Is the MacBook Neo shaking up the computer industry?

 I've seen a few reports about the MacBook Neo coming as a shock to computer makers.

Is it because it's only a little more expensive than the rest of the industry charges for mediocre laptop computers? 

The MacBook Neo is a decent entry level laptop computer.  There are a lot of savings leading to compromises versus typical MacBook Air or MacBook Pro computers.

Are there people who want e-mail and web browsing machines that don't do much else because of hardware limitations?  I remember thinking that was why there were Linux distributions, and 20 years later, I'm still wondering why Linux hasn't taken that place.

 When I see Google Chromebooks, I see Intel Pentium-related processors.  It's surprising how they're still "alive".  Weren't Chromebooks supposed to go away, replaced with Android for the desktop?

Windows 11 is so fat that they need a slimmed-down version to fit on low-end machines.  My ASUS machine has a Ryzen 7 5800H and Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti (notebook edition), and with every Windows 11 Pro update, it seems to become more feeble.

The MacBook Neo benchmarks seem quite good, faster than my M1 MacBook Air in some cases. 

 With the MacBook Neo, will Apple somehow dominate in the low-end market for laptop computers, especially using a System-on-a-Chip (A18 Pro) that comes from a phone? 

Update 2026.03.14: I watched a video comparing a Microsoft Surface laptop computer using a mobile SoC and a Neo and the real problem was that Microsoft put little effort into making Windows on ARM great.  It couldn't run a lot of applications, including games, which is a point Microsoft always made against Macs.

 Since macOS has components for running iPadOS-modified games seamlessly, it goes a long way toward showing developers that their games can run on a Mac. 

Update 2026.03.23: I was at Target and got to see the Neo.  It feels much more expensive than anything that has Windows running on it for a similar price.  While the SoC is from a phone, it's quite powerful, exceeding my M1.  I was recently trying to help a friend find a powerful but economical laptop computer for university and they were close to the prices for the Neo.  Would you buy plastic or aluminium? 

Update 2026.05.07: Apparently, sales are great.  They need more A18 Pro SoCs to keep up with demand and to keep the A17 Pro and Pro Max going. 

They might ditch the lower model.  It didn't make sense to me to offer it.  They're talking about adding more colors.  They've noticed that certain colors have better demand than others from the Orange that was selling on the phones. 

Windows 11 Pro to SteamOS on a laptop computer? CachyOS to the rescue?

 For just more than two years, I've been running Windows 11 Pro on an ASUS ZenBook Pro.  With each update, the performance becomes worse.  The newest releases are invasive in the name of AI.  I have little interest in AI.  I've generally been using that computer for photo processing, gaming, and watching videos.  I have an M1 MacBook Air that is more capable for processing photos and videos from previous years.

I'm considering switching the ZenBook Pro to SteamOS, as I've found SteamOS on the Steam Deck to be quite capable with a keyboard and mouse.  I'm a little concerned that the combination of AMD 5800H and RTX 3050Ti may not be the best platform.

This week, I was reading that the latest Linux kernel has updated Nvidia drivers included.  I should probably wait for that kernel to be included in SteamOS.  Maybe obviously, SteamOS might run fine on the AMD 5800H and its inbuilt GPU but that GPU is far out of date and even had trouble with Unreal Tournament 2004.  I've been running much more intense graphics than that.

CachyOS seems to be the best choice for a Linux distribution that supports gaming AND Nvidia cards, although a few others like Nobara and Manjaro were mentioned.  I might just risk it.  I still have my MacBook Air but my Windows machine seems less capable because of Windows.  It was also running very hot today, while active CPU use was under 10%.

Update 2026.02.06: CachyOS looks like it's going to be a bit of "fun" to install.  I wonder if I should install Ubuntu or another easy distribution and then, install CachyOS.  I'm not quite as agile lately, and I don't want to make a huge error.  I've waited this long.  I can take more time to plan.

Update 2026.05.15: Well, that ZenBook Pro seems about to eat itself, overheating and such.  I've beaten the keyboard and that needs to be replaced.  Perhaps, after it gets some time to recover, I can install CachyOS without having to worry about not having a games machine. 

Update 2026.05.29: It's been two weeks since I was worried about one computer, and it's been a bit over a week since I've had an MSI Crosshair A16 HX as a replacement.

 It's a 16 inch class machine versus 15.6 but I don't really notice a difference, except that the display seems taller.  It's not quite 4:3 but it's definitely not 16:9.

 In any case, I put the ZenBook Pro on a shelf and haven't got CachyOS ready for installation yet.  I'm wondering if I need to have the keyboard replaced before a change or not.  I'm also wondering about some sort of Windows lock that will make this more difficult than it should be. 

Like a Dragon Ishin!, Fate/Samurai Remnant rather than Assassin's Creed Shadows

 Maybe, from my name you can guess that I'm Japanese.  I'm fairly traditional in my likes and dislikes but I treat everyone with respect from the start.  Only the other person can reduce the respect I feel for them.

Ubisoft just pulled out of the Tokyo Game Show 2024, due to controversy over Assassin's Creed Shadows in Japan.

I have:

• Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
• Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China
• Assassin's Creed Unity

All of the Assassin's Creed games are boring to me.  Technically, they're well made but they could be churned out of the same game generator with different artwork.  Most of Ubisoft's games are similar.  I read someone's comment that the games have no soul.  They don't seem to lend any emotional attachment that I can see.

I wanted Shadows because it's the first one of that series on Mac.  Macs have had enough power for quite a few of the Ubisoft games but they didn't want to spend the money.  It's understandable.

I don't know every detail about the controversy but sticking to typical Japan from hundreds of years ago would be appreciated.  Apparently, they didn't care to do that.  Japan had enough trouble from Westerners hundreds of years ago.  Why create more?  Many tourists don't have respect, so why should a games company?

I saw a deal on Like a Dragon Ishin! Deluxe Edition, which puts you in the role of a Sakamoto, something I can handle most days.  For US$20 instead of US$60, I was quick to buy.  That was quicker than the uncertain man with his head bouncing down the castle stairs.

The really good thing is that it is certified for Steam Deck, which means it probably works well with some tweaking.  I wonder how the new processors from AMD will be next year.  I hope Valve is already designing for an upgraded Steam Deck with a Van Gogh replacement and OLED technology.  The current one I have is fine for many situations, but there are times when it drops because where it should be and I have to be patient.

Anyway, if you haven't heard of gameplanet.com, you're like me.  I've been shopping Steam, Humble Bundle, and Fanatical.  I finally took the Mac Game Store off my Mac.  Game Planet works with ASUS, which is my Windows 11 machine.

Update 2024.09.28: I just did something crazy.  I bought another samurai-era game: Fate/Samurai Remnant.  It's a Koei Tecmo game.  They're big on preserving a sense of history and they've been making huge games about old times in Asia, especially Three Kingdoms games.  I'm sure I saw that the latest was number 14 (XIV) just today.  In any case, I bought the Deluxe Edition for about US$49 instead of US$100.  When I see anything over $40, I have to think a while.  The credit union wanted me to think a while, as well, and asked me if I was really buying it.  I am concerned about fraud because my $10 Walmart gift card was used a couple of weeks ago about 40 miles from here.

When I started it, I started the Japanese version and it reminded me so much of being in Japan, I almost came to tears.  Sadly, I've been in the U.S.A. so long, my ability to read Japanese quickly is less than it needs to be.  Narration was amazing.

Also sadly, until now, I've never met a game that didn't use the Escape key to interrupt things and show an option for the menu or title screen.  Right-mouse button was unexpected.

I need to dedicate some time to playing both games.

Update 2025.03.23: Apparently, the AC Shadows game is working fine on game consoles.  I even saw something about it being "optimized" for Steam Deck.  However, for PC or Mac, it's not as playable.  On Mac, they say "Works on this M1 MacBook Air" which is suspicious.  I can't imagine that it's actually enjoyable at all, if it's having trouble on an M4 Max SoC.

 Of course, releasing a game is often the most important part and fixing it happens after they get the money.  That said, it may take the a year to clean it up.  Ubisoft is in no hurry.  Their games launcher always seems to have an update.  I have to wonder if they'll ever have it as stable.  It took Valve too long with Steam but it's quite good now.

 In any case, if you bought AC Shadows, enjoy it.

AI...AI...AI!

 Okay, so back in the mid-1970s, LISP was the language of choice for creating AI applications.  Then, along came Prolog from Japan.  A computerized psychotherapist named Eliza dominated the AI talk for regular people.

AI couldn't do anything but give developers headaches back then.

Now, we have all this computing power sitting in warehouse-like buildings, heating up the landscape so much that you can almost see it in satellite images.  How is it useful?

We can ask for photo manipulations.  We can ask for essays to be written.  We can ask for a workout routine.

Microsoft has just introduced a new type of laptop computer with dedicated AI, including a keyboard key.  However, aren't they the people who put Cortana in the dustbin?  Aren't they the people who put Clippy in the dustbin?

I've no doubt that in 40 years, AI will be useful for the average person.  Right now, I can see people using AI to cheat.  AI can also help to detect when someone is cheating.

I could see people training AI to hack.  Imagine when hackers have been trying so many combinations that they haven't slept for a while.  If they could train AI to hack, they could give it a list of things to try using example after example, and they could sleep.

Android 15 and iOS 18 are coming with some AI enhancements.  We'll see what works.  If Siri worked better than Apple PlainTalk from 1998, I'd be impressed.  Google Assistant is better but isn't much more useful.

People are worried about Skynet-type AI and they are far too early.  When someone gets that level of AI to work, I'd be impressed but it's more likely that humanity will eliminate itself long before that happens.

Update 2024.07.16: It's odd to me to see all these headlines about ethics and AI.  I've seen people use other people's work for years without paying for its use, without even giving credit to the author.

Update 2024.07.24: I'm waiting for Apple to not fix security flaws on iOS 17 to get us to move to iOS 18, which will include AI in multiple doses.  Apple hasn't been getting the operating system features ready in time for the release, so they've been releasing something with basic features and adding what they promised in spurts.  I understood this during the pandemic.  People weren't as coordinated as they should have been.

 I've seen people from Apple, Google, HP, and other Silicon Valley-based companies coming to shop after their 3 hour commute.  They want their own house and things are less expensive out here.  Well, they were less expensive before they arrived.

In any case, they've got to get it together and build software that isn't full of mistakes.  You'd think that they could train AI to look for mistakes in their programming code and highlight them to be fixed.  That might be the best use of AI right now.

Update 2024.10.23: Just saw this Siri vs ChatGPT article claiming that Siri is two years behind ChatGPT.  I have to question that Siri is only two years behind ChatGPT.  Maybe, this is the latest they're testing and not the one most people are using because that one seems to be four to six years behind everything else.

Update 2025.01.27: I'm amused today.  A startup from China has taken the lead in AI processing.  DeepSeek is a name that came to light last week and has smashed the stock prices of the companies benefiting most from AI.

I was amused that they were talking about it running on Apple M2 Max machines, not Nvidia's finest or Intel.  Apple hasn't been too successful with AI software but their Neural Processing Unit has been good, apparently, very good.  What happens when the M4 Max arrives?

Update 2025.08.10: The day after DeepSeek arrived and their source code was posted, Grok became much better.  It's almost as if someone wasn't doing very well and borrowed someone else's work.

I bought an iPhone 15, which won't have the enhanced AI processing available.  The interesting thing is that it hasn't appeared for the iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 16 models, either.  They've recently lost some people to Meta (Facebook/Instagram).  Since they collapsed their car software, they should have got the phone AI to work with such fine developers.

Every week, I hear about one model progressing, but I suspect you could call it "inching forward", instead of "leaps and bounds".

When the AI software can figure out what's wrong with the AI software.they will make progress. 

Update 2025.09.02: Elon Musk is complaining that Grok isn't getting a fair shake in the App Store in comparison to ChatGPT.  Does someone want an underachiever?

Browsing my Instagram feed, I've noticed loads of AI-generated videos and photos.  Those are great if you don't have an artist handy but they should be making things happen, not AI. 

Update 2026.09.21: Apparently, Google Gemini managed to hack three different companies.  I'm still asking who trained it to do that, but it's been possible for a while.

I've been using Google Gemini to work through some stories I've been writing and to do psychological studies and more.  It's useful, but they've modified with Flash AI so much, it's less useful for me.  I've also used Claude by Anthropic, which is very useful in looking at my stories to give me opinions and insights.

 During this time, the 7 year old mentality has struck many times, causing me to re-word my requests, and in one case, locking a chat after a few days. 

Gaming without a desktop or laptop computer?

 You've thought about it, haven't you?

Since the Steam Deck has taken hold, and the ASUS ROG Ally has arrived, mobile gaming computers are real and good.

I admit that back when Epyx Games designed their handheld gaming machine with color display, I was interested.  Atari bought it and put it out under their name.  When Nintendo brought out Virtual Boy, it piqued my interest.  However, bad, tiny displays weren't enough for me.

I looked at the Nintendo Switch several times.  The newer, OLED-equipped Switch really looks good, but it's not very powerful for 2023.  So many people bought them in 2020 and 2021 because they were stuck at home, the company did well.  For me, I want different games, and mostly, those games don't end up on Switch.

So, here I am with a Steam Deck and it's good.  I have over 182 games available in Steam, 62 are in the Great on Deck category, and I have 42 games installed.

Earlier, I was watching a YouTube video about installing a game launcher that could handle non-Steam-based games.  You have to exit Steam and go to the Linux/KDE desktop, use the virtual keyboard, and more.  Without a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, it sounds difficult.  It sounds like my 8-bit days before the GUI arrived. The good thing is that there is a GUI.  I'm not sure I want to bother with GOG Galaxy or the Epic Games Launcher on a Steam Deck in desktop mode, though.

Play Games or Mess with the computer?

This reminds me so much of my time at work getting Win98SE and WinNT to work.  Then, going home to my MacOS machines.  I really don't want to mess with the computer.  I bought Steam Deck to play games, not to become a Linux laptop replacement.

Windows Local or Windows Remote?

The good thing about Steam is that it allows you to Stream a game from another machine.  I can stream a game from Steam Deck, Mac, or Windows.  I can even play remotely on Android or iOS.

GeForce NOW will also allow you to run Windows games remotely on Android or iOS.  However, unless you're a premium subscriber, you may be waiting in the queue quite a while.  The Razer Kishi V2 works fairly well, but only supports/is supported by a handful of games I have.  It did not work with my OnePlus 8T and, while it works with my Google Pixel 6a, the Pixel 6a isn't as powerful as the 8T.  Gaming is not so happy, even for light, casual games.  Playing from a Mac is fine, but seems a waste.  I don't have a Kishi V2 for iPhone.

Valve has really worked hard to make Steam Deck a success and I'm pleasantly surprised how many games work well.  I'm not too quick to jump on the latest trends, but Ghostwire: Tokyo and Hi-Fi Rush from Tango Gameworks and Bethesda are pretty bug-free for new releases.

I'm not about to buy Hogwarts Legacy this year, partly, because it's massive, and partly, because it's expensive.  I would rather buy Baldur's Gate 3 sooner but it's going to be buggy and expensive, also.

Then again, if certain games arrived on Mac, I'd be spending to show my support for native Apple Silicon gaming development.  Some games work fine as Intel-based applications but more speed would make things go more smoothly.

It's interesting how many indie games are available for Mac and Windows at the same time while big studios can't seem to muster the courage.

Is playing handheld good enough?

I've played a number of games on Steam Deck, but some of my favorite pick-up-put-down kind of games, like Unreal Tournament 2004, don't work easily.  For the most part, you can play almost anything.  Games that require a keyboard and mouse will be difficult.  I currently have 44 games installed and they mostly work the way I'd expect but I removed one or two because they didn't work correctly.  Valve continues to make improvements in the Proton compatibility layer.

On iPhone and Android, I've been playing the Galaxy on Fire series for around 11 years, since the original Google Nexus 7 tablet with Nvidia Tegra processor and the second generation iPod touch.  Using gyros for the movement was surprisingly good, although it might have looked silly while playing in a waiting room.

Using a Steel Series Nimbus+ for the iPhone and a Razer Kishi V2 for a Google Pixel 6a makes certain games much easier to play.  It's a bit sad that Android controllers can't be more compatible with a wide variety of phones.  My OnePlus 8T just didn't work with the Razer Kishi V2 but the Pixel 6a isn't as powerful.  Now, Razer has a Kishi V2 Pro.

I still find myself at the computer, whether Windows or Mac, to play games that can't easily be played on Steam Deck, Android, or iOS.

I mentioned UT2004 earlier and it's one that I pick up for 15 minutes and then, put away.  I play Toxikk that way as well.  I haven't spent much time on Honkai: Star Rail or Genshin Impact on my phone.  They're too much for my Google Pixel 6a, but run fine on my 2022 iPhone SE.  The display dimensions aren't very good on the iPhone SE, as it doesn't really have a widescreen display.  It does have a powerful processor, though.  Genshin Impact demands a lot of my Windows 11-based machine.  Those fans run quite a bit while playing, even for a few minutes.  Teyvat is shown in great detail.

Which handheld will succeed to break the need for a laptop computer?

I'm looking forward to seeing Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and Legion Go take hold and change the face of gaming.  It's time.

Update 2023.12.14: Attached a keyboard and mouse to my Steam Deck and played Toxikk and Unreal Tournament 2004 as if I had a laptop computer.  It was a good experience, even though I need to adjust to the keyboard.  UT2004 actually ran better on Steam Deck than it ran on my Ryzen 7 5800H through the AMD application launcher using AMD graphics.  That experience on the 5800H was surprising, considering that my experience in 2004 was better on a Mac clone with an ATI card that was probably priced around US$200 in 2004. ATI's XClaim VR was the card from 2004.  The Steam Deck was awesome.

Cheap keyboard/mouse combo from Temu wasn't bad.  Longevity?  Who knows?

 Update 2023.12.26: I have Hogwarts Legacy on Steam Deck.  Performance is good so far.  I need to acclimate myself to the controls or I won't go far. 

Update 2024.01.13: Ayaneo has just announced a Steam Deck-like device using a SteamOS-like operating system, Ayaneo Next Lite.  It's starting just a bit cheaper than Steam Deck, but who knows whether they'll continue to support the operating system or not.  The company has so many devices that it may just be throwing things at the wall to see what sticks.

Update 2024.03.08: Ayaneo Next Lite will be shipped with Windows 11, for some reason.  Orange Pi Neo has been announced with Manjaro Linux Gaming Edition.  Supposedly, it will be less expensive than Steam Deck, even with Hall Effect triggers and a higher resolution display.

I've been acclimating myself to SteamOS desktop and updates through Discover.  Trying to work a machine without a good desktop interface is difficult, but this one is good.  When I was experimenting with Ubuntu back around 2005, there was a lot to dislike.  GNOME desktop wasn't good and Ubuntu's Unity was different, not better.  People raved about KDE but it wasn't that far along, either.

In any case, it's good to have a handheld device that can replace a desktop computer in a pinch.

Update 2024.03.19: Windows 11 Update KB5035853 has caused problems on Ally and others like it that use an AMD APU.  Too many times Microsoft isn't paying attention, but with millions of configurations, how can they test enough of them?

Update 2024.05.27: Things are better and there are more alternatives yet.  ASUS has an Ally X with some redesigns to fix and make things better.  We'll see if it corrects ruining the SD Card by overheating it.  It's still fairly expensive and Armoury Crate isn't much of a game launcher.

The newer Steam Deck OLED is a better performer and the display dazzles all but the most frugal.  There are over 15,000 games Verified or Playable now.

I've been playing a few games from Netmarble, some for Android, some for Windows.  I haven't got to the point where I want to try games outside of Steam on the Steam Deck.  I downloaded two launchers for the desktop, but haven't done much to try them.

Update 2024.09.09: I noticed this week in a couple of articles that AMD is close to a new generation of APUs for handheld devices.  There was a mention of Escher, which was in the same category as Van Gogh, the APU in the Steam Deck.  There was also a mention of Z2 and Z2 Extreme, the processors in the ASUS Ally and Legion Go. Supposedly, the Z2/Z2 Extreme will arrive first quarter of 2025 but the replacement for the Van Gogh may take longer.  It would be interesting to see how Valve handles a replacement for the current APU, not only in software, but in game verification.  Obviously, it has to be fully compatible, but will it support more to deal with technical difficulties we've seen on Steam Deck?

Update 2024.10.24: SteamOS has been updated to version 3.6.

I know that Legion Go and ROG Ally X are making improvements in handheld devices.  I don't see myself switching at this point.  I have a Windows 11 Pro machine and it seems as though the performance has become worse with every update.  Anything extra that they can eek out of Steam Deck would be appreciated.

Update 2024.12.28: At CES, there should be an announcement between Valve and Lenovo that the Legion Go will come in a SteamOS version.  Valve has been busy working on SteamOS to add drivers and such to make their distribution of Linux work for any handheld that works like the Steam Deck.

Steam Deck itself has been available in Australia for a bit, but it still has a long way to go.  The operating system is working well and many games run without major problems.  The minor problems often offset the problems that Windows has.

Update 2025.01.24: It has been a couple of days since I got a notice from Nintendo that the Switch 2 was being announced.  They didn't really go into enough detail about what it is.  I will guess that it isn't powerful enough because they always go less powerful than they should.  The extra port and the controller-as-a-mouse functionality is interesting.  However, after the number of portable gaming systems in the last few years, will it be enough?  Will the Switch 2 have enough power to play games without a Nintendo character, i.e. AAA games?

Waiting for Valve to do something about Steam Deck feels like being in the waiting room of a doctor who has bad news for you.  They might have cleaned up SteamOS 3.6 enough to calm down the problems.  They're not big enough to have a huge distribution network, so things are moving slowly.  By the time they have it under control, they'll probably announce Steam Deck 2.

I've been considering moving to SteamOS for my Windows 11 Pro laptop computer.  It takes so long just to get it to the login page, even though it's using an M.2 SSD.  The 24H2 update gave me hope and then, it's no better.

Update 2025.02.26: Valve's Steam Deck is three years old.  My Steam Deck is about two years old.  The device still doesn't have a major distribution network but sells well.  The company is working on a Steam console and apparently, another VR headset.  Is SteamOS enough to upset Windows?  The company is still working on a one-size-fits-all version of SteamOS to be installed almost anywhere.

I watched someone install a version of Red Hat's Fedora offshoot called Nobara.  There seems to be an Nvidia version that I could use, as well as a SteamOS version.  It started up like it was still 2004, but eventually booted into a SteamOS-looking interface, similar to when I use my Steam Deck with keyboard and mouse.

Update 2025.04.06: Guess what isn't going to arrive in the USA?  The Nintendo Switch 2 is being delayed, due to the tariffs from the White House. 

Update 2025.11.15: Valve announced Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and a second generation Steam Controller just recently.

 I've got the original Steam Controller (somewhere) and it's both really good and really bad, at the same time.  Hopefully, the new one will be amazing since they've learnt a lot from the Steam Deck usage.

Steam Machine is just a Linux-based box computer for Steam-based games.  Anything that runs on Steam Deck will run on Steam Machine, but FASTER.  Will it be as good as current Playstation or Xbox models?  It may not matter.

 Steam Frame is another matter.  The Valve Index was expensive and then, Apple made it look inexpensive.  I suspect that it only sold a few hundred times.  I would like a VR headset, especially one that has the processing inside it as Apple has done.  If they have the energy for it as they've had for Steam Deck, they might do well.  Samsung just introduced another entry into the market.

 Valve could really use a Steam Deck with much more processing power.  The AMD Escher variant was designed to replace the Van Gogh variant and they should be planning to use it. 

Update 2025.12.23: The LCD version of the Steam Deck is finished.  When supplies run out, they won't be sold any longer, except for refurbished models, I'd expect.

I wish that this meant that a follow-on product was in the works, but they seem to be allowing anyone and everyone to load SteamOS. 

Update 2026.02.25: The Steam Deck is four years old today.

 I waited a while to buy mine.  They had so many shortages and couldn't deliver for the longest time, so I waited.  Now, with AI servers needing RAM and storage, things are slowing to a standstill.

I saw the other day that AMD is not providing firmware updates for the Z1 or Z1 Extreme APUs and Lenovo made a similar announcement.  SteamOS seems a better bet but can they cover all AMD APUs? 

Apple Silicon Software Development seems slow

It's been about three years since the initial M1-based machines from Apple became reality.  Why is development lagging?

Steam Hardware Survey

The other day, Steam requested my computer's details.  One is an AMD Ryzen 7 with Geforce RTX 3050 Ti (laptop version, of course), and the other is a 2020 MacBook Air M1.  In reporting, Steam shows AppleVirtual processor and 1440x900 resolution, which is far from the truth, unless of course, you don't care to make your software the best and take advantage of the actual power that is available.

I've only had my 2020 M1 MacBook Air for about a year, but it seems as though most applications are only compatible through emulation.

I could understand why Adobe wouldn't be quick about it.  They were dragging their feet on the way to Mac OS X in 2000.  They wouldn't port Premier Pro, and Apple brought out Final Cut and Aperture.

Intuit was also complaining, but then, they wanted us to move to Windows because they told people "the Mac is just too difficult to program" or some such, used to justify the higher price and lower functionality.

What got me over the years was that Microsoft was Apple's enemy and yet, their software was better for Mac OS X than that of Adobe, Apple's friend.

It's 2023, not 2003

It still feels as though little has been accomplished since the M1 and other Apple Silicon processors have been available.  The performance is so good that you might not notice the speed of Intel emulation.  Mouse cursor positioning doesn't seem all that stable, though, as of macOS 12.x.

It's been almost three years and I would expect that developers would want to show what their applications could do on better hardware.

Valve Software might not be doing as well as they want people to believe, but I suspect that they could buy a couple of M1-based Macs and update Steam for Apple Silicon.  If that worked out, they could re-jig Source to 64-bit compatibility, as well as Metal compatibility.  Apple might even help them, just to get more games on M1 Macs.  I should note the rumor that Valve and Apple talked about making Proton work on Macs and Apple refused.  Whether it happened or not, things need to be better than running Windows executables on another operating system.  Steam Deck with Proton works but it's not always wonderful.

It really wouldn't hurt Apple to create a division for games and keep it to help third parties develop outstanding games.  A couple of games I had for Windows are available in Apple Arcade but unavailable elsewhere.

It's interesting that Evernote is a Universal binary, but Dropbox is Intel-only.  Google Drive is listed as Apple Silicon, not Universal.  LastPass is Intel-only, but thankfully, Malwarebytes is Universal.

Serif's Affinity applications are Universal, but it seems a number of creative applications are not.  I'm thankful for Capture One Pro being Universal, as well as Affinity Publisher, Designer, and Photo.

How many years until Intel is completely gone from Apple machines?  When Apple pulls the plug on Rosetta 2 will they step up or step away?

Update 2024.07.29: I just updated to macOS 14.6, a Sonoma release.  I got an update for Steam, but I 99% know that it's Intel-only.  I checked updates on GOG Galaxy some 20 minutes ago and I'm waiting for it to finish.  That's perplexing since the Windows version updated a few days ago and I didn't have to check.  It told me.  It's time for the Heroic games launcher.

Electronic Arts finally got around to retiring Origin for the EA launcher, which is Universal.  Most of my games are still Intel-targeted.  Death Stranding is Apple Silicon only and is not available on Steam yet.  Divinity - Original Sin 2 is Intel only.

I've been reminded in some forums that there are 200+ Mac games.  I've also been reminded that you can use Whisky with the Heroic launcher to play some Windows-only games.  There are a few well-known games coming to Mac, including a new Assassins Creed (Shadows?) game.  I have a few of them but Ubisoft hasn't made a game I've loved since the original Rayman on Atari Jaguar.

Of course, it's not all about games, but they are essential to home users.

Update 2024.08.16: Now that the Qualcomm ARM-based machines using a Nuvia-developed SoC have been released, it should be interesting to see if there will be ARM-based games on Windows.  Apparently, the Windows' equivalent to Rosetta 2 is not so amazing.

Perhaps, if game developers start to design games for ARM on the desktop, they'll be able to target Macs as well as Windows machines.  Considering that the M1-based machines arrived in 2020, it's a bit frustrating waiting for something to happen.

I've downloaded Whisky and the Heroic Games Launcher but I haven't tried much, as I am not restricted to macOS, having a Windows 11 machine and a Steam Deck.  I need to focus.  I probably need more than my 1 TB drive and it might make sense to have a big, external drive for my Windows-based games for Mac since I have 230+ games on Steam alone and only a few are native to Mac.

Update 2024.09.02: I was just taking a look at the Steam hardware survey results.  macOS is around 1.3% of the total.  Is that surprising when Valve went out of its way to kill Counter Strike that was working and develop Counter Strike 2 with no executable for Macs?  All of their 32-bit executables from 2010 (?) still work on older machines but unless Rosetta 2 will run them, what's the point?

Why Apple and Valve couldn't even reach a compromise sends a message that isn't necessarily true.  Mac gaming isn't exactly alive but it's not dead, either.  However, the late 1990s were much better than now.

I tried Heroic Games launcher and downloaded a game that I know runs on Apple Arcade and it was fine on Mac.  I've been a bit slow to download much else because of the storage required.  I tried one of the Resident Evil games, which is native for Apple Silicon, and that was surprisingly good on an M1 MacBook Air.  If they have the RE Engine converted, they should be able to port to the whole series.

Unreal Engine 5 runs on macOS but it's the headlines about how bad its performance is on Windows that got my attention.  Trying new technologies is difficult but bringing a gaming system to a crawl is not good--just ask the Starfield people.

Update 2024.12.11: There are a few more games out for Apple Silicon:

• Resident Evil Village
• Resident Evil 7
• Resident Evil 4
• Assassin's Creed: Shadows

I've seen a mention or two about other games and that the Resident Evil Engine was ported, so any in the series could be ported.

With the M3 and M4 SoCs supporting ray tracing and other advanced technologies, there could be more games arriving, but Apple really needs one set of machines for gaming.  They need exceptional air flow, not the thinnest enclosures ever.  That said, my M1 MacBook Air is far ahead of most of the Intel-based Macs and about as fast as my Windows machine, AMD 5800H with Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050Ti.  The MacBook Air's graphics are way ahead of my 5800H's iGPU but not nearly as fast as the 3050Ti, of course.

What happened to the Nuvia/Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite/Plus?

Update 2025.06.13: This week, Apple announced that Rosetta 2 will be diminished with the new macOS Tahoe.  Developers are going to have no choice but to make their software Apple Silicon native.

Since it will be diminished, it will supposedly be effective for older games, maybe other older software that has no chance of being updated.  We'll learn about it soon enough.

 Hopefully, this will inspire developers to work at bringing their software to Apple Silicon after five years of hardware. 

Update 2025.10.30: Since the M5 14 inch MacBook Pro and M5 iPad Pro, people are surprised how fast the SoC is.  I'd like to see the MacBook Air with M5 SoC in spring 2026.  I'm not really happy or trusting of macOS 26 but it's part of the deal.  It's not that my M1 MacBook Air has become slower but that the games run much better on the M5.

I continue to get beta versions of Steam and yet, no native version for me.  I know that they're out there. It's interesting that Windows-based games are running, and running well, at that through Crossover.  I've had some success with the Heroic Games Launcher.  Whisky has been finished. 

Google Play Games...on Windows?

 I looked at using the Android environment on Windows but didn't like the idea of using Amazon's store of games.

I recently got an invitation to use Google Play Games and the experience is very limited.

Since I have Windows 11 and virtualization is enabled, I only had to download the initial installer and download the application.  It was fairly quick but it looked like it had been cobbled together (even for a beta test release) and I suspected at one point that I'd accepted malware.

When finished, I logged into my games-playing Google account and proceeded to watch the instructions.  There isn't much more to tell.  Most of the games weren't something I would even think to play.  Considering that the previous countries were in Asia, it wasn't surprising that most of the games were popular there.  Are 100 games a good start?  Apparently, Google have to tweak things so that they run smoothly on Windows.

I guess it will take some time and they're probably wondering if this will be more successful than Stadia was.

Considering that I have a few iPhone games on my Mac, this should fill gaps on casual games on Windows, since Windows phone is dead.

Update 2023.04.02: I have downloaded Hades' Star and Eversoul.  Eversoul seems to be a Genshin Impact-type of game, but in Korean, and with big boobs.  Hades' Star seems to be an empire-building game that is annoying.  I'm sure that someone else will find it engaging.

I'm still not sure that it's going to make an impact with the current selection of games.  There are a number of games in my account that I would like to use on the computer, but they aren't available yet.

Update 2023.11.22: Once I finally got into Eversoul, I see that it is no more than a boob show, objectifying female characters at every turn.  It is less than it should be.  While many mobile RPG games have an unfortunate view of women, Eversoul doesn't even try to be a good game.

Lately, I've been trying Tower of God: New World.  I'm up to level 101 on that.  I spent a little money, but I probably would have made the same progress without it, just a few days later.

Grand Cross: Age of Titans has also caught my attention and they currently have a crossover even with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the anime series.  I normally wouldn't play this kind of game, but it's from Netmarble, just as Tower of God: New World is.  It takes a rather long time for things to happen and beware what happens when you're not on the game.  It may seem to be a single-player game, but you co-exist with many in the same general area and they might attack without provocation.  I'm a bit tired of the building and character upgrades.

That said, I'm still playing Genshin Impact outside of Google Play Games.  At level 41, I've put some effort into it, and even destroyed my Corsair M55 Pro mouse button.  They've compared the game to Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and I can only say that there is so much to see and do that I can't imagine that you can play the game for free.

Update 2023.12.29: I've been playing Netmarble games more lately, including Seven Knights II, which doesn't run on Google Play Games on Windows.  I'm at a point where I don't seem to be able to progress.  I'm not even sure that spending money will help me progress.  In all three of the games, I have plenty of characters and many of them are powerful, but not powerful enough.  Perhaps, I need more knowledge in enhancing equipment.

I picked up Sword Chronicles: Awaken and Black Clover.  These are on Android and iOS, as well, but not on Google Play Games on Windows.  Google has increased the number of games available on Windows but it's not yet impressive.  A lot of them are still money grabbers.

I've played Sword Chronicles: Awaken for a few weeks and it's confusing.  There is a social element, where you get to know your characters.  In other games, you merely buy them gifts, but this one has you playing games, being asked questions, eating with them, and sharing the hot springs with them.  Battles are fairly simple and can be placed on automatic.

Black Clover is an adaptation of a Shonen Jump series.  It's something I've not read or seen.  Then again, I haven't seen Shonen Jump since the first few issues.  There are so many opportunities to explore and battle that it's a bit overwhelming and confusing.  If you like anime, you'll appreciate what they've done with the characters.  I've made quite a bit of progress in a few hours, but I'm not completely sure how.  I'm not far into the game, but I'm seeing the limitations of the SR characters quickly, as I've topped out a few of them at level 40.  You can rank them up when you have materials but earning the materials is a battle, and remembering where to earn them is also a battle.

Update 2024.06.29: Google Play Games isn't getting better.  However, Tower of God: New World crashes on my Google Pixel 6a and only gets close on Google Play Games.  It's one game that I hoped Netmarble would put on Windows.

I've been playing Seven Knights II on Windows for a while.  Since the company has a launcher for its games now, I signed up for Solo Leveling: Arise.  I recently added Grand Cross: Age of Titans, which I've been playing on Google Play Games (when it works) and on the Pixel 6a.

It is so much better as a Windows application.  The Netmarble launcher takes very little RAM in contrast to Google Play Games that takes over 25% of my 16 GB.

The good thing is that I've stopped trying other games on Google Play Games.  I didn't even start it today.  Of course, on Android, it crashed visually during a big battle, but it apparently did the rest to finish what it was doing.  I canceled and re-launched and it showed progress.  If it sounds as though I don't like Google, I don't.  They're past all the extra chances.

That Razer Edge is looking really good right now.

Update 2024.07.15: Ordered the Razer Edge.

Update 2024.09.30: I've had the Razer Edge for a while now.  I did a Factory Restore on the Pixel 6a after the Razer copy copied part of my primary Android/Google account.  Of course, it didn't copy most of the music because that was difficult.  I reactivated my early Google account on the Pixel 6a.  Android on Windows?  It's gone.  The Razer Edge handles most of the graphics pretty well.  The G3X SoC seems to be the Snapdragon 888 with a better GPU section.  I could probably use it to cook when it warms up.  Unfortunately, the Razer Edge is stuck at Android 12 and the Pixel 6a will probably get Android 15 too soon.

Steam Deck is on the way! It's here!!

 Earlier in the year, I gave away most of my photographic equipment and my Windows laptop computer.  I bought a more recent MacBook Air because I needed a computer that wasn't 10 years old and one that was powerful.  The Omen by HP was good enough but not exactly powerful.

I've been wanting to play certain games since then.  I have 99 games in my Steam library and quite a few outside of it.  Some games now have macOS versions, so that's good but the FPS games have no equivalents, and with my mid-2012 MacBook Pro on Catalina, my old games just don't work there or on the 2020 MacBook Air.

I considered another Windows laptop computer.  There are some deals, but when you get the storage to 1 TB and the RAM to 16 GB, the price is well over US$1000.  Plus, when I considered the effects of fixing Windows from the various patches' problems, I didn't really want to deal with Windows again.

I considered a Nintendo Switch.  They're awesome for playing Nintendo games.  My GameCube and Wii are gone.  I have a Mario game on the iPhone and a couple of other Nintendo-related games.  I don't play often.  Why spend so much money on a machine I might not use much?

I looked at various Windows handheld machines.  The main problem is the same problem with Android--you don't know if there will be updates.  Razer just put out an Android-based handheld, Edge, and it looks great, but tell me what happened to the Razer phones?

So, one night, I decided to just decide and I bought the top-of-the-line Steam Deck. 512 GB of storage, but with a microSD slot, plus 16 GB of RAM, 1280x800 resolution display.  1920x1080 would be better.

SteamOS and KDE Desktop are there for Linux mode.  I didn't find Ubuntu to be a good daily operating system for me.  I could use it, but it always needed me to do extra things.  I hope that it's usable and I can play other games, but who knows?  If GOG works on SteamOS, I'd be pleased.

In any case, I'm guessing that only around 20% of my game library will be functional.  Valve games will work supposedly.  I wish that they would migrate Source to 64-bit, so that Valve would support the latest macOS versions.  It's not as though Apple is pushing them to ARM.  They've had years to update to 64-bit applications.

Hopefully, games will work and be enjoyable.  At 1.5 pounds, it's supposedly heavy.  Anyone who has tried to use a Windows laptop computer in tablet mode shouldn't have a problem.  5 pounds and a 14 inch display is not easy to handle, no matter how many fingers you can use on the display.

I'm hoping for the best after spending slightly more than US$700 with tax.

So, it arrived after FedEx led me to believe that it wasn't arriving when it was scheduled.  It went from "out for delivery" to "pending" in a matter of minutes after 5 P.M. local time.  30 minutes later, it had been delivered.  I don't do unboxing videos, so the three photos will have to suffice.

First Impressions

It's big compared to the early handheld from Epyx/Atari or from Sega.  It's a bit heavy at times.  The anti-glare display is great.  It has touch capabilities, so you can operate games and the operating system in a number of ways.  It takes what the Steam Controller had and amplifies the capabilities.

There is a cleaning cloth that arrived with the unit, as well as the charger.  Instructions are minimal.

I have around 30 games in my Steam library that are "great" with Steam Deck.  I have installed over 10 of them.  Most operate well, but Ni no Kuni Remastered has some audio glitches.

Some of the "great" games are games I have never tried, so it's good that Steam Deck is showing me what works well.  There are a lot of games that need adjustments in the next category.  I was pleased to see the Unreal Tournament 2004 is one of those.  Apparently, keyboard interaction is manual, so the player must invoke the keyboard, rather than it being displayed automatically.

It's odd that not all of the Valve games hit the "great" category.  There are two games attached to Half-Life that I'd like to play but they don't fall into the "great" category: Black Mesa, Half-Life 2 Update, and also, Portal Stories: Mel.  Portal Stories: Mel falls into the untested category, so anything could happen, including that it could work perfectly.

Most everything is good, but the connection to Wi-Fi seems a bit dodgy.  I'm not really worried.  This is the best Linux-based machine I've ever had.  It's based on Debian with KDE Desktop  although I haven't tried that.  I had hoped to play some games I have from GOG Galaxy, but there is not a Linux version.  However, there may be a way to make it run on Debian.

It's only been two days.  I have much to learn and do.

Windows Fall Update 2018/1809

It is with a bit of regret that I updated so quickly from 1803 to 1809.  A few hours later, there were articles about data loss.

I'm not really seeing a lot of visual changes.  I tried the new screen shot functionality and it didn't work as I expected.  I tried Windows + Shift + S to activate it and used the mouse to frame a window.  The screen shot included the background and that window, rather than just the window.

For some reason, I expected just the window.  Why it excluded the other windows but not the background, I can't imagine.  It seems a convoluted way to capture it and still make you edit the screen shot to exclude the rest of the display.

This morning, the Disk Defragmenter was running on its own.  I suspect this could account for data loss.  I'm not sure that anything is missing, but I'd rather not experience this.  In any case, Microsoft has pulled the update until they figure out what happened.

Quite a few extra instances of tasks seem to be running now, in contrast to a couple of days ago when 1803 was active.  I'm hoping for the best, but I expect it will be a couple of weeks until things are updated again.  I may pass out from holding my breath.

Update 2018.10.10: The fixes arrived fairly quickly and I'm wondering if they just moved the problem (as they did in the old days) or they actually fixed it.  Since data loss is not minor, they probably found the actual problem and fixed it.

Update 2018.11.04: Still having various small issues.  Can't decide whether they're from the update or something else.  I'm guessing that there is a combination of problems that has been exaggerated by the update.  Putting the machine to sleep seems particularly difficult now.

Update 2018.11.23: I can sign into my account more quickly but it still takes a very long time until I can do anything, with everything checking something at startup time.

You'd think that Windows 10 would be a great operating system by now.  Windows 7 showed that Microsoft could almost erase its history of half-ass work.  Windows 10 needs one person to guide it and tell people what's wrong and to have enough power to have others fix it.  Every company that develops products needs a mad genius of sorts.

Update 2018.11.28: Apparently, my interface to iCloud hasn't been working, so Apple worked that out.   Every other day, it seems that there is a new problem with the Windows update.  I haven't had this much "fun" since Windows 95.

 

Update 2018.12.06: The other day, I looked to see if any other updates were available to make things more reliable.  What showed up was a surprise--a cumulative update for 1803.  Considering that I've had 1809 for a bit, I'm not sure how I can be put back to 1803.  I'm now wondering if I have some sort of dreadful mix between the two.

Update 2019.01.08: The 1809 update arrived again.  This time it took a whole day, possibly because my main drive is failing, but it didn't seem to be making quick progress with the internet connection either.

The good thing is that the computer seems settled now.  Things seem to work more smoothly and consistently.  Hopefully, they take a long time to test the 1903 update before they let anyone have it.

Oh, and there have been mini updates off and on since the 1809 arrived.  Apparently, security updates are still a priority.  It's good to see Adobe Flash security updates but why do I want Flash installed at all?

Update 2019.02.15: I continue to read that there are problems.  It seemed that I was getting daily Windows updates.  Does any of this make sense?  I hope to never be a guinea pig again.

Update 2020.02.17: I've been on 1909 for a while.  Microsoft still doesn't test things well and their latest security update seems so broken that they removed it to be fixed.

Windows 10 and the daily mess

Here is my history:

In 1981, I got my first computer, an Atari 800 with 16 KB of RAM, no disk(ette) drive, and only a TV as an output device.  It was an amazing gateway to programming in assembly language and gave me the enthusiasm for a career in programming.

Along the way, I'd got an Atari ST (Motorola 68000), IBM L40SX (80386sx), a Motorola 68LC040/68040-based Mac, a Power Computing PowerCenter 225 (Motorola 604e) Mac clone, and more.  I worked with Windows 3.x and later at work, mostly as an aside to my programming duties.

A couple of years ago, I bought a Lenovo Flex 3, 14 inch touchscreen-capable machine with a dual-core i7 processor and 8 GB of RAM.  It was for someone else who kept borrowing my quad-core i7 MacBook Pro that I needed so much.  I even bought one later, feeling impressed by its usefulness.  I ended up giving it away to someone in need, and I didn't mind.

It was a learning experience.

A lot of life has happened since then and the mid-2012 MacBook Pro is dead and I'm currently using an Omen by HP gaming laptop--quad-core, 7th generation i7 with 8 GB of RAM and a 1 TB hard drive.  It's a 15.6 inch machine with Nvidia GTX 1050 graphics hardware.  Potent but not supremely powerful.  It's not so different from the MacBook Pro, except that machine had a 480 GB SSD and 16 GB of RAM.

Oh, and Mac OS X was quite different from Windows 10.

When Windows 7 arrived, it was obvious that Microsoft intended quality to be more of a priority.  It happened.  Then, Windows 8 and 8.1 seemed to be a typical mess, and then, Windows 10 would solve it all.

Between the Lenovo and the HP, I can hardly fault the hardware.  They worked as planned, most likely.  Why the software is such a pain is beyond me.  Doesn't Microsoft hire all of those H-1B visa-enabled people because they just can't find talented U.S. citizens?

While searching the operating system, I end up in displays that look as though they come from Windows NT 4.x--I spent a lot of time using that.  The startup routines seem about as smooth as WinNT, as well.  That wasn't praise.  It takes quite a while after the user interface has been loaded to where it's actually, fully operational.

Also, it's taken me months of crappy internet connections to get the machine to take all of the updates.  Why is a mobile hotspot or other metered connection so difficult to use?  Mac OS X was fine with a mobile hotspot, but it wasn't always clear about connection problems, either.  Generally, it didn't try to download the same update 3 times and continue to fail because it would put the update in a holding area once it downloaded it correctly.

It's been a pain to update because you have zero control over what's being updated.  HP has tried to give me some control through their Support Assistant software, but it can't override every system update.

I look at HP Support Assistant and Update and Security control panels first.  Then, I look at Windows Defender Security Center.  Last, I look at Microsoft Store.

Regardless of the connection, I've never had a secure feeling that updates were going to work.  I had trouble with the fall (1709) update, as well as the spring (1803) update, plus much of it in-between those two.  Even virus patterns were difficult to download at times.  I would think that it would download something, make sure it was ready to be used for the update and let it be installed.

This morning, I left the machine idle for a little while and when I returned, it wanted to install more fixes for Adobe Flash, as well as some of the typical monthly items.  That went rather smoothly, probably because I didn't need to use the computer.

Update 2018.07.30: Microsoft Store continues to break.  Whether it's on my phone's mobile hotspot, Comcast/Xfinity, or various other internet connections, it doesn't seem to be happy, especially since the Spring 2018 update.

I'm still unsure why it won't display my camera's raw files.  The Lenovo machine did.

Update 2018.10.04: I am anticipating the 1809 update.  It's already available to some but I suppose it is constrained with so many people requesting the download.  I'm not in a hurry because I don't want to deal with problems.  There was some notice about Intel Display Audio drivers not being up to date and that caused the update to be delayed for some.  I don't have that issue, and I checked and found that the WiFi and Bluetooth drivers needed to be updated.

Update 2019.03.30: 1809 was such a mess and at some point, the updates changed 1809 to 1803 for whatever reason.  1809 is apparently solidly in there now, though.  Supposedly, fewer than 50% have 1809 and will just see 1903 instead.  Hopefully, someone will test it and test it and test it before it gets to me.

Even with the M.2 drive and 32GB of RAM, Windows seems to struggle.  I had higher hopes, after all these years of being on a Mac.  Things work but things don't work consistently and it shows that they have teams for so many different applications but without one set of specifications for the user interface and user interaction.  It looks like Windows NT 3.51 in certain places, as well as Windows 98SE in others.  I thought that, with Windows 7, that it would be ONE system.  Certainly, there are plenty of people sticking to that version, even though time is running out.

Having a better connection through Comcast/Xfinity helps, also, but nothing seems certain.  Hopefully, it improves with the Spring 2019 updates.

I'm really beginning to hate Apple and their Mac App Store

I've been an Apple Macintosh user since 1993.  I'd been using various Atari computers and played with a IBM L40SX laptop computer for about two years when the PS/2 mouse port died.  At that point, the US$6000 laptop computer that I bought for roughly $1500 was too expensive to repair and the contract required a solution.  They gave me $1000 and asked me to give them the computer.  I agreed.  Windows 3.1 had been a royal pain and DOS, more of a pain.

I eagerly went to OfficeMax and bought a Mac Performa something or other.  In any case, it's been a long time and several machines.

Before the PowerPC years, they were stuck because Motorola couldn't deliver a more powerful processor than the 68040.  The System 7 operating system because Mac OS 8 after they couldn't figure out what they were doing and scrapped the real Mac OS 8.  Mac OS 8.5 was a substantial difference, as were 9.0, 9.1, and 9.2.  Unfortunately, the MultiFinder architecture for cooperative multi-tasking was ancient.  Steve Jobs' return with NeXTStep made a difference.  Thanks go to Ellen Hancock.

It has been a horribly bumpy road and as Mac OS X hit 10.3.4, it became good enough to forget dual-booting into Mac OS 9.2.2 forever.  Unfortunately, 10.4.10 was probably the last full quality release.  Sadly, Windows of the time wasn't good and Linux was only usable by people who enjoyed frustration.

As of Mac OS X 10.7, Apple started to bring the frustration and Windows 7 started to bring ease-of-use.  The whole Mac App Store and downloading the operating system was messed up and still is.  It's amazing how I can download system software smoothly but the applications from the Mac App Store are usually problematic in downloads.  Apple doesn't test for real life, apparently.  When I had contacted the Mac App Store support, it was a problem with two or three applications, with other applications working fine in the downloads between the problematic ones.  I was told that whatever problems I was having was my problem, not theirs.

My latest mid-2012 MacBook Pro is working on 10.9.5, even though it started on 10.7.  It wasn't easy to get there.  I was going to drop off my machine at the Apple Store to be updated to 10.10.5 but I waited a bit too long and they removed the option.

Unfortunately, all this mess with the Mac App Store has left me in a mess that I found today.  I can't open my spreadsheet files that the current version of Numbers has been updating.  Somehow, the files were somehow upgraded to a newer version than what I have, in a failed download from the Mac App Store just after I updated to 10.9.5.

I was trying to update my spreadsheet with serial numbers.  Now, I only have a .pdf version of it.  As well, my Pages files complained but they worked.

Now, I have a machine I don't trust much.  I'm wondering if anything else has gone wrong.  Thankfully (and hopefully), I'm limited to Apple's applications and their ridiculous application store.

Given that I recently picked up a Windows 10 machine, I'm thinking that Apple could lose my business.  I'm betting that Corel wants my money for office software, as well as, creative software.  Phase One already has Windows versions and besides, the newest version for Mac doesn't run on anything but the latest 10.11.x operating system.  I think my Apple Care plan has been finished, so I don't have any easy way to upgrade the operating system.

I'm not saying that the US$750 machine could replace my US$2300 machine for speed but functionality probably isn't a problem.

I never thought that I would say that any version of Windows was smoother than Mac OS X but it's pretty much the truth.  Windows 7 proved that Microsoft could make Windows get out of the way when you just wanted to work.  It wasn't foolproof but it was much better than all of the previous versions.

Windows 10 seems to greatly improve on that.  The Windows App Store works brilliantly well.  Being able to use touch-enabled displays is interesting and it works but it doesn't seem great yet.  Folding the laptop computer into different shapes works well enough, but it doesn't automatically switch enough automagically.  They'll probably get there.  They want the desktop back.  I might be willing after all these years.

Update 2015.12.30: I was trying to download Evernote several times--at least, 6, from the Purchases pages, since it wouldn't work from the Update page and I noticed a problem with Numbers--from last year after my computer was updated to 10.9.5.  It never completed while inside of the Apple Store on their network.

Having been at the car dealership for service today, I used their network, which isn't any faster than my mobile hotspot to update everything but it worked.  I know that I shouldn't trust open networks, but it worked, rather than my safe mobile hotspot.  I can access my spreadsheets again.  Apple needs to test in real-life situations, not just the best, easiest situations.

There are several versions of the iWork applications since then, and they show up in Incompatible Updates, along with the latest version (4.0.0) of Twitter.  How is it that they could be incompatible when they shouldn't be tied so closely to the operating system?  I'm remembering how Microsoft Office was using hidden APIs to make it faster than the competition and yet, the DoJ under George W Bush ignored this kind of thing and wanted to watch their accounting practices instead.

Apple seems to be just as back-handed some days.  Why should Safari updates require a restart when Chrome and Firefox updates don't.

In any case, the road is smoother but it will become bumpy again, I'm sure.

Update 2016.01.27: Since upgrading to 10.11.3, the Mac App Store seems somewhat better.  I'll wait to see how it handles non-Apple applications before saying that it's running smoothly, but I have hopes.

Why do Apple and Google and Microsoft want to be in the car?

Do I want to integrate my phone or tablet more closely everywhere I go?

When I switched from my 1999 VW Golf GLS to the 2012 VW Golf TDI, the car wanted to know about my phone.  My mobile sound system can route calls and play my music.  In fact, it's not just the music on the phone, but iHeartRadio, Pandora, and Spotify that can be used.

Apple announced today, for the Geneva, Switzerland auto show that they were pairing with several car makers to extend their reach past simple integration for playing music.

http://www.macrumors.com/2014/03/03/apple-announces-carplay/

http://www.macrumors.com/2014/03/03/carplay-video-wi-fi-soon/

Chevrolet had already announced Siri in the car, and Google and Audi recently announced Android in the car.  Ford had Windows in use for a while, but they seem to be moving away from that.  Were software crashes causing traffic accidents?  No, of course not but people made jokes.

Using my car's touch screen for various controls isn't very efficient.  If I don't remember something, I can go back and forth too many times trying to find some setting.  I wish the car makers and sound system makers such as Alpine, Kenwood, and Pioneer would come up with a unified graphical interface and let everyone plug into the back end.  That way, if you're in your car, a rental car, your friend's car, you know how things work.

I had a terrible time when I changed phones and it's not really resolved as much as I'm using a workaround.  I went from an iPhone 4s to an iPhone 5c.  iTunes let me use the previous configuration and name.  The car didn't like that but it wouldn't let me delete the name, either, so that I could re-use it.  So, after 10-15 attempts, I deleted a few characters and it works--most of the time.

Of course, the cable (30-pin still, but the new phone has the Lightning connector now) is a problem but that was a problem last year anyway since the tiny space for the phone is cold as ice in the winter, and  that's not good for the phone.

In any case, I think it'll be more than five years before the dust has settled.  It took a couple of years to get the iPhone connected to cars but many companies have the option now.  Getting an Android option shouldn't be difficult but it probably is at this point.  Collaboration--the world needs more of it.

SteamOS looks interesting as an alternative to game consoles

Valve, the people behind games such as Portal, Team Fortress, and Half-Life have been working on their own alternative game console with SteamOS, a Linux distribution of their own, built on Debian.

I don't play much on Steam, but the Half-Life and Portal series have been entertaining.  I've seen people who seem to have every game Steam hosts, which would be quite a few.

I like the idea of SteamOS because the major problem of getting everything working correctly is compatibility.  Using a game console, it's fairly easy to have all the software working to a software specification and leave that specification alone.  Using Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux, you can't be sure if things match.  Even though Mac OS X runs on a smaller set of machines, there are a number of graphics cards and processors and operating system versions that make life (and compatibility) difficult.

If someone would build an interface layer onto an operating system and that would always be reliable, it would solve a lot of compatibility issues.  Supposedly, there is an abstraction layer on most operating systems, but to get more speed, system developers allow a way around it.

Can Valve and SteamOS diminish compatibility problems?  I hope so.  I would buy or build a compatible box in order to just play the games.

Yes, you can build your own, as Valve are giving guidelines on how to do it.  Read this Ars Technica article here.

The Debian Linux distribution is probably the most stable for the desktop.  It's used as a base for Ubuntu and other distributions, and now, for SteamOS.  Why wouldn't they use Ubuntu, which is acknowledged as a good desktop distribution for newcomers?  They probably don't want to have to work around all the changes Canonical are making to remove XWindows (thank goodness!) and the slow progress of Unity as a desktop environment.

Apparently, 300 people are beta-testing SteamOS boxes that Valve sent to them.  It should be interesting to see how well everything works.  When I last looked at the Steam store, they didn't seem to have that many games for Linux, as with Mac OS X.  However, if they've used their Source interfaces between the operating system and the games, they should instantly have the same few games that they made Mac OS X compatible.

Will it really affect the latest Xbox or PlayStation boxes?  I doubt the change will be noticeable, until they can show momentum for SteamOS.  It might be interesting to see Nintendo migrate their games to SteamOS as an alternative, since Wii U isn't really powerful enough to drive sales.  (Talk about a missed opportunity!  I've got a Wii sitting there, ready to be replaced, and the only thing I'll really get is HDMI compatibility and the ability to buy some US$59.99 games on an underpowered-for-2013 machine.)

The Steam Play Anywhere policy will allow those with Steam games to use them on their Steam box without an extra cost, I'm sure.  That's good for everyone because the negative part of moving to a new system is buying new games or new versions of games you already have.

SteamOS sounds like a winner.

Update 2014.04.10: It seems as though this is on the back burner.  Since xbox One and PlayStation 4 have made it big, I haven't heard much about a Steam Box, except that the controller has been revised with the removal of the display.

I'm a bit steamed about the Wii U and so are Nintendo apparently because they can't decide what to do.  Obviously, the Mario and Luigi brothers haven't driven sales as much as they would have liked.  It's difficult to believe that the company would barely outdo last generation consoles and try to continue relying on previous back stories to keep them in the spot light.  Had they provided enough power to be considered halfway between the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, they might have been much more successful.

Even if Japanese life has something to do with their choices, they can't expect that the rest of the world will approve.

Microsoft is advertising for Google, by accident: Chromebooks

I was watching a Microsoft advertisement a bit ago, belittling Google Chromebooks for not having Windows or Microsoft Office.  I think it was a huge mistake.

Why would it be a mistake since Microsoft makes their money from Windows and Office?  The general public didn't know anything about Chromebooks previously.

If Google has bought TV advertising time, I haven't seen any results of it.  So, here we are with ridiculous advertising berating Chromebooks (You're not going to get to Hollywood with that!) simply because they don't have Microsoft products on them.

It might start people thinking.  (I know it's a long shot but it could happen.)  I tried to give away a computer with Ubuntu on it.  The person I was asking said that people "needed" Windows.  When I asked further, they didn't play games.  I'm just not sure what's so necessary about Windows, if you're doing e-mail, writing a document of some sort, or browsing the web.  A five year old machine running a Linux-based distribution should be able to do that just fine--without Windows.

Microsoft has been diminished in so many ways.  While Windows 7 signalled an upswing in software quality, finally, they haven't had much success since then.  Windows 8.1 should be the operating system all current Windows users (with capable machines) should be using, but I don't see that happening so quickly.  Their tablets' prices had to be cut drastically, and the company initiated some acerbic advertising against Apple to help them.  It's not necessarily witless but I can't see that it's helping.  Having Nokia in their pocket has stemmed their losses in Windows Phone operating system, as Samsung and HTC recoil.

If schools would accept Linux-based operating systems, instead of Windows, Microsoft might lose its grip forever.  Competition is always a good thing, though Monopoly should only be a game.  Now that Microsoft has informed us about Google Chromebooks, they might have people asking "Why, Windows?"

Sales to Stores

Apparently, quite a few Chromebooks are making their ways into stores, even if they aren't making it into people's hands.   When I saw the article on MacRumors, i had to take a look at the comments because the fanatics can often be so ridiculous, and so they were: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1689854

One person actually made sense about recommending a computer for the person who mostly does web browsing and e-mail.  It is difficult to recommend a US$1000 computer for that when a US$300 Chromebook will work nearly as well for those things, and you don't have to worry about Windows malware, either.  Is the US$999 MacBook Air a well-designed computer, similarly priced to computers based on Intel's Ultrabook classification?  Absolutely.  It even has a slight graphics hardware boost over them.  Could a high school or university student simply wanting to do work do well with a Chromebook?  Absolutely.

Update 2014.02.07: I saw another Microsoft advertisement targeting Chromebooks, though they didn't show one this time, which is smarter for them.  They discussed how you couldn't load MS Office.  Seriously, though, that's a plus to me.  By now, we should have intermediate (non-proprietary) file formats that don't require Microsoft at all.   There was an Open Document Format, as I recall, but can it be forced to be the standard output, so that it can used in schools and offices without having to jump through hoops?

A lot of the reason people are using Microsoft products in schools is because Microsoft gave the schools so many free licenses to "freeze out" any other software supplier.  It's a good deal, but isn't it underhanded, and shouldn't it be against the law?  If it's a gift, should there be strings attached?

Google is not the salvation of humanity

There are so many fanatics on all sides.  I understand enthusiasm but fanaticism really hurts everyone.

I continue to see how Google has virtually saved humanity by offering their products for free and not asking anything in return.  It amuses me.

Google put together Chrome for one good reason--to sell services.  Yes, you can use it to view web pages but they really want your business to work through Chrome to make documents and spreadsheets and whatnot through their web-based applications.  Services are cash-worthy, as is advertising.  Google is a business, not a philanthropy.

I still remember how Google were turning dissidents over to the Chinese government, as were Yahoo!  I suppose those actions will always remind me that some people favour business over life any day.  I'm not an activist but I value people's lives.

Google often engages up-and-coming developers in their "Summer of Code".  It's good for the community, but they also get free help and new ideas.  Since they engender the trust of so many, they help themselves to code which would otherwise cost them money to create.  That also saves them human resources to work on projects which do bring money to the company.

If there is one positive thing Google has done, it's done something to erode Microsoft's grip on the world.  It currently appears that Android is displacing Windows as the sloppy operating system that is widely used--what I used to call the 65% solution.  (Microsoft's developers spent 100% of their time working on 65% of the problem, leaving people to fend for themselves and work through the problems.)  Android's problems are rather widely known and developers attempt to work through them, supporting device after device incrementally because the hardware abstraction isn't very good.  Pity the poor developer struggling with the angry customers because their software doesn't work on some device.

I really thought that Android 4.x would be a great fix for the mess, but apparently, it isn't.  What's more, Android versions 2.3.3-2.3.7 is still in use by a rather large group of active users.  I suspect the LG Optimus One (and now 2) and variants were quite the success, given that the price was about the same as a high end feature phone.

I'd love for businesses to become the salvation of humanity but I suspect that they will not because they're--businesses.