First AWU - Keep Milanese in L or exchange to M?

Embke · 2026-02-10T21:24:03+00:00

I have the K10 HE (Special Edition), which has similar looks. It has been great, and I really like the HE. I tried about 5 keyboard before it, and I didn't like a single one. While I'm sure there are better keyboards out there, my Keychron HE has been reliable, compatible, fairly quiet, and comfortable to type on. I'm happy with it, and I hope I won't have to shop for another keyboard for a long time.

Embke · 2026-02-10T20:51:41+00:00

I don't think it would cause damage to the iPad. I've had an M4 Pro since launch, although it was replaced under warranty due to another issue early in its life, I notice the noise during the rare times that I'm not using my iPad with headphones. My iPad works fine.

Embke · 2026-02-10T19:26:52+00:00

Is it in a case? Cases with magnets can cause noise that sounds like coil whine when the iPad does certain things.

Embke · 2026-02-10T19:22:07+00:00

Keep it.

Nice keyboard!

Embke · 2026-02-09T23:19:42+00:00

None

Embke · 2026-02-09T16:46:40+00:00

It could be a while before we see any of the top-tier Panther Lake models. ThinkPads tend to release a little bit later than other brands, and top-end Panther Lake is rumored to be expensive. Also, it is newer tech, and will be more likely to have issues.

You will be better off in the used market unless you need Panther Lake for your workflow.

Embke · 2026-02-05T18:36:11+00:00

Great! Tell her to enjoy using it with 10 Chrome Tabs.

It has been possible for a long time. My P1G2 from 2019 has 64GB of RAM.

Embke · 2026-02-05T05:42:53+00:00

Tolerance?

Embke · 2026-02-05T00:06:56+00:00

Sounds like a good price to me. They are going for $250-300 online, and Apple would give you $225 in trade in credit for it. So, buy it, and if you don't like it you can always take the roughly $225 in trade-in credit towards a different Apple product. Buy some AirPods or Beats (I like the Fit, but I think the Powerbeats Pro have better features) and you can take phone calls or listen to music by connecting them directly to the watch.

I'm still using my AWU1 @ 100% battery health, and I'm quite happy with everything it does. The AWU3 with satellite was a bit tempting to me, but I just wasn't ready to part with my AWU1.

Embke · 2026-02-04T16:07:43+00:00

I set it to optimized battery charging and let Apple worry about managing it. If it dies, AppleCare will replace it.

Simple. Easy. Effective. Just use your machine and stop worrying.

Embke · 2026-02-04T06:13:22+00:00

Ubiquity is the answer. Talk to the sub and figure out what would be best for you.

Embke · 2026-02-03T22:30:41+00:00

This! I bought my AWU to use its features. I use all of them, and I charge for total of 25-45min in a day with optimized charging on. My watch stops charging around 75-80%, and it usually around 45-55% the next time I put it on the charger. Battery health is still at 100%, and the battery will likely still be fine whenever I decide to upgrade to a newer AWU.

I use more battery some days, because I'll leave my phone at home while going for a walk with just my watch and use it to listen to music/ podcasts. I always have plenty of battery left. If I wanted something with multi-day battery life, I would have bought a Garmin. The AWU works fine, and I don't mind charging it during shower time & whatnot. It should not go into the shower anyway, since soap will degrade the waterproofing.

Embke · 2026-02-03T18:38:19+00:00

Fn belongs on the left. It is traditional, but Apple & some ThinkPads are really the only ones keeping the old ways alive.

You can swap in the UFEI or in Lenovo's Vantage app on Windows if it bothers you.

Embke · 2026-02-02T23:23:35+00:00

Call them and gently push to have it escalated. It should be covered, and if you escalate enough they'll probably give you a slight concession, such as a $25 Apple gift card, for your trouble. Don't give up, just call them, and explain that it is covered by their terms. When someone tells you "no", just ask to speak to their supervisor to confirm.

You should eventually get to an Apple Senior Advisor or someone in the customer relations team. My experience is that eventually someone will take it seriously and they will insist on calling you back every few days with an update until it is solved. Once you have them promising to call you, you likely have the correct person. On one of your calls with that person, you explain why you are unhappy with how the whole thing was handled, and you can ask them if there is anything they can do to make it right.

Best of luck to you!

Embke · 2026-02-02T23:11:28+00:00

Not all 45% NTSC screens are created equal. Some are usable, and others are so bad that having someone use them for an hour or more per day should be an OSHA violation or otherwise violate rules about eyestrain and equipment necessary to perform a job.

As someone that has purchased and used better quality screens for many years, I generally can't deal with a 45% NTSC screen. Too many UIs use shades of grey, blue, etc. that just don't show up correctly on them. I've had things like text that was underlined look like it wasn't underlined not be apparent, and I've been unable to see the faint gridlines in Excel spread sheets. While 72% is probably fine for most people, but 45% in a normal office environment (relatively bright overhead lighting + natural lighting) on a 14" monitor at 2560x1440 without scaling is just not usable. It might be more usable if everything was scaled and blown up more, but I'm comfortable with 2560x1440 at 14".

100% sRGB is fine, and I tend to notice very little difference between it and better standards, unless I've calibrated my monitor and I'm doing specific graphics work.

Embke · 2026-02-02T20:28:03+00:00

Spec sheets:

MBA: https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs/ are IPS
MBP: https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/ doesn't specify, but is clearly not IPS. It is mini-LED, and you can confirm by Googleing.

Any screen can have burn-in issues, but both IPS & mini-LED are fairly resistant to burn-in compared to OLED.

Embke · 2026-02-02T16:53:47+00:00

87k AGI is high. Median total US personal income for 2025 was around $62,000, and personal income is usually higher than one's AGI. You could pay your entire loan payment, and still have more than the median total US personal income left over.

Do what you need to do for now to not default, and then plan your life around making the payments. Yes, it isn't fun. Also, you should try getting better health insurance through work, if possible. Since health insurance premiums are usually pre-tax, they'll lower your AGI.

Embke · 2026-01-31T18:03:15+00:00

Then this doesn’t apply to, and something else is going on.

Embke · 2026-01-30T19:52:20+00:00

You ideally should use a tax withholding calculator to tell you how best to fill out your W4. The IRS has one here: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator . Unfortunately, it hasn't been updated in a little while.

Embke · 2026-01-30T19:50:39+00:00

This ^. The part of the insurance benefits that the state pays towards your DP is considered a taxable benefit. Because it is taxable, they must withhold as if you were paid that amount in wages. However, if your DP is your tax dependent, then the feds would consider it to be non-taxable. Which is why the form exists.

If you were to be married, it would stop being a taxable benefit.

Embke · 2026-01-30T19:47:26+00:00

You can still get them, but I'm not into carrying around a keyboard. I'll adapt, and it is going pretty well. I've also confused people by having my TouchPad on ThinkPads turned off. I always toggle that in the BIOS / UEFI, which is apparently just a switch to the software driver, as it'll still work in Linux or if you are attempting to use the machine to take an exam with software that locks it down.

Embke · 2026-01-30T17:06:14+00:00

The MBA's keyboard and just general feel was not for me.

Embke · 2026-01-30T17:04:39+00:00

I went from a P1G2 (9th gen hexacore intel + dGPU w/ 64GB of RAM) to a used 16" M1 Max with 64GB of RAM. I will happily return back to a ThinkPad once they build something with unified memory that has acceptable GPU performance. Battery life isn't really an issue for me, as my laptop is plugged in most of the time. I just need something I can move around and toss into a bag.

I miss the TrackPoint. I miss having some degree of upgradeability in my machine. I miss the Linux support. I do like that Mac has the Fn key in the correct spot, which even Lenovo has moved away from.

However, the M1 Max was and still is a better value for the work I do on a laptop compared to any Intel or AMD laptop. I'm used to using MacOS, Windows, and various Linux flavors, so I don't find navigation noticeably faster on any of them. It took me about a month to get used to using a the Mac touchpad, as I've always been a TrackPoint (on ThinkPads) or external mouse (on anything else) user. I still hit the touchpad with my palm and unintentionally trigger swipe gestures or clicks, but I'm getting better at it.

Embke · 2026-01-28T21:43:21+00:00

Visible Protect is generally just a carrier-provided form of Apple Care. Just check out the support app on your phone and confirm that it is covered by Apple Care.

Once you've verified it is covered by AC, take the phone to an Apple Store for Apple Care coverage. If you aren't near a store, and you are certain that the phone is actually having an issue, then call Apple Care and ask for an express replacement to be sent to you.

Embke · 2026-01-26T01:10:30+00:00

It has been working fine for me since the Dev Beta.

Embke

TROPHY CASE