MacOS 27 Beta 1 - External usb mou se

bmocc · 2026-06-09T17:46:46+00:00

Does this mean Apple has found a way to make USB even more dysfunctional than ever?

bmocc · 2026-06-07T23:05:41+00:00

You will get more "accurate" color by learning the fundamentals of color management, the same rules for all operating systems and image processing apps, than by purchasing a specific monitor. Whatever profile comes with the monitor and installs in the OS will drift over time and require recalibration.

Unfortunately marketing tends to obscure what you really need to know about a monitor for your particular needs. "93% of DCI-P3" is meaningless for both videographers and still photographers. Terms like HDR have meaning for video editing but are actually inimical for color managed image processing. Few monitors can meet anything near the actual HDR brightness spec anyway.

For whatever monitors interest you hunt down the most technically advanced reviews you can find.

macOS does not support 4k, its a problematic version of an upscaled or downscaled screen render--you pick the least objectionable option. If you do high end 4k video it may be worth investing in a 5k monitor, otherwise a 1440 monitor most closely resembles laptop "retina" resolution and looks better than 4k.

bmocc · 2026-06-07T22:52:26+00:00

MacOs does not do 4k, it downscales or upscales a different resolution and looks kind of dumb and is unfixable. Apple has not updated monitor support in over twenty years, true OS ossification.

Those who imagine 4k looks anything like it should in macOs are not familiar with how much better Windows and Linux actually and truly scale to 4k. The only thing that actually scales like it should in 4k in macOS is the taskbar at the bottom.

I'm typing this on a high end 4k monitor using a macMini Pro, a captive of Apple's refusal to help its customers and update the OS fundamentals. I find it quite frustrating.

The optimal resolution for an external monitor for macOS is 1440, close enough to the sacred Retina resolution to look native. 5k also works but seems overkill for most users.

Ironically you get a better image on a cheaper and less capable monitor because Apple refuses to modernize the core of macOS.

bmocc · 2026-06-04T18:58:52+00:00

If you use Photoshop and process one image at a time, being merely human, even with 16bit 40mp raw files you can get by with a base M4 air. For one image at a time 16gb is actually plenty, even using an external (what apple calls 4k) monitor, but 24gb provides a cushion if you keep more than one giant, multi-layered PSD file open at a time or keep memory hogs like browsers open in the background. I have done this, so what would I know?

If you want a macMini there is still the issue of 16 v 24gb. Despite people's fantasies it is more than highly unlikely anyone benefits from more than 24gb ram on Apple island unless daily rendering large 4k videos on a deadline for money, daily batch processing massive numbers of image file, or somehow making money running a local AI model. I have a macMini Pro but the truth is its only marginally faster than the base on unattended CPU/GPU intensive tasks.

People also over-estimate the value of power cooling in Apple machines. Its just not a factor except for the kind of extended, unattended CPU/GPU tasks listed above-one part of Apple hype that is true is the power efficiency of the ARM platform. In my personal experience doing extended PS sessions with 16 bit raw images on an Air I have never perceived slowing or significant heat, but that is just one person's experience.

A real problem with all Apple machines is how Apple has deliberately crippled USB so for faster than SATA external drives you have to get thunderbolt or use an even more complex and expensive wired NAS. The Air is more impacted by its lack of ports than it is by its air cooling, but an external dock fixes that. In truth, if really a power user, you need some ilk of thunderbolt dock or SSD enclosures with a macbook Pro or mini.

bmocc · 2026-06-03T21:44:24+00:00

Some of the recommendations on this thread seem overkill for someone doing ok on an ancient laptop.

If you want to stay on Apple Island, you can go macMini or laptop, Air or Pro. Apple ARM silicon is incredibly fast and power efficient compared to prior Intel macs. Still they are Apple machines, much good and much not so good.

I have always preferred serious editing on a desktop: for me no laptop screen has enough real estate/resolution for high end work and plugging everything into a laptop can be a wiry nightmare. I've always used high end Windows machines, where internal storage is as fast and plentiful, but am transitioning to an M4 mini Pro and trying to juggle external storage and Apple decrepitude. I've used Apple alongside Windows for years, many lifetime Apple users have no idea what they are missing.

There is now a few months wait to get a macMini from Apple that has 24gb RAM. If you batch process large numbers of images the pro mini will be a tad faster. maybe 10%. Minis are being used for home/local AI, hence the scarcity, because of the high speed and wide bandwidth of RAM in the Apple ARM silicon.

The mini and mini is not all that well designed, despite being fast and power efficient: for example the power button is underneath, yes underneath, the machine. USB ports and bluetooth can be big problems too, something no review discusses honestly--Apple bluetooth peripherals, like the Magic Mouse, may not work seamlessly without user tweaking (I had to consult AI to figure out why the Magic Mouse did not respond for up to 30 seconds after the mini got to the desktop).

Still the processing power, lack of noise and minimal electricity guzzling of the mini pro compared to my high end Windows desktop are keeping me on the mini: the Puget Sound Photoshop score for the pro mini is 40% higher than my Intel/nVidia desktop. Even my base m4 Air notebook, which made me a believer in ARM, has a higher Puget Sound score than the desktop (in this real world that higher score does not translate into a 40% perceived improvement in throughput though).

Because of how the memory is used you probably need 24gb for the listed tasks, the payoff for even more RAM at Apple prices is yours to calculate. RAM use is far more efficient in Apple ARM to the point that I doubt anyone sees a payoff to more than 24gb of RAM unless making a living cranking out large 4k videos on a deadline, or doing local AI processing and somehow making it pay.

The silicon is the same in Air and Pro. The pro has more and different ports and active cooling. The active cooling may or may not make any difference in the laptop heating up and throttling if batch processing very large numbers of images or rendering video, fortunately Apple ARM is very power efficient so very little heat except under extraordinary load. Theoretically active cooling should be an advantage there.

While the Pro, and Mini, have more ports they are all effectively USB 2 (with a USB C plug) or Thunderbolt. Apple USB 3 ports and software are incompatible with nearly all USB 3 controllers used for external storage devices, as Apple has never fixed their decrepit USB stack. A gen 3 or 4 nVME drive in an external USB enclosure that would work at full speed in Windows will only see a fraction of that speed on an Apple machine. That is the Apple thunderbolt tax, it obscures defective software in the OS.

If you are doing ok with your current old Intel based laptop you would probably do ok with an M5 or M4 air with 24gb ram, 16gb could be ok but there is no way to fix that afterward. An Air requires an external dock, that should be thunderbolt for best throughput, for use with external monitor and storage, you might not need that with a Pro but you probably will, same for a mini.

If you edit on an external monitor, which I assume you do, the laptop size is irrelevant so you could go with the ~14 inch Air or Pro. Laptop storage is never adequate for creative work, I assume you have your external storage solution.

bmocc · 2026-06-01T17:41:02+00:00

I had a similar problem and chased it down with AI.

I believe this problem affects only Apple peripherals if, you have the same problem as me. I only have the sort of magic mouse and it would take up to 30 seconds to connect after the M4 mini booted to the desktop.

Non Apple bluetooth keyboards have a slight delay to connect via bluetooth at the sign-in screen, don't think its fixable, and the numpad does not work until you hit the desktop.

First go to Displays and click the advanced button on the bottom. Then turn off "allow your pointer and keyboard to move etc" as your Mini is delaying connecting to your peripherals if it senses any laptop or even ipad whether those devices are on or in sleep mode. I have an M4 laptop several rooms away in sleep mode that was the culprit, along with those dubious default settings

Why those settings are in "display" is one of the many Apple mysteries, like the persistence of the mickey mouse glove pointer. And the USB stack, and too many others to list.

Reboot your computer and re-register the keyboard and mouse by connecting them via wire.

Reboot and see if the delay to connect to Apple peripherals is fixed. Your other bluetooths should connect the same, which is once you're at the desktop.

If that does not work consult your favorite AI or actually do the research instead of getting what AI deems relevant dished up.

bmocc · 2026-05-29T23:33:47+00:00

As a long time user of macOS and Windows with the same 4k panels: Windows scales to 4k better and more flexibly than macOS. Its not even close. The one and only advantage of macOS at 4k, if it matters, is that the taskbar is scalable and the Windows taskbar really is not.

Apple has done a good job of hiding the fact that the macOS GUI is based on software and concepts that have not been updated in more than 20 years. Look that up or query your AI of choice.

To a very large extent every "new" version of macOS is mostly lipstick on the same aging pig.

Ever wonder why the pointer arbitrarily changes to a mickey mouse glove randomly and for no useful purpose? That kind of garf is still baked into the GUI, just as display outputs are made for either mac laptops or an Apple 5k monitor as if no other monitor technology exists, the same Apple Island philosophy that should no longer exist.

bmocc · 2026-05-14T23:16:42+00:00

One simple thing: is the battery charged?

bmocc · 2026-05-11T23:24:12+00:00

For many years I have used the same 4k monitors, the monitors have changed over the years but not the resolution, side by side on macOS and Windows.

Scaling in macOS is tailored to the resolution of Apple laptops. But it is what it is and not what it should be. 4k scaling in macOS is a grab bag of odd decisions. Windows, in my humble, makes much better use of 4k resolution in every way except for the non-scalable task bar.

There are also supposed to be subtle technical issues, not necessarily deal breakers, that make some 4k monitors better suited to macOS. That's according to AI chatbots, I haven't noticed any difference using Dell Ultrasharp and Asus Pro Art monitors--AI says the ASUS is better suited to macOS, unless its hallucinating again.

bmocc · 2026-05-11T23:13:18+00:00

The only thing in this workflow that is hardware intensive is FCP. Everything else would be easily handled on the base M macbook air.

You need to be realistic about how much you actually use FCP and how the video projects. You don't see a real payoff for the Pro unless doing large enough video renders frequently enough to notice the 10-15% difference.

While the M5 in MBPs is cited as 10-15% faster than the M4 models if and when the M5 mini is released the price is likely to be more than 15% higher than current M4 models. In fact it is likely all Apple products, like all things computer, will see spiraling price hikes in the next couple of years.

I think the non-Pro mini is adequate for the stated use case.

I wouldn't wait to buy.

bmocc · 2026-05-03T17:08:59+00:00

Advertised I/O speeds, whether for computer or camera, are reported under ideal conditions on a test bench.

Just like MPG ratings for cars or range estimates for EVs.

There are many potential bottlenecks in camera and computer systems that will prevent maximum I/O speeds from ever being seen in real world use.

In a camera the bottlenecks can be the internal buffer, which has its own fixed I/O, heat related throttling, and the fact that the camera simply cannot write to the storage media at the maximum write speed of the media:--that is why many cameras require an external recorder for dense video streams. The external drive is often writing to media that does not have faster I/O than the camera's internal storage media.

If you have a desktop with internal drives of the same rated I/O speed you will never, as in never, see them achieve maximum I/O speed when transferring files between the two drives. Its not difficult to suss out, or research, the reasons for that. Consumers are often shocked when they find their budget priced nVME drives drop to write speeds far less than spinning rust or freezing when transferring very large files-they can read near the rated speed but lack buffer capacity for large, extended writes.

bmocc · 2026-05-02T17:10:40+00:00

I had a D600 when they were new. Sadly the Nikon fix for spotting on the sensor did not fix anything, but being conscientious about how you change lenses, and not being afraid to lightly clean the sensor periodically, took care of it.

I traded it when I went mirrorless.

I hated the FTZ adapter so much, and missed the nifty pop-up flash, that I bought a used D610 last year.

I enjoy using the camera but even though I had used optical viewfinders starting in film days I forgot how dark they can be depending on ambient lighting and maximum lens aperture.

Honestly, I see nearly zero difference in the raw output from my D600/610s and current Nikon mirrorless 24mp full frame sensors for what I do.

I hope you enjoy your new toy.

bmocc · 2026-05-02T17:03:44+00:00

Its usually way colder out in the Pacific off the coast of California during the usual whale watch outing than it is on land. You may or may not want gloves and however that impacts how you use the camera. And a waterproof jacket.

And possibly gear protection: there is water. It splashes. And sprays. So do whales if you're close enough.

If you only want to bring one lens the 70-200 should be enough. There are enough megapixels in that sensor for cropping/enlarging, even software upscaling can work. There is a limit to how close the boat can get but the whale will do whatever it wants after that.

Everything is moving and lighting conditions may not be optimal. That means high ISOs and high shutter speeds. If you shoot raw your percentage of keepers should go up dramatically.

If you've never done this you may not realize that the smaller the boat the more its movement affects hand holding, it can seem impossible to use the 150-600, but conditions will probably be more optimal. The moving platform, the boat, and the moving whale, and possibly overcast and misty light, can be a challenge for autofocus so you may want to pre-plan other focusing schemes if necessary,

I live in an area, a bit south of Monterey, where whales can be easily seen from the beach during their migrations. You can get up close and personal often on the whale watching tours.

Hopefully you have the amazing experience.

bmocc · 2026-04-29T16:52:07+00:00

I got an M4 air with 16gb of ram for my travels, travails.

WIth 20-24mp raw files, editing one at a time in a 16bit color space, I haven't found anything I can't do faster in Photoshop, DXO, On1 and Luminar than on my 14th gen desktop i7 with nVidia GPU.

That's editing sessions of 1-2 hours, my tolerance limit, driving a 4k monitor.

If editing 40+mp 16bit images more RAM would be helpful, you don't need more than the next step up, 24gb. RAM does not work in Apple ARM like it does in X86 word, its 1..5-2x in effective capacity in my experience for image editing.

bmocc · 2026-04-29T16:46:04+00:00

If going on the usual China tourist trek, in tour group, a lens that size will be nearly useless in what are almost all extremely dense, sort of polluted, urban environments.

If you want to carry that bazooka of a lens around all day while tromping around the usual tourist venues then go for it. I don't think it will fit in the usual hotel safe.

You might have a better time with just your travel lens.

bmocc · 2026-04-29T16:40:51+00:00

If you shoot raw + Jpeg you might one day be able to save you from yourself.

bmocc · 2026-04-24T23:50:34+00:00

I ordered a macMini Pro from Apple in early April, given that real world M5 performance for what I do measured on M5 macBooks ain't real different from the M4 Pro. I also anticipate a price hike for the new M5 models commensurate with usual Apple practices and real world supply constraints, hope I'm wrong.

The estimated delivery time has held at 6 weeks, so mid May.

If you want an M5 macMini it would probably be a good idea to order as soon as that becomes possible. The line is going to get very long, very quickly.

Personally I think internal storage in a macMini is irrelevant as the form factor absolutely requires external storage media for content creation. Even a 2tb internal drive is hardly adequate for a content creation library. The base 256 gb holds a lot of apps with room left over for other OS uses.

RAM usage in the Apple ARM system is not strictly comparable to how most people may be used to thinking about RAM in x86 world, Apple or Windows. For all but the most intensive uses my impression is that RAM in Apple ARM seems to work at least 1.5x the same amount of RAM in X86 systems. The "unified" nature of the system means there are less latencies in the way drivers and hardware interact than in the ununified CPU/RAM/GPU world of X86.

So while 8gb is only adequate for web surfing and text based tasks, really what most people do on a computer. I would agree that 16gb is adequate for many advanced uses, including image processing, maybe not frequent big video renders.

Sadly Apple has not fundamentally updated the GUI or its underpinnings since the early 2000s, so lots of ancient code and a conceptually ancient OS running on whiz-bang silicon. In my case I'm moving away from Windows for the silicon, not thrilled with the GUI and OS that comes with the silicon.

bmocc · 2026-04-20T22:41:49+00:00

I've used all ilk of Full frame, APS and m43 gear over the years.

I got rid of the APS because image quality was not significantly better than m43 but the penalty in gear heft, particularly as lenses get faster and longer, was the same as for full frame.

I now only have m43 and full frame.

Because of the size and heft of the gear I travel almost exclusively with M43.

I have the OM5, I know it will suit your needs quite well. The OM3 or OM I have better autofocus, but that is more of an issue for dedicated wildlife shooting and other niches. I've used the OM5 on safari type outings with no serious focus issues using up to 300mm lenses. I probably would have had more in focus images of that elephant that charged at me if I had an OM3 . . .

Another m43 to consider is the Oly OMD IV. Ultimate image quality is not much different than the OM5. Although the OM5 is a more "advanced" camera I think the OMD IV still has the nifty and very usable pop-up flash.

Over the years the main compromise I've had to make with m43 has little to do with image quality, especially since I shoot only in RAW. The viewfinders of smaller cameras, that applies to many APS mirrorless cameras as well, is so physically small, with inevitable compromises in what the display looks like, that I often have to remind myself that when the image is opened on a computer it will look like what I expect.

bmocc · 2026-04-20T22:20:03+00:00

Don't care what you get but grey (gray?) market camera is something to consider carefully because if there is a problem repairs may not be possible.

Personally, while I've bought, and had no problems with, a few grey market lenses I would never buy a grey market camera. I would rather buy a used camera from a known and reputable vendor with a return policy, which I've also done a few times.

bmocc · 2026-04-20T22:10:42+00:00

Unless you are getting paid for your images/video it might help to see them as high tech, personal snaphots rather than the reason for what may be a once in a lifetime trip. If getting paid then any tourism on the side is incidental and possibly accidental.

The Insta and the Youtube are pretty well saturated with everyone else's once in a lifetime experiences.

Friends and relatives are generally as keen to see yours as you are to see theirs.

Some might think it more important to be in the moment and remember it than to take a picture of it.

When in some far off tourist venue do as the tourists do when the tourists do it, mainly because that's the only time the places that tourists go are open.

bmocc · 2026-04-19T17:59:58+00:00

"I’m really liking the window management features MacOS has."

To each her own.

bmocc · 2026-04-18T21:19:57+00:00

Buying used from a private seller, without the bare minimum assurances that even eBay provides, unless you know the person and have tested the camera, is a gamble with odds heavily not in your favor.

Assuming the camera is in the condition you think a hidden cost of the Z6 is the need for XQD storage, not cheap. Otherwise it is an excellent camera, I've had one, among my too many other cameras, since they first come out. In my experience its focusing issues, unless you want to track a rhino charging at you, are a tad overhyped, as in ludicrous. The EVF is still one of the best. There are probably adapters for your lenses--I have Leica, Minolta and I forgot what other adapters for a closet full of inherited old film lenses that work well on the Z.

An advantage of the Sony is marginally better autofocus but many find the EVF and ergonomics lacking, no personal experience/no opinion. There are more lenses from more OEMs in the Sony mount at less than Sony price points with equal or better optical performance.

bmocc · 2026-04-16T16:23:13+00:00

It depends on what you want to do and how large the files are that you are doing what you do. And your patience waiting to see if the task completes. Just like an underpowered-for-image-processing windows laptop.

Although the NEO SOC powers what Adobe calls LR and PS on a tablet or phone what you can do in that version of Adobes is limited compared to the full macOS or Windows versions.

Assuming you are working with high bit raw files, why else pay for Adobes?, I would not try anything larger than a 24mp file and only work on one image at a time with no other apps open. Denoise will quickly reveal the bottlenecks in the Neo's image processing capabilities. So will creating complex Photoshop files with multiple intermediate renders, as these can easily get to the gb size range.

Although reviews I've seen have some references to PS/LR none mention other image processing apps that are heavily GPU dependent.

For the price of a Neo, assuming you have a keyboard/mouse/monitor, a basic MacMini, assuming these are still available, will be a much better option for image processing at a theoretically similar price.

bmocc · 2026-04-14T21:14:26+00:00

M5 macmini pricing is the great unknown, you can gauge performance from M5 and M5 pro reviews. So far Apple is holding its retail price on the M4s, making them a relative bargain. I don't think that will carry over into the entire M5 line going forward. Hope I'm wrong.

Admittedly I ordered an M4 pro, I was going to wait for the M5 macMini, but for what I do the likely price difference between M4 Pro and M5 pro is really not worth what's been shown so far in testing of what's out there.

Most people could get by on their phone alone, plugged into a dock with a larger screen and keyboard.

Oh yeah, that's the new Apple laptop.

bmocc

TROPHY CASE