I recently had a chance to try first-hand the AirPods Max for an extended time, and I found them pretty impressive. Whilst they are undoubtedly not cheap, the build quality is incredible, and the experience of using them is a joy. They handle switching between multiple sources/devices seamlessly, a giant improvement over any other I’ve tried. Head tracking means you have the illusion of the audio coming from actual speakers in the room - when I first watched a YouTube video, I had to lift the AirPods Max from my ears to see if it wasn’t the speakers from the machine. They are comfortable even over an hour or two, and the battery life is impressive.

One last thing; the design of the “stalk” where the head band meets the cups reminds me of the iMac G4 arm!

Currently listening: London Elektricity - “Meteorites”

Back in 2008, a European company came out with an expensive dongle that promised to allow a PC to run Mac OS X. It would plug into a USB header on certain PC motherboards and included a boot manager that could let you select from a number of installed operating systems. They claimed it was highly specialised technology they’d developed.

However, someone scraped through the protective epoxy within to find that it was essentially just a USB stick full of unacknowledged Open Source code.

I bought this in 2014 as a historical oddity, it now sits amongst a bunch of weird and wonderful tech miscellanea on some shelves.

Currently listening: Sahara Beck - “Queen of Hearts”

Not only was there no new high-end iMac announced at the Apple event, they’ve discontinued it! I don’t think it is the last one we’ve seen - but it will be a while until that happens.

To be honest, I’m disappointed. It’s been my preferred model in the Mac line-up ever since the 24-inch was introduced in 2006.

Currently listening: Orange Juice - “Rip It Up”

Well, it is official, Apple has an event next Tuesday, “Peek Performance”, the invitation headline reads. It would be a real long-shot I feel for “peek” to refer to the rumoured AR headset, but there’s a small chance. Given it’s a new category of device, they will preview it before a release about six months later (as with the iPhone and Apple Watch).

I feel the iPhone SE 3rd Gen and iPad Air 5th Gen are a shoe-in.

It will be interesting to see what new Apple Silicon machine is announced, a higher-end Mac mini or a replacement for the MacBook Pro 13-inch are most likely.

I doubt we’ll see the iMac 27-inch replacement now, that will be later this year I’d say.

All will be revealed on Tuesday!

Currently listening: Kasabian - “Butcher Blues”

Not posting anything this week. Not in the mood. Stay strong, Ukraine 🇺🇦🥺

I’m really hanging out for a redesigned iMac 27-inch, which I know must be coming in the next few months. This will be the first full redesign of the larger model in nearly a decade, assuming you don’t include the iMac Pro.

I’d say it’s a given that it will be sporting an M1 Pro chip inside, with the option of upgrading to an M1 Max. It will have only flash storage internally, and have no upgradability after leaving the factory. It will presumably have 6, or even 8 Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports, but I’d be surprised if it had any USB-A ports or even an HDMI port.

I’m guessing the screen quality will be the best of any iMac ever, with no Face ID and no notch.

I’m also guessing that it will use the same design of external power brick as the iMac 24-inch, potentially even the exact same type, as there is a lot of headroom with the wattage of the current ones.

In terms of surprises, I’d like to imagine there will be something about the new-new-new iMac that will give it the ol’ “wow factor”…

Currently listening: Bo Diddley - “Help Out”

And I have realised two things;

1: It would be extremely handy if you could share the location of a single AirTag with others in the “Family Sharing” group, and,

2: Our cat doesn’t really go as far during the day as we all assumed!

Currently listening: Ramones - “Blitzkrieg Bop”

In our living room we have a sideboard which stores a random assortment of charging cables (mostly USB variants), a bunch of video games, etc. On top lives a Sonos speaker, a family portrait, a smart light, and some decorative hourglasses. I’m generally a big fan of minimalism, but has become apparent we needed something a bit bigger!

We looked at a lot of options, including having something custom made, but finally decided on an IKEA Ersnäs. I’d looked at the IKEA options a couple of times, but none suited, this only became available quite recently I believe.

I was not a fan of the wooden handles, so I replaced them with some brushed metal ones, which I think improved things.

Now to get all the power cables sorted, drill some holes, and install a couple of mounts on the side for the Nintendo Switch and Wii U!

www.ikea.com/au/en/p/e…

Currently listening: Van Morrison - “Saint Dominic’s Preview”

It’d be handy on the iPhone keyboard if that when you hold down shift and press delete it was a forward delete, which is to say deleting character by character to the right of the text insertion point…

Currently listening: Georgia - “Started Out”

Very excited to see the latest beta versions of macOS Monterey and iPadOS have finally enabled Universal Control, with the final public release looking to be in March. This feature allows for a truly seamless melding of devices where a single set of peripherals can be used between two Macs, or an iPad and a Mac. Imagine simply moving your cursor to the edge of one screen and it then pops up on the other device, with no cables and very little configuration. It takes a lot of effort behind the scenes to make something that works this slickly.

Currently listening: Total Giovanni - “Human Animal”

The very first Mac I saw was a lonely Macintosh Classic in my high school computer lab. There were about 30 or so PCs running Windows 3.1.1 connected up using Novell NetWare over “ThinNet”. The Classic was stuck in a corner, not connected to anything except a printer, and ignored by the IT teacher who sneeringly referred to it as being “just a toy”. When I sat down in front of it and began to use it, it was as though a lightning bolt hit me. I started mousing through the menus, windows, and icons, and had this feeling that this was a machine that was designed by people, for people. It was approachable, it was friendly - heck, it even had a smile when you switched it on! This would’ve been in the mid-90s, when everyone was sure Apple was on the brink of bankruptcy. They weren’t far from the truth then, but oh boy have things changed since…

Happy Birthday, Mac!

Currently listening: Bob Dylan - “The Times They Are a-Changin'”

I’m trying out at the moment a switch from a combination of “Things” and “Habit List” to simply using “TickTick” for my to-do’s across my iMac, iPhone and Apple Watch. I’m liking it so far, the difference is not any single large feature or workflow change that I can put my finger on, it’s more a combination of little things. I have been using Things for about 7 or so years, so there is bit of “unlearning” when it comes to making this change. I think I will stick with TickTick!

(https://ticktick.com)

Currently listening: The Brian Jonestown Massacre - “What You Isn’t”

I just noticed that the Satechi M1 Mouse displays its battery level in the Bluetooth menu in macOS Monterey. Handy!

Edit: having checked, the Logitech MX Master 3 Mouse does, but the Keychron K2 Keyboard does not. Hopefully the Vissles LP85 Keyboard I have coming does.

Currently listening: Amen Dunes - “Blue Rose”

More nostalgia… The classic Mac OS smile tiled desktop pattern - now high-res!

dribbble.com/shots/179…

Currently listening: Gábor Szabó - “The Beat Goes On”

Finally got around to watching this, good short documentary on Handspring, their journey and influence.

www.youtube.com/watch

Despite the icon being one that inspired fear and concern in so many old-school Mac folk, this screensaver manages to always make me smile.

Of course, my favourite screensaver of all time is the classic After Dark Flying Toasters!

stefan.arentz.ca/posts/201…

Currently listening: Kate Bush - “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)”

On the left is a NeXT mouse, which connects via ADB. This is the same connector c. 1986 - c. 1998 Macintosh used for mice, keyboards, joysticks, etc. “NeXT Computer, Inc” was the company Steve Jobs started after being kicked out of Apple in 1985. Apple then bought the company in 1997, primarily for the NeXTSTEP Operating System. Perhaps the best part of the deal was the return of Steve.

On the right is the dreaded “hockey puck” USB mouse that came with the iMac G3. The design was unpopular enough that there were plastic snap-on covers to try to improve the ergonomics. I recall there was one called “iCatch” - good to know Dad jokes can become product names.

Currently listening: The Call - “The Walls Came Down”

My aim with this blog is to cover technology I love or dislike - some old, some new - smart home gripes and issues I run into, workflow advice, and random things that catch my eye. It may be at times idiosyncratic (clue is in the name), but then again it is my little corner of the interwebs. Enjoy!

Currently listening: Luiz Bonfá - “Jacaranda”