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Introducing the next generation of Mac

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Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#321

Post by spijdar »

heavyset_go wrote: post #290
OJFord wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know the answer^, but how old is your current old Mac hardware? I don't know about the desktops, but Macbooks from 2016 are not well supported hardware-wise in Linux - things like no WiFi even. There was a good GitHub repo tracking it for up to I think the first touchbar Pro, and basically it was dismal then and only got worse (according to repo owner who consequently stopped bothering iirc). So.. depending w…

> I don't know about the desktops, but Macbooks from 2016 are not well supported hardware-wise in Linux Which is unfortunate, because the 2015 models make great Linux machines. The introduction of the T2 chip made proper Linux support much harder to achieve.

Until 2019 Apple sold 13 inch MBPs without the touchbar, and these models did not have a T2 chip. They are still miserable computers to run Linux on, although I think the original 2016 touchbar-less MBP performs better than all the rest, albeit (IIRC) no working audio, very poor suspend/resume functionality, and until pretty recently no keyboard/trackpad functionality.

Oh, and Apple's NVMe interface is non-compliant. This is widely reported as Apple locking Linux out with the T2 chip, but that's not really true. The T2 chip will by default prevent unsigned kernels from reading/writing to the SSD, but this can be disabled.

Even if it's disabled, the controller is not standards compliant, and Linux won't see the underlying block device. I saw some diffs floating around on github a few years ago that fixed it, but I don't think it was ever mainlined.

Basically, post-2016, Apple seems to have incorporated even more custom (and undocumented) hardware that running alternative OSes on them is basically impossible. Windows works because of the Apple-provided HAL + drivers for WinNT.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#322

Post by TMWNN »

api wrote: post #8
SamuelAdams wrote: post #6

Super interesting how they kept the touchbar on the Macbook Pro keyboard but not on the Air. As a software developer, I'm going to be more likely to buy an Air just due to the keyboard.

Has anyone ever seen anyone use the Touch Bar? Like really use it?

If Touch Bar were in addition to the function keys + Escape key, everyone would praise it as yet another brilliant Apple innovation, and rivals would be copying it the way every notebook nowadays looks like the late-2008 unibody Macbook Pro (and really, all the way back to the 2001 titanium PowerBook). But it's not, so they don't and they aren't.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#323

Post by shrimpx »

The new Air looks good. The new mbp 13” not so much. If they’re going to lower the max ram they should at least provide an explanation why 16g in the new architecture is comparable to 32 in the previous, if that’s indeed the case.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#324

Post by jedberg »

ataylor32 wrote: post #225
jedberg wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you use function keys for? I was thinking about this, and I don't think I've used a function key in years.

I'm not the person you replied to, but I frequently use the play/pause key and also the volume keys. I occasionally use the function keys in my text editor too.

Ok yeah I guess I use volume sometimes.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#325

Post by qz2 »

wtetzner wrote: post #298
qz2 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally I tried using it for F keys which is quite frankly the only requirement I’d have and it was awful. At a fully extended hand, which you need to do if you’ve hit a meta key, it’s impossible to hit the right F keys every time. I don’t know how anyone writes code on those machines. It went back to the Apple store within a week and I got an air. Which went to the Apple store in a week because the keybbboooaaarr…

Which Thinkpad did you get, and how do you like it? Are you running Windows, or Linux? I'm trying to figure out what my next laptop should be, but I have no prior experience with Thinkpads.

T495s running Ubuntu 20.04. Absolutely perfect machine as far as I am concerned. Everything works flawlessly that I've tried and the quality is excellent. Really like it.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#326

Post by dawnerd »

ava1ar wrote: post #302
dawnerd wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I keep seeing comments about lack of MST support but they're ignoring that you can currently already like you say drive dual 4k60. I'm doing it right now.

You probably has monitors with native thunderbolt input? They are not that many such monitor exists. Without MST you are out of luck to do thing with Display Port (via DP, mDP or USB-C), and this is what majority of monitors on market has.

No, they're both DP. Thunderbolt 3 can do dual 4k60 over a single cable (including also providing power, ethernet, audio, etc) https://www.caldigit.com/ts3-plus/

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#327

Post by kllrnohj »

fastball wrote: post #276
kllrnohj wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Better memory management means less RAM can be better than more RAM No, it can't. If more RAM means it's slower RAM then maybe it can be better to have less of it in some workloads. But otherwise it's never better to have less RAM than more RAM. Better memory management can make the impact of less RAM be less severe, but it's still unambiguously worse. Especially if you have workloads that actually need the RAM lik…

Only worse if your only goal is "have more RAM". If the purpose of owning a computer is "get shit done", better memory management absolutely can be better than just throwing more RAM at the problem.

> better memory management absolutely can be better than just throwing more RAM at the problem.

Those are not competing in any way. Better memory management does not require nor benefit from less RAM.

Apple doesn't give you a different kernel when you choose the 8GB SKU instead of the 16GB one. It's the same software, just with less RAM. And having that less RAM is best case break-even in "day to day" experience, but never better.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#328

Post by brailsafe »

Performance gains are probably welcome aside from the ram limitation, though I was at 16gb anyway. For those mentioning USB ports on the pro, it seems like 4 are available on the highest spec version. I'm also excited for Big Sur, let's hope it isn't a catastrophe like Catalina was.

Otherwise I'm disappointed that there wasn't a physical design iteration. I was really hoping for something. MicroLED screen, faster refresh rate, different colours of unibody, smaller bezels, more durable anti-reflective coating, more dent resistance, but nothing AFAICT.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#329

Post by saagarjha »

cromka wrote: post #308
saagarjha wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's both.

No, no it's not. Rosetta Stone 2 does not virtualize and virtualization from x86 to Silicon (arm) will not be supported by Apple themselves.

It's called "Rosetta 2", and I have no idea why you're bringing up virtualization when I was talking about translation and emulation.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#330

Post by snowwrestler »

qz2 wrote: post #149
nottorp wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use 27 Gb of RAM currently on my hackintosh and none of my work VMs are on right now. No way I can get an arm Mac until they're available with 64+.

This. I was hitting a wall on RAM instantly at 32Gb.

Hitting a wall how? The machine stops working properly? Or you see all the RAM allocated in Activity Monitor? Because MacOS aggressively allocates RAM even under a normal workload.
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