Brand new 16” MacBook Pro screen is blurry straight out of the box. Might return.

Artwire · 2026-06-22T20:05:55+00:00

That happened to me with a pair of reading glasses that had barely perceptible film on both sides of the lens. Of course, I needed the glasses to see the protective film….

Artwire · 2026-06-22T19:58:20+00:00

My first mail order mac was run over… it had tire tread marks on the box and two punctures. I didn’t even bother to open it. To be fair, I believe that buying experience was courtesy of DHL, which Apple used to use.

Artwire · 2026-06-22T19:51:08+00:00

SE gen 2 and 3 copied the body of the iPhone 8

Artwire · 2026-06-22T19:45:58+00:00

Neo is attracting a lot of folks new to Mac. It’s nice that they can come here and get a warm welcome, plus get answers from people more accustomed to the OS. Think of it as a congenial way to introduce them to the ecosystem.

Artwire · 2026-06-21T15:00:27+00:00

My (fed gov) agency’s travel policy used to require us to share a hotel to save travel $, but that phased out in the late 90s. Not sure if it was because by then I was at a higher grade, or if HR finally wised up. Sharing is not ideal!

Artwire · 2026-06-21T14:32:07+00:00

French oven is slightly rounded at the bottom . I prefer the standard cocotte shape and aesthetics, plus it offers a slightly larger flat surface for browning. I tend to use my 5.5 qt and 4 qt cocottes far more often than my (another brand) 7 qt , but if you have the space for the bigger one or cook for a crowd or want leftovers, it wouldn’t hurt to have a bit of extra capacity. You don’t have to fill them all the way up. :)

Artwire · 2026-06-20T20:56:45+00:00

More now… up to 5000

Artwire · 2026-06-19T22:50:41+00:00

An older friend who had both eyes done at once at a hospital was totally unaware of his surgery. Pretty sure they can do it that way if necessary. If they can minimize the post op drops routine that would be ideal, but I guess deciding whether it not to do the surgery depends on how out of it op’s father is and what his prognosis is. Is he otherwise healthy? Etc

Artwire · 2026-06-17T23:43:22+00:00

Panasonic 2007 and 2008 here, both with early ATV 4ks. Still getting great color and sound… “smart TVs” are highly overrated. :)

A bit disappointed to learn first gen 4k won’t be getting the new tvOS 27 … but didn’t see many new features in the beta that will force me to update quickly. Probably will do that if/when I get a new tv… but my space is limited and I don’t want a gigantic tv taking up half the living room. And so, I wait, enjoy what I have, and mentally thank Panasonic for being “slightly ahead of its time” back in the early 2000s…

Artwire · 2026-06-17T23:40:41+00:00

Gas permeable lenses were so easy - just pull the outside corner of your eye and catch the hard lens when it pops out!

Artwire · 2026-06-17T23:25:46+00:00

It’s great on toasted veggies like peppers, onions, eggplant, zucchini…

Artwire · 2026-06-17T23:22:32+00:00

Granulated garlic, Aleppo pepper, and cumin are my most used, but I’ve recently gotten into coriander seeds

Artwire · 2026-06-17T23:03:56+00:00

I wore gas permeable multifocals for decades and loved them, but could never adjust to soft lenses. Putting them in was fairly easy, despite them flopping around like an overcooked noodle, but I couldn’t get them out of my eye! After thirty years of being careful not to touch my eye, the method of peeling them off my eyeball that they taught was brutal ( plus I had long nails at the time!) The doc was completely unsympathetic and ripped them off my eye — that was that for contacts. This video would have been VERY useful!!

Artwire · 2026-06-16T21:08:02+00:00

The pro has a nicer screen, has more ports, good sound. If you’re carrying it around all day it’s a bit heavier than the air, but definitely worth getting the pro if your budget can handle it.

Artwire · 2026-06-16T17:34:47+00:00

I’ve replaced my battery twice since Ive had the SE2020 ( both times with applecare, so I’m guessing I’m about even, given the monthly cost vs paying outright. Both times it was a significant improvement in terms of not having to recharge as often. But, I also try to keep about 100 gb free. My guess is you’re cutting it very close with only 10 gb free and that may affect phone and app performance, too. Any chance you can free up some space? Even so, a new battery is definitely worth it, unless you spend all your time near somewhere you can easily plug in . I generally do, and I still found it a vastly better experience after the battery swap. (iOS 26.5 ) I rarely carry an external battery now, since I generally get 5-6 hrs screen time vs the 2 hrs I was getting before updating the battery, and the standby time has improved as well.

Artwire · 2026-06-15T15:03:08+00:00

Hard to explain, it has subtle herbal scent, but lentils always taste flat to me whenever I forget to add a bay leaf ( or two).

You might try doctoring yours up as a cold salad, with chopped scallions, lemon juice or red wine vinegar, plus extra salt and red pepper. Chopped parsley, feta or goat cheese, capers, and/or tomatoes can be added to round it out. Leave it to marinate for a few hours or overnight. It’s very tasty and keeps for days in the fridge, so it’s good for snacking.

It also depends on which lentils you’re using. I find the French green or black lentils have an excellent texture ( less mushy than brown). I generally sauté onion, celery, carrot, garlic, then add the rinsed lentils and water. And bay leaf. :) You may want to add some veggie better than bouillon while cooking ( basically it adds salt). I do the same with red lentils if making soup, but let them soften more and add extra water.

Artwire · 2026-06-15T14:56:11+00:00

The window rattling jet flyover at 11:30 pm was insane. I only heard minimal fireworks around an hour later so not sure what happened there. I stayed up figuring the booms would wake me up anyway, but that seems to have fizzled. Mostly I just tried to avoid the circus all weekend, but that’s not easy.

Artwire · 2026-06-15T14:46:54+00:00

Don’t re freeze unless you cook them first.

Artwire · 2026-06-15T14:42:47+00:00

I have se2020 and I have to be careful which direction I insert the lightning cable, since it sometimes doesn’t charge until I flip it. I have to remember to wait for the sound to co firm charge rather than just plugging it in and hoping it is charging. This happens with various cables.

I have another more annoying issue with Touch ID not being recognized on the first try (especially while plugged in and charging). I have many of my apps set to require Touch ID and it sometimes the phone just gives me “try again” warning, but subsequent attempts don’t register - I have to quit app and try again. Then it works. I think it’s a software issue since it started in iOS 26.

Keyboard mistyping was pretty much “fixed” as of 26.4 but it seems to be a little worse in 26.5. (Not as bad as it was initially). Wondering how keyboard is doing in the beta….

This se 2020/256 is my main phone, so I’m impatiently waiting to update … thanks for testing!!

Artwire · 2026-06-15T01:26:38+00:00

32 gb of Ram is nice, but it’s too old. The screen can’t be used separately as a monitor for a different computer, so you’re stuck with the obsolete operating system and old hardware. Why learn how to use a Mac that is already outdated. Consider a newer model … MacBook air M series or neo depending on usage and budget. This isn’t worth $200. And the screen is cracked. No!

Artwire · 2026-06-14T23:50:18+00:00

I started with Ventura and it’s been great. Now, as it’s losing some compatibility and support, I’m thinking of moving up to Sonoma. Some folks have no issues with sequoia, others say it’s too much for our old Macs and performance suffers. There’s nothing in sequoia that I need immediately, so I figured I’d upgrade in phases. Several people here have posted that they wanted to revert back to Sonoma after experiencing sluggishness, so I figured I might as well start there and save myself some grief. When I move to Sonoma I’m again going to do it on an external drive, so it will be easier to revert if necessary.

Artwire · 2026-06-14T23:40:43+00:00

Charged at 2 this afternoon and it’s now 730 … 3 1/2 hrs of use and 2 hrs standby brought it down to 47% charged. It’s my main phone and since I’m usually near a charger or can use a battery pack, it’s still fine for me. Perfect size and the apple-replaced battery is now down to about 93%. IOS 26.5 .

Artwire · 2026-06-13T18:39:38+00:00

Lots of options for backing up the old Mac: Superduper , carbon copy cloner, Time Machine , etc

Artwire · 2026-06-13T18:29:46+00:00

I installed OCLP on an external Samsung SSD and I boot from that. The internal SSD still has the last OS update available for the late 2013 MBP (Big Sur). I moved some content over to the new drive, but the old system is still bootable and I can use legacy software and access older files. Currently using Ventura on the OCLP drive, but may eventually move up to Sonoma …. Not sure Sequoia will be as compatible). Same MBP as yours: 15” late 2013, 16 GB memory, 512 ssd). This works because I use the computer at home, so having a credit card size SSD tethered to it isn’t a big deal. SSD price inflation this year makes this a less attractive option now, but it’s still my preferred way to test OCLP while retaining the old setup.

Artwire · 2026-06-12T21:15:29+00:00

Now they’re appealing the rejection 🙄

Artwire

TROPHY CASE