The big open window shown in the photo above certainly helps keep the place lit for free in bright daylight. But what does Redditor Kwipz do about cheap lighting for the darker hours?
They spend a few bucks. Literally.
These days, lots of folks rock two or three or even four large monitors in their computer setups. But some people go for one huge, mesmerizing display, like kenneth_powers1, among other Redditors — and it’s a TV set, at that.
Powers credits fellow Redditor TerronG for the inspiration to use a Samsung 43-inch TU-8000 series 4K Smart TV with his aging computer. Powers uses it with a 2013 MacBook Pro and a PC he built himself. TerronG runs a similar TU7000 series TV with a 2012 Mac mini upgraded with a newer SSD and additional RAM.
OK, maybe it’s a tad premature to freak out over couples’ setups being some sort of thing now. After all, the sample size here is just one, and we have no intention of carrying out any kind of exhaustive and exhausting survey or study on the matter.
Redditor thateconomistguy presents a “couples study space” where he and his girlfriend pore over economics research side by side under the frames in which they plan to display their upcoming master’s degree diplomas.
Redditor KunalBH bought a compact, no-frills Anker keyboard to use with his iPad in 2017. Now he’s asking the universe for help finding a worthy replacement (or additional) keyboard for his MacBook Pro-based setup.
Passionate suggestions are pouring in. See below for some of the leading contenders.
Call it a “nice pile of Schiit.” Or a “Schiit stack.” That’s what admiring commenters said about computer science student and Redditor the-deluxe’s M1 MacBook Pro-centered setup.
“You fulla Schiit,” one audiophile enthused.
Why? Well, people who are into Schiit audio components are really into them. Game recognize game, after all.
Redditor XTJ7, a programmer and photographer based in Germany, knows how to make a setup last and do just what he needs it to do. As his recent post declared, his setup’s core is two “trash can” Mac Pro towers from 2013 plus a racy gaming PC.
Yeah, you heard right: That’s two computers running from 2013 to now. Eight years might as well be a few decades as far as computer performance goes. But he has his reasons to wait on the upgrade.
You see it every year. Accomplished, vibrant computers that still have a lot to offer are cast aside in favor of hard-charging young upstarts more than willing to take somebody’s job.
In the case of React developer TimTheEnchanterz (on Reddit), a MacBook Pro from just last year lost its job to a bright new Mac mini M1 boasting 16GB of unified memory and effortless connection to two external displays.
Such a shame. It’s not clear from the post, but the poor 2020 MBP probably had to shuffle off in search of a new taskmaster on r/hardwareswap, eBay or — say it ain’t so — Craigslist.
Web developer LincHayes recently showed off the M1 Mac mini-and-PC-based setup he put together to restart a live tech support business and do some podcasting. It did not fail to impress lots of folks on Reddit.
After all, this is LincHayes’ first time as a Mac owner. And a lot of people relate to running both Macs and PCs in a complex, multifunctional setup with a lot of moving parts.
Redditor franklinrockz makes no bones about the minimalist setup he bought with lockdown savings for online classes, calling it “pretty basic” and “nothing fancy.” But it gets the job done and looks good doing it.
A testament to that are the three dozen comments his post had by day two online. Lots of folks liked what franklinrockz did with the workstation and wanted to know about its components.
Redditor and commercial editor nicknotes posted their work-and-game-from-home setup with a lot of praise for a slick new display. It’s the monitor used mainly for work, which appears to be well-paired with the one already in place for gaming.
On social media, crowing about the beautiful computer setup you finally finished putting together can be a risky gambit. Because, you know, people. They might just gleefully and repeatedly point out small flaws in your masterpiece as if they’re the main thing. Picky, picky, picky.
Canadian iOS developer and YouTuber Stewart Lynch got lucky when he broke the USB-C port connector on his brand new 27-inch LG monitor the first day he had it. Huge-upgrade lucky.
Lynch, who hails from North Vancouver, British Columbia, took the stricken display, under warranty, to a repair shop.
“About a week later LG called me and said they did not have any 27-inch monitors in stock so they offered me a 38-inch upgrade at no cost,” Lynch told Cult of Mac. “I took it and sold my dual monitor arm that was holding the 27- and 24-inch monitors and went with the setup I have now.”
Reddit is a great place to seek advice about computer setups. Redditor CompilingTheFuture did well recently when puzzling over replacing the triple-monitor display running off his M1 Mac mini.
The problem? One of the main issues was that three screens were so wide that peering into the corners required a lot of “neck twisting.” Sounds painful.
Redditor Singulaffect stirred up a swarm of comments recently when posting a MacBook Pro-based setup featuring an LG 21-inch 4K display but no speakers — and two sets of AirPods. But what really stole the show was a Palm Vx from 1999.
San Francisco-based designer Arun Venkatesan is about to take delivery on a 2020 MacBook Air with an M1 chip to replace the 2013 MacBook Air he uses in tandem with his 2018 MacBook Pro. But the new Mac isn’t really what he’s excited about.
He thinks less about having the latest technology and more about how his tools fit into his design philosophy, which he wrote about at length here. Form and function meet in his elegant and minimal setup.
iOS software engineer Christian Roman has a “love-hate relationship” with his impressive triple 5K display setup.
“It’s fantastic when it works,” he told Cult of Mac. “It’s a nightmare when macOS suddenly decides to stop working with triple screens.”
Vincent Belotti, a mechanical engineering student at Farmingdale State College on Long Island, New York, has a colorful setup — and we’re not just talking about his screensaver. He 3D-prints some of the components in it himself, and he can’t get enough decor related to his favorite games.
As an engineering student, Belotti has made 3D printing into a hobby. He uses his MacBook Pro to model and slice prints that become components to enhance his setup. They include an Apple Watch dock, shown on the right side of his desk in these photos, and 3D figurines on the shelf above his monitor.
Austin, Texas-based photographer Matt Tran initially built his impressive setup to share his pics on Instagram, and you can certainly see a lot of them there. But now he uses his workstation, centered on a MacBook Pro and two monitors of vastly different sizes, to film and edit videos.
“I like having the 38-inch [LG] ultrawide to view the timeline on Final Cut Pro and the smaller, 15.6-inch Desklab portable monitor to review the footage,” he told Cult of Mac.
David Wilcox is an IT consultant working from home in Bristol, England. His remote work situation means he gets to tweak his setup just as he likes, he told Cult of Mac.
Wilcox’s central command is a 27-inch 5K iMac from 2019. Humming along with it are two 28-inch U2HE850 monitors paired and run together via a Startech Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort Adapter.
With that much screen real estate and a plethora of networking gear, he gets a lot done.
“My first computer was a Sinclair [Research] ZX81,” he said, referring to a machine made by Timex Corp. in the United Kingdom starting in 1981. “So this setup is just about a home-computing Nirvana!”
Brisbane, Australia-based defense contractor Duncan Shultz loves Dungeons & Dragons. And that’s the main action his Mac-mini-and-wide-screen setup sees, although he also admits to using it to work for a living. An Aasimar Sorcerer’s got to eat, after all.
“The wide screen is simply awesome for my uses,” Shultz told Cult of Mac. “Specifically in running online D&D games. I can have video conferencing, multiple browsers, streaming software and other tools all open and accessible.”
In addition to the aforementioned sorcerer character — goes by the name of Selinth, BTW — Schultz is a dungeon master for Curse of Strahd campaigns, one online and one in person. Online he uses the Roll20 website and in person he uses EncounterPlus for iOS and macOS.
Andreas Larsson is a Sweden-based security technician who converted a tiny corner of his office into a bonafide workspace. He had limited space to work with so he tried to squeeze every inch out of it. His friend, who works at an office furnishing company, custom-built a desk to span 46 inches — the entire length of his office.
Logitech unveiled the Circle View Doorbell on Tuesday, calling it “the first wired video doorbell developed exclusively for Apple HomeKit.”
The $199.99 accessory features Face Recognition and Logitech TrueView video, and works with most wired doorbell systems, Logitech said.
Logitech just unleashed a new entry-level wireless trackball that feels good, looks fine and works wonderfully. The new Ergo M575 adds some features previously found only in its high-end MX Ergo trackball, including one that port-deprived MacBook owners will appreciate.
Plus, at $49.99 list, it won’t break the bank. If you’re interested in trying a trackball, for whatever reason, this is a smart choice.
The heart of Merényi Márk’s setup is a 2018 Mac mini. Even though it’s a base-line model, this little Mac that could executes every task he throws at it.
Márk recently ditched his LG UlraWide Monitor and replaced it with an LG 32UK550-B 32-inch 4K VA Monitor, which is made for gaming. He prefers the standard 16:9 aspect ratio of his new monitor when playing on his Xbox. In terms of fewer viewing angles that come with a VA (Vertical Alignment) panel, he sits right in front of it, so it’s not an issue. And he “expected far worse viewing angles and colors from [a VA panel],” so it came as a “pleasant surprise” to him that it’s so good.
COVID-19 forced Jeff Houle to work remotely, which was not a problem since he prefers his personalized WFH desk rather than his drab office desk. Houle is an avid collector, whether it is Disney pins (see the cork board) or old Apple products.
But when it comes to Macs, he does not just collect them. He finds unique ways to reuse them. He held on to his iBook G4 and iMac G4 (which he got at a swap meet for $10) to play old games like the original Sim and Oregon Trail — where he probably found the iBook.
