Finally got around to installing CSP on my M1 Mac mini. I was dreading a denial of license key as I have heard of on various forums. Thankfully my perpetual desktop key went through easily. And, like with Rebelle 5, I can use it while curled up on the couch with my M1 iPad Pro 11. 
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Oh man, I tried the 12.9 and now I canāt go back. Itās so niceā¦
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The screen must be nice. But the 12.9ā iPP wouldnāt fit into my current mix: 6ā iPhone, 7ā e-ink Kindle, 11ā iPP, and the Mac mini with monitor. Not to mention the 12ā Galaxy Book which handles legacy Windows stuff. (The SG2 is gonna leave the stables one way or another. I never use it.)
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Thatās what happened to my daughter. She fell in love with the larger screen.
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I AM NO LONGER A POWER USER
That is a sad fact - it hit me this morning - I have NEVER heard the fan run on my MBP14 (M1 Pro 10cpu/16gpu/16gb/1tb) - I am DEFINITELY not a power user anymore. The reason I posted this here is because if I canāt push an M1 Pro, no risk of stressing a M2 Mac, or likely a M2 iPad Proā¦
Since iPadOS16 (and future iterations) is the closest weāll ever get to a MacPad (much less a WinPad) it is time to start changing my workflows to fit the new 1/2Mac iPad environment, with the MBP14 relegated to my F150 for heavy loads. If my daughterās experience with her MBP15 circa 2015 is any indication, the MBP14 should easily last through my remaining law career if I even have a heavy lifting session down the road.
Iām still on the fence about that M2 iPad Pro this fall - @Desertlap has confirmed that 5g tethering is not as hard on an iPhone battery as LTE, and the performance gain of an internal 5g modem may not be a big delta. Still, I just like the idea of having cellular, and maybe even on an alternate provider (considering Mint Mobile - itās T-Mobile based here in Midland and at $15/month for unlimited data is even cheaper than AT&T on my unlimited account - with the advantage of a different pipe if needed).
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I havenāt been a power user for more than a decade.
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FWIW: In the utility industry, there is a concept called peak capacity planning. How much water, gas or electricity does the system have to supply when every customer turns everything on wide open at about the same time during extreme conditions? That includes the supply of the commodity, the availability of pipes and wires, and the redundancy of support systems necessary to keep it up and running. The failure of the electric grid during the winter storm in Texas in 2021 is a classic example of the disconnect between policy and planning.
I say all that to say this: Donāt sell yourself short. You are still a power user even if your peak capacity is only used a small percentage of the time. When your personal digital equipment is used to produce revenue, the long-term value of that extra RAM, next larger SSD, or more powerful chipset is a small investment in your customer/client satisfaction.
And if youāre a hobbyist, well the whole point of having the latest and greatest is to have it for the sake of having it. Isnāt that our raison dāetre around here? 
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When I pit my ear next to the outlet vents I heard the fan on my M1 Mac mini yesterday after an hour of DVD ripping. I think. It might have been my imagination. The mini wasnāt warm except maybe in on spot. I think. Might have been just my expectation that it must be warm after all thatā¦
Thanks @Bishop - youāre a great enabler! Seriously, your point is right (about both my productivity AND Texas incompetence).
I think @Bishop is on track with the power reserve position. Just last March-April, with a big partnership buy-out and division, I would have been hamstrung without the F150ā¦
And there is ALWAYS thisā¦
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Observations:
Habits are hard to break. I have tried many times to do something via touch since receiving my 24ā ViewSonic monitor (non touch).
The Magic Trackpad is ideal for a Mac mini, not counting gaming, except strategy gaming like Stellaris.
OWC had the best price for a space grey Magic Trackpad 2. Shocking. OWC and ālowest priceā donāt normally go together. $99 new in brown box; refurbished on Amazon was $144ājust for space grey which seems to be in short supply everywhere.
What the heck? A three-finger sideways swipe on a trackpad changes programs even while playing a game in full screen?! No more iffy, might-work-but-usually-not ALT-TAB?! It canāt beā¦
I havenāt used a SD card w/adapter to get things from one device to another since unifying my device ecology. Air Drop is wonderful.
All is well in the walled garden. :vb-agree:
Edit: I forgot the Apple Watch integration. Great convenience when the Mac needs admin authorization, but I wish there was an option to forego double-pressing the Watch side button for it. It opens up my iPhone without any action on my part so why not my Mac, too? I donāt get it.
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In general, I do like the 3 finger swipe thing to switch apps on my MBP. I donāt actually use my trackpad at all, except for that feature. I use a WVM for work, and can easily reach up to my MBP and 3 finger swipe to switch over to my Mac screen for non-work stuff, then swipe right back again into my windows machine. The biggest thing to get used to is using 2 OSes on the same keyboard. Iām constantly using ctrl + c to copy things instead of cmd + c on my MBP, and only when I attempt to paste, realizing I used the wrong shortcut.
Airdrop is pretty great for files between my MBP and IPP. I donāt know if the wifi sync is also done through air drop, but thatās nice too, just having one machine pick up the password automatically from the other.
A couple years in now and Iām actually pretty surprised how much I donāt mind the walled garden. Granted, I use Windows on my MBP probably more than I use MacOS these days, but honestly, thereās some things on Windows that are starting to irk me that I didnāt think would.
Mac file system still sucks.
Otherwise, Iām surprisingly pretty happy. (Iām never switching to iPhone or Apple Watch though)
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I spent the whole afternoon testing my iPad Pro 11 + Apple Pencil connected to my M1 Mac mini with Sidecar, AstroPad Standard, Luna Display, and AstroPad Standard combined with Luna Display. All using wireless connection via my iPhone 13 Pro hotspot. Screen protector: iCarez anti-glare film with a bit of tooth to it. Pencil nib: the soft noise reduction tips discoved by @Bishop earlier this year. Software: Rebelle 5.
Compared with my Galaxy Book 12 using a Zbook X2 pen with its grey nibs, normal tempered glass screen protector. Software: Rebelle 4 (ācause 5 is too taxing for a 7th gen i5).
Results:
FIRST PLACEā a tie between GB12 w/Wacom and iPP 11 using Sidecar. Very, VERY close in all respects including inking lag, smoothness, noise, accuracy, etc. The GB12 eventually got uncomfortably hot to hold (Rebelle is demanding) while the iPP never changed temperature at all, nor did the Mac mini. The Zbook X2 pen was more comfortable (subjectively) and just a little less jaggyāi.e. very straight slow diagonals while the Pencil over wifi was a tiny bit wobbly, though not enough so to bother me. The iPP 11 was lighter, more comfortable and easy to hold for a long session. In other words, it was an overall wash.
THE RUNNERS UPā Yeah, AstroPad Standard and Luna Display, alone (just Luna) or combined, didnāt measure up. More lag and fuzziness in the display (Sidecar was nigh perfect there), but at least they didnāt do much worse with wobbles. And they had features (touch, full use of the Magic Keyboard, etc.) that made them useful for other things. Not AstroPad Standard alone, however. It was inferior in all ways. Itās no wonder they have discontinued it and now only offer AstroPad Studio ($15/mo or $100/yr). They done been Sherlocked.
As always, YMMV and itās always dependent on oneās preferences and needs as to whatās ābestā.
Edit: oh, and the reason for posting in this topic: the drawing excellence of the GB12 + Zbook X2 pen was a large factor holding me back from total Apple migration. Thatās now no longer an impediment for me. And thatās a relief since the GB12 is getting on in years and shows it.
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Addendum: Sidecar uses the Pencil for all Mac UI interaction and only allows touch within the drawing area on apps. Two-finger move, pinch zoom, and rotate work acceptably well in Rebelle 5; not acceptably well in CSP (jerky, hard to control). The Magic Keyboard is only usable for text input; hotkeys work but that requires the iPP to be attached to the MK and itās no fun to draw that way. You can get the trackpad circle pointer to show up on the edge of the iPP screen, press down and drag to the drawing area, then maybe you can do half a second of pinch zoom. Proving that they can make it active in Sidecar but choose not to.
All my tests were with the Mac mini display mirrored, BTW, not with the iPP as a second screen. This allowed me to turn off the ViewSonic 24ā and do my doodling very power-efficiently.
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I missed this. How soft is it compared to the regular nib? And itās not felt, but looks like it has some texture as well as softness, is that right?
This is where I found the item. It is a slightly softer plastic version of the original Apple Pencil tip, fits the 2nd gen pencil too. Itās not felt and has no texture. It does have slightly more drag than the hard plastic of the original and therefore a less pronounced click when tapping the screen. It works so well, I ordered a dozen.
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Same Amazon page & model as my link (2B), just 4 PCS vs 2 PCS. I bought one of each one of the 2-piece then two of the 4-piece, 5 days apart.
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Sorry, I didnāt see your link.
Iāll second the recommendation - a nice improvement over the regular Pencil 2 tips.
Felt would be ideal, but I might give these a try. I only have 1 tip left from my original 4 pack after a couple of accidental pencil drops.
NP, just didnāt want folks to think there were two different recommendations when weāre agreed on this one particular product. :vb-agree:
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