Why the M1 is so fast ↦

Here’s a detailed post by Erik Engheim that breaks down how Apple’s M1 chip is structured and compares it with other PC chips: In Unified memory the GPU cores and CPU cores can access m… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

AWS offers Mac mini hosting ↦

In a surprise move, Amazon has jumped into the hosted Mac world, adding Mac minis to its EC2 service. As TechCrunch reports: The target audience here — and the only one AWS is targeting for now — i… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 328: Secure, But Terrible

This week we consider the future, and what Apple’s rumored to be doing to the Apple Watch, iPad, and MacBook Pro in 2021. Plus Jason embraces the iPhone 12 mini and reboots his complaints abo… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

20 Macs for 2020: #5 – Titanium PowerBook G4

Imagine a slideshow of images of every portable Mac Apple has made, displayed in chronological order. It starts with the Macintosh Portable and ends with two M1 MacBooks. For a while, the slides ar… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

The Back Page: Everything Apple Didn’t Announce This Fall (Member Post)

With an unprecedented three events this fall, Apple has revamped the vast majority of its key products. We’ve seen new iPhones, a new iPad Air, new Apple silicon Macs, and even a new HomePod … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Automate This: Conversation mode for the AirPods Pro

One of my only opportunities for solace these days is taking walks. I try to get outside every day, not just to close the rings on my Apple Watch, but also because I need a break from staring at sc… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

6C Podcast: November 27, 2020

It was a quiet week, but we found time to ponder the future of the Mac and complain about the cable company. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 317: I Like to Eat

This is an M1 Mac show now. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 374: Wow, What A Deal Wednesday!

Smart home automations, creativity in the time of pandemic, our Black Friday habits, and the impact of the latest improvements to Shortcuts. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

How to fix the M1 Macs’ most disappointing feature: iOS apps (Macworld/Jason Snell)

If there’s a single disappointment in the release of Apple’s first wave of M1 Macs, it’s the lackluster launch of iOS apps running inside of macOS. What should be an amazing unification of Apple’s … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Rogue Amoeba’s apps updated for M1–with a catch ↦

I love Rogue Amoeba’s audio apps and rely on them every day. Audio Hijack is the best. Loopback is a vital tool when I’m streaming video live. This year, though, Apple made some major c… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 327: The Future Doesn’t Apply

This week: We report back on using our M1 Macs, “Wonder Woman 1984” goes to streaming, and Apple makes a clever move in its PR battle over App Store fees. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Comcast to enforce data caps across US, starting in early 2021 ↦

Ars Technica’s Jon Brodkin: Comcast’s 1.2TB monthly data cap is coming to 12 more states and the District of Columbia starting January 2021. The unpopular policy was already enforced in… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Imagining the possibilities with Apple silicon (Macworld/Dan Moren)

The M1 Macs have arrived. The benchmarks are in. And what we’ve seen is nothing less than mind-blowing performance from Apple’s own silicon, compared to the Intel chips that came before… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Joz, Federighi, and Srouji talk M1 ↦

Samuel Axon has a really nice interview with three Apple execs about the M1 processor. Here’s Craig Federighi: The M1 is essentially a superset, if you want to think of it relative to A14. Be… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

HomePod mini review: Lots of bang, not a lot of bucks

Calling Apple’s history with speaker accessories “mixed” is probably being kind. In 2006, the company made its first foray with the iPod Hi-Fi, a technically impressive but expens… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

6C Podcast: November 20, 2020

Don’t listen to them, they’re evil! Also, this is a M1 MacBook Air enthusiast podcast now. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) 20 Macs for 2020 podcast 15: Mac SE/30 (#6)

What’s the best Mac of all time? It’s an impossible question to answer. Yet three well-known Mac commentators all have the same answer. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

The joy(?) of moving to a new Mac (Member Post)

Migration Assistant, and cat. One of my favorite episodes of Upgrade is from early in the show’s run, when we spent time critiquing the experience of buying and setting up a new iPhone. I kee… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Quick Tip: Enable Touch ID for sudo

My new MacBook Air is proving to be all that I’d hoped, and it’s not just because of the fancy new M1 processors. Since I’m coming from a 2014 MacBook, I’m reaping the benef… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 316: Every Once in a While You Want to See a Muppet

There’s enough new Apple gear to go around. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 373: Talking About Yarn

Apple’s reducing its App Store commission, new gaming consoles are here, the tech that brings us joy, and how we’re coping with celebrations in the year that is 2020. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

With M1 Macs, memory isn’t what it used to be (Macworld/Jason Snell)

The first Macs powered by Apple-designed processors are finally here. And from the outside, they’re almost dead ringers for the Intel-based Macs they’re replacing. But on the inside, they’re not li… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple reduces App Store cut to 15 percent for small businesses ↦

Apple Newsroom: The new App Store Small Business Program will benefit the vast majority of developers who sell digital goods and services on the store, providing them with a reduced commission on p… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

M1 Macs review: The Next Generation

It slowly became clear that one day Apple’s processors would come for Intel. As Apple’s skill in building chips for the iPhone and iPad became increasingly apparent, Intel struggled. Do… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Putting the M1 chip to the test ↦

Reviews of the M1-powered Macs are starting to filter out across the web, including our own, which you should definitely read, but if you’re looking for a more nuts and bolts look at the M1 c… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 326: The M1 Macs: Interview and Review

In this special, extra-packed episode we’ve got an interview with Apple’s Tim Millet and Tom Boger about Apple’s new M1 Macs, followed by Jason’s review of the new Macs afte… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

M1 Macs review: The Next Generation

It slowly became clear that one day Apple’s processors would come for Intel. As Apple’s skill in building chips for the iPhone and iPad became increasingly apparent, Intel struggled. Do… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

20 Macs for 2020: #6 – Macintosh SE/30

Photo by Stephen Hackett. What is the best Mac ever? It’s a nigh-unanswerable question, because it begs for qualifiers. The best one ever made up to now? The one that lasted the longest? The … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

In wake of server outage, new Apple support doc details Gatekeeper privacy ↦

A new document on Apple’s support site details information about its Gatekeeper system the week after a server outage caused many Mac users systems to encounter issues. In particular, it resp… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Meet the new Mac, same as the old Mac (Macworld/Dan Moren)

The Mac is dead…long live the Mac! Last week marked two major shifts in Apple’s personal computing platform: the introduction of Macs built around Apple’s own custom silicon, and … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

6C Podcast: November 13, 2020

Low-end Macs at the high end of performance. Apple’s performance marketing. Oh, and we both bought M1 MacBook Airs. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) 20 Macs for 2020 podcast 14: iBook G3 (#7)

After a lot of speculation, Steve Jobs finally filled in the Mac’s fourth product quadrant with a consumer laptop that was one of a kind. But what’s a “consumer laptop,” rea… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Command Performance: Connect to Server (Member Post)

Back in my earliest days of using networked computers1 I quickly learned the glories of connecting to other computers, whether it was via telnet, gopher, or eventually a web browser like lynx. Whil… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Craig Federighi says touchscreen Macs not the goal of Big Sur’s design ↦

Speaking to The Independent, Apple’s Craig Federighi (alongside Greg Joswiak and John Ternus) dismisses the idea that Big Sur’s UI changes point to a touch interface for the Mac: “I got… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

macOS Big Sur Review: Third age of Mac

Mac OS X was no less than a rebirth of the Mac, 16 years after it first appeared on the scene. The code it originated with, and many of the software managers and programmers who built it, came to A… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 315: Awkward Overcompensation

We’d stop recording shows if only Apple would stop having events. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 372: Comparing Apples to Intels

The tasks we still do analog instead of digital, the lack of touch interfaces on Apple’s new Macs, is this the end of speeds and feeds, and whether we can live with just two ports on our comp… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

AirBuddy 2 improves the Mac AirPods experience ↦

Gui Rambo’s $10 Mac utility AirBuddy has been updated to version 2 today. I love AirBuddy because it’s very much the sort of AirPods integration that should be baked into macOS, but for… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

First things first: Why the M1 starts at Apple’s low end (Macworld/Jason Snell)

The era of Macs running Apple silicon has begun. Or at least, it will begin next week with the arrival of the new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models running on Apple’s M1 chip. It’s impo… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Bad air? Air Lookout 2 will check ↦

When smoke blew into my region from some nearby forest fires, I needed to pay attention to local air quality in order to decide when I could go outside safely. Geof Crowl’s helpful Air Lookou… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

‘Why 5G is the Future (Not the Present)’ ↦

Glenn Fleishman has a sensible overview of 5G at TidBITS: 5G won’t be transformative for most people or purposes. Its advantages primarily accrue to cellular carriers, even more so than 3G or 4G, w… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Enter the M1 – Notes on Tuesday’s big event

Tim Cook can sit anywhere he wants. Picking up where Dan left off and before I clock out for the night, here are some other quick thoughts about the day’s events. A first step. Apple said it … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 325: Johny for the Chips

Three new Macs have arrived, and they’ve brought the Apple-designed M1 processor with them. Myke and Jason break down the new chip, the new hardware, and what it all means for the future of t… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Quick hits from Apple’s Mac event

For a 45-minute event, Apple packed a lot in. And it was all about the Mac: new versions of the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini, all based on Apple’s new M1 chip. And, just lik… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

A quick hit about the big and small iPhone 12 models

iPhone SE (1st generation, left) and iPhone 12 mini (right). Yesterday I took delivery of review units of the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max, and while the next couple of days are going to be… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

20 Macs for 2020: #7 – iBook

Among the many important elements Steve Jobs brought to Apple’s culture when he returned in the late 90s was a focus on the theater of product announcements. Unlike many of Apple’s comp… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple silicon Macs: A tale of two transition paths (Macworld/Dan Moren)

After years of speculation over whether it would happen, and months of rumors over how it will happen, the day’s almost here. This week, Apple is prepared to launch the third processor architecture… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago