Ever had trouble getting your Mac to recognize third-party peripherals, like a keyboard and mouse? Today’s featured setup is built around a brand-new Mac Studio mounted neatly on a pegboard behind a Samsung super ultra-wide display. But the Apple desktop computer refused to pair with a Logitech keyboard and mouse, according to the owner.
He said he had to go and buy Apple’s Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse to establish working input devices. So what happened?
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.
With Apple’s big “Peek Performance” event only just past and deliveries of newly release products in progress, we see computer setups with new Mac Studio desktops and Studio Display monitors cropping up on social media sites.
Checking in with real people and their first impressions about the gear — and their answers to others’ questions about it — can be a pretty good early look at how things are going with Apple’s latest products.
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.
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.
Ever wonder how people get crazy-cool mood lighting in and around their computer setups? You see it all the time in folks’ photos on social media sites. The hardware — computer, displays, peripherals, other gear — may be fabulous in its own right, but the lighting just takes it to another level.
Or not. Sometimes lighting ends up being too flashy — as in, on the verge of fit-inducing. And sometimes it’s just too much of one thing. Today’s featured setup shows a cool blue wash that might just drown productivity. Or maybe it’s just for off-duty hours.
Whatever your preferences, an increasing array of products can help you get your setup light show on.
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.
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.
Have you ever seen two big ol’ Apple Cinema Displays mounted vertically, in portrait mode, bookending an iMac? We didn’t think so. Or at least, it seems like a rare sight. But today’s featured setup has that nuevo-retro styling going on, big-time, and folks took notice.
After all, secondary displays in portrait mode seems to be all the rage lately, but not so much back in the glory days of Cinema Displays. Or were they?
You still rarely see a computer setup with a 3D printer in it. Today’s featured setup is an exception. You can see the printer against the wall on the left in the photo above.
Probably more workstations in the near future will have them. Why? Not only are they becoming more affordable, you can use them to make parts of the setup!
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.
There’s something special about old Apple gear. Maybe that’s why it comes up fairly frequently in Cult of Mac‘s Setups coverage. One of the most-beloved classics in Apple’s storied history of beloved products is the Cinema Display. Today’s featured setup sports not one but two 30-inch Cinema Displays, the big stunners Steve Jobs introduced to an absolutely dazzled Worldwide Developers Conference audience in 2004.
So, naturally, questions came up about how to best use them with a newer Mac.
Blogger Derek Seaman may be an IT systems architect in his day job, but he also designs and builds advanced computer setups. That is, if his home office is any indication. Which it is.
He shared his MacBook Pro-driven workstation — actually, the whole room — with Cult of Mac recently.
When you spend loads of time at a desk, it’s natural to wonder how you might remain chained to it but still somehow get exercise. That’s why under-desk treadmills exist, of course. But can you really get things done while walking in place?
Today’s featured M1 MacBook Pro setup answers the question and offers up a couple of other tantalizing tidbits, like a killer iPad stand and affordable bookshelf speakers with isolation pads.
When Apple demonstrated its new Universal Control feature during its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote back in June 2021, it made Apple fans drool. Too bad Cupertino made everyone wait longer than expected to get their hands on it.
But now, Universal Control is finally in beta testing ahead of its public release, and the anticipatory drool is once again flowing — especially among those who get to test it out.
The owner of today’s iMac Pro-based featured setup, a game developer and blogger, is no exception.
Anyone with a curious cat knows the desktop can be one of their favorite spots. Sometimes it’s like they’re trying to ensure you can’t work, as they sit or stretch out right on top of the keyboard or in front of the screen. And that’s just when you’re sitting there. Who knows what they do when you’re away. Other than dreaming up other ways to hasten your unemployment.
Lucky for you, today’s featured computer setup shows a simple method for protecting peripherals like input devices — keyboard, mouse, perhaps a trackpad — from pushy pets. And if you’ve got canines, take heart. It also works for dog slobber.
Who doesn’t love good optical illusions? And they’re especially cool when they result from an unexpected action that works as well as the expected action. Today’s featured computer setup surprised us with a floating display.
Thing is, though, the screen is not mounted on the wall. And it’s not levitating, either.
When you spend a third or more of your waking hours all but chained to a computer setup, you might as well make it a pleasant place to spend time. That’s what most of Cult of Mac‘s Setups coverage is all about, really — glorifying both the high-tech performance and the stylish comfort that ease your enslavement to whatever it is you do with tech.
Today’s 14-inch M1 Pro MacBook Pro-based featured setup shows a “before and after” transition. Musician and Salesforce consultant Jon Young said a revamp of his wife’s “nicer and more spacious” work area inspired his changes. “Mine just has more gadgets lol,” he said.
On Fridays it’s fun to focus on computer setups with entertaining features whenever possible. Sometimes it’s seriously vintage gear. Or it could be wacky decor. Once in a while, an exotic location pops up. Today we found one where a brand new M1 Pro MacBook meets a kooky crew of bobbleheads and other figures under a really over-the-top camera rig used as a webcam.
Some computer setups knock your socks off with lighting. It can be tasteful, warm, welcoming and conducive to work without eye strain. It can be bright, inventive and dazzling, like fantastic decorations. Or, as in today’s MacBook Pro-based featured setup, it can be either one of those, depending on both choice of settings and time of day.
The light show in today’s workstation derives from two sources, or schemes. One involves two very different table lamps. The other involves LED light strips.