two, maybe three new macs incoming to the Kojackfamily household!

[kojack]

So, I have succumbed to the evil empire and I am getting macbooks and a studio to replace my dell pcs.  The xps8940 wil be replaced with a studio or Pro if I can get one on a good deal, the inspiron will be getting replaced with a new 14" maxed out pro, and the wifes inspiron will be getting replaced with an M2 macbook air in starlight. 

 

Got to have the ecosystem.  I hate to say it!  ha ha.  I will be trying macos asap!

 

[Aaron44126]

That's one way to get off of Windows.  I have given it deep consideration.  I use other Apple products (iPhone, Apple Watch, Apple TV, etc.) and I'm aware of how slick the interaction between devices in the ecosystem can be.  I'm also quite familiar with macOS (I was system admin for many years for a school that used Macs in labs and for faculty/staff systems).  And, it would be easier to transition my "workload" to macOS than to Linux, just because of the applications available.  I even have a Mac Mini that exists to allow me to build iOS apps (but mostly I use it to do iMessage from my Windows PC via a VNC connection).  I also applaud Apple for having the best rating for "treating end user privacy as more important than a higher profit margin" among the big tech companies (though they are not perfect in that regard).

 

...But...

• Man do I dislike the keyboard layout on their laptops.  Give me a numeric keypad, home/end and PgUp/PgDn keys please......
• It's not a great platform for gaming; the library for native games is pretty limited, and I wouldn't look forward to have to fight to get whatever Windows game that I want to play working through VMware Fusion / Crossover / etc.
• Apple does what Apple does — no guarantee that an app will still work when the yearly OS upgrade comes around, in particular if it is an older app (or game) that is no longer maintained, and it relies on something that Apple has deprecated or targets an older architecture.  (Apple has consistently offered a backwards compatibility solution when they switch platforms, and that is in place with "Rosetta 2" allowing Intel x64 macOS applications to run right now.  They have also consistently removed their backwards compatibility solutions after a period of time has passed, and I expect that will happen with "Rosetta 2" in due time.)  Microsoft and Linux both have a much stronger commitment to backwards compatibility.

[kojack]

2 hours ago, Aaron44126 said:

That's one way to get off of Windows.  I have given it deep consideration.  I use other Apple products (iPhone, Apple Watch, Apple TV, etc.) and I'm aware of how slick the interaction between devices in the ecosystem can be.  I'm also quite familiar with macOS (I was system admin for many years for a school that used Macs in labs and for faculty/staff systems).  And, it would be easier to transition my "workload" to macOS than to Linux, just because of the applications available.  I even have a Mac Mini that exists to allow me to build iOS apps (but mostly I use it to do iMessage from my Windows PC via a VNC connection).  I also applaud Apple for having the best rating for "treating end user privacy as more important than a higher profit margin" among the big tech companies (though they are not perfect in that regard).

 

...But...

• Man do I dislike the keyboard layout on their laptops.  Give me a numeric keypad, home/end and PgUp/PgDn keys please......
• It's not a great platform for gaming; the library for native games is pretty limited, and I wouldn't look forward to have to fight to get whatever Windows game that I want to play working through VMware Fusion / Crossover / etc.
• Apple does what Apple does — no guarantee that an app will still work when the yearly OS upgrade comes around, in particular if it is an older app (or game) that is no longer maintained, and it relies on something that Apple has deprecated or targets an older architecture.  (Apple has consistently offered a backwards compatibility solution when they switch platforms, and that is in place with "Rosetta 2" allowing Intel x64 macOS applications to run right now.  They have also consistently removed their backwards compatibility solutions after a period of time has passed, and I expect that will happen with "Rosetta 2" in due time.)  Microsoft and Linux both have a much stronger commitment to backwards compatibility.

Agreed 100 percent. The negatives are not as many compared to the positives. I am keeping my dells.  For what I would get selling them (not much), I will still have windows computers.  If I could get a reliable imessage solution for windows, I would stay put and save thousands.  I use imessage alot. So, for everything to work together, moving to macOS is my best bet. I am actually hyped to try a new powerful mac.  My last mac was 2011 when I had my mini and installed a small ssd and hdd plus maxed the ram in it.  I ran it through a 27" cinema monitor and LOVED that display. I would say I will get 2 studio monitors when I get the mac studio. 

[Reciever]

The one thing Apple understands is creating that cohesion between their devices, looking forward to seeing your feedback on the forums 🙂

[kojack]

The feedback will be delayed a little bit.  We were talking this morning and we are prioritizing everything to transition into our own home businesses we are planning.  The Mac, while I think it would be a great addition to us, will be put on the backburner for about 6 or 7 months.  We need some new photo and video imaging equipment so we are going to put our money to that first.  then transition to mac for our processing at a later date.  it's not like our computers right now are terrible old junk.  They are all great systems that work (besides iOS integration) of course. 

 

i may pick up an M1 mini used to start the transition sooner if I can find one locally for a decent price.  As it stands right now, the price tag for my macbook alone would be close to 5300 bucks Cdn.  I can get 2 new camera bodies, and lenses to get going with for that and create more income than the extra speed of the mac would provide at this time. 

 

No doubt, I will be transitioning to Apple silicon.  Just have to be smart about our money right now because I am hitting eject on my job and going home based full time within 6 months.  The wife, having a high paying job with healthcare here, will need some extra time to create steady home based income. She works from home now and has an awesome home office, but both of us want to work for US.  Not someone else. We are positioning ourselves to be only reliant on our computers and camera equipment, and not location. That way, when Colin get's out of high school next year, we can travel...work....and give him the best life seeing everything there is out there in the wild!

 

So, this will be put on pause for the time being.  I thought I could do what I need to do with my current cameras, but alas, I cannot.  They don't do video at all.  So we are going to get a lightweight current model camera mounted on a gimbal for video work, and then get a nice big camera that can take large zoom lenses and battery grip for balance for stills.  We are going to have a photography tour business starting up this summer so having some great gear for marketing will be essential!

[Aaron44126]

On the topic.

There are announcements today about new features coming to Windows 11 in March.

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2023/02/28/introducing-a-big-update-to-windows-11-making-the-everyday-easier-including-bringing-the-new-ai-powered-bing-to-the-taskbar/

 

One that caught my eye is "Introducing Phone Link for iOS in preview".  Apparently, Microsoft is (finally) adding their own iOS integration and it includes messaging support.

 

Wonder if it'll work better than Intel's....

(Glad to see progress in this area, but I'm still not likely to upgrade to Windows 11 until towards the end of next year, at the earliest.  Maybe I'll give this a try in a VM after the update is out.)

 

[Edit]

There's another article specifically about this.  Looks like it might be available to "Insiders" only for now?  Kind of misleading since most of Panay's post was about features included with the March 14 production update to Windows 11.

https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/02/28/previewing-phone-link-for-iphone-users-on-windows-11-with-windows-insiders/

[kojack]

Well the camera hunt escalated quickly. I have a fuji xt3 and xh1 purchased and I will be picking both up on the 11th. 

[kojack]

18 hours ago, Aaron44126 said:

On the topic.

There are announcements today about new features coming to Windows 11 in March.

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2023/02/28/introducing-a-big-update-to-windows-11-making-the-everyday-easier-including-bringing-the-new-ai-powered-bing-to-the-taskbar/

 

One that caught my eye is "Introducing Phone Link for iOS in preview".  Apparently, Microsoft is (finally) adding their own iOS integration and it includes messaging support.

 

Wonder if it'll work better than Intel's....

(Glad to see progress in this area, but I'm still not likely to upgrade to Windows 11 until towards the end of next year, at the earliest.  Maybe I'll give this a try in a VM after the update is out.)

 

[Edit]

There's another article specifically about this.  Looks like it might be available to "Insiders" only for now?  Kind of misleading since most of Panay's post was about features included with the March 14 production update to Windows 11.

https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2023/02/28/previewing-phone-link-for-iphone-users-on-windows-11-with-windows-insiders/

I can almost guarantee it's going to work better than Unison.  Unison is just mobile connect, which was flakey at the best of times.  I NEVER got it working correctly when screenovate had it, or now intel.  The is something flawed in the code somewhere.