MacBook Pro - page 18

Some workstations look boring and utilitarian while others, at least sometimes, look otherworldly. The difference between the two usually comes down to good lighting, skillful photography — and often a key visual you don’t see every day.

Today’s featured MacBook Pro setup relies on atmospheric lighting and exceptionally cool desktop wallpaper on the displays to make it look fascinating.

And because the workstation is used mainly for audio design and includes great gear, it undoubtedly sounds great, too.

You may have felt a seismic shift recently. The origin was Apple Park in Cupertino, where Tim Cook and Co. decided to start work on a touchscreen MacBook Pro. This is something the company has been adamantly against for many years, going back to a scathing comment from the late Steve Jobs.

But the computing world has changed enormously since Jobs mocked touchscreen laptops. Today, there are plenty of reasons for Apple to make one.

Some computer setups are more Apple-ish than others. Apple-y. Apple-centric. Today’s featured M1 Max MacBook Pro outfit welcomes a new Studio Display to replace a recently “retired” 20-inch Cinema Display, and that’s just the start of the Cupertino madness.

Almost everything else in the setup is Apple, too. The input devices, the audio gear — even some of the wall art. And what’s in the book collection? The Cult of Mac hardcover book.

Apple’s M2 Pro/Max MacBook Pros launch could have hit another roadblock. Rumors indicated the new Macs could debut in Q1 2023, but that does not seem to be the case anymore.

The reason behind the latest delay in the next-gen MacBook Pro’s launch is unclear.

With modern computer displays, you can have brilliant colors, tons of screen real estate and even a cool curve in the screen. But will you be happy reading text on it? That’s not necessarily a sure thing.

In today’s featured MacBook Pro-based computer setup, a developer finds she likes her 34-inch curved ultra-wide display, but not in every possible way. She craves more pixels, having been “ruined” by her MacBook Pro’s crisp display.

So many people love Apple gear because the Cupertino tech giant gets a lot right with its hardware. That certainly includes monitors, and not just the phenomenal Pro Display XDR and new Studio Display. We see a fair number of new computer setups relying on classic Apple screens like Cinema Display and Thunderbolt Display.

Today’s featured MacBook Pro and Xbox setup is a good example. Even with a modern gaming console — and given the right adapter — a display from a dozen years ago is still keeping it real.

It’s always nice to hear from professionals relying on Apple gear and finding it meets or even exceeds their expectations. That’s a good indicator that Cupertino is going in the right direction.

Today’s featured computer setup shows that enthusiasm. A mobile app developer offers high praise for his M1 MacBook Pro. And his stacked displays and raft of AV gear aren’t bad, either. Let’s take a look.

The long-awaited Mac Pro desktop will finally debut at a big March event, according to a tipster. As will a Mac mini powered by Apple’s M2 chip.

Plus, Apple is apparently getting ready to knock people’s socks off, as three MacBooks are also supposedly on the agenda for the event — including a 15-inch MacBook Air.

Some computer setups are simply music to our ears — almost literally, in some cases. Today’s featured setup sees (and hears) an M1 MacBook Pro playing frontman to a band that includes a few pieces of key audio hardware and software as well as dual curved ultra-wide external displays.

And whether or not it’s “ultra-minimalist,” as stated by the user — it’s not, by almost any definition of computing minimalism — it appears relatively spare and effective.

If you want a MacBook with 5G cellular wireless built into it, new data suggests you’re not alone. A surprising number of iPads are sold with integrated cellular connectivity. More than half, in fact.

Like tablets, today’s slim and lightweight MacBooks are ready to go anywhere. There’s no reason to force them to depend on Wi-Fi or an iPhone hotspot.

Back in our day — when we walked 5 miles uphill to school both ways — students were lucky to have plywood on cinderblocks for a desk and a laptop weighing, oh, let’s say 25 pounds (we’re too old to remember things).

Nowadays, these kids have pretty swanky computer setups with desktop machines you could toss in a knapsack. Today’s featured item boasts a Mac mini, a MacBook Pro, a 4K display, Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad 2 and a Lego building set to die for.

Today’s featured Mac-and-gaming-PC computer setup pulls off a rare feat. It perfectly aligns three displays on one arm. The displays are a substantial external monitor, a MacBook Pro and an iPad Pro mounted vertically (yet running Sidecar).

Read on for tips on how to pull all that off, as well as tricks to using an iPhone as a mounted webcam and more.

At Cult of Mac we love retro Apple gear. Today’s featured setup pairs a powerful new M1 Max MacBook with a beautiful old Cinema Display plus the iconic Harman Kardon SoundSticks speaker system.

And if you love the old Cinema Displays but worry their resolution won’t cut it nowadays, read on.

A computer setup run by a doctoral degree candidate had better be damned smart, and today’s featured setup doesn’t disappoint. It’s got a powerful M1 MacBook Pro, a recent (but not the latest) iPad Air, a very slick 4K display and a trio of whipsmart input devices boasting plenty of customization options.

And it’s got all that and pretty clever cable management, too. But does the future Ph.D.’s rig smoke a pipe and pretentiously hold forth on esoteric topics? No, it’s actually somewhat modest (down to the nice but not top-shelf headphones).

In today’s featured computer setup, owned by a web developer, a 2012 Mac mini shares the spotlight with a new 16-inch M1 MacBook Pro.

Before you think, “Wow, the Mac mini must be amazing, competing with that sleek new laptop,” nah, this is more like take-your-great-grandfather-to-work day for the elderly little desktop machine.

It’s around because it still works for light lifting. And it does indeed show impressive longevity.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: After new Twitter CEO Elon Musk began publicly questioning some of Apple’s policies, he went mano-a-mano with Tim Cook. Maybe Musk’s meme-y declaration of war was a bit premature …

Also on The CultCast:

• The sad state of iCloud storage.
• A Twitter phone? Really?!?
• 2023 MacBook Pro benchmarks reveal a big fat surprise.
• A totally weird tale about the dangers of walking the streets of New York City with hundreds of iPhones.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

We enjoy seeing computer setups grow and change. We last looked at today’s featured setup when its user described it as “temporary” back in June. Since then it has metastasized into a monstrous beast with a maxed-out Mac Pro, a 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pro, a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, iPad mini and dual Pro Display XDRs.

And the custom-made desk with lights against a dramatic backdrop of 3D wall panels really enhances the setup, too.

Display towers — when monitors are stacked on top of each other — aren’t super common in computer setups. But they’re not terribly rare, either. From time to time we’ve even seen three stacked horizontally in the middle with two posted vertically on the sides. But today’s featured triple-display MacBook Pro setup sports an unusual choice at its base.

You can’t miss the 49-inch Samsung curved ultra-wide screen in the middle and the nice 34-inch LG 4K display on top. But at the bottom lurks a TidByt, which is a retro display for sports scores, stock prices and more. We don’t recall seeing one featured in a setup.

Very early benchmark scores for what is apparently the 2023 MacBook Pro show buyers will be able to configure the laptop with much more RAM. And new details on the M2 Max processor were revealed, too.

The performance scores show a modest 14% increase over the 2021 version, but benchmark scores months before the release of any computer are of limited use.

Getting great new gear for your computer setup has more than just the obvious benefit of awesomeness. Sometimes it’s the perfect reason to improve your setup in ways most people put off, like the dreaded cleaning up of cable clutter.

That’s what happened with today’s featured dual-display-and-M1 Max MacBook Pro setup. The user finally got his new Studio Display, and good things followed in the terms of taming the cable monster.

Black Friday 2022 is now one for the record books, but you can still take advantage of hefty discounts on Apple products.

So, if you have been looking to buy a Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods or other Apple products for a while, take advantage of the best Black Friday deals on Apple gear right now. Just bear in mind that these deals can be slippery as an eel. If you see one you like, jump on it ASAP, because there’s no guarantee it will last.

Modern computer setups lean more and more on smart lighting for practical uses and to set the mood. Some of it can even pulse and change in sync to music or action on your screen.

Today’s featured MacBook Pro setup leans heavily on colorful Nanoleaf smart-light patterns on the walls — so much so that people compared it to a strip club.

Some people like a lot screens in their computer setup, others like to be glued to one and one only. In today’s featured computer setup, the user wrestles with the question of whether to keep his iPad Pro front and center, right in front of the external display, or just leave it out. Meanwhile, a MacBook Pro sits off to the side in clamshell mode.

Because the user asked for opinions on social media, he got them. Lots of them. But it proved to be a tricky question to answer definitively.

Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro is getting a massive $499 discount on Amazon ahead of Black Friday. The attractive discount drops the entry-level 16-inch MacBook Pro price to $1,999.99—$499 cheaper than its MSRP.

You can also grab the 1TB storage configuration for $400 off.

Powerful MacBook Pro — check. Extremely capable USB dock — check. Dazzling displays properly mounted in different orientations — check. Two of the best input devices you can buy — check.

Today’s featured computer setup seems to have it all without going overboard, and it all rests easily on a solid standing desk from New Zealand.

And the user even recommends deals on truly stellar noise-canceling headphones. Read on for more and don’t miss the gear list at the bottom of the page.