#62

I feel extremely silly posting this, but I have a very unserious (and so very first-world) problem I can’t seem to solve. Space gray or silver? Thoughts, comments, experiences, indignation?

  • Silver
  • Space Grey

0 voters

#63

Silver MacBooks are 5% faster

12 Likes
#64

Space grey, obviously. It comes from space!

12 Likes
#65

Added a poll to maximize sillyness

1 Like
#66

i’d go orange

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#67

PSA Legally Blonde is currently streaming on Netflix.

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#68

On a more positive note, a post from the RME forum about the latest developer beta:

Apple has made macOS Mojave 10.14.4 beta 5 available for developers. I quote:

…the most recent macOS Mojave developer seed contains changes that improve the reliability of USB audio devices.

We will be testing this version over the weekend.

So fingers crossed.

On a more negative note, the keyboard on my 2018 machine is acting a bit funny. One key got stuck for a bit (but cleared up after a couple of days), and now one of my shift keys feels a touch ‘mushy’.

9 Likes
#69

I hope they fix High Sierra as well!

1 Like
#70

Space grey matches Norns. Silver matches grid :upside_down_face:

6 Likes
#71

And the results are in…

According to our tests Beta 5 indeed fixes the various drop outs and clicks encountered with USB 2 on the 2018 Mac models.

And it also seems to fix a different issue that gave us a lot of grieve (this thread, which led to driver 3.08 on page 2). Hopefully the final macOS release will still have all these changes…

Just have to wait for the next beta to finally make it out (hopefully with all the changes in tact).

4 Likes
#72

So does that mean that their constant blaming of the Apple chipset wasn’t true? They claimed so many times that it couldn’t be fixed unless Apple did something to their firmware/hardware (or something like that)…

#73

I think Rodrigo is referring to this post:

Re: What’s the verdict on current Macbook Pros + USB RME interfaces?

Apple has made macOS Mojave 10.14.4 beta 5 available for developers. I quote:

…the most recent macOS Mojave developer seed contains changes that improve the reliability of USB audio devices.

We will be testing this version over the weekend.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

#74

Yeah sorry, I should have linked/quoted the relevant bits.

Apple did in fact change something on their end for it to be working.

1 Like
#75

I don’t believe it was RME who stated that it was specifically a “chipset” issue, just that the problem was upstream of their driver’s ability to mitigate it. There were various theories floated, but I never saw an outright statement by them about exactly what the problem was - which frustrated many people but, considering as it’s not in their area of control, was probably wise.

They did state that bypassing Apple’s USB chipsets seemed to fix the problem, which perhaps gave rise to the sense that it was the chipset at fault, but I didn’t get the impression they intended to blame the chipset in specific to the exclusion of something fixable by the OS. And it’s entirely possible that Apple bundles firmware updates for some of these devices in OS updates (there is some sort of signature checking the OS and hardware do so they’d probably need to be kept in lock-step somehow… but I’m entirely theorizing here). It’s hard to say until (if!) Apple releases any further details what the actual cause was and if it’s actually fixed for good.

#76

Another look at the sad state of affairs in Apple land. This time about restrictions for using ipad for music making. Not sure what to think about that as the people in this video seem to know these problems well but still willing to continue to throw Money towards the richest company in the world. So it can not be all bad?

1 Like
#77

It’s complicated. And whether any viable alternatives (to Apple) exist is debatable at best, and quite personal. One problem is that back around 2011-2013—I don’t remember exactly when, but it was shortly after the amazingly disastrous launch of Final Cut Pro X, Apple simply dismantled their pro software division. Since then, there’s been no institutional advocate within the company for actual professional users. Since then, “pro” at Apple merely means “premium”, and they probably sell more “pro” devices to consumers than they do to actual professionals. My understanding is that the remaining Apple “Pro” software is developed by the same staff pool that develops any other Mac or iOS software—it’s all just in the mix.

3 Likes
#80

Is it part of the problem also their success in prosumer market that nobody was able to estimate? The blowup of consumer media industry is running exclusevly on their machines as the average youtuber can not be expected to deal with the compatibility issues and the learning curve related with pro-software. This is how we ended up with people buying 5k eur Apple machines as part of starter package for bedroom producers and home video enthusiasts. If this really is the case than there is no need for Apple to actually put any effort into answering the need of pro market because they do so much better on selling for prosumers who are locked into their ecosystem.

#81

It’s certainly true that anything not mass market, such as the Mac Pro, is basically a “hobby” for Apple. The bean counters must struggle to tolerate the resources spent on such projects, which is probably why they are so few and far between. Heck, the entire Mac product line is virtually a hobby at this point. It’s a much smaller business compared to the iPhone. If the Mac wasn’t needed to develop apps for the iPhone, I’m not sure where it would be now. It used to be that pro hardware and pro software were “halo products” central to the marketing of both Apple and the Mac—most Mac buyers didn’t use Final Cut or Aperture or buy Cinema Displays, but these things helped sell Macs. Today, the Mac is mostly just essential as the development platform for iOS. Perhaps the dwindling growth of the premium phone market will help the Mac and pros in general?

1 Like
#82

They are definitely burning up all the good will and benefit of the doubt. With how ‘sticky’ they’ve made their ecosystem it is harder to leave, but if you leave, it’s a complete break. And they are racing to see how fast they can push people to that cliff before they jump.

Even though I still have Macs (and iPhones) as all of my products, I’ve made it a point that every bit of gear/peripheral/whatever isn’t mac-only, feeling that may be in my future. I can’t imagine I’m alone in that regard.

The (increasing) focus on “services” is also offputting, not only because I don’t want or need any of them (not a streaming music guy), but the milking of the consumer to the last drop is the sad state of the “technology” world at the moment.

I’ve also been on an eBay hunt for the rare elusive upgrade 2012 server mac mini to replace my studio computer…

6 Likes
#83

What we all love about Apple are the small details that Steve Jobs would push for personally, or provide huge rewards for when shown them. He’s died, their vision has died, and it shows. But for people who love those details we have no alternative.

Windows 10 is ok, the hardware is ok, but it lacks the thought. It’s like comparing a Grid to a Novation Launch thing. One is lovely.

3 Likes