessing blow everything away with a fresh install, maybe even of Catalina which is all a pain in the backside.

Try using safari for a bit?