Stick with Mac or move to Windows?

[paisleywookiee]

What's all this back and forth about Windows vs. MacOSX?

Some people use Linux, ya know.

Oh man, I’d love to run Linux for audio. I give it a shot like once a year.

I'm not running Windows at all.

Yeah I know. Just making a statement about machines online. While I wouldn’t want to run an old MacOS online, I wouldn’t even want to run Windows 11 online, if it’s a crucial machine.

 

[paisleywookiee]

FWIW, I like Ubuntu Studio quite a bit. It’s got a low latency kernel option, works well with class/compliant devices like the UA Volt and MOTU M4, and comes loaded with a lot of audio tools. Additionally, you can get Tracktion Waveform for free, or with paid add-ons that work well with Ubuntu Studio. Bigwig Studio also has a Linux version.

Ubuntu Studio – A free and open operating system for creative people.

ubuntustudio.org

 

[laxu]

I care because Apple purposely obsoletes perfectly good HW to sell more HW, where with DIY PC's you can build what you want, and upgrade it however you want. Sure there are hacks to use newer Apple OS's on older Apple HW assuming the various CPU's line up etc, but it's just a PITA.

Apple also tends to obsolete peripherals, or require proprietary cabling, just profit generating BS that I choose to ignore. I can build a comparable or stronger PC for less, and config it exactly how I want it.

Apple has largely moved to USB-C, thanks to EU pressure. The only proprietary connector is the power connector and even that terminates to USB-C, or you can use a USB-C power adapter instead if you are willing to sacrifice a port for that.

When I travel for work, I never take my Apple charger with me and instead bring a Baseus power adapter with 4 ports. I can use it to charge the laptop, my phone, smartwatch, tablet etc. as needed.

You will however want to carry a USB-C to USB-A hub with you as there's still plenty of gear that is not connecting via USB-C. Older audio interfaces, mice, keyboards, anything that uses Micro or Mini USB...you just usually don't have the right cable or adapter handy to plug those into USB-C.

My mother still uses a really old Intel Mac that is running a years old MacOS version. It still works alright.

iOS and iPadOS are way more problematic for Apple making them obsolete by no longer supporting the hardware. Many app developers leave their app compatibility at whatever default XCode offers and that eventually does not cover an older device, even though the app would work just fine functionally. I wanted to set my parents' old iPad to allow them to use e.g streaming services from the tablet easier, but many of those apps would not work on the old iOS version just because the app compatibility was marked for "higher than this version".

 

[JasonE]

Resurrecting my own thread. I finally go a message that Chrome can't even get updates on my MacBook Pro anymore. I went to the Apple store in May to look at what a new Mac would cost me. They told me to wait until June because that is when something new was coming out. Well, I finally got to the point where I had enough stuff open on my MacBook Pro that it was causing some glitching so I knew it was finally time. I bought a new Mac Studio. I bumped up the RAM and the SSD on it. It has the M4 MAX chip in it. Man was this thing freaking expensive. This is the most I have paid for a computer in my life. Hopefully I get 10 years of use out of this like the last one because this one cost me 1k more than the last one did. I got it all set up over the past week. I bought a couple of portable monitors and connected to it that set on the lower level of my desk. This gives me 3 screens to work with. Thankfully I found an adapter that allows me to use my existing 27" 4K monitor with it. One of the portable monitors I bought is a touchscreen. I am hoping that helps with some adjustments on the third screen. However I have already discovered a strange thing with it not being the active screen when I touch it.

 

[paisleywookiee]

It’ll last ten years. I’m on year 6 with just a Mac mini M1, and it still runs Logic really well.

 

[gearJunkie]

Resurrecting my own thread. I finally go a message that Chrome can't even get updates on my MacBook Pro anymore. I went to the Apple store in May to look at what a new Mac would cost me. They told me to wait until June because that is when something new was coming out. Well, I finally got to the point where I had enough stuff open on my MacBook Pro that it was causing some glitching so I knew it was finally time. I bought a new Mac Studio. I bumped up the RAM and the SSD on it. It has the M4 MAX chip in it. Man was this thing freaking expensive. This is the most I have paid for a computer in my life. Hopefully I get 10 years of use out of this like the last one because this one cost me 1k more than the last one did. I got it all set up over the past week. I bought a couple of portable monitors and connected to it that set on the lower level of my desk. This gives me 3 screens to work with. Thankfully I found an adapter that allows me to use my existing 27" 4K monitor with it. One of the portable monitors I bought is a touchscreen. I am hoping that helps with some adjustments on the third screen. However I have already discovered a strange thing with it not being the active screen when I touch it.

That M4 MAX chip is a BEAST!

You'll get plenty of life out of that rig. With enough RAM, you can run some of the biggest "AI" large language models locally.

Enjoy!

 

[EOengineer]

Resurrecting my own thread. I finally go a message that Chrome can't even get updates on my MacBook Pro anymore. I went to the Apple store in May to look at what a new Mac would cost me. They told me to wait until June because that is when something new was coming out. Well, I finally got to the point where I had enough stuff open on my MacBook Pro that it was causing some glitching so I knew it was finally time. I bought a new Mac Studio. I bumped up the RAM and the SSD on it. It has the M4 MAX chip in it. Man was this thing freaking expensive. This is the most I have paid for a computer in my life. Hopefully I get 10 years of use out of this like the last one because this one cost me 1k more than the last one did. I got it all set up over the past week. I bought a couple of portable monitors and connected to it that set on the lower level of my desk. This gives me 3 screens to work with. Thankfully I found an adapter that allows me to use my existing 27" 4K monitor with it. One of the portable monitors I bought is a touchscreen. I am hoping that helps with some adjustments on the third screen. However I have already discovered a strange thing with it not being the active screen when I touch it.

Honestly a wise choice. Pay once, cry once, and then move on to instant pain free productivity.

 

[Mikael Dez]

Honestly a wise choice. Pay once, cry once, and then move on to instant pain free productivity.

Like when I bought my Tacoma

 

[JasonE]

That M4 MAX chip is a BEAST!

You'll get plenty of life out of that rig. With enough RAM, you can run some of the biggest "AI" large language models locally.

Enjoy!

I got it with 64 GB of RAM and 2 TB of SSD.

 

[Mikael Dez]

I got it with 64 GB of RAM and 2 TB of SSD.

 

[laxu]

I got it with 64 GB of RAM and 2 TB of SSD.

Oof, with Apple price gouging that's a lot of money. Congrats on your new machine, hope it works great for a very long time!

 

[Dave Lewis]

Best place for windozs is in buildings and transport .
Once you’ve been Mac you don’t go back

 

[Sascha Franck]

It’ll last ten years. I’m on year 6 with just a Mac mini M1, and it still runs Logic really well.

Hm, they were released in fall 2020.

 

[paisleywookiee]

Hm, they were released in fall 2020.

Okay, five years. Point still stands.

 

[Blix]

Hm, they were released in fall 2020.

Tell me about it, I bought my Mac mini summer 2020...
But my Intel MM is still holding up great, this one you could (carefully) open up and install more RAM yourself, I have 32Gb in mine.
There's a few features in Lightroom and Logic I don't have access to not having an M processor but nothing I care about.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Okay, five years. Point still stands.

Sure. I was merely checking whether my memory served me right.

 

[LP59]

The M4 Mac mini is a sweet spot for music. A real bargain. I got a M4 Pro Mac Studio for the extra I/O, but I have second thoughts that maybe I should have saved the money and gone for the Mac Mini.

 

[Sascha Franck]

The M4 Mac mini is a sweet spot for music. A real bargain. I got a M4 Pro Mac Studio for the extra I/O, but I have second thoughts that maybe I should have saved the money and gone for the Mac Mini.

Yeah, for anything music production related, a Mini should be sufficient (ok, maybe minus real ambitious orchestral stuff). Even my M3 MBA is never touching any limits.

 

[sashimi]

They had m4 mac minis on sale at costco for $499 around Christmas, so I bought one on an impulse. Yeah it only has 250g of internal storage, but it came with 16g ram, the first time a base model mini came with more than 8g, and at that price, I just plug a 2tb ssd in and leave it there. Awesome deal for a powerful computer. It is more than enough for music production.