The Mac Studio (was: Re: This FOSS Thang :-) )

On Fri, 22 Mar 2024 10:41:41 -0400, -hh <recscuba_google@huntzinger.com>
wrote in <utk5b5$2vlsq$1@dont-email.me>:

On 3/21/24 1:52 AM, vallor wrote:

On Wed, 20 Mar 2024 13:13:02 -0400, -hh wrote:

On 3/20/24 5:46 AM, vallor wrote:

On Tue, 19 Mar 2024 15:36:53 -0400, -hh wrote
>

And who sells hardware with Linux OS preinstalled out of the box?
That alone takes some searching for the retailers, so that's even
more touch labor time spent.

>
If only there were some kind of global database that one could query
for such information...
>
BTW, what hh really wants in a Linux system is something running
ChromeOS.  You telling me he can't find a Chromebook?

>
>
I've found that the off-the-box ChromeOS solutions have been pretty
lightweight on hardware specifications.
>
>

(Not to mention the offerings by System76, as well as Dell.)

>
And HP.  They've offered some decent towers with Ubuntu, but there's
still then the DIY search for Apps.
>
>

Oh, you'd better go to a Linux vendor, though -- otherwise, you'll
spend "hours and hours" to "make it work".
>
Right?  Anybody else have that experience?  "hours and hours"?

>
Let's not forget how DFS has frequently ribbed chrisv about how chrisv
had refused to show spending the time to optimize a build on NewEgg
because it would take too many hours...think it was part of the "more
choices are always better" which backfired on chrisv due to it being a
clear example of do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do.

 
And how is this related to the price of tea in China?

 
chrisv is merely illustrating just how determined some fanboys can be to
try to deny even simple stuff.  Here, it is of their time investments.
 
 

BTW, this Linux workstation (bought "turnkey") blows the doors off
Mrs.
vallor's new Mac Studio.

>
And this turnkey is ... what?

 
I've only mentioned it half-a-dozen times.  System76 Thelio.

 
Ah, that rings a bell; thanks.  I did a quick gander and a basic build
for a probably suitable tower rang up to ~$3.5K.

Now compare with the slower Mac Studio.  Do you know what
they go for, albeit _with_ the Studio monitor?  I'm sure you do.

 

And what came pre-installed and are you still using the same?

 
No, and I didn't spend "hours and hours" to switch it over to Linux
Mint.

 
But there was still a switch over to Mint, right?

So?  It was trivial.

[[ There _is_ a problem with Linux, but it isn't what you say it is.  I
will post that under separate cover. ]]

 
I read it and I wholeheartedly agree.  I'll try to remember to elaborate
more on that thread, but the jist of it is that the "go it alone" aspect
of Linux is a barrier to marketplace adoption for new customers, which
would be referred to as a point of "friction".  Similarly, what you
reference as 'lock in' would also be referred to as how customer
retention to a product is (or isn't) "sticky".  For maximized success,
one wants one's product to be low friction and sticky ... easy for
people to adopt, and once they do, they never leave.  That takes work to
be able to accomplish in the marketplace.

It sounds like you admire vendor lock-in.  I don't.

 
 

My benchmark:  running Foocus,
which uses pytorch, which is apparently not well-supported on the Mac
Studio.  Maybe someday...

>
Different tools for different jobs...

 
Can you elaborate?  Why would you expect a system that touts having a
"neural engine" to utterly fail against the Thelio when it comes to
generative AI?

 
To be honest, I wasn't thinking of Apple's "Neural Engine" bit, but more
that the typical user use cases for Apple isn't focused on the newer
ML/AI stuff, so I'd not be at all surprised if the current generation of
tools that are out there are better optimized for other (eg, non-Apple)
CPUs/GPUs.  After all, isn't that really the point of why NVIDIA's stock
has taken off to crazy high valuations?

Nice evasion.

You think it's perfectly well and proper to buy a full-on Mac Studio
when all we'd do with it is email and web?

For the price, I expected it to be a lot more capable.  Turned out
to be a spendthrift's toy.

...and yet quite ironic that even Mrs. Vallor chose to buy Apple,
despite having an in-house Linux IT family member expert support.

 
Beats the pants off of using Windows.  MacOS is Unix, and I do know
Unix, which is one reason why this is a Unix household.

 
Sure, there's (IIRC BSD) Unix under the GUI, but that observation is
really only germane if one is engaged (and skilled) enough to meddle at
the Terminal's command line.  I don't know what percentage of users
still do that, but I'd expect it to be well under 1%.

"Meddle".  Do you ever listen to yourself?

Tell me, what are you doing with your Mac Studio that couldn't be
done with your suggested docked notebook solution?

I'm the one that got her the system.  Her iMac was too weak, and don't
get me started about "Mac minis".  Almost got her a Mac Pro, but she
thought that would be too extravagant.  So a Mac Studio splits the
difference if one wants to throw money at the problem that Apple
performance sucks.

 
My understanding is that the design intent of Apple's "M" chips really
were focused more on power with efficiency, so it can be a bit
problematic to really complain about horsepower for a desktop, since the
mainstream personal consumer market has migrated so broadly to small
mobile systems even if they use them mostly docked into a desktop.

Excuses, excuses.

Nevertheless, I've found that the Studio is sufficiently powerful for my
use case and a noticeable step up from my old Xeon based Mac Pro.

 ...but now you can't run Windows on it, and if you had any interest
in immersive interactive fiction -- in a word, "games" -- you'd be
up Mac creek without a paddle.

--
-v