Serial Switcher Checking In:
Hardware With the exception of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, it has been a “ho-hum” hardware experience. Although I like the non-Max size of an iPhone, I LOVE THE 5x ZOOM, so that is a solid commitment. As everyone knows, I flip-flopped my way through computer hardware all year between various Macs and my Surface Pro 8. At year end I have landed in the Apple camp with a non-returnable M1 Max MacBook Pro 14 (24gpu/32gb/2tb/AppleCare+); the Mac Mini sold this weekend and the SP8 is up for purchase here and on eBay.
I just don’t trust M$ anymore, not that Apple is perfect, but at least Apple has a discernible roadmap other than JUST AI, and all my gear works smoothly together from wrist to desktop. With the exception of the iPhone it is all two-three years old, but FAR better than my needs. Why no M3 Pro? Because it just doesn’t offer anything over the first generation M1 series for a non-gamer who is a heavy user of productivity applications and hobbyist in photo/video editing. Why the high end M1 Max - because it only cost $250 more than a comparable M1 Pro but includes double the ram and storage and renewable AppleCare+.
AI Here I mostly agree with @Bronsky - BUT - I have found targeted AI (Lexis+AI which trains and operates only on its proprietary databases and source materials) to be helpful to give me a starting point on new topics or ones I haven’t addressed in some years (ie - refresher briefing). I am NOT using it to polish my work…which leads to…
M$ I no longer trust their judgment…
- All AI all the time is a dangerous cliff…
- All AI and cloud services is all they care about
- Win12, with AI lurking in the background everywhere to “help you” with corrections, suggestions, advise, and software ads is more than I want to fight against next year
- Surface hardware is languishing miserably
- Qualcomm may bring some relief to the table, but the latest quote out of QC’s execs that it is very much dependent on software and developer support, “but our hardware will be great” promises more fizzle than sizzle in my mind
Hardware Fail of the Year My new overlords at Apple and Apple Vision Pro. I think we’ll look back at this one as a “great” media experience but not anywhere near justified for that price point, no matter how spectacular it may be.