Probably buying base MacBook Pro 14"

Quiz said:
How is the CalDigit Element Hub? I just need a dock/hub with extra USB ports.

https://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-4-element-hub/
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CalDigit is a known quantity. Should be good. The 'cheapest' quality option is from OWC. At least that I've found anyway.
https://a.co/d/hVYYZLa

If you want specifically USB type-A, it's "worse" as it has far fewer. But like the CalDigit, it's incredibly small and breaks out into 3x Thunderbolt. And it turns out generally that specific feature is incredibly expensive. And I'd say in terms of getting max connectivity it's the most important.

Here is the CalDigit here on Amazon: https://a.co/d/bpTIeTY

Either is good. If you want all those USB-A ports, get the CalDigit, should be solid. If you'd rather save a little money, get the OWC.
 
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If I want to use an external USB drive on both PC and Mac I have to format it in exFAT, correct?
 
Quiz said:
If I want to use an external USB drive on both PC and Mac I have to format it in exFAT, correct?
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Yes that is the easiest. Although macOS will do ntfs quite easily like most Linux builds.
 
Well, I would be ready to return while you still can tomorrow if the rumors are true later today. If they release M3 Pro/Max today per the rumors - I would 100% return your M2 Pro MacBook if it's still within the two week return window. Going to have a lot of pissed off M2 Pro/max MacBook Pro owners with Apple not sticking to the yearly release schedule.
 
Mchart said:
Well, I would be ready to return while you still can tomorrow if the rumors are true later today. If they release M3 Pro/Max today per the rumors - I would 100% return your M2 Pro MacBook if it's still within the two week return window. Going to have a lot of pissed off M2 Pro/max MacBook Pro owners with Apple not sticking to the yearly release schedule.
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My return window ended the day they announced the event.
 
I am still very happy with my work laptop (M1 Pro 16”). It wasn’t the best and fastest of the lineup (that would have been the M1 Max) but it does everything I need it to (Adobe audio and video workflow).

Be happy with what you have. It‘s a great system that will last you years. Yes, it sucks that you bought it just before a major announcement but if you always waited for something better you’d never buy anything.
 
Oh well. I won't be gaming or doing anything intensive on it so I doubt I'd notice the difference with the new chips.
 
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Quiz said:
My return window ended the day they announced the event.
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Yeap. If it makes you feel better they did the same thing to me back in 2019. Except worse. In May of that year they did an MBP refresh. And then in November they did a full machine update. I spent over $4000 on a machine at launch that 6 months later had a machine for half that that was equivalent in speed (other than RAM). So in that situation I "did everything right", and still basically had to take a bath on that loss.
 
It seems the M3 Pro has lower memory bandwidth than the M1 Pro and M2 Pro: 150 GB/sec vs. 200 GB/sec.
 
Quiz said:
It seems the M3 Pro has lower memory bandwidth than the M1 Pro and M2 Pro: 150 GB/sec vs. 200 GB/sec.
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Where'd you pull that number from?

Though I would stress that that number means nothing in a void. You'd have to wait for benchmarks to know whether that poses any limitations. And I highly doubt, even if true, that it does.
 
UnknownSouljer said:
Where'd you pull that number from?

Though I would stress that that number means nothing in a void. You'd have to wait for benchmarks to know whether that poses any limitations. And I highly doubt, even if true, that it does.
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Compare the specs of the M2 Pro to the M3 Pro on Apple's website comparison tool for the MacBook Pro.
 
Screenshot from Apple's comparison tool.
 

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Trade-in price for my just bought MacBook Pro is around $588 according to Apple's website. LOL.
 
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Quiz said:
Trade-in price for my just bought MacBook Pro is around $588 according to Apple's website. LOL.
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I wouldn’t worry about it. The pro chip itself has the smallest differences since they cut back on cores which also means a loss is memory bandwidth. No benchmarks yet, but the estimate isn’t high for the m2 pro to m3 pro.
 
I don't have to ship it myself. A courier company will come pick it up from my house.

As for what I'll get instead? Honestly, I think I'm just going to stick with PC for now. Over these last three weeks of using macOS for pretty much the first time, I gradually got to "understand" it but I'm not sure if it "naturally clicks" with me like Windows does. Windows just seems more logical to me on the basis of how it works. If I can explain this properly, it's as if on Windows I get work done without having to think because things are and work how it "naturally" should. On macOS I feel like I am "using the OS" by having to understand its logic. There seem to be constant small annoyances in macOS that I don't have in Windows. Maybe it's because I grew up with Windows and need to spend more time with macOS to truly appreciate it. However, I was always fascinated by Macs because I loved their hardware design and the "fluidity" of macOS but never got to use one properly for an extended period of time. While I now have a much better understanding of how macOS works, I still feel more at home on Windows.

Edit: If I can sum this up based on my brief experience with macOS, Windows feels like a tool while macOS feels like a luxury appliance.
 
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However, note that I am still interested in macOS. I want to see how the new M3 Pro chip performs in real-world tests once it gets in the hands of reviewers/testers. I actually may order the MacBook Pro 14" with the base M3 Pro chip (which is the same price as the base M2 Pro model I ordered) to give it a second chance.
 
Quiz said:
I don't have to ship it myself. A courier company will come pick it up from my house.

As for what I'll get instead? Honestly, I think I'm just going to stick with PC for now. Over these last three weeks of using macOS for pretty much the first time, I gradually got to "understand" it but I'm not sure if it "naturally clicks" with me like Windows does. Windows just seems more logical to me on the basis of how it works. If I can explain this properly, it's as if on Windows I get work done without having to think because things are and work how it "naturally" should. On macOS I feel like I am "using the OS" by having to understand its logic. There seem to be constant small annoyances in macOS that I don't have in Windows. Maybe it's because I grew up with Windows and need to spend more time with macOS to truly appreciate it. However, I was always fascinated by Macs because I loved their hardware design and the "fluidity" of macOS but never got to use one properly for an extended period of time. While I now have a much better understanding of how macOS works, I still feel more at home on Windows.

Edit: If I can sum this up based on my brief experience with macOS, Windows feels like a tool while macOS feels like a luxury appliance.
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You're welcome to your opinion of course. But I think your realization that a good chunk of it has to do with what you're used to is dead on. If you switched to Linux, you'd similarly have to go through a fairly large learning curve.

At its core, macOS is BSD. You can run the entire OS from Terminal if you so choose, which is more or less as power user as you can get.

But I will definitely tell you this all comes down to use case. If you don't want or need to run any apps in macOS or don't prefer it, then there isn't any reason for you to continue owning a Mac. The big advantage for someone like you would probably just be long amounts of battery life that you can use for YouTube, browsing, and office tasks etc. If your core usage on a PC is gaming, then for sure macOS isn't for you. Though I am currently enjoying Cyberpunk 2077 on Crossover with it. I still wouldn't recommend it for anyone who wants to game other than casually or is into a vary narrow set of single player games. (Baldurs Gate 3, games from Obsidian like Tyranny, games from Larian, SE, etc).

Similarly if you were a video editor and you needed a mobile machine, your opinion would probably be a lot different after experiencing the M series media engine in a program like Davinci Resolve. Or Lightroom etc.
 
UnknownSouljer said:
You're welcome to your opinion of course. But I think your realization that a good chunk of it has to do with what you're used to is dead on. If you switched to Linux, you'd similarly have to go through a fairly large learning curve.

At its core, macOS is BSD. You can run the entire OS from Terminal if you so choose, which is more or less as power user as you can get.

But I will definitely tell you this all comes down to use case. If you don't want or need to run any apps in macOS or don't prefer it, then there isn't any reason for you to continue owning a Mac. The big advantage for someone like you would probably just be long amounts of battery life that you can use for YouTube, browsing, and office tasks etc. If your core usage on a PC is gaming, then for sure macOS isn't for you. Though I am currently enjoying Cyberpunk 2077 on Crossover with it. I still wouldn't recommend it for anyone who wants to game other than casually or is into a vary narrow set of single player games. (Baldurs Gate 3, games from Obsidian like Tyranny, games from Larian, SE, etc).

Similarly if you were a video editor and you needed a mobile machine, your opinion would probably be a lot different after experiencing the M series media engine in a program like Davinci Resolve. Or Lightroom etc.
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I'm going to be doing some photo/video editing as part of a new contract. I probably could have done it on my M2 Air but figured I'd step up to an MBP when the M3 was released.
 
I agree. It's probably my use case. Since I don't have genuine reason to use macOS, it might not be for me. I'm not much of a gamer these days but do play a few games once in a while so gaming is not the reason why I returned it. However, I did find quite a few things that I liked about macOS which I think it does better than Windows. As I said earlier, I may even get the base model M3 Pro of the MacBook Pro 14" once reviews/tests start rolling in.
 
They key with macOS just like windows is just learning the key combinations for certain things. Once you have that down - IMO, MacOS is better for actual work. Even more so if you're used to using bash/linux and like to make use of the CLI. Finally, if you use an iPhone the integration with a Mac is kind of a no brainer with the text, phone, and handoff integration.
 
I have got to say browsing the Internet on the MacBook with Safari was FAR snappier than my desktop PC with Chrome on a very outdated 3930K.

On the browser-based Speedometer test, my desktop PC (on Chrome with a 3930K) scored 168. The MacBook scored almost 500.

https://browserbench.org/
 
Mchart said:
They key with macOS just like windows is just learning the key combinations for certain things. Once you have that down - IMO, MacOS is better for actual work. Even more so if you're used to using bash/linux and like to make use of the CLI. Finally, if you use an iPhone the integration with a Mac is kind of a no brainer with the text, phone, and handoff integration.
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I agree. The integration with my iPhone was pretty awesome.

I am on the verge of ordering a 14" base model M3 Pro but just need some time to think about it.
 
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Quick question:

If macOS is better for work and productivity than Windows, why do you usually need to install a third-party app on macOS to achieve what you can natively on Windows? For example, on macOS you need to install a third-party app just to be able to have separate scrolling directions for a mouse and the trackpad but Windows does this natively.
 
Quiz said:
Quick question:

If macOS is better for work and productivity than Windows, why do you usually need to install a third-party app on macOS to achieve what you can natively on Windows? For example, on macOS you need to install a third-party app just to be able to have separate scrolling directions for a mouse and the trackpad but Windows does this natively.
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It requires no secondary application(s).
Screenshot 2023-11-01 at 8.52.59 PM.png
Screenshot 2023-11-01 at 8.53.12 PM.png


I'll also note that you may have selection bias. Work tools work differently. Even in regards to ergonomics. For perhaps a more 'tactile' example, cameras all operate very differently.

I would still tell you to use the tool that works best for you.
 
Didn't know that. I was just going by what I was reading on Reddit and other places where people were complaining about this.

By the way, the first benchmarks of the M3 chips have surfaced online. Pretty impressive.

Come to think of it, I thought I had purchased my MacBook at the worst possible time but it seems it was the best possible time. I bought it unknowingly close to the Apple event and had Apple not released the M3 chips, I would have kept it. Since they did release the chips, I got to return it since it was within the return period.
 
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It's the simple stuff that just works better for me on MacOS. Namely - Printers. At home, my Mac always works with my laser and inkjet printer from different brands. Always. My windows computers? It's a fucking crapshoot. I usually have to re-install the printer every time I want to use it on my Windows computers at home.

Finally, while it's not as big of a deal anymore - But PDF support on MacOS was historically better, and of course it still natively supports it now without needing Adobe reader, etc installed.

Finally, like I said before - If you know bash/linux MacOS is great because of the CLI. Yes, since Windows added powershell it's also very capable - But I'm more familiar with bash/linux then learning powershell/windows under the hood. So for me various task automation / scripting is easier to do on MacOS.
 
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In Chrome on Windows, if you middle-click on a link it opens the link in a new tab. Can you do something similar on macOS with Safari when using a Magic Mouse (or even a non-Apple mouse) without having to press Command before clicking on a link?
 
Quiz said:
In Chrome on Windows, if you middle-click on a link it opens the link in a new tab. Can you do something similar on macOS with Safari when using a Magic Mouse (or even a non-Apple mouse) without having to press Command before clicking on a link?
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Yes, my Logitech mouse does that. I don’t use Apple mice. They are complete garbage, and have been since the original iMac. Still have my IIfx mouse…
 
Quiz said:
In Chrome on Windows, if you middle-click on a link it opens the link in a new tab. Can you do something similar on macOS with Safari when using a Magic Mouse (or even a non-Apple mouse) without having to press Command before clicking on a link?
Click to expand...

Hold the command key while clicking a link.
 
I'll also note that I think the Magic Mouse is... not a good product. And that's being generous. However if you were using a desktop Mac, I do think the Magic Trackpad is a useful tool, even in addition to a mouse., as it just does certain things better. Office tasks/browsing/desktop usage just feels great on Trackpad, as do all of the gestures. But anything that requires fine selection a mouse is much better for. Editing video for example doesn't "require" a mouse, but man it does much better at getting single pixel precision drop ins or changes on a timeline that are frustrating to do with a trackpad (a lot of back and forth without getting it where you want it).

I've been a long time Logitech Master user, just got the 3S, when it was on Amex sale through Slickdeals 2 weeks back and had a 2S before that. Definitely enjoying the upgraded experience. Though Logitech software still could be a bit better.
 
Being able to swipe through a video timeline using the Magic Mouse is wondeful.I hate trackpads with a passion so the Magic Mouse is a godsend for it.

My usage of the Mac vs. a PC running Windows is that we receive media from people using Mac-only products. Otherwise I’d be perfectly happy using a PC for work. I do prefer using the Mac for work despite that.
 
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