The M3 iMac Isn't for me (or you...)

Apple's iMac strategy doesn't make sense.  The iMac used to be a top-of-the-line computer, but now they want you to buy a Mac Studio with a separate display that costs as much as an iMac.

As far as the iMac is concerned, there is no way I would go from a gorgeous 27-inch 5K display to a 24-inch 4K display.  The smaller iMac is not intended for pro users.  It would make a good family computer, but the lack of x86 compatibility is a serious drawback.

The M3 Pro chip benchmarks almost the same as the Ryzen 9 7940hs computer I paid just $640 for.  The base model M3 iMac starts at $1299.

Apple can only charge so much because, for some unfathomable reason, people are still buying their products.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRnyLbDe3yk&t=461s

We're Running Out of Sand to Make CPUs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgcxGmbCTpQ

The End Of The Smartphone Is Near

https://youtu.be/qEdyIvbzohs?si=Unu83oeTdQWpDbhU

Apple Built The Vision Pro to FAIL, and it's GENIUS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNEni_DP4fY

Realistically, the amount of hardware needed to make this work is not going to fit in an unobtrusive pair of glasses.  Not in this decade.  Maybe in the next one.

Flipper Zero WiFi Hacking (Rogue AP)

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Lci63yMBNEI

Horrible design of Apple's soldered in SSDs; it's WORSE than you thought!

https://youtu.be/RYG4VMqatEY

Phone Store Extortion | Jim Gaffigan

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/o9EswhAoGjI

The tale of four displays

I bought both used computer monitors with the intention of comparing them and selling one.

The 4K monitor appears to have more washed out colors. Faces are more pale. The Star Wars crawl is yellow orange on the 1440p monitor, but pure yellow on the 4K monitor.

The color on the 1440P is closer to my 5K iMac display, which is reportedly a high quality display, and has a slightly better viewing angle than the 4K monitor.

I had all three displays playing the same movie at the same time.


So I just compared the cheap 40 inch TV that I originally purchased for my Mom and stepdad, but I am now using as my TV. It appears to have the same washed out color range as the 4K monitor.

I would have never known the difference had I not compared these side by side.

This makes my idea of using a cheap TV as a computer monitor look bad. The color quality might not matter as much for watching television, but depending upon what you do with it, I think that it matters more for a computer monitor.


Best wishes,

John Coffey

I tried the Apple Vision Pro! Here's what it's really like

Too expensive for most people. In ten years everyone will have one.

https://youtu.be/twhCbWFDuy4

The Mac Mini Killer just got BETTER! - Minisforum @ Computex 2023

I've been waiting for this since the XBOX series X came out.  Granted, it is not a 12-teraflop SOC, but I have long wanted a powerful APU with good graphical performance.

I knew I wanted one when AMD announced this chip as the M-chip killer.  For gaming, it has a 5 teraflop performance.   You would have to buy an M2-pro model at $1300 to do just a little bit better.

I think that these chips were supposed to be out in February, but they kept getting delayed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86RfmMqBgkM

I'm not obligated to buy right now.  I have recently seen a couple of less powerful models on sale, for $289 and $320, both of which are still plenty powerful.  That's a big difference in price for computers that still have great performance.

This happens to the best of us

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/KPyWHH-vHOY

Can a game look TOO real?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZNzGDljDws&t=854s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_5s4dGmgr8

Console Power Comparison Chart - TheGamingSetup

https://thegamingsetup.com/console-power-comparison-chart

I find this interesting.  The Nintendo 64 was an extremely popular system but it is at the bottom of the list.  I was surprised at just how low the number was.

My NES Classic has a System On a Chip that is 5 gigaflops, but it can't run all N64 games, which is likely a problem with the emulator.  The various Raspberry Pi models have similar levels of power and have similar problems.

My iPhone 10 is capable of 500 gigaflops.  This is the same as the current model of the Nintendo Switch.   It is rumored that Nintendo is going to come out with a new Switch with ten times the power.  They have been getting much competition from other handheld devices that are more powerful.

As the iPhone models go up to the iPhone 14, it gradually increases to 1,500 gigaflops.

The Apple M2 GPU is 3.6 teraflops.  This is 10% less than the Radeon Pro 570 on my 2017 iMac.  By today's standards, the M2 chip would be barely adequate for playing games.

Life Before the Internet… You had to do WHAT!

This should be self-evident, but I grew up (mostly) before computers, microwave ovens, CD's, DVD's, and VCR's. High tech was a stereo system, transistor radio, or color TV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_nb7LlLGzc

M2 Mac Mini

I have come to believe that the M2 Mac Mini is a con and this is what we have come to expect from Apple.  If you want the coolness of Apple products, then you have to pay the Apple Tax. The M2 Mac Mini is successful because Apple does a really good job of hyping its products.

I want a faster computer than what I have now, and the M2 is most definitely faster, but the base model has four times less memory and storage.  Upgrading is cost-prohibitive because of what Apple charges for those upgrades, which I think is an insult.  Once you buy it, you have a computer that is not upgradeable, won't run my Windows games, and could die in five years due to SSD failure that can't be repaired. 

I recently saw a gaming PC on sale for $700.  Not only did it have a faster processor, more storage, and 32 gigs of RAM, but those components can be replaced if they fail.  Any decent PC could last up to 10 years. 

There are mini PCs that can give the Mac Mini a run for its money. I'm holding out for the AMD 7940hs, which should be at least as powerful if not more so. 

There are use cases, like content creation or app development, where the M2 processor with a memory upgrade might make sense.

I tried using AI. It scared me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPhJbKBuNnA&t=393s

ChatGPT: explain the quantum theory to a child in the style of Snoop Dog

https://www.emergentmind.com/posts/explain-the-quantum-theory-to-a-child-in-the-style-of

Our Phones Are Full of Sh%t

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKg5NvlJVZw

Apple Working on 20.5-Inch All-Screen Foldable Notebook for 2025

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-working-on-20-5-inch-all-screen-foldable-notebook-for-2025.2379036/

it is still hard for me to get excited about tablet computers.  This is described as a notebook, so does that make it a laptop replacement?  If so, why would I need a laptop with no keyboard?

BUY The M2 Mac mini! (It's basically a $599 Mac Pro...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXHxY2i9w9Y

I'm a little frustrated. The $600 price is good, but the slower SSD, inadequate memory and storage are like a slap in the face. The excessive cost of upgrading is an insult. If they think that I am going to pay $200 for an additional 8 gigs of RAM or $200 for an additional 256 gigs of SDD, well count me out.

For the cost of the computer with upgrades, say an additional $400, I could get a really nice PC with more memory and storage.  

As good as the computer may be, I feel that it makes Apple look uncompetitive. In the year 2023 and beyond, having only 8 gigs of RAM or 256 gigs of storage are not valid options, unless you are just a basic computer user, in which case why are you buying an M2 chip? This mismatch between power, storage and memory is a paradoxical attempt to get you to spend more money.