Published inMac O’Clock·Nov 23Member-onlyApple’s M3 CPUs, Nothing to See HereApple is losing the Chip Wars — It’s been a few weeks since Apple’s “Scary Fast” event proclaimed the company’s continuing processor superiority over the rest of the industry. But what seemed undeniably true three years ago, when the company launched Apple silicon with the M1, is at best highly questionable today. Here’s Tim Cook kicking off…Apple6 min readApple6 min read
Published inMac O’Clock·Aug 28Member-onlyApple’s LaserWriter Changed EverythingThe time Steve Jobs and John Warnock dented the universe. — The passing of Dr. John Warnock, co-founder of Adobe Systems Inc. and co-inventor of Interpress, PostScript, and the PDF file format has generated inspiring tributes from news organizations all over the world. As one of the countless people who benefited from Dr. …Apple5 min readApple5 min read
Aug 1Member-onlyHow I Gambled My Way to Maximum Social Security BenefitsThe key lay in starting decades before retirement age — After a 47-year work history (52 years if you count my paper route) I am finally eligible to start receiving Social Security retirement benefits. If like me you are at or near retirement age, your news feed is regularly littered with stories debating when to start claiming benefits. Today’s story…Social Security5 min readSocial Security5 min read
Published inMac O’Clock·Jul 5Member-onlyCreate Immersive Entertainment Experiences on the MacSmart lights pair nicely with the Apple Studio Display — I’m not sure if I’m ready for the brave new world that is the Apple Vision Pro, but when En Kelly demoed its Mount Hood movie viewing experience during the WWDC23 Apple Keynote I decided it was time to give immersive lighting a try. I’d already been primed for making…Mac5 min readMac5 min read
Published inMac O’Clock·Jun 19Member-onlyPlaying Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2/3/4 on the Mac miniPlayStation emulators resurrect the games I played with my kids — It’s Father’s Day weekend and I guess I’m feeling a little wistful. My kids were born in the nineties which means my wife and I have been empty nesters for a few years now. The house has grown quiet of late, but twenty-five years ago it reverberated with the sound…Apple4 min readApple4 min read
Published inMac O’Clock·Mar 17Member-onlyTrickle-Down Apple SiliconMaking sense of the latest Mac update rumors — If you’re anxiously looking forward to the debut of the Apple silicon Mac Pro then you probably remember when Apple senior vice president of Hardware Engineering John Ternus said “just one more product to go: Mac Pro” during the Mac Studio launch. …Apple5 min readApple5 min read
Published inMac O’Clock·Mar 14Member-onlyHere Comes the MacBook Studio?The 15-inch MacBook rumors are hard to ignore — Since my M2 Pro Mac mini arrived at the end of January I’ve been largely ignoring the rumors about which Macs will come next. Instead, I’ve been content to take advantage of the amazing Mac mini, recently knocking out the latest update to my golf-themed Wordle app, Word Golf Ace…Apple4 min readApple4 min read
Published inMac O’Clock·Mar 6Member-onlyIn Defense of the Apple TaxThe truth will set you free. Or not. It’s entirely up to you — I broke my rule again. I knew before I wrote it that a story about how expensive Macs are compared to PCs was going to generate negative responses. I didn’t write it for that reason. If anything, that fact almost kept me from writing the story (I actively try to…Apple5 min readApple5 min read
Published inMac O’Clock·Feb 27Member-onlyWho’s Winning The CPU Wars?Everyone. Everywhere. All at once. — In the fall of 2016, I bought a 13-inch MacBook Pro with an Intel Skylake processor. Little did I know it would be my last Mac laptop with an Intel CPU, an outcome largely dictated by Intel’s failure to maintain its tick-tock (die shrink/microarchitecture) production model. Intel’s production woes had…Apple5 min readApple5 min read
Published inMac O’Clock·Feb 20Member-onlyThe Apple Tax Costs More Than You ThinkA tale of two computer purchases — I’ve already written two Medium stories about my purchase of the M2 Pro Mac mini. One describes how powerful the computer is and another discusses how it improved the development process for my golf-themed Wordle app, Word Golf Ace. …Apple4 min readApple4 min read
