Redditor mnsl0826 decided to save some space by standing up his M1 Mac mini vertically at the base of his monitor, rather than laying it flat. It worked for him, but posting about it on Reddit generated heaps of concern about whether you’re supposed to do that.
Brydge Max+: The best third-party keyboard for iPad Pro [Review]
If you want to use your iPad like a laptop, adding a Brydge keyboard has long been the best way to do it. There are other solutions — a lot of them, in fact — and many are more affordable. But none of them are as good as a Brydge keyboard.
And no Brydge keyboard has been better than the new Max+ for iPad Pro. Like its predecessors, the Max+ is beautifully built from anodized aluminum, with a backlit keyboard that delivers a stellar typing experience. The big difference with the Max+ — which makes it even better than the Pro+ — is a larger, more reliable trackpad and a new, much more seamless magnetic docking system for your iPad.
The Max+ is not only the best Brydge keyboard ever made, but also the best third-party keyboard you can buy for iPad Pro. Here’s our full review.
You, too, can achieve pleasing symmetry and soft lighting [Setups]
Quasim Zafar’s neatly laid out computer setup serves as his filming area for YouTube product reviews, his general workstation using a 2020 M1 Mac mini and his Xbox Series S gaming station where he plays Call of Duty.
But that’s only incidental to what you’ll probably love about it and want for your own setup.
‘Kestrel’ novelist Matt Gemmell embraces extreme minimalism [Setups]
The classic writer’s garret, a small room where a tortured scribe toils over lonely hours to put words on the page — using a quill or a fountain pen or maybe a Smith Corona typewriter — has been tastefully updated.
Now it’s all about a 12.9-inch iPad Pro locked hard into the Ulysses text editor to prevent any distractions. There’s also a highly customized mechanical keyboard and really nice noise-canceling headphones. At least that’s how Scottish novelist Matt Gemmell limits his gear in a minimalistic setup, he told Cult of Mac.
It helps him focus on writing. That, and sitting his ass down in the chair for hours a day. The chair is a Herman Miller Aeron, by the way. The spartan surroundings need not lack comfort, after all. It’s about limiting distractions.
Let there be lighted Zoom calls [Setups]
Redditor UGenya806, who works in marketing for San Francisco-based DocuSign in Germany, takes appearances on Zoom calls seriously. After all, their job has always been remote and will remain so, even when others return to offices following the COVID-19 pandemic.
UGenya806’s setup centers on an M1 Mac mini tethered to dual Dell 24-inch 4K monitors and a CalDigit TS3 Thunderbolt 3 Dock. The mini is connected wirelessly to a Magic Keyboard and a Magic Trackpad.
A stand-mounted MacBook Air rounds out the mix, but is usually used separately as a standalone machine, not with the peripherals.
Nice rig. Here are 28 ways to make it better. [Setups]
To be fair, when Redditor No-Top-5065 posted pics of their MacBook Air-based computer setup, they asked for suggestions on how to improve it.
“Any recommendation on how can I improve my desk setup? Not into gaming, work and study most of the time,” said the post’s headline.
Here come the new M1 iMacs [Setups]
It’s Christmas in May, June and July. Many people are taking delivery on the colorful new M1 iMacs. Others are jealously awaiting delivery while drooling over photographic evidence on social media of others’ recent shipments.
And computer setups everywhere are being refreshed with the dazzling new all-in-one machines (see Cult of Mac’s M1 iMac review roundup). Redditor 17parkc is just one example, sporting a brand-spanking-new blue iMac. They even posted a video showing off the upgrade.
It’s all in the swanky details and DIY touches [Setups]
While London-based dental student and Redditor callum-edw studies how to fix your teeth, maybe you should study how he builds a classy computer setup with solid tech plus a few swanky details and DIY touches.
Callum’s rig centers on a MacBook Air M1 tethered to a 24-inch Dell U2419HC UltraSharp external monitor.
Can you have too many monitors? [Setups]
How many large displays is “overdoing it” in a computer setup? Redditor dm-86 suggested they’d gone too far with four, but that only ties one of our other favorites.
Some commenters joked around that they saw plenty of space for more in the imposing setup, or bank of screens, if you will.
Unboxing video shows off Apple’s swanky new white Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro
YouTuber Michaelangelo’s Tech has posted the first unboxing video for Apple’s new white Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro. The new keyboard accessory was unveiled alongside the 2021 iPad Pro, and has now started being delivered to customers.
Unsurprisingly, the Michaelangelo’s Tech channel notes that the white Magic Keyboard feels a whole lot like the previous-ten black Magic Keyboard to use. It certainly looks pretty darn nice, though.
Check out the unboxing video below.
How to enable Bluetooth on your Mac without a mouse or trackpad
So, you accidentally disabled Bluetooth on your Mac, and now you can’t use your wireless mouse or trackpad. You could dig out a wired mouse to reenable it, but that’s a lot of effort. Instead, just use your keyboard.
We’ll show you how.
What’s missing in this picture? [Setups]
Redditor jondajaba recently finished putting together a computer setup and asked in a post for recommendations on what’s missing that he might add. Naturally, setup mavens far and wide who live and breathe this stuff replied with plenty of advice.
High school student makes impressive 3D renders of big-time Mac leaks [Setups]
It’s not every day you come across a high school student running a successful tech-based business – never mind one whose 3D renderings are routinely seen by thousands of people. But that’s the case with 17-year-old New Yorker Ian Zelbo and his RendersbyIan.
His detailed and realistic renders of leaked tech products, including Macs, get loads of exposure on social media from his clients, the likes of Jon Prosser of @FrontPageTech and Sam Kohl of iupdate.
What good are monitor light bars? [Setups]
When you look at lots of computer setups people pimp out on social media, you see the same questions cropping up among the comments. One common query: What good are monitor light bars? And what are they for, exactly?
It came up again the other day when Redditor Strigga posted about their MacBook Pro-based setup. Almost at the same time, we saw it again in Maize-Calm’s post about finishing up a setup with, guess what, a light bar.
24 years later, Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh still serves [Setups]
By the time of its release in March 1997, the over-the-top-shelf powerhouse known as the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh had seen its initial price of $9,000 cut to $7,499, or about $12,000 in today’s dollars.
The interesting-but-still-hopelessly unaffordable system — for a time delivered door-to-door and set up by tuxedoed concierges — failed in the marketplace. It went on to become a collector’s item.
These days, a Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh, or TAM, often sells for around $1,500. So Redditor Cbaltz2 kind of scored when he picked one up a while back on eBay for $800. And remarkably, he found a good use for it in the here and now.
One mammoth display to rule them all [Setups]
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.
Actually, the original Magic Keyboard will work with new iPad Pro
Turns out the 2020 version of Apple Magic Keyboard does fit the slightly thicker iPad Pro set for release in May. Apple said Thursday the accessory is “functionally compatible” with its newest tablet.
The clarification was necessary because previous statements from the company seemed to indicate that only a new, larger version of keyboard case was usable with the 12.9-inch version of the 2021 iPad Pro.
Desperately seeking keyboard recommendations [Setups]
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.
Original $350 Apple Magic Keyboard is ‘functionally compatible with’ 2021 iPad Pro [Updated]
The 12.9-inch 2021 iPad Pro unveiled April 20 is slightly thicker than its predecessor. And that’s enough to prevent the latest tablet from being a good fit with the Apple Magic Keyboard released last year. But apparently the fit is just close enough.
Update April 29, 2021: Apple added a paragraph to its support document for this keyboard that says:
“The first generation of the Magic Keyboard (A1998) is functionally compatible with the new iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation) with Liquid Retina XDR display. Due to the slightly thicker dimensions of this new iPad Pro, it’s possible that the Magic Keyboard may not precisely fit when closed, especially when screen protectors are applied.”
Work/podcasting/gaming setup sees major upgrades [Setups]
After working remotely as a digital marketer for a startup for more than a year, EU-based Redditor WMR2 decided it was time to upgrade the ol’ MacBook Pro-based work/podcasting/gaming setup. Enter new desk, chair and external display.
What, you were expecting a new computer? That’s not always necessary.
Two ‘trash can’ Macs form core of nerdy workstation built to last [Setups]
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 can still save $100 on iPad Pro’s Magic Keyboard
Amazon is still offering by far the biggest discount we’ve seen on the brilliant Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro. You can save a whopping $100 on the 11-inch model, which is also compatible with the latest iPad Air.
We don’t expect this discount to last much longer now, so grab it before it’s gone.
Retailers slash $100 off 12.9-inch Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro
The biggest ever discount on the outstanding 12.9-inch Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro is back. Order yours from Amazon or Best Buy today for just $249 — down from $349 — before the price returns to normal.
You can also save $100 on the 11-inch model for iPad Pro and the newest iPad Air, which is now just $199.
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Use Apple’s keyboard and trackpad in your lap with MagicBridge Extended
Twelve South’s MagicBridge Extended takes two Apple input devices and makes them into one. It attaches the Magic Trackpad 2 to the Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad so they can both be used in your lap.
‘Magic’ peripherals and M1 Mac mini take dual curved screens to the max [Setups]
With the recent arrival of a dual-monitor stand, Oxford, England-based Russ Hicks completed an overhaul of the setup that powers the one-man business he has run for 25 years: Genesis Marketing Services.
He specializes in printing equipment suppliers and packaging services. And his business now runs on a Mac mini M1 and dual curved screens.
Multiple sclerosis has made Hicks’ work more challenging recently, but Apple products have helped him deal with it.