It is no secret that I am an avid Apple user. I have been using a Mac in some fashion as my primary computer since 2016. I have had a 13″ M2 MacBook Pro since 2022, and recently got an 27-inch Intel-based iMac from my best friend’s parents. I have no plans of leaving the “Mac World” anytime soon. The iPhone world, maybe, but not the Mac. I live in Final Cut Pro and Compressor, I breathe in Safari, I pour my brain out into Notes. This has been my world for 8 years now. It’s hard to break that sort of cycle.

Now, I’m no stranger to Linux — Ubuntu 8.04 was what I learned how to use a computer on. That’s why Macs feel so natural to me; they feel very similar in the ease-of-use and performance departments. Windows is neither of those things. The only reason anyone uses Windows is application support, primarily gamers. (And for gamers, that’s really because kernel level anti-cheat exists, frankly. If developers embraced less insecure anti-cheat solutions, we would not be in this mess.)

Windows hasn’t been a good performer since Windows 7. It has been infested with ads since Windows 8/8.1, only getting worse with 10 and especially 11. Even with Windows 10 about to lose support next October, nobody’s rushing to upgrade to the latest release. In fact, Windows 11’s market share just fell AGAIN, losing an entire percentage point on the global Statscounter. I recognize that may not sound like a lot, but remember there are hundreds of millions of Windows computers out there. This isn’t insignificant!

The tests I ran were not really scientific so take it with a grain of salt, but: even on a decked-out Lenovo Ideapad 3 Gaming (2021 model), everything upgraded to the maximum it can possibly go with all new SSDs, the computer performs miles better under Pop!_OS (Linux) than it ever did under Windows 11. Windows 10 seems to perform somewhat better than 11, but not nearly as good as Pop!_OS did.

Because I use that computer for games, compatibility with my Steam library becomes a giant question mark. Even if they are compatible, most have some sort of configuration I need to do. And games like Mass Effect: Legendary Edition or Fallout: New Vegas become even more of a question mark, because I’m not even sure I can run their mods or even their respective launchers!

So, even though I’m feeling “done,” I’m not sure I can leave just yet. At least not until I can figure out the answers to the questions I have in regards to the games I play. Until then, I’m just going to rip out telemetry, continue using an Enterprise release with minimal bloat, and hope for the best…

The post I’m feeling done with Windows again appeared first on Slade Watkins.

With this leap, and their partnership with ChatGPT that made billionaire conspiracy theorist and known idiot Elon Musk* squeamish (and eventually Community Noted by his own platform) for whatever reason, I’m certain that Apple has the lead in building AI. Why? Because they’re building it safely and privately, with the user being the most important part. That should be applauded! That’s how it should be done!

*I’m not linking out directly to his tirade, Elon can go pound sand, but enjoy this funny interaction that I wholeheartedly agree with:

Also, Elon uses an iPhone to send out all of his Tweets. So, might be time for him to get a new phone if he hates this Apple Intelligence thing so much! Haha.

Any way, while the AI craze is likely to die out eventually, it’s here to stay for now. My opinion is that technology should be built with user privacy at the forefront of everything, and Apple is one of the leading companies out there when it comes to privacy. Period. Apple is a trend setter, and I’m hoping the rest of the industry follows their lead here. Privacy and security are a really big deal to consumers right now. More so than ever, frankly.

Now probably the thing I’ve been most anticipating (for over a year now) RCS isn’t available on the iOS 18 beta (yet?), which is incredibly frustrating. It’s probably coming in Beta 2 or something, but part of me doubts they’ll add it. But that said, a large number of features announced on stage aren’t available on any of the new operating system betas released to developers today. It’s quite worrying, considering that besides Apple Intelligence, none of these updates are particularly “huge” so-to-speak. But, we must be patient!

Overshadowed

All of that said, this conference was overshadowed by an incredibly bigger issue with Apple right now: their compliance (or alleged lack thereof) with the Digital Markets Act. You still, in iOS 18/iPadOS 18, cannot sideload or install any app you’d like — let alone any third-party storefronts — on the device you paid for outside of the EU. Meanwhile, on Android, you can just install the app and all Google will do is a virus/malware scan to make sure it’s clean. That’s it. No (real) scare screen, no problem.

Apple should’ve unlocked this functionality for everyone and got ahead of the regulators here. It wouldn’t have solved every issue, but it would have at least made it seem like Apple was trying to work in good faith. Alas… it wasn’t meant to be.

I’m a firm believer that if you paid for a thing, you should be allowed to do whatever you want with it. Nobody should stop you, or limit how much you can do that thing, or anything like that. And certainly companies shouldn’t be telling you what you can or cannot run on your device, either. I’m hoping that the Courts and/or Congress will step in and fix that soon.

The Department of Justice here in the States is currently in a lawsuit against Apple, so hopefully we seem them loosening their restrictions (à la macOS). I’m betting we probably will, considering Apple’s partial loss in Epic v. Apple a few years back.

Regardless, as I write this post in my text editor to send out to you, I’ve updated my M2 MacBook Pro to macOS 15 Sequoia. Along with the rest of the Apple fleet I currently have around me, of course! (Can’t do the Apple TV yet since it’s at a friend’s house, whoops.) But as I mentioned, there’s not a lot new to report on right now–but the betas across the board have felt relatively snappy on iPhone 11, 12, Apple Watch Series 6, and MacBook Pro (M2, 2022). I’ll keep you posted, though!

The post WWDC 2024: Intelligence and The Shadow Casting Above appeared first on Slade Watkins.

I’m incredibly excited! I’ll be watching with one of my best friends, Adam, later. Really interested in how Apple approachs this new AI world we’re living in…

If you’re curious about what I’m hoping for, or want to see all of my WWDC24 coverage, here are links:

• My wishlist
• All WWDC24 coverage

The post The WWDC 2024 Keynote is today! appeared first on Slade Watkins.

It’s so much faster, and it has an incredibly beautiful design. Check it out! (Not sponsored or anything, genuinely love it!)

The post I Love My New Window Manager on My Mac appeared first on Slade Watkins.

• A nice design refresh for iOS/iPadOS 18 — bring it more in line with the rest of the OS family! Both have felt more or less the same, or similar, since iOS 7. Shake it up!
• macOS Big Sur and later icons on iOS, PLEASE. iOS needs to feel less bland and flat.
• macOS 15 should be improvements focused, don’t cram too much new stuff in. Make battery and other performance improvements. Double down and do some summer cleaning!
• watchOS 11 could do with some improvements too. Battery improvements on older models, especially…

If there’s anything else, I’ll update this… but I don’t really care about the other platforms so much. So this what I really, really want! I’m watching the events with a friend on event day, and I couldn’t be more excited! Love WWDC, favourite time of the year!

The post My WWDC24 Wishlist appeared first on Slade Watkins.

In 2016, I switched to Mac and haven’t returned to using Windows as my primary OS ever since. macOS and I have become very well acquainted over the years. That said, I have always kept a Windows computer around, mainly just for games. The two Windows computers I have now still run Windows 10. There are good things about 11 (the design is actually really pretty) but I think the performance is a significant downgrade from 10 and 7. I have fast computers so that they go fast. 11 is not a “fast” version of Windows.

I also hate how they shove Edge down your throat, disrespect your defaults, collect your data and advertise to you (despite the fact that the OS is literally paid), among other things. I worry about the implications of that fact…

Until 2022, I used a 2014 Mac mini and 2011 MacBook Pro (the latter with patches to get it relatively up to date) in combination with each other for a while. Both had SSDs, and I kept everything synced over iCloud so it was easy to drop a project on one computer and pick it up on another. AirDrop was indispensable to me in high school, and having my Mac be able to interact (without setup!) with my iPad and other devices was super helpful.

In 2022, I switched to Apple silicon — M2, specifically. My tiny 13-inch MacBook Pro absolutely obliterates both of my other x86_64 based computers running Windows 10. Combined. And the Windows 11 VM I have in Parallels also leaves those computers in the dust, too. ARM certainly isn’t a new thing — Linux enthusiasts like me have enjoyed the benefits of it for years now — but Apple has absolutely found their way here.

Apple isn’t free from criticism. No one is. But they have an advantage here, and they deserve to be applauded for making decent software. (Even if the new System Settings app introduced in macOS 13 is a joke.)

The post The Little Apple Silicon MacBook Pro That Could appeared first on Slade Watkins.

In case you were curious how I had my computer set up in this month in 2017, I found a screenshot laying around of a client’s website, but for some reason, it was my entire desktop. I don’t work with these folks anymore — so it’s blurred out here — but I believe the computer this was running on was a Mid 2010 Mac Mini running macOS Sierra!

At some point down the line, I switched to an Early 2011 MacBook Pro, and then eventually upgraded to a 2014 Mac Mini and the 2022 M2 MacBook Pro that I currently use. macOS returned to a more skeuomorphic-inspired look. I believe they call it “neumorphic” or something like that.

For giggles, here’s what my desktop looks like today! A lot has changed. I actually store files on the Desktop now, and I don’t keep my RAM monitor in my Menu Bar anymore. I went for a tidy yet functional set up.

My Dock is hidden off to the right-hand side of my screen–with a Terminal tweak to make it instantly appear and reappear. For folder management on the Desktop (where I store in-progress projects), I use Stacks and I move the labels to the right. I use SoundSource to manage my audio interface, CleanShot X for screenshot management, and an app called Tiles to bring window snapping from Windows 7 and later to the Mac. Oh, and I keep Downloads in the Dock now, and don’t remove the shortcut anymore–it’s handy.

I suppose the only things hardware-wise besides the machine that has changed was my keyboard–I’m using a model of the Logi Pop Keys line that’s red/pink/off-white. Reason being is that it supports macOS keyboard shortcuts. On my other computers, I use a SteelSeries Apex 5.

Was kind of interesting to see this. Chrome certainly changed a lot, and macOS looks like a completely different piece of software. That screenshot I found was taken only about three months into my switch from Windows to Mac, too. Incredibly nostalgic! Wonder if I have any more old screenshots laying around somewhere…

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