Monitor Resolution Guide for macOS
My Setup for the M4 Mini as a Secondary Mac
NAS, Media Server, and Light Gaming
I spent the weekend setting up my little new Mac – and I have to say: it went pretty smoothly! Here’s what I did, and how you can do it yourself if you like.
The hardware
As Apple’s upgrade prices are certified insane, I went for the absolute base model. I did briefly consider getting 10 gig Ethernet – but I had to change too much about my setup to get any benefits from it. And I don’t really need that fast a connection for my use case.
16 GB of ram is enough for me, but the built-in 256 GB of storage is obviously too little. But as it’s a stationary machine, getting external storage works great.
Some drives will use regular USB speeds (for instance USB 3.2 Gen 2). These are cheaper – but if you go for USB 4 or Thunderbolt 3+ you will get about three times the speed. If you, like me, want to run programs (like games) straight from the disk, you’ll probably want the latter.
Today's Plan: Setting Up My Mac Mini NAS
I just picket up my new Mac Mini, which I intend to use as a server (backups and media) and light gaming machine, connected to my TV.
Upgrade prices are a joke – so I went for the base model + a Thunderbolt enclosure, and a Samsung 990 EVO 2 TB SSD (which speeds might be an overkill – but it was on sale). Wish me luck! (Will report back later.)
Something is off about the performance on my blog… Especially on Chromium! While part of me would enjoy saying “Works best on Firefox”, I still have to do something about it.
Well, I have been looking for an excuse to rewrite and optimise my CSS! I’ll start tomorrow. 💪🏻 (Wouldn’t mind advice!)
Early Mac Mini Takes From Someone Who’ll Probably Get One
For a while now, I’ve thought that I’ll most likely get a Mac mini when it gets refreshed. My intended use case is pretty specific — and not as my main computer:
- Connecting some external storage, and using it for
- backups,
- and as a media server. (Jellyfin, perhaps?)
- Maybe use it for some smart home stuff.
- And I’ll also connect it to my TV, via HDMI, for some light big-screen gaming. (Like UFO 50! But also things that I want to play with a controller that’ll run at least as well as on my M1 Pro 16 GB laptop.).
Thoughts regarding my use case
I got to say, the update is pretty perfect for me. The new form-factor is great for my TV furniture, and I can probably get by with the absolute cheapest one. The only upgrades I’m considering, are 24 GB RAM and 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Would love input on this!
General thoughts
In general, I think this is a great update at a good price. And at last we’re finally out of the 8 GB hole! 256 GB is pretty rough, though… But it’s OK for me! So, in principle, if Apple had non-criminal upgrade pricing, I wouldn’t mind it starting that low. But they don’t.
They made the right choices regarding the ports
The new Mini has the following ports on the back:
- 3x Thunderbolt 4/5
- HDMI
- Ethernet
- Power
And the following in the front:
- 2x USB-C
- Mini-jack
There are two questions we need to look at:
- How many ports should the enclosure size account for?
- And then, which ports should those be, and where?
Partially I think, in a world where the Mac Studio exists, they went for a sensible size and port number (9 — one more than the M2 Mini, and one less than the M2 Pro). It’s OK to disagree with that — but I think we have to keep that separate from the port types and placement.
I’ve seen some disappointment voiced about the jack being on the front. And while I have zero issues with someone preferring that for their specific setup, I still think it’s wrong to say that Apple made the wrong choice for the majority of people. For those with speakers connected permanently, there are _so _many options for connection. And which port on the back should’ve been moved to the front instead, then?
I also think it would’ve been a travesty if they sacrificed USB-C ports for USB-A ones. Just get over it…
The power button placement is fine
I mean, it uses very little power while in sleeping, so how often do you need to turn it off? And it’ll probably be OK to reach anyway. (Remember that the back of the Mac will be closer to you than with the last one, as the footprint is smaller.)
I’ll have to think about it some more, but I think this will be my next purchase. And I think this will be a great Mac for many people for many years.
I Got the Opportunity to Build My First Wet/Dry/Wet Guitar Pedalboard
I was lucky enough to be allowed to make this cool rig this week! It’s made to work well with one amp, but great with two. And if you’re a certified mad lad, you can even run it with three amps!
Allow me to explain:
When a signal has effects on it, it’s called “wet” – and when it doesn’t, it’s called “dry”. However, sometimes (like here), only some effects, like chorus, delay and reverb, are categorised as making the signal wet. And whether effects like overdrive and compression are on, the signal is categories as dry.
The board has four jacks in its side panel:
- Guitar in
- Dry signal out
- Wet out L
- Wet out R
Rigs that have those three outputs are called wet/dry/wet rigs.
