• Re: Bit of advice - what to buy

    From Jaimie Vandenbergh@21:1/5 to jeremy on Sun Apr 21 22:09:19 2024
    On 21 Apr 2024 at 13:31:25 BST, "jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote:

    Have reached the point where I am going to "buy something" - what does an MBP offer that's better than an Air?

    If you have to ask, you would probably find spending the extra on the
    Pro to be a waste :)

    The modern Air is a tremendous machine; I'd much rather get one with a
    RAM bump and larger storage than the same priced Pro with less of those
    things.

    Cheers - Jaimie
    --
    "If you can't make fun of it, it's probably not worth taking seriously"
    -- http://survivingtheworld.net/Lesson494.html

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Tyrone@21:1/5 to jeremy on Mon Apr 22 05:26:25 2024
    On Apr 21, 2024 at 8:31:25 AM EDT, "jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote:

    Have reached the point where I am going to "buy something" - what does an MBP offer that's better than an Air?

    The Air has 24GB RAM max. Which is plenty for most people. And a 13 inch or 15 inch screen.

    The Pro has a much higher upside. Bigger screen, bigger CPU, bigger RAM and storage options. Also more ports (3 USB-C, HDMI and SDXC card slot).

    Of course, all of this is more money too. I got the 16 inch M2 Pro CPU MacBook Pro wih 32GB RAM only because I knew I needed to run Windows 11 Arm on it. Viewed in that light, I bought 2 very fast laptops. If not for needing
    Windows, the 15 inch 24GB Air would have been fine for me. BTW Windows 11 runs just fine on the Pro.

    I also got a great deal on eBay on a barely used Pro instead on buying brand new from Apple.

    Which is very common with Apple stuff. Lots of people have "buyer's remorse" (because of the high price) and after a couple months sell it on eBay. I got
    my 13 inch M1 16GB 1TB iPad Pro with magic keyboard a couple years ago the
    same way.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From RJH@21:1/5 to jeremy on Mon Apr 22 07:03:47 2024
    On 22 Apr 2024 at 07:45:58 BST, jeremy wrote:

    On 22 Apr 2024 at 06:26:25 BST, "Tyrone" <[email protected]> wrote:

    On Apr 21, 2024 at 8:31:25 AM EDT, "jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote: >>
    Have reached the point where I am going to "buy something" - what does an MBP
    offer that's better than an Air?

    The Air has 24GB RAM max. Which is plenty for most people. And a 13 inch or 15
    inch screen.

    The Pro has a much higher upside. Bigger screen, bigger CPU, bigger RAM and >> storage options. Also more ports (3 USB-C, HDMI and SDXC card slot).

    Of course, all of this is more money too. I got the 16 inch M2 Pro CPU MacBook
    Pro wih 32GB RAM only because I knew I needed to run Windows 11 Arm on it. >> Viewed in that light, I bought 2 very fast laptops. If not for needing
    Windows, the 15 inch 24GB Air would have been fine for me. BTW Windows 11 runs
    just fine on the Pro.

    I also got a great deal on eBay on a barely used Pro instead on buying brand >> new from Apple.

    Which is very common with Apple stuff. Lots of people have "buyer's remorse" >> (because of the high price) and after a couple months sell it on eBay. I got >> my 13 inch M1 16GB 1TB iPad Pro with magic keyboard a couple years ago the >> same way.
    Thanks for the comments - helpful to know of others' experiences.

    Will I be able to run Win11 under Parallels on an M2/M3 Air?

    I'm certainly going for the 24gb RAM option.

    £400 for 16GB?! That's knocking on half the cost of a basic Air. Reminds me of the early PC days . . .

    Is there a decent appraisal of how much this extra RAM helps under different circumstances? I'd have thought for many users a decent SSD and the M-series 'unified' system smooths over relatively low amounts of RAM?
    --
    Cheers, Rob, Sheffield UK

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Alan B@21:1/5 to All on Mon Apr 22 07:16:33 2024
    jeremy <[email protected]> posted:

    On 22 Apr 2024 at 06:26:25 BST, "Tyrone" <[email protected]> wrote:

    On Apr 21, 2024 at 8:31:25 AM EDT, "jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote:

    Have reached the point where I am going to "buy something" - what does an MBP
    offer that's better than an Air?

    The Air has 24GB RAM max. Which is plenty for most people. And a 13 inch or 15
    inch screen.

    The Pro has a much higher upside. Bigger screen, bigger CPU, bigger RAM and storage options. Also more ports (3 USB-C, HDMI and SDXC card slot).

    Of course, all of this is more money too. I got the 16 inch M2 Pro CPU MacBook
    Pro wih 32GB RAM only because I knew I needed to run Windows 11 Arm on it. Viewed in that light, I bought 2 very fast laptops. If not for needing Windows, the 15 inch 24GB Air would have been fine for me. BTW Windows 11 runs
    just fine on the Pro.

    I also got a great deal on eBay on a barely used Pro instead on buying brand
    new from Apple.

    Which is very common with Apple stuff. Lots of people have "buyer's remorse"
    (because of the high price) and after a couple months sell it on eBay. I got
    my 13 inch M1 16GB 1TB iPad Pro with magic keyboard a couple years ago the same way.
    Thanks for the comments - helpful to know of others' experiences.

    Will I be able to run Win11 under Parallels on an M2/M3 Air?

    I can run Win11 on my M1 Mac as a VM under Parallels, VMware and UTM. I'm currently just using the free version of VMware. I use Parallels and Liviable for Linux VMs.

    I'm certainly going for the 24gb RAM option.

    I have 16GB RAM in my M1 Mac. Seems adequate for my needs.

    --
    Cheers, Alan

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Alan B@21:1/5 to All on Mon Apr 22 07:32:05 2024
    Alan B <[email protected]d> posted:

    [snip]

    I can run Win11 on my M1 Mac as a VM under Parallels, VMware and UTM.
    I'm currently just using the free version of VMware. I use Parallels and Liviable
    for Linux VMs.

    Incidentally Liviable is Howard Oakley's M* Mac only VM app which utilises Apple's lightweight virtualisation engine. There is an issue with the last Liviable beta in that there's a long pause trying to connect to a news server. I keep meaning to take this up with HO. On the plus side some if not all of the keyboard mapping issues have been corrected by Apple

    --
    Cheers, Alan

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From =?UTF-8?Q?J=C3=B6rg_Lorenz?=@21:1/5 to All on Mon Apr 22 10:28:12 2024
    Am 22.04.24 um 09:03 schrieb RJH:
    On 22 Apr 2024 at 07:45:58 BST, jeremy wrote:
    I'm certainly going for the 24gb RAM option.

    £400 for 16GB?! That's knocking on half the cost of a basic Air. Reminds me of
    the early PC days . . .

    Without a specific use-case this is rather a waste of money. The Silicon-Architecture cannot be compared to classic boards. 16GB will do
    it with a very high degree of probability over the useful life of an MBA.

    Is there a decent appraisal of how much this extra RAM helps under different circumstances? I'd have thought for many users a decent SSD and the M-series 'unified' system smooths over relatively low amounts of RAM?

    That is what I experience with my mini with a M2pro and 16GB.

    --
    "Gutta cavat lapidem." (Ovid)

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From =?UTF-8?Q?J=C3=B6rg_Lorenz?=@21:1/5 to jeremy on Mon Apr 22 15:44:03 2024
    On 22.04.2024 13:55, jeremy wrote:
    On 22 Apr 2024 at 09:28:12 BST, "Jörg Lorenz" <[email protected]> wrote:

    Am 22.04.24 um 09:03 schrieb RJH:
    On 22 Apr 2024 at 07:45:58 BST, jeremy wrote:
    I'm certainly going for the 24gb RAM option.

    £400 for 16GB?! That's knocking on half the cost of a basic Air. Reminds me of
    the early PC days . . .

    Without a specific use-case this is rather a waste of money. The
    Silicon-Architecture cannot be compared to classic boards. 16GB will do
    it with a very high degree of probability over the useful life of an MBA.

    Is there a decent appraisal of how much this extra RAM helps under different
    circumstances? I'd have thought for many users a decent SSD and the M-series
    'unified' system smooths over relatively low amounts of RAM?

    That is what I experience with my mini with a M2pro and 16GB.

    It's a kind of insurance I guess. Pay a little more now knowing that you you won't regret not buying enough in 2 years' time.

    In original post I laid out the extent of what I want to be able to run - adding to that also Parallels so I can run Windows 11 - reasonable within 16gb
    RAM?

    I do not use Parallels because I use an MBP from 2017 to run Linux.
    There is nothing on this earth I need Windows for ...

    --
    "Ave Caesar! Morituri te salutant!"

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Jaimie Vandenbergh@21:1/5 to jeremy on Mon Apr 22 13:47:35 2024
    On 22 Apr 2024 at 12:55:47 BST, "jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote:

    In original post I laid out the extent of what I want to be able to run - adding to that also Parallels so I can run Windows 11 - reasonable within 16gb
    RAM?

    Yes, no trouble on my M1/16gig. I was using win10/11 ARM release (comes
    with its own 'rosetta' like ability to run Windows/Intel apps).

    I'd still go 24gig though, if you're looking at 5+ years use from this purchase.

    Cheers - Jaimie
    --
    "Even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all"
    -- Hypatia of Alexandria

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Alan B@21:1/5 to jeremy on Mon Apr 22 18:21:04 2024
    On 2024-04-22, jeremy <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 22 Apr 2024 at 14:47:35 BST, "Jaimie Vandenbergh"
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 22 Apr 2024 at 12:55:47 BST, "jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote:

    In original post I laid out the extent of what I want to be able to run - >>> adding to that also Parallels so I can run Windows 11 - reasonable within 16gb
    RAM?

    Yes, no trouble on my M1/16gig. I was using win10/11 ARM release (comes
    with its own 'rosetta' like ability to run Windows/Intel apps).

    So I would need the ARM version of Win11 - do you know where I would find that
    / the format of the download? I am well aware I need to purchase licence key to activate. The only references I have found have been to an "insider version".

    Just had a look and it appears that Parallels itself has a link within it for locating & downloading the Win11 for ARM - just want to make sure this isn't some esoteric software config I'm shooting for!

    I used CrystalFetch to obtain a suitable W11 ARM iso which I then used with VMware on my M1 MBP.

    <https://github.com/TuringSoftware/CrystalFetch>

    --
    Cheers, Alan

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Jaimie Vandenbergh@21:1/5 to jeremy on Tue Apr 23 11:24:02 2024
    On 22 Apr 2024 at 19:01:13 BST, "jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 22 Apr 2024 at 14:47:35 BST, "Jaimie Vandenbergh" <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 22 Apr 2024 at 12:55:47 BST, "jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote:

    In original post I laid out the extent of what I want to be able to run - >>> adding to that also Parallels so I can run Windows 11 - reasonable within 16gb
    RAM?

    Yes, no trouble on my M1/16gig. I was using win10/11 ARM release (comes
    with its own 'rosetta' like ability to run Windows/Intel apps).

    So I would need the ARM version of Win11 - do you know where I would find that
    / the format of the download? I am well aware I need to purchase licence key to activate. The only references I have found have been to an "insider version".

    Just had a look and it appears that Parallels itself has a link within it for locating & downloading the Win11 for ARM - just want to make sure this isn't some esoteric software config I'm shooting for!

    Yeah, that's the one. You might need an "insider" flag on a Microsoft
    account, I forget what it's up to these days. I had one for a year or
    so, then deleted it due to complete lack of use.

    Oh and while I've got you Jamie, any recommendations for a "hub" so that I can
    connect a new Air to an HDMI-cabled monitor?

    USB-C to HDMI cable?
    Otherwise any old USB-C hub with enough HDMI ability in it to suit your monitor's res. They're all the same cheap chip nowadays.

    Cheers - Jaimie
    --
    "The dumbest people I know are those who know it all."
    -- Malcolm Forbes

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Theo@21:1/5 to Jaimie Vandenbergh on Tue Apr 23 14:44:00 2024
    Jaimie Vandenbergh <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 23 Apr 2024 at 13:18:14 BST, "jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote:

    Isn't W11 generally available for ARM? Appreciate this very specific question
    is being posted in what may not be the most appropriate group :)

    It's not, no - there's no general release of it. Qualcomm appear to have
    an agreement with MS that they can't.

    There are release *versions* (eg 23H2) but they're not publically
    *released*. You have to get them from the Windows Update servers using a
    tool like CrystalFetch.

    eg https://uupdump.net/known.php?q=category:w11-23h2

    (that website makes you a script to build the ISO on Win/Mac/Linux, but it seems that Arm ISOs need a real Windows system to build. Seems like CrystalFetch handles it for you on a Mac)

    Theo

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Jaimie Vandenbergh@21:1/5 to jeremy on Tue Apr 23 13:25:32 2024
    On 23 Apr 2024 at 13:18:14 BST, "jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 23 Apr 2024 at 12:24:02 BST, "Jaimie Vandenbergh" <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 22 Apr 2024 at 19:01:13 BST, "jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 22 Apr 2024 at 14:47:35 BST, "Jaimie Vandenbergh"
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 22 Apr 2024 at 12:55:47 BST, "jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>
    In original post I laid out the extent of what I want to be able to run - >>>>> adding to that also Parallels so I can run Windows 11 - reasonable within 16gb
    RAM?

    Yes, no trouble on my M1/16gig. I was using win10/11 ARM release (comes >>>> with its own 'rosetta' like ability to run Windows/Intel apps).

    So I would need the ARM version of Win11 - do you know where I would find that
    / the format of the download? I am well aware I need to purchase licence key
    to activate. The only references I have found have been to an "insider
    version".

    Just had a look and it appears that Parallels itself has a link within it for
    locating & downloading the Win11 for ARM - just want to make sure this isn't
    some esoteric software config I'm shooting for!

    Yeah, that's the one. You might need an "insider" flag on a Microsoft
    account, I forget what it's up to these days. I had one for a year or
    so, then deleted it due to complete lack of use.


    Got to "the inside" but cannot find a W11 ISO download for ARM - only this at present:

    "With Windows 11 on Arm Insider Preview builds, you can create 64-bit Arm (Arm64) VMs in Hyper-V on Windows 11 Arm-based PCs. "

    I'm assuming that this is what I would need to be able to run under Parallels?
    It talks of downloading a VHDX file and then creating a Hyper-V VM.

    Parallels you'd need to join insider then find the iso yes. Or use UTM?
    It's there in the premade gallery for that:

    https://mac.getutm.app/gallery/

    Isn't W11 generally available for ARM? Appreciate this very specific question is being posted in what may not be the most appropriate group :)

    It's not, no - there's no general release of it. Qualcomm appear to have
    an agreement with MS that they can't.

    Cheers - Jaimie
    --
    I hope I live long enough
    to vindicate my pessimism
    -- http://www.boasas.com/?c=1108

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Alan B@21:1/5 to Theo on Tue Apr 23 15:02:30 2024
    Theo <[email protected]> wrote:
    Jaimie Vandenbergh <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 23 Apr 2024 at 13:18:14 BST, "jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote:

    Isn't W11 generally available for ARM? Appreciate this very specific question
    is being posted in what may not be the most appropriate group :)

    It's not, no - there's no general release of it. Qualcomm appear to have
    an agreement with MS that they can't.

    There are release *versions* (eg 23H2) but they're not publically
    *released*. You have to get them from the Windows Update servers using a tool like CrystalFetch.

    eg https://uupdump.net/known.php?q=category:w11-23h2

    (that website makes you a script to build the ISO on Win/Mac/Linux, but it seems that Arm ISOs need a real Windows system to build. Seems like CrystalFetch handles it for you on a Mac)

    Yes I’ve used CF a few times and the ISO’s have all been fine.

    --
    Cheers, Alan

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)