Using Apple Silicon Macs for scanners (M1, M2, M3 etc)

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A Scanner Mixer Proposal

As a former police & fire dispatcher, having built several 9-1-1 centers, and as a user of multiple scanners and two-way radios I have a proposal for a receiver console that would allow the user to listen to multiple receivers or transceivers simultaneously and consolidate multiple speakers and simplify wiring.

This device would have the ability to accept audio from multiple radios, preferably from the external speaker jack and/or headphone jack. Like an audio mixer used by musicians it would allow the user to control the volume from individual radios and route it to the left or right channel of headphones or speakers.

While there are studio mixers available from companies like Behringer and others, those are designed and equipped for music production. They include all kinds of equalization and tone controls that are not needed for communications uses. They are often much larger (8u or more high) then needed due to the need for more processing of the audio. Communications audio do not need the effects processing common in the music world, just amplification and perhaps some minor seasoning.

About 2003 a company called NCS came out with a unit called the “NCS-3230” which was a 6-channel mixer that ticks a lot of these buttons. While no longer made, these units are highly prized and sell quickly when they appear on the used market. I am suggesting a somewhat similar unit with some updated features and capabilities.

A new unit designed for scanners and ham radio would not require the vast effects of a musician’s mixer, merely a level control and a mute button for each input. For the output it would have an amplifier to drive a pair of up to 15-watt speakers and accept headphones, both inexpensive low-impedance communications style as well as high-end audiophile grade. Alternately it could be set up to use amplified computer speakers, negating the need for a high-power amplified in the console.

The system could be scaled in with 6 inputs for the base unit or 12 inputs for the deluxe model. It would be designed as a free-standing desktop unit with rubber feet but sized at 3.5 inches tall and have optional rack-mount adapters to fit in a 2u space.

On the front panel would be the control modules for each channel. Each channel would have a level control, mute button, right-left button, and activity LED. There would be separate volume and balance controls for the audio output as well as an All-Mute button. Also on the front panel would be the headphone jack and a master power control.

On the rear panel would be an input jack for each of the 6 or 12 inputs, a power jack for the local power supply, the speaker output jacks and record jacks to connect to a recording device. If using an LED screen or Stream Deck style controls, then a USB port may be needed. Optionally it could be set up to feed audio to the USB port for direct streaming to a computer.

The controls on the front panel can be manual potentiometers for the level and balance controllers and pushbuttons for the mute and right/left controls. This could also be handled with a touchscreen replacing the manual controls.

The audio inputs on the rear panel can be 1/8” or RCA jacks. Since jumpers will need to match the radios they would not be included and supplied by the user.

I have been using a Behringer X2222USB mixer for a short while as of this writing and once configured it has been working well. I use computer speakers as a monitor and the headphone jack included on those speakers to connect my headphones to. The Behringer does have its own headphone jack but it is a ¼ inch one, and that means my headphones requires an adapter, it is easier to plug into the speaker for me.

If someone was to build a console/mixer for a communications hobbyist I wouldn’t imagine they would sell a lot of them but if priced reasonably it could sell enough to make it worthwhile.

The Modular Studio Desk

As a radio hobbyist and ham radio operator I have many radios. I love using rack-mounted gear as it allows a neat and organized appearance and hides wires and ancillary devices like power supplies. This is a concept for a modular desk system that can be expanded to a wider linear or angled arrangement. It includes rack panels for studio, computer or communications equipment and under-desk storage.

Having radios sitting on a desk is fine if you have one or two. If you have a series of matching radios such as the Icom IC-7300 and IC-9700, stacking or side-by-side looks fine as long as you dress the wiring. Add more stuff, with disparate sizes and things get messy.

This proposal is similar in design to police/fire dispatch console furniture from the 1970’s thru the early 2000’s such as the Motorola CentraCom II or ModuCom systems. This is by design, these designs, modified for the current radio hobbyist, are ideal for us. I had an opportunity to acquire a 2-seat CentraComm II system a decade ago but did not have the space to store or install it. I do have that space now and really wish I had this stuff!

The biggest difference is that this proposal provides for the current reality of computers ruling the roost rather than point to point wiring. Consoles typically had 12 to 20 Rack Unit (“u”) height on the main panels as they were discrete buttons, modules, meters and controls. This proposal has the space to mount radios at desk level, behind a keyboard and writing desk, sized to allow comfortable viewing of computer monitors above the radios.

The basic component is an approximate 21” wide module with a desk surface of varying depth. At the rear of the desktop is a raked 4u or 6u 19-inch rack. Above the rack is a monitor shelf. The monitor shelf would have a removable insert top to allow additional stackable rack sections of various sizes, these modules will also use the same inset top so that only a single top is needed per module regardless of how many rack sections are included on it.

The rear of the desk module would be deep enough to allow racked equipment to be contained, preferably up to about 18 inches. The actual measurement front to rear would be slightly less due to the down-tilt of the panel. This would also define the depth of the monitor shelf. The front and rear panels of the desk module would be removable to allow access to the interior.

Inside the desk module could be optional rack panel rails to allow servers, power supplies or other devices to be mounted within and out of sight. If properly arranged the user could even leave the desk module front or rear panels uninstalled (or these could be optional to begin with) to allow equipment installed under the desktop to be visible and accessible.

Each desk modules would be free-standing with leveling pads and sturdily constructed as to carry the weight of the additional stacked rack sections as desired. The side panels will be removable so that when multiple desk sections are used together wire pass-thru is allowed. As with the monitor stand top inserts only a single set of ends are needed regardless of the amount of modules used together.

The desk modules can be connected side by side for extra width, one can create a system as wide as desired with additional modules. They will be provided with bolt-together hardware to join them and as each module can be individually leveled they will work well even with uneven floors.

Also to be offered would be angled edges to join two desk modules together at a 45-degree angle. This would allow two or more desk modules to create a corner desk. With 3 or more desk modules and 2 wedges a crescent desk can be created. Put two wedges together at each corner (or offer a 90-degree wedge piece) and a U-shaped single person desk can be created. The variations are virtually unlimited.

The desktops themselves can be offered in different depths with corresponding support arms, perhaps 12, 18 and 24-inch options.

In my current arrangement (as of this writing) I have a free-standing 3u rack placed on a desk surface. It places my radios facing directly toward me with no slant and I can place monitors above them. TO keep the monitor height more reasonable I use a clamp-on mount, this allows the bottom of the monitors to be just above the cabinet, saving the several inches inherent in the monitor stands they come with. Having a separate desktop open space below a slanted rack panel for the radios and a proper depth would allow the radios to be more easily seen, allows a comfortable keyboard platform and keeps the monitor and other items that are placed on the top of the cabinet a reasonable height.

Plagiarism and fake doctorates

OK guys, this might get a little long, but it is interesting!

In July 2018 I wrote an article for my blog about the 100 years of numbered highways in Illinois (https://n9jigblog.wordpress.com/2018/07/) and also posted it to my “Illinois Highways Page” webpage at www.n9jig.com I know it is kind of an obscure subject, but I have studied, researched, and explored the Illinois Route Numbering system for years and am probably the foremost expert on the subject that is not employed by IDOT. My webpage at www.n9jig.com is chock full of my original research and describes in detail the origin and evolution of the system.

As part of my interest in Illinois history in general I subscribe to several Facebook groups on the subject, one of which owned and hosted by Neil Gale, who stylizes himself as a “Ph.D”. In June 2022 he posted almost verbatim my 2018 post about the Illinois route numbering system to his blog and then a link to that post at his “Living History of Illinois and Chicago” Facebook group on June 10. In neither did he credit me as the original author of the work.

When I emailed him at his contact info asking about this, he never acknowledged it. Of course, these days that email could well have ended up in his spam, so I also posted a comment to his blog entry as well as the Facebook group asking for the credit I deserve for writing the article.

His response to that was to delete the comments on his blog and Facebook group as well as ban me from the group. He never replied to my email or posts directly, just banned me. At least I know he saw it anyway. Of course, I have other Facebook accounts and see that the post is still there and still not credited to me. On his blog he did later add the notation of “Illinois Highways Page” at the bottom but not my name, a link nor indication of the actual source for the material. Some of the images he used were from my webpage as well.

So far we just have a supposed historian stealing original research without attribution, plagiarism I am sure. (As a side note, plagiarism does not need be for profit to be wrong, despite the “Dr.”’s statement to the contrary on his blog.)

But wait, it gets better!

I did a little research as I was annoyed at his actions.  He introduces himself as “Dr. Neil Gale, Ph. D.” (https://drloihjournal.blogspot.com/p/hello.html. Also at http://drgale.com/)

I found out that he claims a doctorate from the “London Institute of Applied Research” at a website promoting his web marketing business (https://bio.prlog.org/GaleWebMarketing/50000508-neil-gale.html)                                                                                 

OK, sounds good, he must be a learned man, right? Let’s look at his alma mater; the London Institute for Applied Research (or L.I.A.R.). Hmm… L.I.A.R.? Yep! LIAR is a “Diploma Mill”, or at least it was. It was created by a guy named John Bear in the 1970’s as a joke, to generate fake diplomas in protest of his own (legitimate) university presenting honorary doctorates to celebrities in return for large donations while he had to earn his by actually studying and doing the work (https://www.cityofsmoke.com/archives/1565 and others). Do a Google search on the “London Institute of Applied Research”, some of the results are hilarious.

So now we have a guy who copies research and presents it as his own, has a fake doctorate from a joke institution and ghosts people who call him out. What else has he done?

I find it interesting that he posted on his blog the following:

“On July 28, 2020, I was removed and blocked from the “Abraham Lincoln” Facebook group because I provided proof that the post a member made was not at all truthful. Little did I know the person was a group Administrator. After sleeping on the issue, I decided to start a new Facebook group the following day, (with a similar name on the same topic).” (also at http://drgale.com/)

Pot, Kettle, black.

Follow up:

I emailed this diatribe of mine to Mr. Gale (I will not call him “Dr. Gale”) on July 20, 2022 and offered him until July 31 the chance to properly credit me and remove the fake degree notation from his pages. I basically told him that if I were properly attributed and he removed the fake degree and honorifics from his pages I would not post this.

A couple days later I get a message from a “Mary Smith” who said she was an admin for this “Dr.” Gale’s Facebook Group and his blog. He said he was in rehab for physical therapy after an injury. She said she deleted the article from his blog (it appears that at least is true). I see this as a tacit admission of improper attribution at minimum or outright plagiarism at worst. But she did not deny or explain the lack of attribution. I asked about his fake degree from LIAR and she said that he has a Ph. D from the University of Oxford and that it has been hanging in his office for years and never mentioned LIAR. She said there was nothing more that she could do for me and has not responded to my follow-up message. I suspect “Mary Smith” is probably our good “Doctor” himself rather than a different person. It appears Gale has recovered because he has been posting to the Facebook group the last few days.

If someone like this guy actually held a doctorate degree from such a distinguished and well-known institution such as Oxford, wouldn’t he want to plaster that over every webpage he owned, especially his marketing ones? He only claims the fake LIAR “degree” on his marketing pages. Even if LIAR was a real university, if you were trying to drum up business wouldn’t you note an Oxford degree instead?

I tried to verify a degree held by Neil Gale from Oxford and can find no evidence one exists. Oxford cannot verify it and a web search shows no independent indication he ever attended much less was conferred any type of degree, doctorate or otherwise.

I have since been contacted by another person who has had a similar situation with this guy who had allegedly claimed credit for his work and was called out. This person was then booted off the forums controlled by the fake doctor and subsequently received odd mailings with pictures of his home and mentions of personal details that were perceived as veiled threats.

The next day I received notifications two attempts to change my Facebook password. Coincidence? Perhaps, but the timing is remarkable.

I had hopes that Neil Gale would acknowledge his error in attribution of others work and come clean on the status of his degree (if he actually has one). I really do not like outing someone but academic fraud is wrong and, frankly, he pissed me off. I actually have a college degree that I earned the hard way (studying, taking tests, doing papers and dissertations…) I have taken advanced schools for my profession and earned the certificates that come with them. I did a lot of research for my blog posts and do not mind sharing. If he had acknowledged this in the first place, I would have been fine with it, but he had to claim it as his own and then make it look like I was the bad guy when called out.

Well, I did what I said I would, I waited until August 1 to post this. While “Mary Smith” did arrange to delete the plagiarized article from Mr. Gale’s blog the original Facebook post pointing to it is still there.

If you are the author of similar research and have had your work copied by Mr. Gale without the proper attribution please let me know.

Mr. Gale: If you can show me evidence that you indeed possess a legitimate doctorate degree from an accredited university, I will gladly take this post down and issue you a very public apology. All I ask in return is an apology for misappropriating my work. I will let you keep it on your blog as long as you attribute the work properly to me.

Sonnet eGPx Breakaway Puck Review

Last week I ordered a Sonnet ePGX Breakaway Puck for $300 from the Apple Store. It was delivered Friday. I wanted to use it on my Mac Mini 2018 and perhaps later when I get a new MBP.

I had been using 3 ASUS 32 inch 2560×1440 monitors. I have 4 of these, and I had been using 2 on the Mac and one on the PC (Intel HC NUC) with the 4th shared by using the input selector. I have since been using the NUC headless with remote access so wanted to use all 4 monitors on the Mac. I had also purchased a 4-monitor stand with 2 up and 2 across.

The eGPU arrived just after I finished working on Friday so the timing was good. It was packed in an oversized cardboard box with balloon packing. Oddly the Sonnet box appear unsealed, no shrink-wrap and no peels on the unit itself. It all looked OK, I saw no evidence of having been opened in the past but there was no real way to tell. This comes into play later.

I took it out and started to connect it all up. It seems pretty simple, a TB3 cable to plug into the Mac Mini and a fairly large power brick. There are 3 Display Port outputs and an HDMI one.

A little rant on a tangent here: I actually prefer power bricks in my situation, probably one of the few who does… The use of exterior power bricks helps reduce the internal heat of the unit as well as reducing the unit size. I wish they had used an external brick on on the Mac Mini. Under my desk I have slung a fairly large clamp-on monitor stand upside down to act as sort of an undershelf. On this resides the various power bricks (one each for the monitors, the NUC, the switch, the USB hub and my radio stack as well as now for the eGPU.) The switch, TimeMachine drive USB hub all live here as well to reduce clutter on the desktop. Too much stuff, even for my huge desk!

Back to the story…
I got the eGPU all hooked up. To simplify things (and to get around a bad DP on one of the monitors) I had also purchased 3 DP to HDMI adapters, thus effectively giving me 4 HDMI ports. I connected all 4 monitors to the eGPU with HDMI cables and turned on the computer. The Mac turned on but the monitors did not display anything. I checked that the inputs were all selected to HDMI (they automatically hunt to an available source anyway). and then noticed that there was no lit “S” on the eGPU that the directions said would be. (Yes, I read the instructions…) I then checked the connections, I was a little concerned with the 4-pin power connector with its funky plastic sleeve release. I tried using a different TB cable and a different outlet for the power cord. I connected one of the monitors directly to the Mac Mini and there was no indication that the eGPU was present.

I was just about to give up and call Apple to arrange a return when I realized that I had confused the power brick of the NUC with this one, they were of similar size, shape and color. I found that the power cord into the Sonnet was not fully inserted and once I pushed it in all the way it came right up. Once it did the Mac took a little bit to digest that it was there. I saw the eGPU icon on the menu bar but I could not get into the Display Preferences or open any applications. Any application I tried to open just had hopping icons on the Dock. So far I was not impressed to say the least.

I restarted the computer since I had to Force Quit the Finder to get rid of the orphaned Display Preferences menu item. It appeared on all 4 screens even though they were not mirrored. Once I did restart every thing seemed to work just fine. All 4 screens appeared and I was able to go into Display Preferences and arrange them properly. I was worried that the monitors would not turn off automatically after a period of inactivity (I have it set for 15 minutes) but they go off right on schedule.

I have been running Intel Power Gadget and it appear the temps are slightly lower on average. I see less maxed out spikes and running temps are mostly in the low 60’s C. They were running in the higher 60’s and low 70’s before with the 3 monitors connected directly to the Mini.

So far it seems to be a worthwhile investment. For a little less than I paid for one of my monitors I can now run 4 instead of 3. Hopefully this will offload some of the work from the Mac Mini. Since I work from home this gives me 33% more screen real estate and on weekends I can still use one or two of the monitors on the PC if remote access doesn’t cut it.

I will see how this all shakes out next week when I am back to work but it looks like it should work just fine.

Give a Mac Mini Pro!

Now that Apple has introduced a computer for the high-end graphics professional at what would be an exorbitant price for most of us, how about the rest of us? Right now, if you want to use your own monitors you are pretty much restricted to a Mac Mini and limited to the Mini’s specs. While the Mini is a pretty capable computer it is far from ideal for the “prosumer” market.

The gamers are going to go for a Windows machine for the most part but the more casual graphics, video and other content creators who cannot afford or justify the new Mac Pro are still left out. There needs to be a mid-range machine for these guys.

If you need more computer than a Mac Mini but don’t want to spend big bucks for the new Mac Pro most people would suggest an iMac Pro. Great machine, but far from ideal for those guys who do not want to be restricted to a 27-inch 5K display or want to deal with the thermal issues and lack of upgradability of the iMac (pro or otherwise).

What I suggest is a more basic Mac between the Mini and the Pro. Give me a mid-size tower case with a couple PCI slots, easy to access/upgrade CPU, RAM and SSD slots and a bunch of I/O ports. A larger, more accessible case would allow for more airflow for cooling. Include more USB-3 and USB-C slots as well as an SD-Card slot (on the FRONT!) than the current Mac Mini. Start the pricing at about $1500 for an 8-core i7 machine with a 580 type GPU, 32 GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD and work up from there.

Basically what I am looking for would be sort of a headless iMac Pro in a desktop case. Let me upgrade the memory and storage when I want and maybe even replace the GPU and CPU. The case does not need to be as fancy or as large as the 2019 Mac Pro but large enough to be easily opened and have components changed or added.

There are many professional and personal users that need or want a better computer than the Mini or iMac but cannot spend $10,000 or more for a 2019 Mac Pro. The “Mini-Pro” should start at about $2000 or so with a decent 8-core i7, 16 GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. Users should be able to assemble and improve a system to fit their needs, be it additional RAM, a more capable processor or a better GPU.

The new 2019 Mac Pro, Great for them, not for me

The week before Apple unveiled the new Cheese Grater II Mac Pro for 2019 at the WWDC I blogged about my thoughts. Basically I predicted pretty much what they did: an easily up-gradable tower case that supports a variety of CPU, GPU, RAM and storage choices. Many others predicted that Apple’s “Modular” description would be stack-able units looking like a batch of Mini’s daisy chained or some other sort of “pick your number of boxes” type system.

While I don’t claim to be the only guy who predicted this, I was pleasantly surprised at the design and construction. It certainly harks back to the last “Good” Mac Pro design, the original Cheese Grater. That was my last non-iMac computer until I got my tricked out Mac Mini a few months ago. For a year or so I had the fastest PC on the market, of which I paid dearly for. It was worth it to me but it was certainly overkill for what I needed. At the time my most demanding process was importing million-record Filemaker Pro databases every 6 months or so, this machine handled it in less than an hour while other computers at the time would have taken several hours.

The new 2019 Mac Pro has a similar design to the original Cheese Grater, solid metal sides with venting front and rear. While the venting design on the front is original, I think it was designed more to look different that the original Cheese Grater than for performance. I would have chosen a somewhat more subdued look. Of all the videos I have seen only one (Linus Tech Tips) mentioned my biggest concern with the setup: Dust ingestion. There seems to be no protection against dust ingestion into the interior of the case. Perhaps there is but Apple just did not show it or it will be added in. I live in a high-dust environment and have to clean my stuff often. While the new design appears to be easy to clean as needed, they need to address this if they haven’t already.

Now for the big pink elephant in the room: Money. This is WAY out of my league price-wise. The old Mac Pro was an extravagance for me, I could afford it at the time and I made good use out of it but could have got by with a lesser and cheaper machine. The new machine is far beyond this, even in comparative dollars. Of course it was never intended to be for me any way. This machine is intended for graphics professionals like movie studios, TV editors and other guys who would not have a problem dropping 30 or 40 thousand dollars for a work tool like this. It is not intended for the consumer or even the “Prosumer” market that I would be a part of.

At $6,000 for the base model with rather pedestrian stats for Pros and not much more than decent specs for even advanced consumers like me, the computer is out of reach. I wish there was a decent alternative in the $2500-$3500 range for people like me that want something better than the tricked out 2018 Mini and not be tied into an internal monitor like the iMac.

The new XDR monitor is also priced at about $6000 with the stand, so a single monitor system starts at $12,000. While the monitor itself is a marvel and actually a lot less money that studio monitors it compares to, again, it was not intended for people like me and you.

This is a system I would buy after winning the lotto. I cannot justify the price of a car for this, even though I spend more time with the computer than I do with the car. Maybe next time I will spend $12,000 for a car and $60,000 for a computer, instead of the other way around.

I am still hopeful Apple will fill the needs of the Prosumer market and sell a machine someplace above the Mac Mini for those of us who want better performance and thermals than we can get with the Mini or iMac.

My wish list for the 2019 Mac Pro

There have been millions of videos and articles about how the 2019 Mac Pro would look and act. Apple has indicated that it will be “Modular” but has not defined what that means. The prevailing wisdom is that it means a stackable system, with some images indicating a set of Mac Mini-style boxes all wired together. Others show a common back-plane for multiple CPU’s and there are some pretty out-there designs floating around.

What I think they meant by “Modular” (and what I HOPE they meant) is that it will be a case that supports a variety of options for the CPU(s), GPU, RAM, storage etc. so that users can chose from a variety of options to fit their needs. Looking at the 2018 Mac Mini for inspiration and one can see how this would work:

One selects the Mac Pro, the case being large enough to support adequate cooling, full size GPU’s and lots of I/O. The buyer then selects from several CPU choices: number of CPU’s and speed/model etc. He then selects the GPU, networking and other internal options as well as the storage (SSD). They may want to consider having PSU choices as well, a larger supply for those who may load up the machine with high-current stuff or perhaps a larger PSU would be included if certain options are selected that would warrant it.

The case design has to be large enough to support a variety of full-size GPU’s, perhaps even multiple GPU’s. The motherboard would have to support multiple CPU’s, either as an option or standard. Of course, multi-channel RAM (easily upgradable) would be needed. 10GB Ethernet should be standard with optional multiple NIC’s, faster options etc. Have enough multi-function slots to support various options available at time of purchase as well as supporting off-the-shelf high-end hardware. As for storage, of course there should be provisions for multiple fast SSD’s of various sizes. Start off with a 1TB as standard but allow additional SSD’s to be purchased with the computer or added later, using standard NVME hardware. If they have an even faster technology great; but be sure to support standardized hardware.

This all means that this is cannot be another 2013-style “trash-can” Mac. It is going to have to be a box that is going to be pretty much of a standard PC style design. Of course, Apple will have to make it as aesthetically pleasing as possible with no-tool-needed latches and device installation. The design guys are going to have to do some magic to make it earn the Apple name vs. a PC but I have faith that they can do it justice.

Now, let’s talk about I/O. Apple has really let us down here. The Mac Mini 2018 only has 2 USB-A ports and 4 USB-C/3.1 ports as well as 1 HDMI port. The iMac Pro and 5K models are in a similar bind and one needs a briefcase full of dongles with a MacBook of any type. Neither the iMac or Mini have ANY I/O on the front panel, not even a stinking USB port. I know Apple loves that minimalist design, but these are computers and people need to connect stuff to them from time to time. Throw us a bone here and put some ports on the front to make our lives a little easier and cleaner. Put it on the side if you want, but at the front so I don’t have to feel around the back panel to connect a thumb drive.

The back panel needs more ports as well. I can live with 4 or 6 USB-A and a similar number of USB-C/3.1 ports and an HDMI port if the rear panel supports card slots for extra cards that I can buy for more ports. Sell a couple optional I/O cards, perhaps one with a half dozen each of USB-3 and USB-C/3.1 and perhaps a second Ethernet 10GB port.

I am not saying to go back to the Cheese Grater style Mac Pro of 10 years ago but that was by far the best Mac design ever. I/O on the front and rear, easy to open and upgrade, and great (if loud) cooling. You could also sit on it. It was a beast. Imagine if Apple came up with a horizontal box with some throw-back design elements. Integrate a base for a matching 6K display that also a single power cable to run both the computer and monitor. Have an optional (or perhaps third-party solution) to mount it under the desk with a bracket.

Here are a few other suggestions:

I love the Magic Mouse and keyboard. The keyboard especially is awesome as you can charge and pair it easily just by plugging in a Lightning cable. You can do the same with the Magic Mouse but why in the world is the port on the *bottom* instead of the rear? Put the damn Lightning port on the rear where it belongs so one can charge the mouse while working or use it as a wired mouse if they have Bluetooth or latency issues.

I already mentioned a matching 6K display, but let’s make sure that the new Mac Pro supports multiple displays (of course) but also so that the displays can all be at the same height. If the box (as I suggested) includes a support for a new display, be sure that if one wants to add additional identical displays, they can all be at the same height. Remember when Apple had Cinema Displays that looked just like the iMacs of the time? Ever have one of these displays connected to your iMac? They did not match heights and with a Mac aesthetics are everything, they gotta match.

I have written before about my comparison of the Intel NUC series and the Mac Mini. I have a 2018 Mac Mini as well as a couple of NUC’s, one a Hades Canyon and the other the smaller square. The NUC’s are great little computers and are pretty much what the Mac Mini should have been: Expandable, flexible and including lots of I/O on the front and rear as well as inexpensive. Learn some lessons here, make the new Mac Pro expandable, flexible and with lots of I/O on the front and rear. Of course, it has to be gorgeous but it also has to have adequate cooling.

This ain’t gonna be cheap and it shouldn’t be. The base unit should be about $5,000 with a current i9, 32GB of RAM and 2TB SSD. Let’s make it worth the money and especially the wait.

Bluetooth on the Mac Mini 2018

For the last couple months my daily driver has been a 2018 Mac Mini fully tricked out with the i7, 32GB of RAM, 2TB SSD, 10GB Ethernet etc. I noticed right away that the Bluetooth connectivity sucked. I read some forums and found I was not alone.

I have had the same issues as everyone else with Bluetooth connectivity until I did the below and for the last month or so it has worked fine with my Magic Mouse (AA) and Magic Keyboard. I had gone thru the Support procedure and they had me reset this and delete that but nothing they directed me to do helped. After reading this and other forums this worked:

1: Stopped using the outside USB-A port. Actually I leave my Lightning cable plugged in here to charge my iPhone or keyboard when needed but most of the time that is not connected. I have 2 USB hubs, a USB-C one (connected to the remaining USB-A port) and a USB-3 one for peripherals etc.

2: Relocated external devices under the desk. I have a standing desk and I bought one of those clamp-on monitor stands but installed it upside down to use it as an under-desk shelf or nest. I put both of my TimeMachine hard drives, my switch, one of the USB hubs, the power supplies for all three monitors and a power strip on that shelf to keep them away from the Mac Mini which remains on the desktop. Not only does this separate the computer from the stuff it makes things much less cluttered on the desktop.

So far the last month or so things have worked fine and I have not had any issues. I was very close to returning my Mac Mini and going either to a NUC or an iMac but when this seems to have fixed my issue I am satisfied with the performance of the Mini.

Uplifting the desk 2019

A couple years ago I bought a fairly inexpensive Office Max standing desk for about $400. This was an electric desk with a laminate top of 60×30 inches. It was a great investment and really worked out great with the iMac and a second monitor. The problem however is when I wanted to add a third monitor there just was not enough room. I was able to use a pair of monitor arms to get the monitors off the desktop and let them overhang the right and left edges. This worked fine and I used this method for several months. After I replaced the iMac with a Mac Mini I now have 3 of the same 32-inch monitors so desktop space is tight.

As I am wont to do, I was checking out larger desks, specifically L-shaped standing desks one night and the wife peeked over my shoulder to see what I was looking at. She embraced the idea of my getting a new desk because she wanted my old one to use for her crafting room.

I looked at several different brands and was very close to buying a Lander. I had looked at several brands and Lander was more of a happy medium between cost and features. I had selected the largest version of the desk with several options and was ready to pull the trigger. I then stumbled upon the Human Solution Uplift line of desks. For a fairly comparable size and feature set the Uplift was quite a bit less expensive, about $1800 compared to the $3200 I was ready to spend at Lander. The biggest difference was that the Lander return (side) desktop was available in a 30-inch depth and the Uplift was “only” 27.5 inches deep.

After a day or two hemming and hawing I still had a couple questions so on Monday I sent a comment on the website Contact page with my questions and an hour or so later got an email from Andy, one of the reps with the answers I was looking for. He then asked that if I was going to purchase that I send the specs I wanted to him and he would provide a quote at a lower price than the webpage price. I did so later that evening and emailed it to him and sure enough the next morning I had an emailed quote from Andy with the desk specs I requested that was almost $200 less than if I had purchased it off the web page.

I called Tuesday afternoon and placed the order with the quote number provided by Andy and the rep that took the call verified the information, took my credit card info and placed the order. I got a receipt by email soon thereafter and then in the morning a tracking number. The desk arrived on that Thursday during dinner in 8 separate boxes. We had already disassembled most of the stuff in the office and after work on Friday we disassembled the old desk and relocated it to the craft room. We now had an empty room to work in.

That Friday night the wife and I started assembling the new desk. The boxes themselves looked pretty battle worn and I was worried the contents might be damaged, but everything was well packed and protected and nothing was scratched, bent or otherwise damaged. We found the instruction book and started inventorying the contents.

It took about 3 hours to assemble the new Uplift desk. The instructions that came with the desk were pretty easy to follow and the parts were well described and diagrammed. I did make sure to place stuff and ensure I had it right before mounting and only made a couple small errors.
I underestimated the size of the thing, it was a lot larger than I imagined it would be, but the extra space is going to be useful.

I ordered the optional casters and am glad I did, it really makes it easy to move it around. This allows us to try it in different locations and we decided to put the return side (smaller part of the “L”) along the one wall and the monitors for my Mac on the return side against that wall. This keeps the side toward the window and living room clear.

The new desk goes much further up than the old desk. At the highest setting the old desk was still slightly lower than I would have liked, the new desk goes at least a foot higher. The high setting allows me to sit in my chair under the desk to tend to the wiring under the desktop and the casters allows me to pull the desk out to get at the rear of the computer stuff easily.

After we were done assembling the desk, I put together the computer and monitors as well as my work phone and all the various accessories such as the boom mic and camera, speakers, security screen etc. I bought the under-desk CPU holder with the package to mount the UPS, this worked out very well since the computer is a Mac Mini.

On my old desk I had purchased a clamp-on monitor stand large enough for 2 large monitors. Instead of mounting this on top of the desk I put it under the desk, effectively making a nest shelf. This gets stuff like the network switch, USB hub, backup hard drives and monitor power supplies off the top of the desk and hides them underneath, making for a much cleaner desktop. I did the same for this desk and it really works out well. The only issue is that the clamps stick up above the desktop, but these are pretty well hidden with other stuff.

One of the options I bought were the heavy-duty casters. These make it real easy for me to move the desk to get at the rear so I can connect stuff or maintain it. I like to change things often and this make it a lot easier.

I set up the desk so that it is self-contained. I have a main power strip with a very long power cable that everything else connects to. The UPS hangs under the desktop in the CPU holder and there is a single network cable going to the outside world as well as an antenna lead for my radios. This allows me to move the desk around and not have to worry about other devices or wires.

I am very happy with the choice of the Uplift. I am sure I would have been happy with the Lander or other brands as well but I think I made the right choice. The Uplift was much less expensive and seems to be as high quality as the Lander. There are a few things I think would have made this even better:

The cheap OfficeMax desk I replaced had a built-in power strip embedded with the motor controller. This was not some cheap plastic job either, it was built into the steel enclosure. I would have liked Uplift to do the same, including a built-in power strip on both ends of the desk L’s. They do offer (and I bought) a clamp-on power strip but it is cheap Chinese made power strip of dubious quality. It does have a nice long cord though so I used it as the master power center for the whole thing.

The assembly was pretty simple and straight forward. The instructions were pretty clear. There were however several parts included that were not mentioned, one of which was a large metal piece that was left over and totally not in the assembly manual It turns out it is intended for the L-shaped desk with the curved inner corner. I assume they use the same parts kits for several products but showing it with a note that this part is not used in your product would have reduced the panic attack I had when I was done and found I still had parts left over. There were also several hardware collections that were not part of my build.

I bought an all-black kit, the desktop is black laminate, the frame is all black and the accessories are all black. This matches the rest of the furniture in my office. Why then are the casters not also black? They are heavy-duty for sure but are industrial steel and silver/grey in color. If they were smaller it would not be a big deal but they are pretty huge and stick out like a sore thumb. I would certainly pay a few dollars extra for black casters. I would also have preferred ball casters as they would not stick out and provide less of a trip hazard.

The desk comes with 2 wire holes on the main desktop and I sprung for the “Power Grommets” that include a pair of AC outlets as well as a small wire hole. For $39 (or $69 for two) that is a pretty decent option. Why though did then not include a couple USB chargers on these? There is plenty of room and I would have been happy to spend an addition $10 or so each for that. It would be so convenient to charge my watch, BT, phone etc. on. Also, I asked about having a grommet hole drilled on the return as well but that is not offered and cannot be added. I suppose I could drill one myself but I do not have such a large hole saw.

The desk is plenty stable, especially at the lowest positions. Of course, it is a tad wobbly fully lifted but not as much as I thought it would be.

I would have added a better wire management option. Their kit includes a bunch of stick-on wire ties and plastic wire wraps and a plastic tray for $39. I would have like to see an optional skirt that affixes to the center metal frame and rear of the desktop with a bottom panel that can be opened to work on the wiring and closed when completed. Allow the customer to choose the color from the same palate of other accessories and charge $70 or so for a standard desk and maybe $100 for an L-shaped desk. Make it so one can pop out holes for wires to go thru here and there. This would be a lot more functional than a bunch of wire ties and wraps. Their Ultimate kit adds a Modesty panel (which I bought) which is a step in the right direction but a skirt for the rear half of the desk that fully envelops that half of the desk would be so much more clean, especially when in the standing position.

After working with the desk for a month or so and making a few changes here and there I was satisfied with the layout being used. I then un-wired everything and did the final wire management. I discarded the Uplift wire management stuff and did my own thing. I made sure all the wiring was mounted within the metal brackets and ran large wire-ties across to act as a ladder-girder. This allowed me to keep the wires contained without having to tie them down. Other than the power strip all the wires were thus captive and out of site. I then had my wife sew a couple 8-inch tall cloth strips of a heavy denim material that matched the black color of the frame and desk top that velcro’d on to the frame under the desk to hide the wires, nest and power blocks. This way the wiring and accessories under the desk are well hidden but easily accessible and ventilated.

All in all, I paid about $1800 for the desk, I was prepared to pay up to $4000 elsewhere. I have no complaints or regrets and wholeheartedly recommend the Uplift L-Shaped standing desk. Of course there are things I would do differently, as would anyone but it is a great product. If I were a decent woodworker I might consider making my own desktop but I am not so I won’t.