Re: Old dinosaur looking to upgrade

[Phil Halton]

Well, I decided on the MacBook Pro with M3 and a 16 GB memory upgrade. But then I noticed that I couldn’t get it for 2 1/2 weeks whereas the base models were all available that day. So, I made an emotional decision and upgraded to the MacBook Pro with M3 Pro which has 18 gig unified ram. Yes, I went ahead and made an emotional decision and bought because I wanted it that day. Anyway, it’s a great machine probably more than I need, but that’s OK too. I do do some sound processing and I just like the MacBook Pro over the air. So far I’m pretty happy with it I finally got everything installed the way I like it and it’s gonna be a great machine I can tell.  Sent from my IPhone On Dec 3, 2023, at 6:37 PM, Jonathan Cohn <jon.c.c...@gmail.com> wrote: Well, I implied the M2 vs M3 debate. Right now only Mac Book Pros have the M3 series of chips, the AIR  still come with M2. The MacBookPro do have a display that is twice as bright if you have vision that can take advantage of that. All of the MacBooks’s power buttons double as touch ID, so if you have enough dexterity to use the power button then you shouldn’t need to have touch ID on the keyboard. That being said, if you are not traveling with the computer then getting a MacMini might be a good idea. You can hook up a very inexpensive display or the Studio display and get as powerful a system without paying for a keyboard and/or display  that you don’t plan to use.  Generally, unless you manage what’s is open on your system, having more shared memory will be more important than  additional cores which is what the M3 is giving you.  If you are doing sound processing or visual processing then you might need the extra processing of the M3. If you are doing eMail and Web browsing or small business accounting, I would expect putting the cost difference between a AIR with M2 and a Pro with M3 would better be placed in shared memory or additional storage.    Best wishes, Jonathan Cohn On Dec 2, 2023, at 8:35 AM, Phil Halton <philh...@gmail.com> wrote: Jonathan, thanks for answering. Do you have anything more substantial to say about the reasons why you would suggest the air over the MacBook Pro? For example how about my question concerning the  M2 chip in the MacBook Air versus the M3 chip in the MacBook Pro? And also about the touch ID sensor on the external keyboards? Sent from my IPhone On Dec 1, 2023, at 8:52 PM, Jonathan Cohn <jon.c.c...@gmail.com> wrote: I would suggest getting a top of the line AIR instead of a base model MacBook Pro. They should be about the same price but the additional memory and storage will probably be more beneficial then Ray tracing or a few more cores in  the processor. But then I’m still running a 2015 Mac Book Air 11. Best wishes, Jonathan Cohn On Dec 1, 2023, at 12:21 PM, Phil Halton <philh...@gmail.com> wrote: I currently use a MacBook Air 2013 and maybe it's the season, but I'm thinking of upgrading. I'm looking at a base model MacBookPro 14 inch with the m3 chip. I'm not a power user anymore so I'm thinking this will do fine. I'm just wondering about a few things such as, is the M2 chip in the 15 inch MacBookAir that much less powerful than the M3 in the MacBookPro, and is the Air worth considering? Then there is the external keyboard question. I need an external to minimize the impact on carpal tunnel and the Magic keyboards seem to have some  features like touch ID, and keypad. I don't need the keypad, but the touch ID might be useful. Is touch ID worth the extra money? Currently I get by just fine with an old external apple keyboard with no features, but I don't know what the newest machines are like and what might be a real benefit. I'd appreciate any helpful information you can give me on the latest and greatest from Apple Macs. Sent from my IPhone -- The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor.  You can reach mark at:  mk...@ucla.edu and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. 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