I recently set up a new completely new Home in the Home app and needed to move all my stuff over from one to the other. This turned out harder than I had anticipated.
Hardware
GMK WoB Hiragana on polycarbonate Think6.5°
My set of GMK White-on-Black Hiragana finally arrived! I have been waiting for ages for this one.
GMK Pretty in Pink — Raising Awareness About the Dangers of Breast Cancer
As some of you may know, I lost both my parents to cancer a few years ago. It’s been over 5 years and still a day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about them. When I heard about GMK Pretty in Pink launching a few months ago, I immediately knew I had to get this kit.
GMK Pretty in Pink is a mod extension kit, featuring an accent spacebar, enter, arrows, and a few novelty keys. The novelties are meant to raise awareness of the dangers of breast cancer, and to show support for those who are currently fighting breast cancer and for survivors. The novelties feature the ubiquitous pink ribbon, a HOPE enter key, and a four heart flower.
All profits from this set will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Pretty in Pink will live on my polycarbonate Think6.5°, paired with GMK Minimal for now. I might pair it with a black set in the future.
Thanks you Jeff “Langelandia” and One Creative Mind for designing this set.
Why I’m Returning the iPad Pro Magic Keyboard
First of all, as you may have noticed, I love me a good keyboard. Despite the Magic Keyboard not being mechanical and having an excellent trackpad, it’s simply too expensive. It costs 330 EUR or so over here (around 360 USD), which I can’t realistically accept, especially since I have a MacBook Pro right next to me. I can always use it instead, when I do need to write something longer.
Sorry Apple, you have made a truly excellent product, but it’s just simply not worth the money that you’re asking for it. And I’m a guy that loves (mechanical) keyboards, your trackpads, iPads and Macs. Oh well, back to my beloved Think6.5° in e-yellow…
Is Apple’s iPad Pro Magic Keyboard Worth 299 USD?
No. It’s an amazing piece of hardware and I have been using it for two days now, but there’s nothing in its design that justifies it being so expensive. This is a product that should cost 199 USD at most, for the 12,9” model at that. There are comparable products for competing computers out there that cost even less (129 or 159 USD for Microsoft’s Type Cover; the kickstand is built into the Surface itself).
What’s worse, looking at Apple’s past practices, is that I don’t see the current Magic Keyboard being compatible with the next iPad Pro. It was shocking to see that it supports the 2018 iPad Pro, but if I were a betting man, I’d say that the next generation iPad, whether is comes in late 2020 or in 2021, will not support this accessory. If that indeed happens, it would make the current price point to be even more absurd.
Please stop milking your customers Apple. You’re better than that.
GMK Lunar — Inspired by the Apollo Guidance Computer and DSKY Interface
Ever since June rolled over last year, I have been thinking how to commemorate the Apollo 11’s mission’s 50th anniversary. Then I remembered the Apollo Guidance Computer (it made waves over the internet last year, because people were trying to prove that Margaret Hamilton didn’t deserve any credit for it) and its interface — DSKY (pronounced “dis-kee”).
My 2020 Hackintosh OpenCore Configuration
I posted my new hackintosh’s hardware spec a month or so ago and since then, I have been running OpenCore 0.5.4 with a config I made myself. Unfortunately, that config used MemoryAllocation.efi, which I wanted to get rid of, due to concerns voiced by the author of that specific firmware driver. Finally, a month later, I found the time to clean up my OpenCore configuration.
My 2020 Hackintosh Hardware Spec — Core i9-9900K & Aorus Master Z390 on OpenCore
I built my last hackintosh in 2014 and it was overdue for an update. Since Apple recently updated their iMac with Core i9s and skipped the T2, this is probably the last time I’m building this sort of computer, before MacOS is locked down forever. Unfortunately, nothing in their lineup fits my needs, hence I chose to go down the hackintosh route once again.
My Photography (72) — AirPods Pro & Think6.5°
The AirPods Pro are probably the best all-rounders for iPhone users and their ANC is more than good enough, even during flights. Most importantly, they fit into that small jeans pocket without issues, so they’re always with me.
Shot with Sony A7R II + Zeiss ZF 100 mm f/2 Makro-Planer T*: f/4, 1/60 s, ISO 5000.
Mechanical Keyboards as a Hobby — My Collection [2019/11]
I’ve previously written only a few short words about one of my newer hobbies — mechanical keyboards — which has been a fantastic journey, keeping me occupied, teaching me new things, while providing a superior tool for all my writing at the same time. This all started over 30 years ago, when I used my first mechs, but which I left behind when I switched to laptops. Unfortunately, I listened a little too much to Jason Snell and John Gruber talking about their mechanical keyboards on their podcasts, so here I am, and I’d like to share what I’ve collected so far…
I’ll Be Pre-Ordering a White iPhone 11 Pro Today
I was actually not planning on upgrading from my iPhone XS this year but there are two features which got me hooked. I’m not really into the ultra wide 13 mm lens — I would still prefer a proper tele in the 70-100 mm range — but the new video features, including the ability to record from two lenses simultaneously (via Filmic Pro) and to the possibility of continuously zooming between all three while recording, are what made my mind up.
I had a white X and it was great at masking all my fingerprints. Unfortunately, I decided to get a Space Grey XS and discovered that the lens is an absolute lint magnet (I don’t use a case and I didn’t even notice the lint on my X) so I’ll be going back to white again. Additionally, I love the look of the polished stainless steel case around the glass — it reminds me of high quality mechanical watch cases.
A little over 3 hours to go…
Mechanical Keyboards, Apple Keyboards, GMK Phosphorous — A Brief History of My Keyboard Hobby
Ever since I got my 2016 MacBook Pro, I have had a love/hate relationship with its keyboard. Yes, it’s pretty good to type on. No, it doesn’t offer much feedback and the travel is extremely shallow. There was the one (well, two actually) with the Touch Bar, which I got rid of because of its mediocre battery life and being unable to live with Apple’s latest “innovation”. Then I had to have one on my MacBook Pro Escape replaced.
Quick Thoughts on AirPods 2
I have used my first generation AirPods almost daily for the past two years. I started having issues with the right AirPod a few months ago, so I sent them in to get them looked at. They, surprisingly, replaced both AirPods (I got the old case back since it was fine) because Apple confirmed the issues that I had described. Quite frankly, going without AirPods for 5 days wasn’t easy — they’re easily the best product that Apple has created recently.
I expected AirPods 2 to get a 30% price increase and there being just one model available. Ideally, Apple would have introduced the second generation model with the charging case at the same price, but that’s just not how the world works. Instead, we got new AirPods with the old case for the same price and the option to upgrade to the Qi-enabled case for an extra 25%. This is better than nothing and honestly, you don’t actually need the wireless charging case.
There are rumours of AirPods with ANC. I will wait for them but I really hope they’re not going to charge even more for those.
Anyway, if you haven’t yet used AirPods (and they fit your ears), make sure to get a new pair. They really are extraordinary.
Quick Thoughts on the iPad Mini 5 and 10.5-inch iPad Air
I really thought the iPad Mini was dead but when the rumours started coming in about a newer model, I kept my fingers crossed for Apple adopting the Liquid Retina display from the new iPad Pros, along with a similarly designed case. I had two Minis in my iPad history and I loved them both. They were most excellent for thumb-typing and fantastic reading tablets, especially for RSS, the web, Twitter, and even ebooks. The screen was a bit small for comic books and magazines but I blame my ageing eyes on that. While a new Mini is always welcome — it really is a great little tablet — things have changed in the last few years. I really expect more from the “most innovative” company in the world, than just a speed bump, a slightly better screen, and the same 7-year-old design.
The “new” 10.5-inch iPad Air is really just a 10.5-inch iPad Pro without ProMotion and the quad-speaker system. While most people won’t notice the loss of the former, they really could have retained the latter, since a lot of people like to use iPads for watching video. The good news is that the price is down slightly.
Quick Thoughts on the New iMac (Early 2019)
Apple finally updated the iMac with new CPUs and GPUs last week and while not much has changed in the design of this particular Mac — same design, same Bluetooth, similar configs, etc. — a speed bump is always welcome. Unfortunately, some upgrade pricing is still as insanely absurd as ever and the base models still offer spinning disk drives:
- The base models should all have SSDs.
- The 8 GB → 16 GB upgrade costs $200. You can buy an 8 GB module for around $40-50 and a 16 GB module to around $90, which means Apple is charging 3-4 times more.
- The 32 GB RAM upgrade is $600. A 32 GB set of two 16 GB DDR modules is around $180-190.
- The 64 GB RAM upgrade is $1000 while a similar set can range from $200-430, depending on the vendor.
- SSD upgrade pricing is 2-3 times higher than current prices for high-quality NVMe SSDs.
- Since the design hasn’t been changed, I’m assuming that dust will still accumulate on the back of the screen over time.
I’m glad that the iMac has been updated but I still cannot comprehend why they aren’t getting more flack for their absurd upgrade pricing. The i9-9900 configuration should make a nice hackintosh config though, which I can fix in minutes or hours should anything go wrong, instead of sending it in to Apple and waiting 5-7 days. This route also allows me to use much beefier GPUs. I just wish Apple and NVIDIA stopped bickering — MacOS really could use GTX and RTX support.
The State of Mac Hardware — Early 2019
Macs, like many other computers, have always had their share of problems. These past few years feel particularly bad though, so here’s my quick take on the current state of the Mac lineup.
Getting My Logitech Harmony Hub to Work With HomeKit After Logitech’s Firmware Changes
I got a Raspberry Pi last year just to integrate some of my less-than-smart devices with HomeKit, so I could control them via Siri. Late last year I decided to get a Logitech Harmony Hub to be able to control my TV, receiver, and Apple TV with Siri but Logitech decided to change-up their plans, shutting down their local API which integrated with Homebridge. They backtracked on their plans after their users voiced their outrage and new firmware dropped a few weeks ago. I had to make some changes but I finally got my Harmony Hub working with Siri once again. Here’s what I had to do…
Microsoft’s Keyboards Are Vastly Superior to Apple’s
I have been using Apple’s keyboards almost solely since 2008, starting with the silver keys on my now sold 17-inch MacBook Pro. I then graduated to an Apple Wireless Keyboard, the 2013 MacBook Air and 2014 MacBook Pro keyboards, an Apple Magic Keyboard1, and I’m currently on a 2016 MacBook Pro butterfly keyboard, which has been already replaced once in April 2018. My frustration with the last two has led me on a long quest to find a mechanical keyboard, which would bring back to the joy to typing once more — I am currently using a Vortex Race 3, custom programmed to my liking, which I also use with my iPad Pro. So that’s my background, but what’s up with headline?
- I still haven’t found anything magical about it. ↩
Vortex Race 3 — A Mechanical Keyboard for My iPad Pro
My Vortex Race 3 arrived while we were away on our vacation, so naturally I spent most of last night playing around with it, instead of sleeping like any sane person would. I’ve already preprogrammed the first layer and it seems to suit my needs perfectly, connected to both the iPad and Mac.
I’m very excited to go back to a mechanical keyboard, especially since I’m frustrated with the one in my MacBook Pro.
Rainbow backlight turned on only for the purpose of taking the photo — I don’t actually use it.
Adding my Logitech Harmony Hub (TV, AV receiver, and Apple TV) to HomeKit via Homebridge
I recently learned that I can add a Logitech Harmony Hub, Logitech Harmony Companion or Logitech Harmony Elite to HomeKit, with the help of Homebridge. This meant that I would be able to control my TV, AV receiver, and Apple TV with my voice my HomePod and/or Siri.
The Space Bar on My MacBook Pro Doesn’t Register Presses Properly
I recently had a problem with my Control key which I finally fixed by taking out the vacuum cleaner and sucking substantial debris1 out from under it. Today, the Space bar will not register keystrokes on its right half.
(A few minutes later.)
Seems to be working fine again, after thoroughly vacuuming it at max power.
I am not happy with this keyboard and I refuse to buy another MacBook until they fix this issue with a completely new design — silicon condoms membranes are not enough.
- A speck of dust. ↩
I ❤️ iPad
I’ve always really enjoyed using the iPad as a secondary device but the new iPads Pro take things to a whole new level.
I just can’t get enough of that gorgeous new screen.
The New iPads Pro — They’re Just So Cool
There’s one thing about the new iPads Pro that I haven’t seen anyone else mention — they’re just so cool to both use and look at. Like the iPhone X, they are futuristic… and available today.
They might not add a lot of value compared to the previous models, in terms of usability (apart from Pencil users), but I’m glad I got one.
Quick Thoughts on the New 11-Inch iPad Pro
As soon as all the rumours started consolidating around the new design of Apple’s tablets, I knew I was going to get a new iPad this year. I chose the 11-inch model with 64 GB of flash storage and LTE.
iPad Pro 10.5-inch vs. 11-inch On-Screen Keyboard
Since the iPad Pro reviews have started to trickle out yesterday, I was looking for a comparison between the on-screen keyboards. I own a 10.5-inch iPad and will be switching to the 11-inch model tomorrow (hopefully, if there are no delays!), but I couldn’t wait. Luckily Steve Troughton-Smith had the simulator handy and helped me out1.
Above is the 10.5-inch keyboard in portait orientation, while the new 11-inch edition is below. You can click the images to load them full-screen and use the arrow keys (or swipe on them) to navigate between the two.
Make of this what you will but I can’t say that those additional keys are useful for the way I use my iPad. I’ll find out soon enough, but I am curious if it will be more comfortable to thumb-type on than the older one.
- Thanks Steve! ↩
Apple’s Flash Storage Tax and Pricing is Unacceptable
Apple recently unveiled new Macs, iPhones, and iPads. They are continuing their trend to increase ASPs and milking their customers. This is a hostile practice towards its users and completely unacceptable to me personally. I compiled a list of things which the company should remedy below, before it’s too late.
Apple Watch Series 4 — Quick First Impressions
My new Apple Watch finally made it onto my wrist yesterday. I’m going straight from a steel Series 0 in Space Black to the aluminium Nike+ 44 mm in Space Grey, so this is going to be a huge jump in terms of… everything basically. I’ve only been using the new one for a few hours, but here are a few quick notes on the things I’ve already noticed…
iPhones XS and Apple Watch Series 4 — Quick Thoughts
I was hopeful for new iPads at this event but given how big of an impression the Apple Watch Series 4 made on me, I’m not feeling let down. I will, however, complain about the prices because I consider them to be absurd. Not by much but nevertheless… absurd.
MacBook Pro (mid 2018) throttling
As expected, the #ThrottleGate controversy is being looked into by anyone who has their hands on the new MacBook Pros.
John Poole on Geekbench’s blog, running a CPU-only test:
Why does this test not replicate the throttling seen in other tests? Part of the issue is the test themselves. Premiere uses both the CPU and the GPU, while Geekbench only uses the CPU.
The i7 ran at an average 3.0-3.1 GHz, which is above the CPUs base 2.6 GHz frequency, but below the advertised 4.0 GHz Turbo Boost for 6 cores. So is it throttling or is the test just not maximizing load on the CPU?
Jeff Benjamin, for 9to5Mac, ran a test based on Final Cut Pro X:
Leaving the Core-i9 configured as default, I exported the video in 5 minutes and 30 seconds. Throttling was definitely noticeable during the export, as you can see from the following chart created from Intel Power Gadget log data.
Curiously, when he set the CPU to utilize only four cores, it was faster than when using all six.
Mike Wuerthele, for AppleInsider, opted for Cinebench 15:
We shifted to a different benchmark for our own series of tests. Using Cinebench 15, we ran 10 total runs on the i9 MacBook Pro.
Immediately after starting the first test, the CPU clock speed shot up to 4.17 GHz. It rapidly drops to 3.86GHz until it hits the chip critical temperature of 100C. It then drops nearly immediately to 2.57GHz and also nearly immediately drops to 84C.
The speed of the processor varied between 2.33GHz and 2.9GHz generally, with one profound dip to 2.02GHz, and then the range drops to a peak of 2.65Ghz.
I think it’s same to assume that all MacBook Pros will throttle under load, especially when both the CPU and GPU are being taxed. A potential solution for this problem is running an eGPU, which should help (in addition to being significantly faster than the one on-board). Surprisingly, an iMac Pro may not solve everyone’s problems when it comes to video editing — it was a slower in 9to5Mac’s test than the MacBook Pro:
Xeon CPUs lack onboard hardware video encoding, dubbed Intel Quick Sync Video. So even though the iMac Pro runs circles around the MacBook Pro from a thermal perspective, it doesn’t really matter in this test.
The Surface Book 2 (15-inch)
I received a Surface Book 2 review unit yesterday, in the larger 15-inch size. It has a Core i7, 16 gigs of RAM, a 256 GB SSD, and an NVIDIA GTX 1060, which is more than sufficient for many. Unfortunately, I won’t be doing a full review here but I am very impressed with this machine (if you can read Polish, make sure to take a look over here, for my daily diary).