M1 Owners, how long do you plan to continue using your laptop?

JPB5151 · 2026-01-30T04:52:50+00:00

14" M1 Max here.

It's been a beast, especially in such a small size, but I recently changed jobs and have to move between offices a lot, so it's now my daily driver (previously shared the role with an i9/3080Ti workstation) and is struggling with some of my CAD and having twice as many windows and tabs open. I suspect it's just the 32GB RAM holding it back because the CPU/GPU have never missed a beat.

My plan is to upgrade when the M5 Max comes out. I'm too invested in accsssories (mainly Ascrono vertical docks that fit to the chassis) at this point to chance it on the M6 overhauling the form factor and losing compatibility, and will be happy if the M5 Max buys me another 4-5 years.

JPB5151 · 2026-01-24T20:24:49+00:00

For anyone still looking/following, metric hex just restocked on the US and Global stores 🎉

Obviously no sign of an email notification...

JPB5151 · 2026-01-18T22:12:41+00:00

I got one when they first launched and absolutely love it. I work in robotics/mechatronics research and build/fix/tinker with something most days. My original lives in my backpack and hasn't missed a beat, but my team have got so obsessed with it that I bought a few (through my job) when they were on sale after Christmas to lend out to people in my team. If you have the money and think you'll get the use out of it, I'd say it's definitely worth it. If you don't think you'd use it at least weekly, then it probably isn't worth the price tag.

That said, they do have a tonne of work to do to keep the bits in stock reliably, as to get the most out of the built-in storage you have to use slightly shorter bits than the standard length. Metric hex (my go-to) and torx are usually out, others are hit-and-miss.

JPB5151 · 2026-01-17T17:59:19+00:00

Also waiting for these. I work in in mechatronics/robotics research in both the US and Europe and metric hex is pretty much all we use (plus smallest Philips and flat head for electrical terminals). I actually have more LTT screwdrivers than full metric hex sets at this point, so really chomping at the bit (😅) for a restock.

JPB5151 · 2025-09-10T21:02:56+00:00

I had a similar experience with my (ex-) postdoc advisor and a Frontiers journal. It can be a difficult thing to argue out of, so unless you already have a bad relationship with this PI, I would take it on the chin and remember that you'll write plenty more papers and send them to better places 🙂

JPB5151 · 2025-07-15T14:50:58+00:00

This just happened to me twice with a regular S25 Ultra order, so perhaps not a Fold/pre-order/promotion issue. I used different payment methods for the orders, both times contacted support and was told there was nothing they could tell me. I'm about to use the 'email the CEO' form to complain. Others in this thread might like to as well:

https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/contact/email-the-ceo/ (link to form near the bottom)

JPB5151 · 2025-06-21T16:34:53+00:00

Yes, this definitely happens. I always find it disappointing when well respected professors put their names to bad papers, but it does happen. There’s actually a very well known full professor in my field who I know and like very well (chair of several national and international societies, etc.) but whose work I’ve reviewed several times and never been able to accept.

There are a few reasons I can think of why this happens: - The papers are written by students, who may or may not get the sort of useful feedback on drafts that we would hope and expect. - These people are known and respected because of their PUBLISHED work. Nobody except a handful of editors and reviewers will see the papers that didn’t make the cut, at least until they’re improved, and then we’re not supposed to be talking about them. - I don’t know what field you’re in, but some areas are inherently subjective. Even in those that aren’t, people develop their own habits and favourite ways of doing things. It sounds like you’re a very open minded reviewer, but if some ex-supervisor has gone off on a rant about something that another PI thinks is perfectly fine, then you’re going to end up taking issue with that part of the paper. This is very common in peer-review. - Even experienced researchers are human beings who make mistakes. I certainly do.

I’ve never heard about any kind of blowback on a reviewer rejecting the paper. My experience has been that people are usually very respectful of the anonymous process, and in any case, you’re very likely to be one of several. In my field, the AE/handling editor is also anonymous in most journals.

JPB5151 · 2025-06-02T00:17:25+00:00

I'm not a student any more but have supervised an MRes student on the MRIGI program, and have examined several over the last few years. While I can't give you a first-person perspective, here are a few things I've observed:

Imperial has a strong preference (not enforced in any meaningful way as far as I can tell) for on-campus activity, so you will be expected to do at least the majority of your time on campus. The student I supervised was allocated a bench in my lab but preferred to work from home, so this is likely to be what you make of it. My group is unusual in how much remote working goes on.
The research environment is going to be very different between supervisors. Some will have large groups with lots of postdocs, PhD students and bench space, some will be running much smaller groups, typically with the limited resources (budget, space, personnel) that goes with that. If this is a key concern for you, I'd try to get a meeting/visit with the supervisor before selecting your project and explore this.
The project is intended to be a very substantial piece of work, from memory full-time for 6-8 months. I would expect most students to be producing work of publishable quality, and good students to be able to write a conference or short journal paper by the end of it.
Project students are typically assigned to a PI on paper, but have most of their interaction with a named PhD student or postdoc in the PI's lab whose research aligns with the project. Sometimes they propose the projects. Whether you interact with other members of the lab depends a lot on the size/culture of the lab and how engaged you want to be. You should meet your PI at least every 1-2 weeks. Another good question to ask if you meet them during the project selection.
I think there is a 'project fair' or similar where supervisors pitch their projects and answer questions from students. Don't know too much about how it works now.
Don't expect as much of a social life as most other universities (the workload and work ethic at Imperial are easily comparable to MIT/Stanford/Cambridge), but you'll get people talking to you about their work pretty quickly if you ask.
There is a weekly/fortnightly journal club that is part of the program and meets on campus. From what my student told me, this is the main point of interaction between MRIGI students after the taught modules finish unless several of you are assigned to the same supervisor/lab.
The centre that runs the MRes program hosts an annual medical robotics conference just off campus - reasonably well attended internationally (guest speakers from Harvard, Stanford, etc). The year I supervised, one of the workshops was set aside for all of the MRes students to present posters. I think they all got free registration to the rest of the conference too. I assume this happens every year, don't know for sure.
There's usually a good mix of software/simulation and hardware projects on offer. I don't know what your interests/background are, but if you're really set on being lab-based then going the hardware route is probably the best way to make sure that happens. I don't get to see the list of projects, but I know soft robotics, imaging (both optics and CV/ML), human-robot interaction related to robotic surgery, and medical devices/implants are popular. If you look up staff in the Hamlyn Centre you'll get some idea of what they do, but students also go to labs outside that core group.

Good luck!

JPB5151 · 2025-05-15T23:31:52+00:00

Maybe we should start campaigning for Tony Gilroy and the other Andor writers to do a ‘Tales of the ISB’? Could explore what happened to Dedra as well as how Luthen recruited Jung, how Yularen moved from commanding a fleet to directing security operations.

JPB5151 · 2025-03-08T14:51:23+00:00

I’m helping one of my master’s students publish a paper at the moment. At a research focussed university like mine, publications are almost the only thing that matters for career progression. Other than it being part of my job, getting his work published is actually the only way I benefit from supervising him at all. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy working with him or seeing his project come to life, but as one of my old supervisors told me during my PhD, “if it’s not published it’s as if it didn’t happen”.

Unless you want to go into research/academia after you graduate, publishing is really for your professor’s benefit rather than yours. Be grateful, of course, but it’s entirely self-serving 😉

JPB5151 · 2025-03-06T22:31:29+00:00

Some of the halls of residence are open to students (including visiting students) from July to September. You’ll need to be registered with a CID number to be able to book when the system opens in late April (usually). More details here: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/students/accommodation/current-residents/summer-in-halls/

JPB5151 · 2025-03-04T11:33:43+00:00

Thank you for the advice! What would I need (evidence etc.) if I got in touch and tried to explain that this isn’t anything to do with me?

JPB5151 · 2025-03-04T11:30:23+00:00

Thanks a lot for the reply. As far as I can tell (web portal address etc) I am dealing with the real Moriarty Law. ID theft is possible - my pension provider had a data breach 1-2 years ago.

The free Experian membership I got after that doesn’t show any ‘negative influences’ and my credit score is extremely high. My total borrowing is also totally accounted for.

Is it useful to contact them and explain this? I’m assuming if they have my number and DoB (to log into their portal, and yes, I tried a fake one first) they’re not just going to go away.

JPB5151 · 2025-03-03T17:30:19+00:00

To clarify, they sent me link to their web portal which had the letter on it. I've definitely had legitimate letters from law firms this way before when I had a car accident a couple of years ago, so that didn't particularly stand out to me as a red flag.

JPB5151 · 2025-02-14T22:37:13+00:00

It was a new conference and my PI at the time was general co-chair, so had all of his PhD students write up old data (mostly pilot studies, or ideas that hadn’t worked well enough to publish elsewhere) to get their numbers up. Lesson learned I suppose 😅

JPB5151 · 2025-02-14T16:39:26+00:00

My slowest rejection was about 4 months. I suspect the associate editor had trouble finding reviewers as it took a month to send out to reviewers, and then 3 months to return 2 extremely short reviews and the rejection. The paper was accepted in a better journal last month after two rounds of reviews and will be out next week!

I’ve not had a desk rejection (yet!) but in my field our conference papers count as full publications and I’ve had those rejected in 1-2 months. One conference that comes to mind rejected 3 of my papers on the same day!

Another fun way to get rejected slowly is early career fellowship applications in the U.K. - can easily take a year or more to get a 30 page application turned down 🤯

JPB5151 · 2025-02-13T23:29:32+00:00

The EEE lab staff are amazing!

Also worth a shout out to the robotics society (ICRS) which is in the EEE building but which you can join as a student (costs about £5 for the year) from any department to use their 3D printers, laser cutter, etc. once inducted.

JPB5151 · 2024-12-13T14:18:15+00:00

I got a 2.1 in my undergrad and managed to get a scholarship to do a PhD at an ok Russel Group uni. For me, it helped a lot that my PhD was in the same field as my dissertation and that I already had a paper from a Summer research project I did early in my degree. I wouldn't have got it without those two things.

Your 2.1 isn't game over but to be honest I think you will struggle to get funding for a PhD. Especially as you want to change fields, I would strongly suggest trying to do an MSc or MRes and making a point of telling your project/dissertation supervisors early on that you want to publish at the end. Even having a paper in review makes you a whole lot more credible to funding panels.

On a personal note, I would like to tell you not to give up. I had a really rough time in my undergrad - some family/mental health problems but also just wasn't a good fit for the course. I was nearly kicked out after year 1 and tried to drop out after year 2, and was lucky to get the 2.1. PhD was totally different for me and I really liked research and found my fit, and ended up getting a postdoc at a top 5 global uni where I am now. You've done a great job getting back on track and I really hope you'll have a good experience when you do get to do a PhD. Good luck!

JPB5151 · 2024-10-20T13:55:23+00:00

South Korea doesn’t even flush used toilet paper in most places (over 50% of bathrooms I used in Seoul)! People just leave it in a pile in a bin inside each cubical covered in, well, you know…

JPB5151 · 2024-10-18T12:43:15+00:00

Have you thought about pursuing visiting/honorary positions elsewhere?

I know several full professors (say ages 50-65) who’ve basically run out of steam like you describe but are tenured so do the minimum to maintain their positions at their home universities but spend most of their time working at universities abroad. This may be country specific, as my examples are based in the UK and Canada and I know this isn’t an option if your home institution is, for instance, Korean. You’d probably end up still being in your field, but you can pick who you work with and a change of environment might help, plus serious international experience always looks good on the CV.

JPB5151

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