It sounds like the setup to a punchline: A strapping young Mac mini, a yoked gaming PC and an elderly Power Mac G4 walk into a podcasting primer. Then what happens?
Well, if we’re talking about Redditor omgaporksword’s recent setup post, you learn a few OS-switching tricks, share some old-school Mac nostalgia and see how to position your USB microphone using a boom arm.
There is no punchline and there are no laughs. But please, people. Not everything is about humor. Except maybe omgaporksword’s Reddit handle.
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Omgaporksword may have a ridiculous and even laughable name on Reddit, but he has a serious setup. It features the above-mentioned computers, two 27-inch Asus gaming monitors and a raft of serious audio and video specs.
The latter includes Beyerdynamic headphones, a Bose speaker system, Rode microphones and a Canon EOS M50 camera perched in a cage atop the displays.
Eight years away, then back to Macs
Omgaporksword wrote in his setup post about recently buying an M1 Mac mini after “getting back into the Mac universe after 8 odd years away.”
Because he also has a tricked-out, custom-assembled gaming PC with some blazing specs you can read about in his post, someone asked him is he’s using Synergy software to switch between systems.
“I’ve just been changing screen inputs and switching the inputs on the keeb [keyboard] and mouse (the MX series is great for that),” omgaporksword replied, referring to his Logitech MX Craft wireless keyboard and MX Master 3 mouse. “Please tell me more about Synergy, it sounds like I’m missing out on something useful!”
OS-hopping with Synergy
Unsurprisingly, Redditors on the macsetups subreddit had answers.
“Yeah, install the [Synergy] software on each, it lets you use a single keyboard/mouse on each system,” replied one. “The system that has the mouse cursor is ‘active.’ Pretty slick.”
Another said Synergy removed nearly all the friction he felt in switching between his Mac and PC setups.
“Can’t recommend it highly enough, it lets you move your mouse cursor from one computer and screen to the other (as if they were one computer using two monitors), and whichever screen has the mouse cursor dictates which computer will accept the keyboard inputs,” he said.
A third commenter thoughtfully suggested omgaporksword look into Logitech Flow, the company’s file-sharing tools that helps smooth movements between systems using Logi hardware.
Power Mac G4 commands respect
If you look carefully at omgaporksword’s pics, you see his Power Mac G4 desktop computer peeking out from under the desk. Apple shipped the series between 1999 and 2004. They were marketed as “the first supercomputeres” and also the first to have their name shortened to “Mac.” You can get some more period-contect in a recent Cult of Mac “Today in Apple history” story about the machine in its heydey.
“Man, that G4 brings back memories,” signed one Redditor.
“I can’t explain why, but this is the only old computer that I have ever held onto,” omgaporksword replied. “Knowing it was the last system to have System 9 native (which I cut my teeth on as a teenager) must have been a factor in the back of mind.”
He recalled how it cost him a “metric shit-tonne back in the day. And he loves that it holds a trove of his old car pics, music and games.
“My grade school computer lab was full of Macs running system 9,” another Redditor chipped in. “The Oregon Trail days as I like to remember them.”
Podcasting and such: a mic-positioning photo primer
Finally, we come to the microphone-positioning photo primer. A Redditor asked for pics showing how the mic is positioned on its arm when in use, rather than just being folded off to the side, as in the photo above. He wondered how the arm doesn’t bump into the monitors. Omgaporksword was happy to oblige.
Photo: omgaporksword@Reddit
Photo: omgaporksword@Reddit
Photo: omgaporksword@Reddit.com
“As mentioned, I have the Rode boom-arm, so experiences may vary with other brands,” omgaporksword wrote. “Mounted as shown, it doesn’t interfere with the wall, reaches easily where needed, and parks neatly off to the side. Hope this helps!”
Shop these items now:
Computers:
Peripherals:
- 27-inch Asus VG27AQ Gaming Monitor
- Logitech MX Craft wireless keyboard
- Logitech MX Master 3 mouse
- USB SuperDrive
- Hagibis USB-C Docking Station
- Western Digital 1TB SSD
Audio:
- Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro 250 Ohm headphones
- Topping E30 DAC
- Topping L30 Amp
- Bose Companion 3 speakers and subwoofer
- Rode NT-USB microphone
- Rode mic boom-arm
- Echo Dot (3rd gen)
Camera:
Miscellaneous:
