Paul Haddad

LOL at this being a thing and the way it has to be done. https://github.com/omlahore/RemoveMacAI

@joe@f.duriansoftware.com void sin7(void) alias for signal(0, SIGKILL).

I lied, I actually bought 3 new Maxes.

Look in my defense.

1. I lasted an entire day before getting one, that’s a lot for me.
2. The Apple “Lease” program is ridiculously good if you do the math.
3. Reviews of these are terrible this year, its all local AI this or that and I wanted to know how it is with real usage.
4. I didn’t get the base Ultra (though that was because of lack of availability).

I’ve been spoiled by the Monoprice Slimrun Ethernet cables. Tried a set of cheaper ones, that are perfectly usable, and I hate them so much that I’m going to send them back. I mean, it’s a cable Michael. What could it cost?

The localish Microcenter has a bunch of the base Mac Studios in stock. Doing the math it’s $1700 more for my upgraded one which only adds 512GB SSD and 28GB of RAM. Total insanity even with AI price jumps. Still haven’t decide what to do but it hurts my soul to pay that much for RAM/Storage.

I lied, I actually bought 2 new Maxes.

This is so ridiculous, and on top of all this stuff there doesn't seem to be any way to turn off the infuriating iChat (yes I still call it that) suggested replies feature. https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/turn-restrict-access-apple-intelligence-mchlb2e44f94/mac

Studio M5 Max review vs M4 Max: Overall responsiveness (single threaded) feels the same. Compilation speed is about 30% faster (nice!). SSD is noticeably faster (not benchmark BS, actually using). Device temperature does seem to get hotter but still can’t hear fans going. mediaanalysisd still wastes a ton of CPU for no apparent reason (but hey now its P cores instead of E cores!).

The one thing more interesting than new desktop hardware is the Apple “Lease” program, which isn’t a lease at all. It’s basically 42 months 0% interest purchase program. In other words a good deal. Actually signing up for the plan feels half baked though, you go through the application and then have to enter a credit card # for it to get charged. Except that literally no major credit cards are supported by it. The only thing I could use was the Apple Pay card and I had to hunt for its CVV.

I realized that my shot appointment was at 11 instead of 1, at approximately 10:57. So that was a lot of fun as someone who gets real anxious being late for stuff. Had to wait 30 minutes because they couldn't get my stupid insurance figured out (somehow gender was wrong on insurance info). Anyways two shots onboard, now just hoping I can wake up tomorrow being able to hear the difference between silver and copper headphone cables!

As is tradition I now enter the What If phase of my Apple purchasing decision. This year its what if I return the upgraded M5 Max and drive to Microcenter to get a base model. Pros: I keep my M4 Max and it costs $400 less. Cons: 36GB and continued storage moving games.

As a long time member of the More is Moar Better team I wish I could justify the M5 Ultra. But Xcode just never seems to take advantage of the extra cores (for my projects) and with the price increase I really can’t do it this time around. If it was still $4k sure I’d have pre-ordered the base model. That being said my M1 Ultra did age a lot more gracefully than what I’m assuming a M1 Max would feel like today. I think around the upper teens of cores you hit an Xcode scaling wall very hard.

Heart rate shot up 20-30 BPM about 24 hours after shots for 12 hours. Just laid on the couch feeling feverish (no fever) all day. I think back to normal today. I think worse than last years but not even close to the first ones.

Some arm pain about 12 hours after shots, was waiting for to go to sleep until my heart rate shot up, but that never really happened. Had to force myself out of bed in the morning, could probably still be in there. I don't feel bad just somewhat sleepy.

And looking at reviews of audio stuff reminds me why I never watch videos of audio stuff. "Remember to let this burn in for 200 hours” "Unfortunately it uses USB-C inputs instead of the superior sounding B, make sure you use a thunderbolt cable to get the full audio quality” “This headphone cable has some silver in it which I just can't recommend with this headphone”

What a weird WWDC keynote.

@marcoarment@mastodon.social it's a multiplier, if you are good it makes you better (though maybe like 1.5x, not 10x or whatever nonsense some claim). If you suck, well it multiplies that too.

I go into Kohls maybe 4-5 times a year, two things always surprise me. How they stay in business and how they manage to move the Amazon return area every single time.

I got this under desk rotatable cup holder and now feel at least 12% more productive.

Just when you think Audio stuff can't get any goofier you get something like this. If I was a bit snarkier I'd suggest that they really need matching fiber length and optics to minimize jitter. https://www.pursuitperfectsystem.com/going-down-an-sfp-rabbit-hole-in-search-of-digital-audio-glory/

Just did the math the diploma cost me $200k including room and board. I don’t care if it’s inneficient have a damn human read the kids name.

The Bugonia ending… 🧐

Less Evil rocket company’s rocket blows up right as More Evil “rocket” company is about to go public. How is that not a conspiracy theory already?

I always assumed that the big company apps with daily/weekly updates that never actually seem to change anything was done as a way to somehow game the App Store ecosystem. But the AI companies do the same thing outside the App Store. Like WTH is the point of updates that are this damned frequent?

Insanity pricing, these are all more than when they are new.

I think Apple AI's strategy should be do the thing only they can do, local AI but not the crappy little models made to run on phones. Focus on getting models running on only high end Macs with high (but reasonable) amounts of RAM first. Train it/them to work well for iOS/Mac coding and OpenClaw like work. Don't worry about being "frontier" just good enough when running on >= 64GB of RAM.

Great now I have to do the “which AI company is less evil" math again. https://www.anthropic.com/news/higher-limits-spacex

"If he's dead or on a ventilator he needs to resign!” 🤔

@geerlingguy@mastodon.social I like announcing the end of physical media + the shutdown of digital game shops on the same day.

Related anyone looking for a newly graduated kid with a comp sci degree?

What even are version numbers anymore? Is that the 20186 featured update? Some random hex code or maybe it’s a git hash?

The graduation includes walking up, getting your phone scanned at which point an overly cheery AI voice reads off the name.

How did I miss this being a thing that exists? https://www.amazon.com/ELECOM-Trackball-Multi-Connection-Programmable-Rechargeable/dp/B0FYC9YC3M

I guess there's no way in GG to disable Apple Intelligence? Is there at least some way to turn off suggested responses in Messages?

@fahrni@curmudgeon.cafe the point is to get him off my payroll.

@geerlingguy@mastodon.social bruh!

@geerlingguy@mastodon.social no hearing protection?

@colinburgess@mastodon.nz no no no it's beyond the environment.

@jerome@jasette.facil.services yes, 100% that's exactly the issue.

@bonnyag@hachyderm.io not sure how well the local stuff works, pretty sure its not quite there unless you have some higher end hardware than I code on.

@hoboshrimps@mastodon.social low end models are useless, high end one would push high margin Mac sales.

Which year wins, 83 or 84?