MacBook Pro - page 24

The Mac Studio desktop computer and Studio Display came out on March 18 to (mostly) good reviews. And they’re showing up all over the place in people’s computer setups — especially the displays, according to our unscientific observations, as we scour the internets for interesting gear.

Today’s featured setup is a dual-display workstation. The owner said he’s expecting a new Studio Display to arrive soon. Sounds like it already shipped.

He said he’s going to stick with two screens, so which one of his current monitors is going bye-bye?

When you watch HDR videos on the mini-LED screens of a Pro Display XDR or a 2021 MacBook Pro, the displays can crank out up to 1,600 nits of brightness. But under most conditions, they’ll emit about 500. So a new app called Vivid, by developers Jordi Bruin and Ben Harraway, now offers to double usable screen brightness under all conditions.

“Full Brightness, System-Wide,” reads the app’s tagline.

Refurbished versions of the newest MacBook Pro models are now available to purchase from the Apple Store online. Both 14- and 16-inch units are available with M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, and customers can save up to $350.

This is the first time refurbs of these machines have been made available by Apple since they made their debut last year. But if it’s a bargain you’re after, you’re likely to find a better deal elsewhere.

Who doesn’t like to have a little fun on a Friday, especially when it’s also April Fools’ Day? Not that today’s featured setup is a joke or fake in any way. It’s real. It’s serious. Not as serious as a heart attack, maybe. But it’s a working setup that likes to have a good time, let’s say.

The seriousness stems mainly from a late-model MacBook Pro and a killer ultra-wide LG display. The good time comes from the super-cool Lego Technic racing cars on the wall — two for now, with a third to come. Each one of these things has thousands of pieces.

We haven’t seen a tremendous number of computer setups centered on powerhouse 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pros — much less such workstations featuring both dual displays and paired original HomePods!

But today’s featured setup is an exception. It boasts those impressive characteristics as well as a useful lesson about not judging a book by its cover as well as striving to be kind online.

The official release date for sales of Apple’s new Studio Display was Friday, March 18 — same as the Mac Studio desktop computer. Both are winning accolades — the desktop more than the display, actually — but in the days since launch we’ve seen quite a few more of the displays cropping up on social media site posts by new owners than the desktops.

There could be various reasons for that. It could mean more people are buying the displays. Or maybe display shipping has been more efficient. Or it could be that displays are simply a little faster and easier to add to a computer setup, so they’re showing up quicker.

Today’s featured setup pairs the new Studio Display — which ousted an LG 5K monitor — with a 14-inch M1 MacBook Pro.

There’s nothing like taking your work outside on a nice day, especially if it’s a Friday — if you live somewhere that allows it, weather-wise. The sounds of the birds. The feel of the breeze. The smell of exhaust fumes from nearby traffic.

But sometimes it’s not about half-playing hooky while working on your tan and pretending to work. Today’s featured setup, looking quite complete and perfectly productive, was driven out of the house by renovations.

With Thunderbolt 4 connectivity becoming more and more common in new laptop computers, including various Macs, you may be in the market for a worthy docking station. After all, small, lightweight laptops don’t always have all the ports you need. So it’s a good thing StarTech.com recently released its TB4CDock for Mac and Windows. If you also need an apple sd card reader along with a docking station, consider checking out this 6-port hub from Zagg.

The Thunderbolt 4 station bristles with the ports you need to turn your laptop into a desktop, or close to it.

We last wrote about the computer setup of 17-year-old concept creator and render artist Ian Zelbo back in May 2021. As then, the young New Yorker’s 3D renderings of Macs and other leaked tech products continue to amaze viewers online.

But he recently switched things up a bit with the gear he needs to get the job done. Along with a big step up from a 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro to a 14-inch M1 Pro version, he custom-built a PC to do a lot of the heavy lifting in his resource-intensive work.

College students, often not exactly made of money (yet), usually feel obliged to be super-thrifty. Their setups might feature entry-level gear, hand-me-down equipment, doors on cinderblocks serving as desks — that sort of thing.

But today’s featured setup, owned by a college student, comes with some frills. They’re courtesy of a lucrative internship the computer science major completed last summer.

Many a near-pristine computer setup is marred by one pretty ugly thing: a power cable. People pride themselves on having “one-cable” setups, where gear plugs into other gear or works wirelessly, and the whole shebang depends on one cable going into the wall outlet from a hub or a power strip. Others get as close as they can to that Zen-like state of near cableless-ness.

Today’s featured setup has that one, nagging cable. And we’re here to help make it go away.

Apple blew our minds this week with its all-new and somewhat unexpected Mac Studio. The diminutive desktop, which has the same footprint as Mac mini but is almost three times as tall, is by far Cupertino’s most powerful machine to date when you buy it with the incredible new M1 Ultra chip.

There’s just one problem with that. The impressive M1 Ultra model, which is significantly more powerful than even the fastest Mac Pro, starts at a whopping $3,999 — a considerable jump from the M1 Max model, which starts at $1,999. And I can’t work out how it’s so darn expensive!

With just hours to go until Apple kicks off its big Peek Performance event, the Apple Store has predictably closed its virtual doors.

“Be right back” reads the message that greets visitors who attempt to purchase anything through the company’s website this morning. When it returns, we expect a whole bunch of new additions, including an iPhone SE with 5G.

Spring 2022 will bring an array of new Apple products, if the rumor mill proves correct, and we’ll get our first look Tuesday. Numerous leaks point to an improved 5G iPhone SE and iPad Air coming soon. And a new Mac (or multiple Macs) might show up, too. Maybe even a new M2 processor as the lineup completes the transition to Apple silicon.

All of this could be unveiled on March 8, when Apple holds its “Peek Performance” event. Or that could be just the first of multiple Apple spring events.

We’re just a day away from Apple’s big “Peek Performance” event, which is expected to bring upgraded iPhone, iPad and Mac models. Cupertino could also have other sweet surprises up its sleeve — like a new desktop display.

Whatever the case may be, you won’t want to miss it if you’re an Apple fan. And you don’t have to! Here’s how to stream the enter March 8 event live.

As we know from looking at lots of computer setups, having at least two monitors is popular, and so is having at least one of those in portrait mode (vertical). But what if you have dual displays and both are ultra-wide screens? Turned on end, isn’t the one in portrait mode going to be awfully tall?

Today’s featured setup provides an answer to those questions. Here the MacBook Pro-centered setup features two 34-inch displays in different orientations.

People love to put the finishing touches on their computer setups. Some love it so much they just keep doing it. Given the temptations of new gear always coming out and the never-ending allure of the glittering gadgets other people put in their fabulous setups, is the work ever really done?

Nope. For many people, setups are never really finished. People think they’re finished, like the owner of today’s featured MacBook Pro setup. But they usually aren’t.

The 2021 MacBook Pro includes an SD slot, but cards don’t insert all the way into the notebook. But that’s not a problem with Transcend’s JetDrive Lite 330 — it is smaller than the standard SD card so it sits flush in the slot.

Once inserted, the card acts like any other drive. And data transfers are fast enough for Time Machine backups.

An Apple VP used Twitter to reveal the date for the company’s much-anticipated product-release event. Apple soon after began issuing invitations. As had been rumored, the streamed event will take place Tuesday, March 8.

While Greg “Joz” Joswiak, global head of marketing, announced the date, he didn’t post an itinerary. Still, leaks and rumors point to an improved 5G iPhone SE and iPad Air. And a new Mac is possible, too.

Not all “before and after” posts showcasing computer setups on social media are created equal. Sometimes the description and commentary leave out too much information. Sometimes the photographs are inconclusive. And sometimes the improvements just don’t have much “wow” factor.

Today’s featured setup splits the difference. The “before” photo, below, doesn’t offer much to go on. But the “after” photo, above, shows a well-planned setup with a place for everything and everything in its place. And the gear list, below, supports that.

It might not get a “wow” out of you, but it could be instructional.

Is it reasonable to call a computer setup “budget-friendly” if it includes a new 16-inch M1 MacBook Pro? Well, is there such a thing as an Lamborghini economy car? How about a thrift-store Faberge egg? Or maybe a bargain-basement super yacht?

OK, we exaggerate slightly. You don’t have to be a billionaire to afford a nice Mac. But it helps.

Today’s featured setup makes a go of getting some “budget-friendly” cred despite its high-powered centerpiece — with mixed results.

Apple’s newest 14-inch MacBook Pro is now more affordable than ever, thanks to a whopping $270 discount from Amazon.

The price cut applies to the M1 Pro model with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Get yours in space gray for $2,229 — down from $2,499.

In 2020, Bowdoin College in Maine launched a $1.7 million program to give students iPads and accessories. It was a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, the school said it would expand what it calls its Digital Excellence Commitment. Now it will provide every student with a MacBook Pro, an iPad and an Apple Pencil.

When a software engineering manager who works from home decided to leave PC gaming behind, he went all-in on his Mac conversion. In part he did it for work. He slings a lot of native code for macOS in building HR recruitment software. But, working and playing from home full time, in part he did it for himself.

So why wouldn’t he buy a super-tricked out 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pro, not one but two Apple Pro Display XDRs and pretty much top-shelf everything else?

When you see a computer setup with two monitors stacked on top of each other, what do you think? Maybe something like … doesn’t the person have to crane their neck to look at the top one? Isn’t it uncomfortable? Where does the webcam go? What’s wrong with side-by-side, maybe with one in portrait (vertical) mode instead of landscape?

The person behind today’s featured setup is confronting those very questions on the way to deciding a common multi-display conundrum: to stack or not to stack? That is the question.