| Cult of Mac

Keep the iPad front and center or ditch it? [Setups]

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Would you keep the iPad Pro in the middle of the setup like that?
Would you keep the iPad Pro in the middle of the setup like that?
Photo: pincoded@Reddit.com

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.

MacBook Pro drives dynamic, well-mounted displays [Setups]

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A 34-inch ultra-wide display in landscape mode and a 24-inch monitor in portrait mode make a good combo.
A 34-inch ultra-wide display in landscape mode and a 24-inch monitor in portrait mode make a good combo.
Photo: PassiveInterfce@Reddit.com

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.

Apple gear finds stout home on custom maple standing desk and monitor riser [Setups]

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Both the standing desk and monitor shelf sport 3-inch-thick maple.
Both the standing desk and monitor shelf sport 3-inch-thick maple.
Photo: NeuroGuy406@Reddit.com

A great computer setup starts with a solid desk — preferably a standing desk, so you can sit or stand as your aching body requires. Today’s featured setup finds a MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, Studio Display and Dell 4K monitor resting easy on a stout maple standing desk and monitor riser.

Wherever you see wood in the photograph, know that it’s 3 inches thick. That’s one way to reduce monitor wobbling.

You don’t have to spend a fortune to get an ultra-wide display [Setups]

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The ultra-wide 1440p display shown here can be had for about $300.
The ultra-wide 1440p display shown here can be had for about $300.
Photo: InfaSyn@Reddit.com

Once you shell out a couple thousand bucks or more for a marvelous Mac Studio desktop machine, how do you add an ultra-wide display without running up your already-tortured credit cards?

Today’s featured dual-monitor Mac Studio setup solved the problem by going back in time. Its owner added an ultra-wide display — and much of the other gear in the workstation — from a few years ago.

Try this simple trick for a cleaner workstation [Setups]

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See the cables? It's pretty easy to neaten those up by putting the dock under the desk.
See the cables? It's pretty easy to neaten those up by putting the dock under the desk.
Photo: DunderFeld@Reddit.com

Maybe you can’t be bothered to fuss over cable management. But some tricks for a cleaner-looking computer setup are so easy anybody can pull them off with minimal effort. Take today’s featured MacBook Pro setup, for example.

Its owner is primarily concerned about replacing aging dual displays, and we’ll cover some advice on that. But he also gets a valuable lesson about how to present a cleaner workstation by making one simple change.

Sleek, dual-display MacBook Pro rig gives off serious Tron vibes [Setups]

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This is how you take a picture of a setup if you want people to think it's an ad.
This is how you take a picture of a setup if you want people to think it's an ad.
Photo: DylanAN4@Reddit.com

When you look at a lot of computer setups showcased on social media, it’s not difficult to see that many of them are staged. They’re so well put together and photographed, you just can’t see normal slobs owning them.

But sometimes the internet tricks you with a surprisingly slick photograph of a real person’s setup. That seems to be the case in today’s featured dual-display MacBook Pro setup, photographs in a cool-gray wash.

“This looks like a render advertising the mouse or something,” one commenter said. “Tron vibes,” added another, referring to the 1982 sci-fi film known for its then-cutting-edge computer animation.

Mac Studio workstation makeover enhances whole room [Setups]

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In an
In an "after" picture, one larger monitor on a desk shelf instead of two on the desk opens up the space nicely.
Photo: David_Kim@Reddit.com

With so many people working from home these days, a whole lot of them spend much of their life in one room — wherever the computer setup is, that is. And that’s all the more the case in apartments and small homes. So improving the setup can have a pretty big impact.

In today’s featured Mac Studio setup, swapping out two smaller displays for one bigger one, adding a desk shelf and making a few other changes made quite a difference in enhancing the workspace.

Supply chain problems hurt Mac and entire PC industry

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Some MacBook Pro wait times already stretch nearly to Christmas
Apple's inability to keep up with demand for MacBook Pro and other Mac models hurt the company in Q2 2022.
Photo: Apple

Mac shipments dropped a whopping 20% in the June quarter, according to a market-research firm. But it wasn’t just Apple struggling – shipments of all the top PC-makers declined.

COVID lockdowns in China this spring hurt production for all these companies, lowering the number of computers they could ship to consumers.

Cable management doesn’t have to be a horrible chore [Setups]

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"Cables? What cables?" asked one commenter.
Photo: junger128@Reddit.com

Sometimes you see a pristine computer setup flaunted on social media and you think, how is that even real? Is it staged? Is it a render? At the very least, it looks like they left out all the cables for the photograph. But that’s not necessarily the case.

A lot of us live with messy setups, in part due to cable clutter. But neatening things up doesn’t have to be next-to impossible, as today’s featured Mac mini setup demonstrates.