Links: on the lighter side

[sonia]

Robin Wall Kimmerer: 'People can’t understand the world as a gift unless someone shows them how' interview by James Yeh. Robin Wall Kimmerer is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass.

In Iran, isolated musicians perform from rooftops compiled by Balaram Menon. From April 18, 2020. Gorgeous photos.

To Each Their Own Demons, story by Midnightmooncatcher, art by Kiriani. A lovely webcomic about a pair of Black gay guys getting together. Episode 3 is not out yet, so we don't know how it ends.

JustSeeds free downloadable graphics on the themes of Black Lives Matter, Disband the Police, etc.

Seven years later, I bought a new Macbook. For the first time, I don't love it by Carlos Fenollosa. This one is more for my own reference. I have one of the older Macbooks this guy loved, and this is a reminder that I don't need a new one, since I also love it.

Comments

[rosefox]

Oh wow! I just got a new Air because mine was failing, and I've been seriously trying to clean the front of the camera every day because the webcam quality is SO bad and I thought it was just impossibly smudged somehow.

I miss my magsafe connector so much—and so does my cat, who enjoyed boofing it off the laptop.

[sonia]

Fortunately, my cat has not noticed my magsafe connector... Sorry to hear about your new computer troubles!

[rosefox]

I otherwise love the machine, and I don't have the touchpad problems that that author has, so no sympathies needed. :) I'll just get a little webcam to clip to the top of the screen.

[sanguinity]

I'm running a 2012 MacBook Pro -- so old as to have an optical drive! -- and have been dreading the day I have to replace it. That touchpad situation sounds dire, frankly, and I resent like fuck that they're going to kill all my USB peripherals.

[sonia]

Yay for sturdy reliable lovable old Macbooks! I'm hoping that adapters will help with the peripheral issue when it comes to that. I'm already using an adapter to plug in an ethernet cable...

Another Mac User Heard From

[jesse_the_k]

I just swapped a 2015 Retina 13" MBP for a 2020 13" Macbook Air (touch bar *ptui*).

The port situation makes me cranky, but Apple has been dinging users with proprietary ports since 1984 (Apple IIc, anyone?), so I'm resigned to it. I got Apple's USB-B to USB-C dongle and it's working okay so far.

I actually like the huge trackpad -- lets me keep my elbows resting on the armrests.

The keyboard is definitely less terrible than the butterfly versions, but the key travel is maybe half of my former MBP.

The charging situation is mysterious: macOS claims to be optimizing my battery life based on how I use it and when I charge it. The first two days I was stunned at 4 - 5 hour run time on a fresh battery, but (fingers crossed) my run times seem to be extending longer this week.

The touch ID for passwords is great, but it's not universal. Still have to type admin password at least once a day.

So far, I'm regretting it. I think I should have gone for an iPad Pro. OTOH, introducing some hurdles to my mindless time online will only make my body happier.

Re: Another Mac User Heard From

[sonia]

When I read that MacOS is "optimizing" battery life, I assumed it's the same as with iPhones - an excuse to intentionally make older hardware run slower or have less battery life, etc. I certainly hope that it will improve your experience on new hardware!

I hope it works out well over time!