I had been planning on posting about one of my usual topics today, but, as you can see, I have not. The reason is simple. The M1 iMac that I had ordered seemingly so long ago arrived yesterday. That left me with a choice: Churn out yet another of thousands of bits of Insolence dating back to 2004, or spend the time doing one of the things I love doing most in the world, setting up a brand new computer or iPhone. Hmmmm.
It turns out that it wasn’t much of a difficult decision at all, although I hadn’t let such a decision interfere much with my blogging in a long time.
I decided to set the new iMac up from scratch and, instead of importing all my data from my old desktop computer, setting this pristine new M1 iMac up from scratch just the way I like it. Such an approach allowed me to jettison a lot of organization that I didn’t like, as well as to start totally fresh. Of course, such an approach takes a lot more time than just importing all the data and files from the old computer. Granted, given that I now sync a lot of my files on iCloud Drive and Dropbox, I could just sign into those services and let the computer chug away downloading all the files from the cloud, but I did find a weird sort of joy installing fresh versions of all my apps from the App Store or downloaded straight from the relevant websites. It turns out that I still likely have a few more hours to get my M1 iMac to exactly the state that I want it.
I will mention one irritating thing before I leave you until next week, when some of my posts will have been composed on my shiny new blue machine: WTF, Fedex and Apple? I originally got the notice that my M1 iMac had shipped on Monday, with an estimated delivery date by June 30. That date was then changed to June 28, and I had planned on working from home, assuming that I needed to be home to sign for something that cost that much. Then, yesterday morning, I got an email that my computer was out for delivery! While I do appreciate the efficiency resulting in the delivery being sooner than advertised, I was at work and in clinic, and my wife wasn’t at home. I figured that they wouldn’t leave the package because there was no one home to sign and that I could try to rearrange my schedule to be home today. Worse, there was no way (online at least) to delay or redirect the delivery, the pandemic being cited as the reason. (In the past, I’ve redirected FedEx deliveries of electronics or items that cost more than a couple hundred bucks to the nearby FedEx store, for me to pick up after work.) Instead, the delivery guy left the computer on my front porch! Fortunately, no porch pirates noticed or took this opportunity. True, I would have seen it on my security camera, but it’s also true that most thieves are smart enough to cover their faces.
In any event, while Orac might be the most advanced computer in the galaxy, he does appreciate a fine piece of technology like the M1 iMac and can’t wait for the new MacBook Pro to be released later this year. (Yes, it’s fast, and the fan has not yet turned on, even as I’ve stressed out the processor. In the meantime, my old iMac’s fan runs sometimes when it’s just sitting there idle.) Sorry if there wasn’t any new Insolence, but I think I made the right decision. I’ll be back next week.
12 replies on “We now pause this blogging for a brief M1 iMac break”
We should have known that Orac would stick with the venerable Unix/BSD/Linux system, instead of that nasty Fenestrae.
Have fun with your shiny new device!
Enough corporate advertisement, bring back the Pravda.
I am extremely jealous.
Orac writes,
“WTF, Fedex and Apple? ”
MJD says,
Changes are coming. Fedex will partner with UPS and take on a new name I.e., FedUP.
@ Denice Walter,
Made you laugh!
Enjoy your M1 iMac in great good health. The image quality is astonishing.
Do you do any local backup or is it all in the cloud?
“Do you do any local backup”
Western Digital My Book Live NAS users, register:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27624735
There’s a lot to be said for starting afresh every time. Whenever I get a new/replacement toy which demands to know my account details (usually Google or Microsoft, in my case), I create a new account. Since the most likely reason for any recent decrease in performance or battery life is an updated app first written for an older OS, or a dodgy app I wish I’d never tried out in the first place, that’s the last thing that I want any supposedly helpful cloud company downloading for me. Once you’ve got into the habit of keeping backups of important data on a third-party service (or even local storage stashed in the fire safe), getting up and running with the new toy isn’t that much of a chore. Back to bare bones and SOP security.
I just had the exact thing happen! But I have folks at home most of the time, so I was not so worried. Setup was a breeze. I am also setting up all the apps from scratch. I love the color coordinated computer, keyboard and mouse. (Even the default screen is color coordinated!)
I haven’t really stressed it yet, but it seems to be working great. I just wish it had some USB-A ports. Had to get a dock.
I mean, if that is your dream kit then “yeah! Go team!”. Good on you. But that whole ‘Apple’ ecosystem though. Ok ok, might not be as bad as Gates’ screwing around on top of his wife, being a dick about it, killing the only thing good about windows { and I salute you, Clippy}, and possibly hampering vaccine uptake by being so widely despised yet(??) he unintendedly spins off conspiracy theory by promoting and funding them aggrandizingly (or maybe not so much, I don’t read TMZ). Awkward, in a psychohistory kind of perspective. But still.
https://youtu.be/5JYaREulOD4?t=1
Perhaps, this is too early. Perhaps, a poster or other has been lost there. If anyone wants to let it run wild about what caused that travesty, I could use some armchair distraction; even though I’m aphantasic, it is really bothering me.
Oh? No takers? Ohh, never mnind, I’d not posted it yet.
I thought as a terrorist and how with a jail break scenario with gallium or mercury can {do that thing alcohol and water does}/eutetic and maybe that. And then I thought as aunt Gertrude that perhaps a galvanic effect happend. That could explain equal rate of deteriorate on all columns and in that “L” there is no reason that other part should affect rest of them.
There has been talk about sea water incursion. ~ 13 years ago, I did a demonstration. It was AC electrolysis in salt water and Aluminum gutter nails (for both electrodes) were reduced to a grey slurry that was so conductive the autotransormer had to be dialed down.
Next, stainless steel scissors were spit and underwent the same electrolysis. Poof. Gone. Slurry. Upon drying out, It made the most beautiful ocre color iron III oxide powder I’d ever seen. The aluminum and rust mixed together make a particularly brilliant type of thermite that some have called “nano thermite” .
The thing is, thinking back, a third nail was placed within the slurry without being connected to a sink or source and it also nanoized.
Another thing is {and it is not even required as my observastions were with AC} that offshore through salt water is only suitible for high voltage DC because of the capacitance. Ever seen Jaws 2?
In that ^^ scenario, I think It may be very easy for a ‘ground fault’ to set up across the barrier island. I think sombody needs to stick ohm meter leads a couple feet apart into the ground and see if there is a potential difference or measurable current flow.
https://youtu.be/jeghGhVdt9s?t=1