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My Latest Computer

Entry 2185, on 2021-11-19 at 13:50:14 (Rating 1, Computers)

Before I continue with my comments on "Global Goals" I want to briefly talk about a completely different subject. Today is my birthday, and I decided to buy myself a new computer. Actually, the fact that the computer arrived a few days before my birthday was coincidental, because I ordered it as soon as Apple announced it, and it took a few weeks for it to be delivered.

My previous computer was a 2013 MacBook Pro 15 inch, with an i7 processor, 16G of memory, and a 1T SSD. Even after 8 years, it was still a really useful computer, but Apple have signalled their intention to move to their own processors and more and more features only work with that. Also, there was a flaw in the 2013 laptops where the anti-glare layer on the screen would wear making it "fuzzy" and hard to read, especially in strong light. I had already had it fixed twice for free, but future repairs would have cost a lot, because the whole screen is replaced.

The new computer has Apple's M1 Pro processor, with 10 CPU cores. This doesn't sound significantly better than the previous machine (which had an Intel i7 with 8 cores), so I was going to be interested in the performance differences. It also has a 16 inch screen instead of the 15, although the computer isn't really any bigger thanks to the screen extending closer to the edge of the case. And many other aspects were improved from previous models too.

Anyway, what are my impressions?

Well, long story short, it's awesome. If you want a really good laptop, and don't mind spending a bit extra (NZ$4600 in New Zealand, for the slightly upgraded model I got), this is the computer to go for!

The first thing I noticed was the screen. It is not massively better than previous screens, which were already very good, but the brightness, saturation, and contrast are excellent. The infamous notch at the top to accomodate the camera and other sensors was annoying to start with, but I have found a great way to minmise that (see later).

The second thing I noticed was the sound. It produces surprisingly good sound for a metal box about 1 centimeter thick. There is more bass than I would expect, and the stereo imaging is quite impressive.

The third thing I soon found - and this is arguably the most impressive feature - is the battery life. On the first day I thrashed it for about 8 hours at work, setting up new stuff and downloading a lot of data. Even after that, at the end of the day the battery was still on 70%. My previous laptop needed a recharge during the day. This one, I don't even take the charger with me, I just charge it overnight, along with my iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods.

Finally, the performance. Well, everything is close to instant. There's just no significant delay doing anything, which makes getting things done so much easier. As well as speed just being inherently good, it helps in two other ways. First, my thought processes work best when the computer does what I want as soon as I think of it. If I have to wait I have to think about what it is I was about to do (and no, that's not because of my advanced age). Second, I use features I wouldn't use in the past because they would have taken more time.

Here's an example. The graphics program I use now is called "Pixelmator Pro" (I don't use PhotoShop any more because I think Adobe products are bloated, and I don't like their licensing). It has a feature which uses machine learning to intelligently re-size images. This feature is far more complex than a simple resize and on the previous computer it would take about 3 minutes to process a UHD (3840 x 2400) image. As well as that, the fans would come on because the CPU was working so hard. Remember, for its time this computer had a great processor: the mighty i7.

Well, the new computer does the same thing in 5 seconds and there isn't a hint of extra heat or fan noise. In fact, nothing I have done so far has caused any significant heat, and certainly hasn't triggered the fans. Of course heat is just your battery power being converted into useless energy - entropy is such a pain - so the fact that the CPU cores are basically idling most of the time leads to awesome performance when you need it, and great battery life as well.

So it's fast, it looks good, and it sounds good. What else is worth noting?

The fingerprint sensor is very handy to unlock the device. As far as I can tell it works every time and can't be easily fooled. I also have the computer unlocked automatically by my Apple Watch, so I don't even need to use the sensor most times.

And, if you have high speed peripherals, the new USBC or Thunderbolt ports are amazingly fast, and more convenient than the old USBA connections.

What about the negatives? I mean, nothing new is all good, is it?

OK, that notch is a bit annoying, but I have found a cunning way to make it disappear. I created some desktop pictures ("wallpapers") with a black band along the top. Now it looks like the menu bar is a continuous band of black with the main screen below it. It's like the menu bar (which I had hidden on my previous machine) is not on the screen, but is still visible.

This laptop is slightly thicker than my previous one, and looks more "industrial" and somewhat less sleek. But there is a better gap between the screen and keyboard so that screen wear issue I mentioned should be eliminated. And presumably the extra thickness has allowed a bigger battery, leading to that great battery life I have already noted above.

There is also the issue with the new ports, so I can't plug older USB peripherals in directly. But at least there is a Magsafe power connector (incompatible with earlier MagSafe 1 and 2 - gee thanks Apple), and an SD card and HDMI port, as well as three USBC ports.

In general, this thing is just awesome. I have decided to rebuild my software from scratch instead of directly copying from the previous computer (which is what I have done in the past), so there are few things I haven't set up completely yet - like a Windows virtual machine - but other owners have reported this all works really well, so I am optimistic.

After 8 years (the time between my previous computer and this one) nothing has fundamentally changed, but the incremental improvements do make a difference. If you have a few thousand dollars to spare, and need a new computer, I highly recommend this one!

Comment 1 (7062) by Anonymous on 2022-01-28 at 22:24:36:

I need to run some Windows apps. Can you do that?

Comment 2 (7063) by OJB on 2022-01-28 at 22:25:08:

I am now running Windows 11 for ARM in Parallels and it is pretty fast. Haven't had time to fully check what does and doesn't run yet. I also believe there is some sort of deal preventing Microsoft fully releasing the ARM version at this time. I just joined the developer program (free) to get it.

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