512 Pixels

Snell has details.

Noah Leon’s documentary on the Newton and the community that still surrounds it is out, and it’s very good. I watched it over the weekend and deeply enjoyed it.

Marco Arment:

Sometimes, you just need Low Power Mode: the switch added to iOS a few years ago to conserve battery life when you need it, at the expense of full performance and background tasks.

There’s no such feature on Mac laptops, but there should be.

Sign me up for this future.

Apple Support:

The Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) Cable (0.8m) connects a Mac or other device that has a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) port to a device that has a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) or USB-C port.

Steven Frank has a new Mac app out named Spect. It’s a photo browser that uses the file system as its backend. If you’re using something like Dropbox instead of Photos.app, this looks well worth the $5.

I put together a little vlog episode about my trip to The Henry Ford, including seeing my old iMac G3s on display in the museum. It really blew me away:

I’m currently sitting in the lobby of a hotel in Detroit, Michigan. I’m here for a work trip, and it’s the first time my new 13-inch MacBook Pro has served as my primary machine since I purchased it.

This is not intended to be a full review of this machine, but rather my impressions of it so far. However, I do think I should share the specs of this particular model up front, as it does help contextualize some of my thoughts. So, my 2018 MacBook Pro came with:

• 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost: 4.5 GHz)
• 16 GB RAM
• 1 TB SSD

… all in a Space Gray enclosure.

I initially purchased the entry-level 13" TouchBar machine with the i5 and 8 GB of RAM, but very quickly realized doing so was a mistake for the types of work that I do. My notebook is my secondary machine, but when I travel with it, I am very often recording and editing podcasts and, with increasing frequency, editing video as well. Running applications like Audio Hijack Pro, Logic and Final Cut Pro is just as likely for me as running Safari, Mail and Messages. The i5 / 8 GB machine just wasn’t up to those tasks in the way that I had hoped it would be.

Thankfully, my local Apple Store had this particular machine in stock before my trip, so I returned the cheaper one, paid the painful difference in price, and was on my way.

There is a lot about this machine that is unchanged from two 2016 MacBook Pros I had used previously. The four Thunderbolt 3 ports can still be frustrating to use in the real world.¹ The arrow keys on the keyboard are still confusing to identify by feel. I still wish the headphone jack was on the left side of the machine, and that the bezel above the display could be as narrow as the ones along the sides. The trackpad is still enormous and can still lead to accidental input while typing. Lastly, I still love Touch ID on the Mac and wouldn’t miss the Touch Bar if it went away forever.

However, two revisions into this design, Apple has made several nice improvements.

The first is to the screen and Touch Bar in the form of True Tone. Like on iOS devices, this is a feature that is so subtle, you don’t realize how much you enjoy it until it’s not there. I fully expect it to come to the entire Mac line in the near future. I already wish my iMac Pro had it.

The performance Apple has been able to pack into this chassis is mind-boggling. While I think there is room in the MacBook Pro family for a machine that isn’t a thin and light, a quad-core 13-inch laptop is something I have wanted for a long time. My previous machine was a 15-inch 2015 MacBook Pro. I had the larger size solely for the core count. Now, I can use the size of laptop I want without giving up the performance that decision once required. Don’t get me wrong; if a notebook was still my primary laptop, I would have saved my pennies and purchased a 6-core 15-inch machine, but this 13-inch feels like a better balance for my particular needs.

Having the extra cores is great, but where this MacBook Pro really shines is in disk speed. The T2 and new SSD modules inside this machine allow for crazy fast data transfers. This makes everything from importing video into Final Cut to bouncing long podcasts feel faster. It really is remarkable.

Of course, no conversation about the Thunderbolt 3 MacBook Pro is complete with the keyboard. As has been widely reported, the 2018 machines ship with a keyboard that is quieter, thanks to the silicone membranes under each key cap.

While I still wish for more travel, the membranes have definitely changed the keyboard’s sound. Some of the high-end clicking is gone, making the sound less hollow and less … cheap. Another side effect is that the bottom of the key press is slightly less harsh, making it a tad more comfortable to use if you are a heavy typer like I am.

Of course, the real reason for the tweaked design is to help keep crumbs and debris from damaging the switches underneath, which can lead to expensive repairs. This is the reason I sold my 2016 machine, and I’ve got my fingers crossed that my new one won’t fail the same way. I am hopeful Apple has resolved the issue.

So, all in all, my new MacBook Pro is fast and hopefully more reliable than the ones before it. It still has the trade-offs that have defined this generation of Mac notebooks, but three revisions in, I think it’s time we all accept that this is how MacBook Pros are now, and for me, getting to use macOS on the road is well worth the cost.

This week on the show:

Federico and Stephen are joined by John Voorhees to talk about MacBook Pro throttling, HomePod rumors and answer some listener questions.

My thanks to our sponsors:

• TextExpander, from Smile: Multiply your team’s productivity.
• Simple Contacts: Contact lens prescriptions from home: Use offer code CONNECTED20 for $20 off your contact lenses
• Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. Ever.

Apple has issued a statement about the thermal throttling users have seen with the new MacBook Pros:

Following extensive performance testing under numerous workloads, we’ve identified that there is a missing digital key in the firmware that impacts the thermal management system and could drive clock speeds down under heavy thermal loads on the new MacBook Pro.

A bug fix is included in today’s macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 Supplemental Update and is recommended. We apologize to any customer who has experienced less than optimal performance on their new systems. Customers can expect the new 15-inch MacBook Pro to be up to 70% faster, and the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar to be up to 2X faster, as shown in the performance results on our website.

Here’s Jason Snell:

After YouTuber Dave Lee posted his video showing his new Core i9 MacBook Pro slowing to a crawl while exporting video from Adobe Premiere, as well as reports that the processor on the new MacBook Pros was being throttled all the way down to 800MHz, the company launched an investigation (and contacted Lee for more information about his specific project and settings). Apple’s own internal performance testing hadn’t triggered the issue, which turns out to not be app specific—Premiere, you’re out of the penalty box—and tends to affect heavy workloads that take place over an extended period of time.

I find it worrying that Apple’s internal performance testing didn’t run into this, but I’m glad that it seems to be fixable via software. I bet Jason’s tweet to me explains the discrepancy:

re: “I find it worrying” - my best guess is that they tested on devices that didn’t lack that key, because they were internal devices rather than final firmware from the factory

— Jason Snell (@jsnell) July 24, 2018

The Henry Ford has a special exhibit that recently opened:

Crystal-clear plastics were born out of scientific research during World War II and were swiftly co-opted for creative applications in fashion, our homes, and technology. A car’s windshield is clear because we need to see through it to keep us safe as we drive. But a see-through telephone? That invites us to look inside an object and question how it works.

From raincoats to everyday shoes, lightbulbs to paperweights, and accessories you’d find throughout your home, Looking Through Things showcases modern objects as well as artifacts dating back to the 19th century. This exhibit shows us that clearness can be a provocation, calling attention to the use of unexpected materials, applied to familiar forms.

Located outside The Gallery by General Motors, Looking Though Things will also present all 13 colors of the original 1998 Apple iMac G3. Referred to as “the computer that saved Apple,” the iMac went into production 20 years ago this summer.

Yes, those 13 iMacs.

I’m excited to see this in person this weekend. I am speaking about podcasting as part of the Detroit Maker Faire on both Saturday and Sunday. If you’re around, be sure to say hello!

This Apple service document opens with some marketing copy about the MacBook Pro:

MacBook Pro is built on the revolutionary Intel Core 2 Duo — which packs the power of two processor cores (up to 2.4GHz) inside a single chip. It provides 4MB of Smart Cache, L2 cache that can be shared between the cores as needed. It delivers higher performance in 2D and 3D graphics, video editing, and music encoding. But the faster engine is only part of the story. MacBook Pro delivers up to 4GB of 667MHz DDR2 memory with a faster, 800MHz frontside bus and support for hard drives up to 250GB. Ultimate speed, performance, and connectivity. To go. That’s MacBook Pro.

After all that, the article gets around to describing the update:

This update provides important bug fixes and improves stability with Motion 2 and Motion 3. It is recommended for all 2.2/2.4GHz MacBook Pro models.

This update requires Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later.

I crashed Analog(ue) this week to talk to Casey about the start of his indie life and how it may evolve over time.