Back to the Mac

It wasn’t that long ago when I had to ask myself the unthinkable question: Is it time to start looking seriously at Windows machines? Indeed, the state of Mac hardware was that bleak just a few years ago. What a difference a few years makes.

Thankfully I never had to follow through with such an unfortunate decision. That’s because the state of Mac hardware, just a few years later, is at its healthiest level in years. How did we get there? Watch our latest episode of Back to the Mac for the details. 
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Quite a few viewers and readers have asked me to do a behind the scenes look at my video editing workspace, so in this latest edition of Back to the Mac I’ve decided to do just that.

Although my setup is currently built around a Mac Pro + Pro Display XDR, a similar setup can be achieved with virtually any Mac machine and monitor combination. Watch our hands-on behind the scenes video for a look at the hardware on my editing desk.
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As I alluded to in my initial Mac Pro top features overview, I don’t need a Mac Pro to get my day-to-day work done, but the benefit I receive from its expandability makes it a very appealing machine for me.

In this latest episode of Back to the Mac I discuss why I purchased the Mac Pro, my Mac Pro setup, how I currently use it, and talk about some of the upgrades: a 24TB SSD and 384GB of RAM. Watch the full video for the details.
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Recently Apple provided long-awaited updates to its iMac lineup, and although there are no cosmetic changes to be found in the 2019 iMac, these machines feature noteworthy CPU and GPU improvements under the hood. In fact, CPU options now start at 6-core processors for the base 27-inch model, a notable boost over the strict 4-core configurations from the previous refresh. If you desire more processing power, then the new iMacs, with their updated Intel CPUs and AMD GPUs provide a substantial performance upgrade.

Given the new upgraded processor options, it’s no wonder why people are quick to compare the 8-core model to the entry-level iMac Pro. But as you’ll see in this video, there’s more than just processor performance that makes the iMac Pro the beast that it is. On this latest episode of the Back to the Mac, we discuss five takeaways from Apple’s 2019 iMac refresh.
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According to a report from reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will launch its first 6K display for the Mac Pro this year. This report lines up with Apple’s own statement about its plans for this year, but adds some much-needed meat to the story.

If you’re a creative professional, then you should be downright excited about Apple’s upcoming plans for the Mac in 2019. This year is when Apple is scheduled launch its new Mac Pro, along with its new 6K display. Watch our latest episode of Back to the Mac as we consider what we know and some of the possibilities related to its new monitor.

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Whenever I complain about how companies tend to ship 0.5-meter cables with their Thunderbolt 3-enabled products, I sometimes encounter pushback reminding me that longer cables noticeably hinder performance. But is that really the case?
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Back to the Mac is a series focused specifically on the Mac, including hardware, accessories, I/O, software, and more.

On this week’s episode of Back to the Mac, we go nuts with an eGPU setup featuring two Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650 units mated with a pair of workstation-class 16GB AMD WX 9100 GPUs.

As we’ve touched on before, if you’re a DaVinci Resolve user, or if you use any other app that can wield multiple GPUs at the same time, such a setup can put up some noteworthy numbers. Watch the latest episode of Back to the Mac for more details.
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Synology just launched its newest prosumer NAS box, the DS1618+. This 6-bay machine comes with a quad-core 2.1GHz CPU, and 4GB of DDR4 non-ECC memory that can be upgraded to 32GB of ECC RAM.

What makes the DS1618+ particularly special is its expandability — and not just eSATA storage expandability that we usually associate with Synology products. The DS1618+ features a PCIe 3.0 x8 expansion slot that can accommodate either an M.2 card for cache, or a 10GbE NIC for significantly faster throughput. Such an addition makes the DS1618+ ideal for connecting to machines with 10 Gigabit Ethernet, such as the iMac Pro.

There are many reasons why individuals and companies employ the use of NAS boxes. In household environments, they can act like a media server, storing high quality video rips for local streaming. Others, perhaps those in corporate environments, like to use NAS setups as a storage solution for video editing.

But there is another key reason why you might want to consider a NAS, especially in light of Apple’s decision to abandon its AirPort and Time Capsule products — Time Machine backups. In this hands-on video, I show you how I use the DS1618+ as a quiet and reliable Time Machine backup solution.

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In this week’s episode of Back to the Mac, I talk about ten of my favorite apps for macOS. It doesn’t matter if you’re using an iMac Pro or a MacBook Air, all of these apps may prove to be useful in your day-to-day workflow.
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The iMac Pro and its new space gray chassis gives us a good excuse to outfit the machine with color complimentary accessories. In this first edition of our new Back to the Mac video series, we discuss some of our favorite peripherals for the iMac Pro.
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