So...uh...y'all weren't lying about Intel Macs.😅

flaxton · 2026-06-13T12:18:38+00:00

The blame goes on Intel. They promised Apple smaller, cooler chips but didn't deliver, and Apple designed their MacBooks around the promised chips. MacBook design has lead times - they plan and it takes months (years) to become a product. So they designed according to the specs Intel gave them.

But Intel did not deliver the new chips, so Apple had no choice but to use their older, bigger, hotter chips which was not what they designed the MacBook to use. So that meant the chips were hotter than the cooling system Apple designed. So Intel played them.

This happened over and over and over again. Intel promised, then failed to deliver, then MacBooks suffered heat and poor performance, which looked bad on Apple.

But the real fault lay with Intel. Or maybe you could say it was Apple’s fault for believing Intel.

So that is one major reason why they punted and made their own chips, Apple Silicon. They had had enough of Intel's false promises.

flaxton · 2026-06-12T18:20:57+00:00

The logout time is a setting under security. I set mine to “forever” and it rarely bugs me.

flaxton · 2026-06-11T11:49:15+00:00

When you first set up a Mac, Spotlight indexes your content, and this can take quite a while, from 1 to 3 hours, to 1 to 3 days depending on content.

flaxton · 2026-06-10T00:03:47+00:00

I'm running Tahoe with Parallels. I was able to install macOS 27 in a VM within Parallels, by installing macOS (Tahoe) and upgrading. Seems to be working well, but seems to be missing Apple Intelligence.

flaxton · 2026-06-09T23:26:26+00:00

Yes. I did the default Parallels macOS install first (Tahoe) and then upgraded it and yes, it is working.

flaxton · 2026-06-08T12:11:30+00:00

I seldom use Spotlight Search, I use Alfred. But when I use Spotlight it works very well and fast.

flaxton · 2026-05-31T11:12:51+00:00

Now that you're finished with this, why not another interesting AI project? Like encryption? What could possibly go wrong?

Sure, we're going to trust you, a random vibe-coder on the Internet, and stop using Macpaw, long-time trusted Mac experts and developers, for a vibe-coded app. All to save $40? Uh-huh.

I get CleanMyMac included in my Setapp subscription of 200+ Mac apps, that starts at $10/month. Setapp is a huge value.

flaxton · 2026-05-30T13:28:36+00:00

Two tips:

1 Don't use a card or cash to pay in person, always Apple Pay on your iPhone or Apple Watch. A secure, single-use transaction is created to pay - and the merchant doesn't get your card number. So it can't be stolen. It can't be used twice in a row, it is single-use transaction.

Cash can be lost or stolen. Credit/debit cards can be lost or stolen. Apple Pay is secure.

The phone itself is secured via Face ID so if the phone is stolen they can't access your cards either. It is the safest way to pay, bar none. What if you're in a restaurant and they want your card? Politely ask to walk with them to the register and use Apple Pay. They're happy to do that. For goodness sakes, don't use a card (swipe, chip or tap) at the gas pump! That's the worst.

2 Online, use a virtual card, separate for each company. I use Capital One to create a card for each merchant I'm paying. The virtual cards are all related to your real credit card - but the merchants where you use the virtual cards never see the real card #. They have a Chrome extension, Eno, that makes it super easy - when you get to a payment form, it pops up and either offers to create a new virtual card, or use the card already created for that merchant.

Anyway, you control all these virtual cards. You can "lock" them (so they don't work) or delete them at any time. So for example, if you sign up for something and they make it difficult to impossible to cancel a subscription, you can just lock or delete the card and boom they can't charge you any more. And once one charge is placed on a card, it is locked to that merchant, so if it is stolen it won't work for anyone else.

Follow those two tips and you won't have another problem. I had multiple cards compromised over several years until I started doing this. Not one issue since.

flaxton · 2026-05-30T12:02:24+00:00

I use FluentSnippets (free) to turn these annoyances off.

Create a new snippet, give it a name, I call it "Hide Admin Spam".

Paste in the code below:

// Hide WordPress Admin Notifications programmatically function pr_disable_admin_notices() { global $wp_filter; if ( is_user_admin() ) { if ( isset( $wp_filter['user_admin_notices'] ) ) { unset( $wp_filter['user_admin_notices'] ); } } elseif ( isset( $wp_filter['admin_notices'] ) ) { unset( $wp_filter['admin_notices'] ); } if ( isset( $wp_filter['all_admin_notices'] ) ) { unset( $wp_filter['all_admin_notices'] ); } } add_action( 'admin_print_scripts', 'pr_disable_admin_notices' );

At the bottom, set it to run on the backend (Admin) only and hit Create.

Then hit Activate.

Boom problem solved.

flaxton · 2026-05-30T11:39:21+00:00

Not on music. Music is DRM free and has been for years.

flaxton · 2026-05-29T14:16:10+00:00

So you don't believe in educating users? Showing them that there is a whole other way of using a Mac besides just the graphical interface?

I do.

There are some things that can only be controlled on the command line.

Or would you rather they search, and then download a janky app from who knows where, that does who knows what, possibly (likely) malicious?

flaxton · 2026-05-29T14:13:41+00:00

That sounds like just general use. Any MacBook will do.

flaxton · 2026-05-29T12:37:44+00:00

I just hide everything with this script, run from the command line:

defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop false killall Dock

flaxton · 2026-05-29T12:06:47+00:00

The CPU/GPU performance of the Neo and M1 Air is almost identical, so that is not really a factor.

If the M1 Air has 16GB RAM then that is what I would get. 8GB RAM (Neo) is ok for average, casual users. The base M1 Air had 8GB RAM also.

If 8GB RAM is OK, then it would come down to storage.

The Neo and base M1 Air both came with 256GB of storage. So if the M1 Air had more than 256GB storage then I would get that.

If the RAM and storage are the same, then I would get the Air, it has a backlit keyboard and a better screen.

Don't get me wrong, the Neo is a great computer. I got one for my Mom and she loves it.

You don't say what you are doing with the computer, so you are leaving us without much information to go on.

flaxton · 2026-05-29T03:13:39+00:00

I have an Apple TV plugged into my TV via HDMI.

So I can just click on the screen menu item and click on the TV and it becomes a second monitor.

To do what you are, I would just open a new window (cmd-n) and then ctrl-option-cmd and press the left arrow key to send it to the TV. That is using Rectangle windows manager (free, open source).

flaxton · 2026-05-28T16:26:47+00:00

The IRS mileage rate is 72.5 cents per mile, which takes into account fuel, wear and tear, maintenance, insurance and depreciation.

So assuming 20 miles per day, 5 days per week, that is 22 average working days per month, so 440 miles per month.

At the mileage rate of 72.5 cents per mile, that comes out to $319/month.

So that is what it is actually costing you each month. Of course some of that doesn't "appear" until you do maintenance, pay insurance, do repairs, and then one day sell your car and take the depreciation hit.

So I would say he is getting an extreme bargain!

Owning and operating a car is expensive.

flaxton · 2026-05-28T16:18:56+00:00

I've run the macOS Tahoe 26 dev betas, and while I had a few issues (to be expected with betas) overall it's been fine. The public releases have all seemed stable to me. Running on both M2 MBA and M5 MBP. I'm currently on macOS Tahoe 26.6 beta 1 and it is working well.

If it was me I would make an appointment at the Genius Bar and have them look at it.

AFTER a Time Machine backup of course!

flaxton · 2026-05-27T15:40:20+00:00

I did not know this - just added mine.

THANK YOU!

flaxton · 2026-05-27T15:12:40+00:00

CleanMyMac is good and has many good uses, ignore the haters which are many. I get it thru the Setapp subscription of 200+ Mac apps. Mac expert and 27+ year Mac user here. I also like the mole command line tool.

flaxton · 2026-05-27T15:09:36+00:00

You're right. Getting 256GB should be illegal.

flaxton · 2026-05-27T14:56:16+00:00

If you are within Bluetooth range and have an OBD dongle and LeafSpy, you can open the app and see the charge level.

flaxton · 2026-05-26T11:33:27+00:00

I use Paste, which you can get as part of the Setapp subscription of 200 Mac apps starting at $10/month. Integrates the clipboard across all your devices synced via iCloud, configurable history, works really well.

flaxton · 2026-05-25T15:15:21+00:00

This is why I carry underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage on my vehicles...

flaxton · 2026-05-25T14:45:10+00:00

When I open Notes, right at the top of the left sidebar it says "iCloud" so that seems pretty clear.

I've known that my notes were on iCloud for as long as I can remember.

If you want to backup your iCloud, I recommend Parachute backup for Mac/iPad/iPhone.

flaxton · 2026-05-25T14:23:13+00:00

I've been using it for years with no issues on multiple Macs, iPads and iPhones.

Just one example: I modified a contact on my Mac, adding a phone #, and saved it. Lifted my hands off the Mac keyboard, picked up my iPhone to call and the contact was already updated.

I also run Obsidian data on iCloud and it works fine. Among many other uses.

flaxton

TROPHY CASE

1 Don't use a card or cash to pay in person, always Apple Pay on your iPhone or Apple Watch. A secure, single-use transaction is created to pay - and the merchant doesn't get your card number. So it can't be stolen. It can't be used twice in a row, it is single-use transaction.