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A wild dream (#apple #macpro #vmware #virtualization #lab)
I’ve been thinking of something really wild recently, for me at least: replacing my 2017 21.5 inches iMac with a Mac Pro. Here is why.
I work in IT (information technologies) as a data center related technology architect. Server virtualization, storage area networks, networking technologies are at the center of my professional universe. In the coming months, I’ll have to invest in self-training and experimentations a lot around VMware-related products and services. How can I do that efficiently while working from home? Here comes the Mac Pro idea.
In order to be able to run many virtual machines, a powerful physical computer is required: lots of memory, powerful CPU (more than 6 cores) and fast storage. My current iMac doesn’t meet these basic requirements (it is maxed out at 32 GB of RAM and it has a relatively modest CPU). A Mac Pro with the following specs would easily meet the challenge: at least 128 GB of fast memory, 8 cores CPU, builtin SSD and expandability.
Virtualization will required VMware Fusion Pro running on top of macOS. Then, the sky is the limit as I can then install ESXi hypervisor which will allow me to branch into more complex setup. This type of environment do require a lot of memory (a typical VM is about 4-16 GB each) and multi-cores CPU. Installing ESXi directly on the Mac Pro is not an option as I will need to have macOS running for all other tasks (I’m not even sure if it is att all possible).
How do I get there? Well, I’m still thinking about how I’ll buy that machine and get the additional RAM (I won’t go with Apple’s because $$$). Stay tuned.
Technical datasheet can be found on Apple’s website, right here in PDF format. I don’t want to switch to a Windows machine BTW, I’m too much invested in Apple’s ecosystem for that to happen.
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Look who’s in town (#rssreader #rss #reading @reederapp)
The venerable RSS reader app « Reeder » turned to version 5 yesterday. I don’t know how I missed that one. Maybe because I moved from Reeder to News Explorer. I pay a lot of respect to the developer of Reeder. I’ve been using it for a long time. I wanted to have a look at version 5 so I bought it. Here is why.
Widgets. News Explorer hasn’t been updated to support them yet. Reeder now does. I love them. Read Later. Sending URLs to Reeder Read later is interesting and provides a better experience than in Safari Read Later. Tracking my own RSS feed for quality control. Oh and Shortcuts are also supported, something News Explorer don’t.
I think I’ll have to update my blogger workflow. 🤔
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Software is art (@airbuddyapp, #macOS)
If you have a Mac, many battery-powered Apple devices, you need AirBuddy. Version has been in the works for a very long time and it is a major update. I’m so anxious to get my AirBuddy updated!
We don’t get to see this level of craft on computers these days. This reminds me how dire the macOS native application landscape has become over the years. With macOS Big, Catalyst, Apple Silicon Macs and universal binaries, one can hope for a brighter future.
Am I alone who think the AirBuddy logo is upside down?
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Deliveries 9.0 - Does it deliver?
Here are a few quick comments on Deliveries 9.0 that came out recently. Deliveries 9 helped me track my Apple Watch Series 6 (read me review here).
As you know, Junecloud, the maker of Deliveries, switched to a subscription model with this release. I don’t really like this model but what can I do? Their pricing is fair and they give to previously paid users a six months break.
Version 9 brings refined visuals and more details tracking history among other things. The importation workflow has been updated and simplified too. Once delivered, package tracking can be archived forever. iOS 13’s dark mode is now supported but iOS 14 widgets aren’t yet. I think Deliveries is the perfect candidate to support widgets and I can’t wait to see what Junecloud will come up with in that regard.
All in all, as a long time user of Deliveries, I’m ok with this update albeit the switch to the subcription model. If it get’s more frequent feature additions, I’m ok with it, I guess.
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HEY, here is an important update!
Today is Christmas! Basecamp just released version 1.1 of their email client for HEY which supports WIDGETS among other things! I played with it and I LOVE the way they added the feature. Nicely designed and useful! Congrats to them!
Now, I have to get back to work on my article on widgets and remove HEY as an app without widgets support!
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I think this is a great move! Everyone (?) can now test this feature. The highlighting feature works across devices which is really useful. Manton Reece
we’ve enabled the new bookmark archiving and highlights feature for everyone to try out
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Micro.blog 2.0 - Testing, 1-2-3, Testing...
I really like what I’m seeing here on macOS. Only request is the default view of a New Post window should show the Title and Categories by default. On the web, the improvements are massive. I’m surprised the Bookmarking feature is available in a new Premium tier only. I want this feature but not the others (podcasting, richer media support). I’ll give it a try while it is free and I’ll see. On iOS and iPadOS, the workflow of selecting a photo from the library is still broken, otherwise, I love the changes. There seems to be speed improvements too. In other words, it is snappier!
All in all, I like where Micro.blog is going with these updates.
Testing an embedded bookmark here.
For the Micro.blog 2.0 launch week, we’ve enabled the new bookmark archiving and highlights feature for everyone to try out. You can upgrade to Micro.blog Premium at any time and also get podcast and video hosting.
Read: www.manton.org
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Deliveries: what’s in for me?
I’ve been a long time satisfied user of Deliveries. They are now switching to a subscription model which isn’t a surprise. I do think the pricing is just about right for the type of app. But, looking more closely to what’s new in the upcoming release, I see support for darkmode which is fine but please, don’t try to sell us this upgrade because you support basic OS features that are available for more than a year. Those should be a given. You may disagree.
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A message to attention seekers
Here is something for attention seekers: GTFU. I don’t understand. What do you expect from me by liking 10 photos in a row on my 500px profile page. The same goes for this case (see screen shot) of someone clapping for all my stories on my Medium page. Do you have something to sell? Probably, but I don’t care. You are making noise all around the web, just because you seek my attention.
Software has never been more powerful. The web is a big tracking machine, yet websites can’t figure out a way to recognize such behaviors in order to stop them. Baffling.
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On increasing COVID-19 cases...
Quick question: when you say “oh my, COVID-19 cases are on the rise!” and you get the following response “well, sure, they do more testing!!”. Is this a valid response? If not, what is the counter argument?
I have the feeling there is something wrong with this statement but I cannot put the finger on it. Ideas?
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I'm falling in love, again.
I’m falling back in love with Tweetbot 🥰. For a reason that I don’t remember, I was no longer using since a while ago. I think it was related to the fact that the official Twitter client was getting all the new features while Tweetbot couldn’t keep up (thanks to highly guarded APIs by Twitter. I’m kind of frustrated by the non-chronological timeline. It’s exhausting. I want to focus on a clean UI providing me a clear view on my timeline. That is all.
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From Overcast to Castro — Quick Observations
Re-discovering Castro podcast player 🎧. Much better than Apple’s Podcast app 👍🏻. Better design than Overcast 👌🏻. Super nice Watch app 😍. Impressive Shortcuts support. 👨🏻💻 No iPad version, though 😕. Looking forward for iOS 14 widgets support and maybe a universal version with support for all platforms (is this even in the cards? 🧐). Proudly supporting the developer by being a yearly subscriber now.
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On IFTTT Pro
IFTTT Pro. I’ve been a long time user of this service. I decided to subscribe @ 2.99$ per month. Started to play with the new features. I’m still not sure how I will take advantage of the multi-steps applet capabilities. Maybe something like: following a new blog post, create a DayOne entry AND create a Buffer “In case you missed it" AND … then what?
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I second that. Instagram is going down the drain. Fast. Thank you Facebook.
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Thinking of becoming a paying subscriber to very notable newsletters. Hard to choose from Benedict Evans, Stratechery and Techpinions newsletters. All good content, interesting and very different subjects from different angles. Any advice?
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Master piece from Ben Thompson of Stratechery looking at ways of rethinking the App Store. Because of this article quality, I’m considering becoming a subscriber. Rethinking the App Store – Stratechery by Ben Thompson
