Why I’m Writing
I enjoy reading and writing about tech and often get sent questions, about product recommendations, upgrades and workflows. These posts are an attempt to share things I’m into, my opinions on tech, and tech media coverage that I find valuable. Feel free to send me a suggestion if there’s topic you’d like my thoughts on.
As always when making a purchase take some time to source multiple opinions and come to your own conclusions about what will work best for your unique situation and setup.
Thanks for reading!
This Week In Apple
New immersive AR experience brings student creativity to life
- Amazing.
Apple Music now has a dedicated song credits section in iOS 17
- Love it. I look forward to being able to credit any future collaborators with whom I work on my future releases.
iPhone 15 Pro Expected to Come in Blue
- I wish this rumored blue color was available for last years iPhone 14 Pro. Which I picked up in Space Black and placed in a Storm Blue Apple Silicone Case. A great option, but something about the Pacific Blue iPhone 12 Pro always resonated with me. Even though I never owned this model. Finishes aside, the most exciting rumored spec bump for the entire iPhone 15 line is the long awaited transition to USB-C.
Plugin
Black Box Analog Design HG-2MS
A new addition to the ever expanding plugin folder. I love the musicality, tone and vibe of this plugin. I have been enjoying experimenting with this on my ALL MX BUS aka 2MX BUS. Processing the entire mix with this great tool. It really adds warmth, glue and punch to the whole mix. The Mid/Side processing is very powerful and musical. For a film score this would be a great STEM Bus Saturation tool. So far it’s sounding great on everything from acoustic guitars and dulcimers to strings, brass, winds and perc.
Thanks for the recommendation @ AUDIO WMC.
Articles
Google confirms it’s training Bard on scraped web data, too
Big surprise! User data within Google Docs/Sheets/Slides etc. does appear to be safe from this updated privacy policy. The keyword/phrase is “public data”.
For further reading see:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/are-your-google-docs-safe-from-ai-training/
“Google does not use any of your content (such as documents and predictions) for any purpose except to provide you with the Document AI service”
Google announces AI features in Gmail, Docs, and more to rival Microsoft
Apple may be ‘experimenting’ with a 32-inch iMac, but don’t expect one soon
iMacs are great but they aren’t for me. I’d rather have a souped up MacBook Pro or Mac Studio connected to a Studio Display over an all in one machine. The main problem with all in one machines is the screen almost always outlives the computer stuck behind the glass. Given Apple’s full lineup of non upgradeable Macs. I could see a beautiful 32 inch iMac, with a gorgeous 6k display, internal SOC going out of date in less than three to five years for power users. All in one’s are also hard and awkward to transport. In today’s largely hybrid work environments. The portability of a high end MacBook Pro or Mac Studio, for those who need the maximum amount of processing and RAM available, are the ideal machines for creative Pros on the move. As it’s generally easy to find relativity cheap screens anywhere you may find yourself working.
Review
The Mac Pro’s biggest problem is the MacBook – The Verge
This review is an interesting take on the Mac Pro. I largely agree with Chin’s takeaways. I myself use a M1 Max MacBook Pro for all of my day to day work in lieu of a desktop Mac mini, Mac Studio, or Mac Pro. However, I did find it disappointing that the review did not interview very many people actively working in the music industry in large studios. Large scale, production, recording and mixing facilities will most certainly benefit from the M2 Ultra Mac Pro over its smaller M2 Ultra Mac Studio sibling. By being able to use existing PCIE card infrastructure for DSP processing, mass storage, ultra fast NVME SSD storage, optimized performance of the M2 Ultra chip in a over-provisioned case for the absolute best thermal performance of the M2 Ultra Chip.
Regarding upgrades I think current Mac Pro 2019 users working in audio and film scoring related fields should consider holding out upgrading until the M3 or M4 versions of this machine begin to appear on the market in a few years. Hopefully by that point the rumored “[Extreme](Apple Scales Back High-End Mac Pro Plans, Weighs Production Move to Asia)” chipset will be released once again making the Mac Pro the king of the Mac jungle. If you’re on a Mac Pro 2010, 2012, or 2013 the Mac Pro 2023 may be a the upgrade you’re been waiting for if you have the budget for one. If not the Mac Studio exists to fill this gap. Check out one of my favorite spec options for audio pros looking to upgrade to the Mac Studio on lasts week’s post see A More Affordable Upgrade To Mac Studio.
Things I like I about the new Mac Pro 2023 vs the Mac Pro 2019 are as follows;
| Mac Pro 2023 Specs | Mac Pro 2019 Specs |
|---|---|
| Eight Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports | Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports |
| 800GB/s memory bandwidth | Supports 2933MHz memory |
| Simultaneous support for up to eight displays: Eight displays with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz Six displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz Three displays with up to 8K resolution at 60Hz | AMD Radeon Pro 580X Support for up to six 4K displays two 5K displays two Pro Display XDRs |
Product
Mixed reactions to this product release. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this one and plan to follow up with more in-depth posts on this product in the future.
During the WWDCC event I was ecstatic that this machine was announced, until the specs were listed as being exactly the same the current Mac Studio. I really hoped the newly released Apple Silicon Mac Pro 2023 was going to be more inline with my WWDC 2023 Predictions. With the entire range, but especially the highest end option being differentiated completely from the Mac Studio lineup. Maybe one day.
My original Mac Pro 2023 predictions listed below;
Mac Pro 2023 WWDC Predictions
Minimum Spec
- Chip: M3 ULTRA
- Ram: 64 GB
- Graphics: 64-Core GPU
- Storage: 1TB
- OS: macOS Malibu
- Support for PCI and PCIE Expansion Slots
- Case Similar to 2019 Mac Pro
- Shipping Status: Available This Fall
- Estimated Retail Price: $5,999.00
Maximum Spec
- Chip: M3 ULTRA Plus
- Ram: 320 GB
- Graphics: 128-Core GPU
- Storage: 16TB
- OS: macOS Malibu
- Support for PCI and PCIE Expansion Slots
- Case Similar to 2019 Mac Pro
- Shipping Status: Available This Fall
- Estimated Retail Price: $30,000.00
Podcast
Vergecast: Instagram Threads is here to crush Twitter
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Written on MacBook Pro using Drafts Pro in Markdown.
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