Correct on the M1/M2 Minis. Mine is a refurb with 8 cores, 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. Not my ideal setup, especially coming from a machine that had pretty much unlimited (128GB) RAM, but I was balancing a price/performance approach. It cost me around $650 and to jump to 16GB would have nearly doubled the price.
I’ve had one instance where I got an application memory warning, which the OS handles quite well, so they clearly anticipated the issue. I started running the activity monitor and keeping half an eye on it to see who the hogs were. Mainly Safari. So I’ve changed my browsing habits a little, but it hasn’t been an inconvenience. I run (ran) VirtualBox for my EPC and WIS. They don’t have a solid release for Apple silicon yet, so I use my 13” MacBook Air to run it when I have to look something up. A bit of an inconvenience, but it’s not like I’m in the EPC every day, either. I’m all about keeping legacy hardware running when possible, especially when it’s something as powerful as a Mac Pro, but I couldn’t deal with some of the issues I was having and still consider it a viable platform for work. It’s a bummer because these last Mac Pros like ours are still quite strong when it comes to the hardware. "My name is Dan, and I’m a 30" Apple Cinema Display hoarder." <grin> I have six of them. Four in Florida and two in Arizona, with two of the FL ones being backups. I see them come up on Craigslist around here on occasion and they’re usually priced reasonably. I’ve been giving serious thought as to how I could set four of them up together. I’ve got the VESA adapters for them, which are now pretty much unobtanium. -D > On Sep 18, 2023, at 5:08 PM, Jim Cathey <jim.cathey...@gmail.com> wrote: > > The M1/M2 Apples look intriguing, but they really don't have enough > memory for (some of) what I do. With 12 cores and 48GB of RAM in > the MP I can simulate an entire Park at once, should I need to. I can > probably run 6-10 simultaneous VMs, which is more than enough. Need > even more VMs? Well, the MP can hold maybe 96GB of RAM if I need > it to. I doubt I ever shall. > > Also, I need Intel Windows, because that's what the Park is using. > You can't do this via VM cross-architecture, not at this time. And it's > best if I'm running Intel Linux, since that is what the Park is using. > I can (and do) upload binaries I've tested at home directly to the Park. > So, Intel host hardware, no choice. > > For _personal_ use an M1/M2 Mac would be just dandy, but I've already > got these MP, MBP and Mini Intel assets, and backups for same. No need > to waste money, or have to carry more crap around. The next Mac I buy > could well be M1/M2, but who knows when that might be? > > We have four 30" Cinema displays here: one for each resident, with one > in reserve. They are very nice displays! Well worth preserving. Mine is > hooked to a 4-port KVM, and four source computers. > > I have three OWC docks for my MBP, one in each of its stationary locations. > Keyboards, displays, and mice also. On the road I make do with the bare > laptop, but that's not very satisfactory, and drove the dock installations for > the places I was most likely to go. I don't have a spare MBP, but am using > a mini as a backup for it. It's fairly portable, to the dock-bearing > locations > (home, camper, cabin) anyway, and vastly cheaper than a laptop. > > So long as VMware (that runs on my MP) can run the latest Linux I have > access to 'current' browsers, and needn't be driven off of this hardware. > We're using 20.04 and 22.04 Ubuntu currently. > > Part of my job is being on call, which means I need to be fairly close in time > to providing useful technical support. (Translation: newly-fixed software.) > So, defense in depth is fully warranted. > > -- Jim > > >> On Sep 18, 2023, at 1:14 PM, dan penoff.com via Mercedes >> <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >> >> Jim and others, >> >> I just recently migrated to a Mac Mini M2 as a replacement for my 2010 Mac >> Pro “cheesegrater” with 128GB RAM, dual 3.5 GHz processors, multiple drives, >> etc., etc. >> >> I was forced to move up to a platform that would support later versions of >> web browsers so I could work from home. As Jim probably knows, there is an >> “emulator” for lack of a better description, known as “OpenCore”, that would >> allow me to run current Mac OS’ on my cheesegraters (I have a total of 4, >> but only two were in service.) However, while these appear to work just >> fine, I found there to be stability issues with some applications. Not good >> for a work computer. >> >> Even with my M2 Mini I have an external spindle drive (6TB WD Gold >> enterprise class) that my TimeMachine backups are stored on. It used to >> “live” in the Mac Pro. The Mini has a 512 GB SSD which will die long before >> the spindle drive will, I’m betting (and yes, I got AppleCare!) >> >> This is an aside for Jim and any other legacy Macs: >> >> I wanted to keep my 30” Cinema Displays, which are DVI+ interface. I found >> some Thunderbolt to DVI+ adapters on Amazon for about $65/each, and they >> work quite well. The only issue is that the Mini only has two USB >> C/Thunderbolt ports. I bought an OWC external drive enclosure/hub that gives >> me additional ports and a place for my 6TB TimeMachine spindle drive along >> with a 2TB SSD for good measure. I use the SSD for storing pictures, music, >> and documents to unload storage from the boot SSD on the Mini. These are >> also backed up to the TimeMachine spindle drive. >> >> All in all, the transition was quite simple and has worked well. What’s even >> better is that I can put the Mini and the external drive/hub in my backpack >> and take them when I travel, making moving between locations a lot easier! > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
