then blindly confident

coming from a school-issue Chromebook could get a great upgrade moving to these.

Good point, it looks to be way better than any Chromebook in terms of performance, build quality, etc.

This will certainly sell and will net Apple a lot of market share!

I would expect Apple to stop supporting those sooner than the Neo

Hopefully not! If Apple does cut off support, there’s always the option for Asahi Linux!

Oh wait, I think I misread. You have a Thunderbolt to HDMI, I read that as you suggesting to get a (pretty expensive) Thunderbolt adapter for somebody shopping for a Neo. Yes, any USB 3 adapter would work, not only TB.

The display of the Neo seems very similar to the one in the Air M1 (no notch, similar resolution), but with worse colour accuracy according to reviews. The M2 Air onwards had better displays (but with the notch)

As for battery life, real-world performance (not benchmarks, not “I used it for a day and it seems smooth”), and security updates, I’m not sure. The older M series Macbooks are still getting the latest MacOS updates, but I wonder how many the Neo will get given that it’s an iPhone chip…

10 out of 10 repairability rating by ifixit.

Note that it wasn’t a 10/10, it was 6/10. Still much better than previous Macs, and overall quite good :D

iFixit state that the main complaints are pentalobe screws, soldered RAM and storage, and it’s difficult to repair the keyboard.

https://www.ifixit.com/News/116152/macbook-neo-is-the-most-repairable-macbook-in-14-years

3. And the choice is either windows or Mac

I’m choosing the neo

Yeah, Windows is pretty bad these days.

Thankfully I’m only limited by budget and have no desire to let fine refurbished laptops languish. And I’m all onboard with Linux so I’ll be getting a refurb thinkpad instead.

Nice! Hope you have a good time with one of those :)

It’s better to use a separate password manager, since it’s an additional layer of security, as you must type in a master password or, if you configure it, use a hardware key/biometrics. Also, as others have said, you can use them in non-website logins too, so it’s more flexible!

Personally, I think Bitwarden is a pretty good option for most people. It’s cross-platform, and I think there is an option to self-host the server if you wish.

Another option, the one I use, is KeePass (XC on desktop, DX on Android, KeePassium on iOS), which stores passwords in a local database file, and you can use Syncthing to sync the contents of the database!

Cool, a transformer person!

I will not disagree, the Neo does look to have much better build quality than most laptops in its price range, as well as many outside of it.

As for the chipset, there will be tradeoffs. You can definitely get an older Ryzen 7000 series or Intel 13th gen for cheap. These will be quite a bit less efficient and have worse battery life, and the performance won’t be as good. But they don’t suffer from the limitations of being an iPhone chip, some will be better cooled, some have upgradeable memory/16GB ram option, and most will have better port selection (like HDMI, USB-A ports). The Neo’s A18 Pro is much better in some ways, but also a bit worse in many others.

Yes, it is true that Windows is pretty garbage now. I wouldn’t say 16GB is not enough for it though, even with all its bloat. But it is terrible, really bad indeed, hence why I happily run Linux and encourage others to do the same :D

Apple Silicon really is crazy though, no doubt about that.

A little off-topic, note that “i7”, “i5”, etc. aren’t too helpful when comparing CPUs, only between the specific generation.

if you care about the 8gb of RAM, the Neo isn’t for you

Fair point. The average consumer probably doesn’t know what that means. But I do think that it should be a concern for the people who do purchase it (like students), since it really will be limiting, especially in the future as software becomes heavier, MacOS gets additional updates, and when needs change (e.g. more multi-tasking)

Not a deal-breaker, but something to note, especially as it’s non-upgradeable. Similarly priced laptops have 16GB/the option for it with upgradeable memory, but may have other downsides like worse display or plastic build. Tradeoffs.

It seems like you covered all the basics and you’re just looking for people to agree with you?

I would like others to share their opinions as well, have a good debate and such. I think your comment seems pretty well thought out, draws from your own experiences, quite good. I like (respectfully) arguing with people

If you care about the 8GB limit, the Neo isn’t the one for you, you want the Air.

I believe that normal people, although it’s not a problem right now, the limitation of 8GB ram will become more evident soon. The new Macbook Air wouldn’t be in consideration if you are shopping for a Neo, given that it’s around about twice as expensive, but I do think that a refurbished Air (like M2 or something) that is closer in price, in some regions dipping below it, could be a really good option for some people!

Note that I am not shopping for a new laptop anytime soon, I’m perfectly happy with my Intel 13th gen laptop running EndeavourOS!

And as for this fantasy of the Neo suddenly being unable to run on its 8GB of RAM, I expect to get a decade out of my 16 Pro Max

But the Macbook Neo is a laptop running desktop programs. Pretty different circumstances I would say. When the needs of the user changes (e.g. they do more work outside of the browser, run heavier programs, start to multitask), the 8GB ram will not be enough. Additionally, new MacOS updates are sure to slow the device down quite a bit, intentionally or unintentionally. The only option in Macland is to fork out double the cost for the Air (or more if you upgrade the storage, as you have said), and that is my main point.

As for the HDMI dongle, that isn’t entirely accurate. You just need a different cable. Get a Thunderbolt to HDMI cable.

Often times the cable is routed through into a little hole (e.g. if it’s a projector mounted on the ceiling) or is very long and already plugged in, so using your own cable is not always possible. Hence, adapter dongle. Another thing you might need to purchase, so it is worth considering given that many other laptops in this price segment do have HDMI ports. Also, neither USB-C port is Thunderbolt, so you are misremembering?

That’s a limitation of the A18 Pro chip

I didn’t say it wasn’t. The note on RAM followed when talking about the limitation of the chip being from an iPhone. Even so, it is still a big factor, as you have no option for 16GB besides buying a new laptop (where many laptops in this price segment have SODIMM memory so they do let you do that)

Summit does indeed support pfp changes! You go to the profile icon and select the gear to find Lemmy web preferences

Click the profile icon, and select the gear icon beside your user account. You have will see options to change stuff under Lemmy web preferences!

I use Summit too, and it’s awesome!

But I must say, I am envious of those who are able to run LineageOS, mobile Linux, etc.

I will say, even with the Chinese ROM, I feel like I can use so much more software and have better access to my device than my old iPhone. For one, I can connect the USB with my computer and share files quickly, and F-Droid has so many cool apps that work, and in many cases look, awesome! Being able to use different default apps, use a different launcher, and customise the icons easily with an icon pack (Apple’s sorry excuse for icon theming isn’t all that great, all you get is either a glassy colour or glassy glass)

If I do ever switch to a new phone (which won’t be for several years, since my phone is relatively new) I would probably go for a phone that I know is supported by LineageOS or perhaps iodeOS. This would probably be a Fairphone (likely a used model) given that I really want to support their mission for fairer materials and more repairable electronics.

I could also try going for a strange little Linux phone, just for fun.

Using a Vivo smartphone (the Chinese ROM) for its good cameras (once you disable all the AI “enhancements” to the zoom that makes it all look like a messy oil painting). The OS spin is, in a word, pretty garbage. There’s unfortunately no LineageOS support for my device it seems like.

It’s got some neat features, but there’s a whitelist for SMS apps, meaning I was stuck with the stock one. Additionally, it pops up a security warning whenever you install any app that isn’t verified by Vivo, but it doesn’t hamper my ability to install apps from F-Droid and Obtainium too much.

Using NextDNS with a few blocklists shows that it phones home to Vivo constantly, Vivo-related links are far and above blocked by NextDNS over anything else on my devices. Not very good for privacy, like at all. It also tells me off for having private DNS and assumes that it’s the problem whenever there’s a change in the network connection.

I am currently using the Kvaesitso launcher (and I know many like Lawnchair, but I favour the more efficient search-based interface of Kvaesitso) and for a long while it randomly switched me back to the stock launcher. The swipe up gesture also sent me to the home launcher like Kvaesitso was running as an app. It turns out that there’s a hidden option in settings to disable that, but it took a lot of looking around online to figure that out. With Kvaesitso, much of the oddities of OriginOS work out better (like the advertisements and Baidu results in the global search). I also disabled the “Origin Island” since it only worked for Spotify and nothing else I used, as well as a few other bits that I didn’t really need.

If you want a neat phone that is good for user privacy and all that, Chinese ROM phones aren’t the way to go, but dang the camera hardware run circles around anything Apple and Samsung can produce. If you want something that supports custom ROMs, there’s of course Fairphones, which are super repairable and use fair materials and labour, but there’s plenty of other devices that support LineageOS, iodeOS, e/OS, etc. If you really want to become independent of Google you could also try a phone that supports mobile Linux (like the OnePlus 6)

I do have photos backed up with Immich, and it works quite well!

You are queueing in a line. But You 31st, need to wait so long! So frightening, like Halloween.

I tried my best. You could probably do something with Me 25th as well.

Wait, I thought the French Republican Calendar had 10 months only?