Keg Quirk:

If you’re on the hunt for a new device, I’d seriously consider looking at an Intel Mac with Linux. They’re blazing fast, they look great, and are amazing value.

The only downside is that this window is closing. Apple’s move to the M-series chips means Linux support will be tougher over time. Projects like Asahi Linux exist, but support varies and the long-term outlook is unclear.

He bought a 2015 iMac for his son and set it up with Ubuntu Mate 24.04.

I think I basically have all of the Intel-based Mac hardware I really want or need. I suppose a Mac Pro would be rad to own, if only because that was the machine I dreamed of owning when I was in college. But honestly, I don’t have much use for one other than to feel cool for owning one. But that emotion is fleeting, especially since I can’t imagine anyone actually caring except me.

Apple’s decision to abandon hardware that’s more than a handful of years old does present a great opportunity, though. If you’re looking for handsome, stable hardware, at a decent price, you can do a lot worse than a late-model Intel Mac with Linux installed on it.

➝ Source: kevquirk.com

When I was working in retail, the Apple Watch was an excellent device for me. I could keep tabs on text messages or other notifications without having to get my iPhone out. It was also a great way for me to keep track of breaks and check the time to make sure that cashiers and stockers I was working with were ready to clock out of their shifts on time.

Now that I’m working at Automattic, though, I’m sitting in front of a computer for my entire work day. I still wear my Apple Watch, but not for the same reasons. Now, I literally only use it as a pomodoro timer — using it’s built-in timer app to take short, five minute breaks periodically throughout the day.

I could use my iPhone or another device for this, but I don’t want the timer to make a noise when it goes off. Just a simple vibrating nudge on my wrist is what I want — it’s silent and less jarring.

If there was a watch that offered this functionality without all of the smartwatch functionality and it was reasonably priced, I would buy it without hesitation.

➝ Source: kevquirk.com

Kev Quirk and ldstephens recently wrote about their collection of Apple devices and I, coincidentally, had already drafted a quick idea in Ulysses to document and share a list of my current computing devices. If only so I can better wrap my head around what hardware I’m using and what I use each device for.

iPhone 13 Pro: My true, primary, general purpose computing device. There’s very little that I can’t do from my iPhone, but it’s often more comfortable to perform the more intensive tasks from devices with larger screens. But it’s always with me, so it’s my main camera and gets used more often than any other device I own.

iPad Pro, 11-inch (3rd generation): Like my iPhone, but with a larger display. And that’s generally how I use it — for the majority of my computing tasks, but a little less mobile. It’s also my go-to device when I want to watch media outside of the living room — at the kitchen table during lunch or to have in the background at my desk during the work day, for example.

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four thunderbolt 3 ports): My work laptop. It’s used for a lot of writing, email, Slack, RSS reading, and app testing. I also have another user account on the machine if I need to do any personal tasks and don’t have another device handy. This is mostly with the intention of leaving my iPad at home when I travel for team/division meetups.

Mac Mini (2018): My main home server. It houses our Plex library, stores local copies of our photo library, runs Channels DVR, is used as a backup server for all of the non-iOS devices in our home, rips CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, archives a few YouTube channels for my son, and acts as a general purpose file server.

Mac Mini (Late 2014): The latest addition to my computing setup. I got it fairly cheap from OWC and it runs Steam on Windows for streaming games to our Apple TVs and Retroid Pocket 2+ using Steam Link. It’s not particularly powerful, so it won’t run the latest games at high settings, but it’ll run run plenty of indie games like Untitled Goose Game, Celeste, and older titles like Half-Life 2.

Mac Mini (Mid 2011): This machine serves a very specific and singular purpose — it runs TunesKit M4V Converter (still available under a different name) to remove DRM from iTunes purchased content. This software only works on older versions of macOS with an outdated version of iTunes. Since I still purchase content from iTunes, but prefer to watch through Plex, this bridges the gap.

Retroid Pocket 2+: Mostly used as a gaming device using Launchbox, RetroArch, Steam Link, and various emulators, but is also occasionally used for media playback — Pocket Casts, Plex, and Channels.

Google Pixel 3: This is a test device for work, which is used for trying out new builds and attempting to recreate user-reported bugs in our Android apps.

It would be great if I could simplify the home server setup a bit. I made an attempt at this with virtual machines, but gaming just wasn’t stable enough — I ran into a few games that simply wouldn’t run — and TunesKit M4V Converter requires that the system be able to playback the video it removes DRM from. Since there’s no way to use HDCP within a virtual machine, I was only able to remove DRM from standard definition iTunes content — running it natively is the only option for high definition content.

There will be some changes to my hardware soon, though. I’m expecting to receive a Retroid Pocket 3 soon to replace the RP2+ — I got my shipment notification yesterday. And I’ll likely be ordering an M2 MacBook Air in the next few months to replace my current MacBook Pro.

Kev Quirk:

Secondly, Twitter isn’t the right platform for long-form content. If it was, it wouldn’t have a 280 character limit. It’s a micro blogging platform; and as we all know, micro means small.

Surely a much better way of sharing long-form content would be to write a single coherent piece on a blog, then post a link to it on Twitter so your followers can read it in its entirety.

This also has the added benefit of decentralising content away from platforms like Twitter.

If you have long-form thoughts, get a weblog and start publishing.

➝ Source: kevq.uk