If you count the MacBook Pro, it's a triple-display workstation. Photo: Mia@Detroit
Mia, a software developer from Detroit who writes mobile apps, got in touch with Cult of Mac recently to share her MacBook Pro-driven, dual-display workstation.
“I love your setup articles but sometimes they make me feel bad about myself,” she said.
Which makes you swoon more, the 30-inch Cinema Displays or the mounted Yamaha powered speakers with the Mackie Big Knob controller? Photo: gagigu1@Reddit.com
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.
In the after photo, a new LG 4K monitor replaces the Cinema Display, among other key changes. Photo: jonyoungmusic@Reddit.com
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.
In terms of proper ergonomics, the "before" photo set off some alarm bells. Photo: cmcmanus96@Reddit.com
If your computer setup had three screens, including a MacBook Pro, an iPad and a 32-inch external monitor, would you make the iPad the center screen? Would you put your screened devices on stands, or leave them at or near table level? Today’s setup saw a transition that might actually save its owner from years of physical therapy.
“This is what neck pain would look like if it were a setup,” someone said about the “before” photo, above.
Ready, aim, fire! Get the perfect sound with mounted desktop speakers. Photo: rovervogue@reddit.com
These days, you can find computers and monitors with pretty good speakers. Or you can set up a pair HomePod minis or some other nice little Bluetooth speakers for solid computer setup sound.
But some people aren’t happy unless they have massive audio power on the desktop, complete with perfectly positioned speaker stands for maximum balance and clarity — and all of their speakers’ impressive wattage pointed right at their face.
They finally got it just like they like it. How would yours look? Photo: PlaZma64@Reddit.com
There’s nothing like toiling over a computer setup until you get it just how you like it. Of course, that can mean many different things to different people. Some folks’ setups are as austere as a monk’s workbench while others look like Mission Control on steroids.
Redditor PlaZma64 recently drew attention to their newly completed setup with a post entitled, “Finally got my setup how I like it.” It’s centered on a MacBook Pro, an iPad Pro and a slew of Apple peripherals.
It seems more and more people swear by the Magic Trackpad and Magic Mouse combo. Photo: i_am_cris@Reddit.com
When you travel the online highways and byways in search of cool computer setups, you start to notice certain patterns. One is that lots of people seem to love Apple’s Magic Trackpad. Another is that plenty of folks hate the Magic Mouse. And a third seems to see a growing number of people absolutely love using a Magic Trackpad + mouse combo — which some onlookers find mystifying.
The Apple Cinema Display is nice, but the Harmon Kardon SoundSticks really grab the eye. Photo: DoomNukem1993@Reddit.com
Sometimes on a Friday — or really any day of the week — we like to go back in time with an old-school cool Mac computer setup. That is, when we can find something on the retro side to feature. Luckily, today we found one.
iMac and MacBook Pro, check. Massive display, check. Le Creuset mug, check. Photo: Doyniish@Reddit.com
Redditor Doyniish runs a Mission Control-looking workstation, thanks a gargantuan monitor in between a substantial 24-inch iMac display on the left and a MacBook Pro on a stand to the right. In the shot, they’re all festooned with open windows, making it look like all the work in the world is in progress at that particular desk.
Spot the old iBook on the shelf to the right and The Cult of Mac hardcover under the display. Photo: 17parkc@Reddit.com
We last saw Redditor 17parkc after they took delivery of their lovely new blue 24-inch iMac in May. Now it looks like they moved to a new studio apartment with a few new toys. Actually, in one case, an old toy — an iBook from back in the day, sometime around the turn of this century.