Category Archives: Apple Silicon

Lets Talk about Macs with Intel Processors

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It’s always difficult to talk about electronic obsolescence. But I think the time has come for those of you that are McIntosh users to start thinking about that particular topic. Back in November 2020 Apple released its first M series processor, the M1 since then, Apple has converted the entire MacIntosh lineup, and actually the iPad lineup and the iPhone lineup to processors built on Apple Silicon. Today, nearly the entire line has some version of an M4 processor. I am always an advocate for you to continue to use your computer as long as you’re comfortable with it and as long as it functions for the tasks that you purchased it for. But once in a while, there comes a time when technology moves beyond what you currently have and you need to begin considering moving forward with that technology.

If you are one of those people that are still using a Mac with an Intel processor, it’s come time for you to consider a replacement. You can check your processor by going to the Apple menu and selecting About This Mac. It will clearly tell you both a version of the operating system you are using and also the type of processor. If you’re still using a machine with an Intel processor that means that it’s probably about five years old or getting very close. Max typically have a lifespan of about seven years, and I’m not saying these Intel Macs are dead, but the functionality that Apple is adding to its devices, including Apple Intelligence, are only going to be supported on Apple’s new M1 or newer processors. We are already starting to see that while these machines will update to macOS 15, many of the new features that Apple has added to that version are not available to entail processors. I’ve also experienced recently the difference in performance between any Mac with an Intel processor and any Mac with an Apple Silicon processor. The speed difference is truly astounding. Even the M1 processor is going to be multiple times faster than what you have with Intel. The new M4 Macs are even more astounding.  You would be amazed the difference in manipulating a photo library with 20,000 images, or even a documents folder with 500 documents in it. The performance difference is like night and day.

So while it might not be something you have to consider tomorrow, you need to put it on your radar that if you’re using an Intel Mac, you probably need to be considering a new Mac. There is good news in all of this, though that because the new max are so much faster than the old ones, you may not need as expensive a machine as you purchased in the past. If you’re using a MacBook Pro, you might be able to consider the MacBook Air. The MacBook Air is using an M4 processor and is extremely fast. The new iMacs are also so much faster than the previous versions, you may not need to upgrade as high in the lineup to get performance that will suit your needs.

In addition, the lower end machines, our lower priced than they were the last time you purchased a machine. If you need a desktop machine, a Mac mini starts at $599. You can even get sales of that machine debt to almost $500. Same goes with the MacBook Air, an M3 MacBook Air, now that the M4’s are out, is selling for less than $1000. It has to, Apple reduce the price of the M4 MacBook Air to just $999.

I’m always happy to consult with you and discuss what your needs might be. But keep in mind, support for Intel processors with Apple operating systems is going to go away. It’s just a matter of time, and the performance difference we’re seeing in these new Apple Silicon machines is so much better, it’s time to start considering the change.

Apple Changes the name of your Apple ID Again

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Apple ID. The single sign-on information used with all Apple products and services. Over the years, as Apple was implementing their Internet strategy, the poor Apple ID started off with many other names.

When I first got my Apple account, it was called a iTools.  Over the years, the services evolved and change names to .Mac in September 2002, to  MobileMe in June 2008, and finally to Apple ID in 2011. Hidden in a few lines of a press release, Apple announces that beginning with the operating systems coming in the fall of 2024 your Apple ID changes again. Now, Apple ID will be referred to as your Apple account. If you want to read more about this evolution, check this on Wikipedia.

In retrospect, Apple account probably makes more sense than all these other names that it’s been called over the years. Hopefully Apple account will become common in all the terminology that people use when they talk about logging into an apple device. But I still deal with clients, that when we have to look up their password in their password book, we have to look for .Mac, MobileMe, Apple ID, and now Apple account.

In an Apple Newsroom Press Release about features in the new releases, in the last paragraph, , Apple says,

With the releases of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and watchOS 11, Apple ID is renamed to Apple Account for a consistent sign-in experience across Apple services and devices, and relies on a user’s existing credentials.

So, beginning in September with the release of the new operating systems, we will begin referring to it as your Apple account.

Spring 2024 Computer Recommendations

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At least once a year I like to give my opinion on what type of a computer someone should be looking for if they’re in the market to purchase a new machine. Many times, there are so many computers on the marketplace that it’s hard to make a decision based upon the functionality you’ll need to use. Basically I break these into two categories, a minimum performance machine and a high-performance machine. If you are a high-performance user, you already know that. If you’re not sure, a minimum performance device is probably where you need to be working.

Often times in the big box stores you find machines that have some of the specifications but not all of them. Big box machines are typically built, particularly on the PC side, with a price in mind. Often times, the machine has specifications that don’t meet current use specs. This also shows up on many Internet sites. Be sure to look into the specifications you’re selecting for the machine that you’re looking to purchase.

In my opinion, brands do matter.  Seeing many machines with problems, I can say that Macintosh computers are generally the most trouble free and will maintain good performance for a longer period.

But some people need Windows for specific applications.  When it comes to Windows computers, my experience says that I would look for these brands (in order):

  1. Dell
  2. HP
  3. Lenovo

All three of these vendors maintain good support websites and make updating hardware drivers easier.  That doesn’t mean much when the machine is new but as it ages, it means everything.

Windows Systems

Laptop, Minimum Performance

Memory: 16 GB
Processor: Intel Core i5 (with at least 4 cores)
Storage: 256 GB SSD minimum
Graphics: Integrated graphics
Networking: wireless
Operating System: Windows 11

Laptop, Higher Performance

Memory: 32-64 GB
Processor: Intel Core i7 or i9
Storage: 512 GB SSD minimum
Graphics: Integrated graphics or dedicated if available
Networking: wireless
Operating System: Windows 11

Foe Macintosh Systems, a MacBook Air is the correct machine for entry to mid stream users today.  For more professional uses and MacBook Pro is great.  If you want a desktop the new M3 iMac is great and either the Mac mini or Mac Studio on the higher end make great sense.  Avoid the Mac Pro desktop.  It’s price vs performance is low for nearly all users.

Macintosh Systems

Laptop, Minimum Performance

Memory: 8 GB
Processor: Apple M2 or M3
Storage: 256 GB SSD minimum
Graphics: Integrated graphics
Networking: wireless
Operating System: MacOS 14

Laptop, Higher Performance

Memory: 16-32 GB
Processor: Intel Core M2 Pro, M2 Max, or M3 series
Storage: 512 GB SSD minimum
Graphics: Integrated graphics or dedicated if available
Networking: wireless
Operating System: MacOS 14

Microsoft Publisher File… On a Mac….

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Many years ago, I created a bunch of documents in Microsoft publisher. It was a wonderful desktop publishing program, and it came with the full version of Microsoft office on the PC. Until now, I have kind of thought those documents were orphaned and would not be usable on my Mac. But in doing some research, I ran across the program that can open Microsoft publisher files and allow you to continue editing those files and make changes to them. 

LibreOffice, a free product that is sustained by the donations is the only software I’ve been able to find that allows Microsoft publisher documents to be opened. It does not allow you to receive those files as publisher documents, but you can save them in their LibreOffice file format.  I was pleasantly surprised of the fidelity of the transfer from publisher. It opens the publisher file directly, and let you make edits using the tools that are native to LibreOffice.  Fields that were originally created as text, are still editable text. Photos that were imported into publisher are still movable scalable photos. Lines drawn in publisher, across as lines and are editable just as they would be in publisher.

So if you’re looking for a way to move publisher documents from the PC to the Mac, LibreOffice is the one to choose. It is free to download and try and is available in intel and Apple Silicon versions.

Scan Your Computer Using Malwarebytes

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Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a tool that allows you to scan your computer to find and remove malware like viruses and spyware.

To start your first scan, click [Scan] after it opens.

The scan may take several minutes.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now start scanning. When the scan finishes, a screen will show any malware that was detected, if any was detected.

What Do I Do if MalwareBytes Finds Threats on my Computer?
If malware has been found on your computer, you may remove it by following the prompts within MalwareBytes once the scan is finished to view the report and to quarantine the threats. To manage them quarantined threats after a scan has already been completed, click [Detection History] on the main page. Once the scan has been complete and the threats have been quarantined, the system may require you to reboot the computer. When the computer restarts, do another scan to verify that there are no continuing threats.

Update Malwarebytes
To update Malwarebytes once it has already been installed, do the following:

Launch Malwarebytes.
On the launch page, click the gear icon in the top-right corner to view the settings. Click the [About] button on the far right corner. The currently installed version of MalwareBytes will appear on the left. Click the [Check for Updates] button to check for updates. If no update is found, you currently have the latest version installed. If you are prompted to install an update, install the update and do another scan on your computer.
After Malwarebytes has been updated, scan your computer.

Scan Your Computer
To scan your computer with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware after your initial scan, do the following:

Launch Malwarebytes.
Make sure Malwarebytes is up to date (see above).
Click the [Scan] button.
Let the scan progress. If threats are found, follow the prompts to quarantine the threats.

You now have successfully scanned your computer using MalwareBytes.

Apple Silicon MacBook Air is Amazing!

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I am really liking my new MacBook Air. The performance of this machine is amazing. Initially I had a few problems with some applications that weren’t quite ready for Apple Silicon yet, but as of today, every application I use is either Apple Silicon ready or runs extremely well in Rosetta 2. It’s actually pretty amazing to think that Apple has turned this major change around so successfully. In just a little over a month, Apple released new machines, delivered them, and was successful in getting developers to make sure their applications all run just fine on them.

I’ve been around the Macintosh community for a long time. I remember the transition from PowerPC to Intel. It was quite painful. Many applications didn’t work initially, and some never were able to be made to work.  But this time, everything is changed. Apple has provided such high performance in the initial offerings that developers realize they must keep up. And they have.

When I initially installed my applications on the new MacBook Air, I had a couple of major ones that I was unable to get to work at all. First off, I use a program called ScreenFlow to do video capture of the computer screen. I realize I could do that in QuickTime, but screen flow just makes it much simpler, and provides the ability to be able to do so many additional things, it’s just one of those applications I have to have. But as of now, screen flow not only runs in Apple Silicon, it’s been made to be M1 compliant. That means they did the conversion to make it function at a high-level.

The other major application was google back up and sync. This is the app that runs in the background and copies your Google drive down to your computer so that you have direct access to the files. Initially it didn’t work but today, I ran the application and all of a sudden everything works fine now. I suspect this was a result of either a Google update, or an Apple update that took care of the problem. Either way, everything works great now.

This leaves just one problem that I’m having on the new Apple Silicon device. I have a printer, a Canon PIXMA pro 100.  This printer, has an application that runs inside photo shop that allows me to print color matching photographs. Unfortunately, this application is so poorly written that every version of macOS breaks it. It’s actually pretty distressing after spending money on a printer that Canon uses so few resources for their macOS software that they can’t seem to get it right. Time after time it takes months for this plugin software to get fixed. And unfortunately, that printer is no longer manufactured so I don’t exactly know what to expect with it. I’m not holding this out as a major issue, but I will continue to check to see if that driver gets updated.

Overall, so far I’m highly impressed with Apple’s new Apple Silicon devices. Keep in mind, these are just the first three models that have been released, as new models are released, I’m sure they’ll add additional features, and additional performance. But overall, this MacBook Air is a keeper.

First Impression: New Apple Silicon Macs

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I had the opportunity to work with one of the new MacBook airs and I have to say it’s amazingly fast. Very smooth, very clean, pretty much anything compiled for that new processor just happens, doesn’t really take a lot of time.

Even apps that are not compiled for it, that running emulation, a pretty darn fast to. Maybe even faster than on an Intel machine.

But it’s not without it’s problems at this point. A few developers, need to get their butts in gear, and make their applications work. Poorly written, or older programs have problems.  One I ran into was the Google back up and sync that copies your Google drive down to your computer.  It won’t run at all. Google has acknowledged the problem, but has yet to say when they’ll fix it.

I have Printer Driver issues with the Canon Pixma Pro series printers.  Canon has a Photoshop plugin that prints very well but is badly written and breaks with every update.  It is broken again.

Also from some research I did, screen flow doesn’t run at all either. Kind of surprised. I thought these guys were pretty much on top of things but in this case, they’re gonna need to modify. They’ve also acknowledged the problem and say they’ve got a fix in the works.

Overall, these are gonna be great machines. Possibly even revolutionary in the performance they give at a very low price point.

It’s become pretty obvious to me I need to get familiar with them to keep my skill level up. These are the future.

Give developers a couple of months, and I could probably give it a qualified buy rating.