Latest news with #Mac
The Hindu
4 hours ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Brand trap
In today's hyper-consumerist world, brands have evolved from simple labels into seductive illusions. Behind every gleaming logo lies a psychological operation, engineered not just to sell, but to trap. From Paris fashion ramps to Times Square billboards, from digital hoardings on Marine Drive to big banners at cricket stadiums, corporations deploy celebrity endorsements, influencer propaganda, and social engineering to convince us that their products will elevate our status, identity, and happiness. Like millions of others, I once believed that Apple made the best smartphones, Sony the finest cameras, and that Macbook Air was the only laptop worthy of having. Brand loyalty wasn't a conscious choice, it was instinctive, even emotional. Then I experimented. I switched from Mac to the Snapdragon X Elite powered Microsoft Surface laptop and was stunned by the performance. My OnePlus phone offered a smoother, more user-friendly experience than my old iPhone. The change came without the hefty price tag. That's when it hit me, I wasn't choosing better products, I was choosing better marketing. Brands don't merely sell products, they sell aspirations. Luxury fashion houses such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Dior craft more than clothes; they engineer exclusivity. Through extravagant runway shows, celebrity presence, and curated social media deluge, they create a world that whispers, 'This is what success looks like.' An advertisement for Chanel No. 5 doesn't talk about the perfume directly; instead, it showcases an elegant lifestyle filled with romance, surfing, fashion, and passion. In a Patek Philippe promotion, the models simply wear the watch; the focus is on heritage, not the timepiece. The marketing for Gucci shows elegance and high fashion aesthetics, nothing is overtly pointed out. One more weapon in the advertisement armoury is the tag line, the catchy phrases that do their part in capturing their audience: Nike – Just Do it; Apple - Think Different; L'Oréal – Because You're Worth It; Adidas – Impossible is Nothing; Rolex A Crown for Every Achievement. On social media and television, the rich and famous flaunt expensive watches, cruise around in Lamborghinis, and carry Hermès Birkin bags. Personal stylists ensure iconic personalities remain 'branded'. The illusion trickles down, infecting the middle class, who chase the same fantasy, often at the cost of financial strain. College campuses and high-society gatherings are breeding grounds for brand promotion. One student's Prada top or another's Chanel clutch becomes someone's life goal. The unspoken competition for social validation easily evolves. Instagram reels, TikTok trends, and YouTube vlogs bombard us with HD fantasies, private jets, designer bags, Monaco nightlife, luxury resorts and cruise parties. Influencers subtly plant the belief that joy is just one purchase away. Many don't buy luxury goods for personal use, they buy them to be seen. But the hard truth is that no one really cares. A stranger might glance at your Lamborghini, Rolex, or Balenciaga, but they'll forget them the next moment. The validation stands for an iota of time, but the financial burden created for purchasing that item remains for a long time. Escape the trap. Prioritise utility over hype. Ask yourself, 'Do I need this, or am I chasing a brand?' Research quality, not labels. Be aware of the manipulation. Every ad, influencer post, and red-carpet appearance is a pitch. Define your own style. It's a confidence booster. Embrace minimalism. Some of the world's wealthiest people, like Warren Buffett and Mark Zuckerberg, dress simply because they don't need brands to validate them. So the next time you're tempted by that shiny logo, ask yourself, 'Am I buying a product, or buying into a fantasy?' sureshbabu2222@
Tom's Guide
15 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
I gave my Mac mini M4 the ultimate upgrade with this Mac Pro-style case — and it fixes some of my biggest complaints
When it comes to putting together the perfect desk setup for your needs, a little customization can go a long way to making a great product even more useful. Don't get me wrong, the Mac mini M4 is easily one of the best mini PCs you can get today but as I noted in my Mac mini M4 review, it isn't perfect. The upgrade from 8GB to 16GB of unified memory is certainly a welcome change as is its powerful new M4 chip and completely redesigned aluminum case. However, after spending 8 months with the Mac mini M4, my original gripes with the device still ring true today. For starters, the Mac mini M4 doesn't have any USB-A ports whatsoever. Instead, you get two USB-C ports on the front and three Thunderbolt 4 ports on the back. While this is fine if you're using Apple's wireless accessories like a Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse, it isn't ideal if you have older peripherals you'd rather use instead. The Mac mini M4's power button is also in an odd position on the underside of the device. If you leave your computer running 24/7, then this might not be a problem. However, if you like to power your computer down at the end of the day while saving a bit on your electric bill at the same time, it's less than ideal. Finally, the base version of the Mac mini M4 only comes with 256GB of storage. This likely isn't enough for most people and upgrading to a higher storage tier costs $200 each time you do so which makes what is normally a very affordable Mac at $599 less enticing. While there are a lot of different hubs and stands which address the Mac mini M4's biggest downsides like this one from Satechi, I recently tried out Orico's new MiniPro Dock Case. I think I might finally be done customizing my Mac mini for good, especially now that it looks like a mini Mac Pro. This all-aluminum enclosure for your Mac mini M4 or Mac mini M4 Pro gives your mini PC a Mac Pro-style look in a much smaller package. It also adds more ports, gives you the ability to add up to 8TB of additional storage with an M.2 SSD and you can easily reach your Mac mini M4's power button. Just like the Mac mini M4 itself, Orico's MiniPro Dock Case also features an all-aluminum chassis. However, unlike some of the other stands and hubs you can get, this one doesn't go under or on top of Apple's smallest Mac yet. Instead, you literally put your Mac mini M4 inside and close the lid. To prevent scratching and your Mac mini M4 moving around inside it, Orico has outfitted its MiniPro Dock Case with a silicone inner lining that holds the device in place. While the sides of the case have a smooth matte finish, the front and back have those same circular cutouts you'd find on the significantly more expensive Mac Pro. There are also two carrying handles on top and metal feet on the bottom to complete the look. However, you won't find any optional wheels like the ones for the Mac Pro but at $699 for the wheels themselves, you're probably better off without one of Apple's most expensive optional accessories yet. Installing your Mac mini M4 inside Orico's MiniPro Dock Case is as simple as can be. You just push the slider on top to remove its side panel and from there, you just push your Mac mini inside. I like this approach over some of the other hubs I've seen as you get a completely self-contained unit that also keeps your Mac mini M4 safe from scratches. While I haven't tried it yet (nor do I plan to), I bet the MiniPro Dock Case would also protect the computer if it happened to fall off your desk. Orico sells two versions of its MiniPro Dock Case: one with a free slot for an SSD and one with a pre-installed SSD. I decided to check out the former as not only is it cheaper but you can also expand its storage all the way up to 8TB. To access the SSD slot, there's a removable panel on the bottom of the case and you get a pad of thermal paste to put under your SSD to keep it cool once it's installed. Opening the bottom panel and moving my 1TB WD-Black SSD from my Satechi Mac Mini M4 Hub & Stand to Orico's MiniPro Dock Case was a breeze and only took a few minutes. With my Mac mini M4 and SSD both installed, it was time to plug everything back in and take my new faux Mac Pro for a spin. I have to admit that with both the Mac mini M4 on its own and with Satechi's stand and hub underneath it, I was often inclined to tuck this Apple-powered mini PC out of the way. Now with it inside the MiniPro Dock Case, I felt like it deserved to be front and center which is why I put it on the left side of the desk shelf on top of my desk. Not only is it now a conversation piece but with the underside of the Mac mini M4 exposed, the computer is getting a lot more airflow too. Just like with Satechi's stand and hub, the MiniPro Dock case uses a single cable to connect to your Mac mini M4. One nice touch with this case though is that it's a detachable cable instead of a hardwired one like on Satechi's which means you can always replace it later on if you need to. I also like the fact that Orico sprung for a braided white cable as this definitely fits better with Apple's whole aesthetic. Around front, you get easy access to both a microSD and an SD card reader at the very bottom. However, there are also large square and rectangular cutouts that allow you to easily reach the Mac mini M4's front ports. They sit a bit farther back inside the MiniPro Dock but I actually kind of like this as they blend into the case when you don't need them but are easy to reach when you do. Besides its unique look and just how easy it is to add extra storage, the other great thing about the MiniPro Dock case is that the Mac mini M4's power button is much more accessible. On hubs and stands where your Mac mini sits on top, you still have to reach around the back to access it but this way, it's just right there by all the ports at the back. Speaking of rear ports, all of the Mac mini M4's original ones are contained within a similar cutout on the back of the case. However, in addition to these ones, you also get two USB-A ports on either side under them with an extra USB-C port in between. At my Mac desk setup, I'm using one of those USB-A ports for the full-size Satechi SM3 Slim Mechanical Keyboard and the other for a trackball mouse from Logitech. While a lot of people have moved on to using Bluetooth for their peripherals, I still prefer 2.4 GHz wireless USB dongles. The reason for this is that I often move from using one mini PC to another and I just plug one of them in and be ready to go as opposed to having to go through the Bluetooth pairing process each time. It's worth noting though that the Logitech Ergo M575S mouse and Satechi SM3 keyboard I'm currently using at this desk setup both have Bluetooth support too. Satechi SM3 Slim Mechanical Keyboard: $119 at AmazonThis low-profile, full-size mechanical keyboard works with both Mac and Windows and comes in either a light gray/white or dark gray/gray variation. You can connect up to two devices over Bluetooth, use the included 2.4 GHz dongle or connect it to your computer over USB-C. The SM3 also features low-profile brown switches and a rechargeable 2,500 mAh battery. From the Geekom A6 to the Khadas Mind, there are tons of great mini PCs out there for different workflows and desk setups. However, with the Mac mini M4, there are endless accessories that allow you to customize the look and experience of using Apple's mini PC. While you can get a similarly-specced, Windows-based mini PC for the same price or even cheaper, you're losing out on the ability to customize it after the fact. Whether you want a hub with more ports, a stand or even an under-desk mount, the possibilities are almost endless. They're not just for looks either as you can see with Orico's MiniPro Dock Case and Satechi's Mac mini M4 Hub & Stand since they both allow you to add additional storage without having to pay the Apple tax to do so. Whatever option you decide to go with, you always have the freedom to change things up later while bringing over any extra storage you added. As for me, I plan on keeping my Mac mini M4 in this MiniPro Dock Case for the foreseeable future as not only do I love its unique look but with the computer now standing up vertically, it helps free up even more space on my desk.
Indian Express
18 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
ChatGPT on Mac now has record mode: Here's how to use it
OpenAI recently rolled out record mode on ChatGPT Plus for Mac users. With this, the company claims that the chatbot can increase meeting productivity for working professionals. This new feature allows users to easily summarise and capture key insights from meetings and voice notes, streamlining their workflow. Earlier it was only available for Edu, Enterprise and Team users. However, now OpenAI has made it available for individual Mac users with Plus subscriptions. The record mode lets users transcribe system audio, including meetings and voice notes that can be later summarised as notes. The feature was rolled out on July 16. 'Plus users, the mic is yours. Record mode is now available to ChatGPT Plus users globally in the macOS desktop app,' the company said on its official X (formerly Twitter) account. This feature introduces a small round button within the ChatGPT macOS app. When switched on, it listens to the system's local audio, including meetings and voice memos. This does not need the system to join a call or online meeting as a participant. Later, it uploads the audio on OpenAI's server, which transcribes and structures it into text. The transcripts are arranged by ChatGPT into canvases that are kept in the chat history. The purpose of the tool is to transform passive audio input into actionable summaries. With the model processing audio locally before uploading, note-taking is made seamless. However, user discretion is recommended. The transcripts can be used as emails, project plans, or even code. To provide responses that are more contextually aware, OpenAI claims that ChatGPT can consult previous canvases and transcripts. The user can also manually make changes to the summary of key notes provided by ChatGPT. OpenAI has been rolling out its technologies in quick succession lately. Earlier this week, the company launched its powerful ChatGPT agent that can automate complex tasks. It is capable of a range of tasks, including web browsing to create presentations. According to OpenAI, ChatGPT agent is a tool that can perform any task for the user through its virtual computer.
Tom's Guide
a day ago
- Tom's Guide
We benchmarked Cyberpunk 2077 on Mac: here's how well it runs on Macs vs. Windows PCs
Nearly five years after launch, Cyberpunk 2077 now runs natively on Macs — and it runs well, if you rely on Apple's MetalFX upscaling tech. I know because here at Tom's Guide our crack team of testing experts has been hard at work in our lab this week benchmarking how well the game runs on a slew of modern Macs. Now we have numbers for how well Cyberpunk 2077 runs on everything from a 2021 M1 Max MacBook Pro to a cutting-edge M4 Max Mac Studio, and the results should get you excited if you've been dreaming of playing CD Projekt Red's cyberpunk RPG. Because our testing reveals that while even the latest Macs can't match the gaming prowess of the best gaming PCs, if you fine-tune the settings and enable MetalFX resolution scaling you can get some pretty good framerates playing Cyberpunk 2077 on your Mac. Before we dig into the data, I wanted to quickly remind you that Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate runs on most Macs with Apple silicon—but there are some key caveats you should know about. Notably, to run it your Mac must be packing an M1 chip or newer and have at least 16GB of unified memory. So we couldn't test how well it runs on an entry-level MacBook Air M1 or MacBook Air M2, for example, because they only have 8GB of memory. On top of that, only Macs with M3 or newer chips support the game's ray tracing features. So as you're looking through our test results, remember that only the M3 and M4 Macs can even run the game with ray tracing enabled. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate launched on the Mac App Store Thursday (July 17), and our testing team immediately downloaded a few copies and started benchmarking it on every Mac we could lay our hands on. So while we haven't yet had a chance to comprehensively benchmark it on every possible Mac configuration, we do have a nice spread of test results that gives you a good sense of how well the game runs on Apple silicon old and new. The quick answer is: pretty well! However, you have to give yourself over to Apple's MetalFX resolution scaling and the nebulous "For Your Mac" graphical preset in order to get a decent framerate playing Cyberpunk 2077 on most Macs. When we did our best to fine-tune the graphical settings to match what we use when running Cyberpunk 2077 benchmarks on Windows PCs, the framerate tanked. If you'd like to get a sense of how different these two configurations look, click to zoom in on the screenshots below. To show you what I mean I'm going to list the specific settings we used for these benchmarks below. But if you're not interested, you can skip straight to the results! Read our test settings ▼ We ran these benchmarks on every Mac we could find using two graphical settings configurations, the vague "For Your Mac" setting that Apple recommends and a slight modification of the "Ray Tracing: Ultra" preset that we use when benchmarking this game on gaming laptops and desktops. On the oldest Macs that did not support ray tracing, we used the "Ultra" preset instead. For full transparency I'm going to share our exact Mac testing settings here so you can see for yourself how we came by these numbers, but if you're more interested in the results feel free to skip down to the next section! Ray Tracing: Ultra "For this Mac" Resolution Scaling Off MetalFX MetalFX Sharpness N/A 0.5 Target FPS N/A 60 Minimum resolution N/A 50 Maximum resolution N/A 80 Frame generation Off Off Texture quality High High Ray tracing (reflections/shadows on, lighting ultra, path tracing off) On Off Crowd density High High Field of view 80 80 Film grain On On Chromatic aberration On On Depth of field On On Lens flare On On Motion blur High High Contact shadows On On Improved facial lighting geometry On On Anisotropy 16 16 Local shadow mesh quality High High Local shadow quality High High Cascaded shadows range High High Cascaded shadows resolution High High Distant shadows resolution High High Volumetric fog resolution Ultra Ultra Volumetric cloud quality Ultra Ultra Max dynamic decals Ultra Ultra Screen space reflections quality Ultra Ultra Subsurface scattering quality High High Ambient occlusion High High Color precision Medium Medium Mirror quality High High Level of detail High High Vsync 60 60 Windowed mode Fullscreen Fullscreen Resolution 2560 x 1440 2560 x 1440 Before I start comparing Windows and Mac results side by side, let me run down how our many Macs performed in these tests. As you can see from our testing, you basically cannot get a steady 30 frames per second or above at max settings on any Mac we have on hand. However, if you're willing to use the "For this Mac" preset and lower the resolution to 1200p you can get decent performance on even a 13-inch MacBook Air. (Ray Tracing) Ultra "For this Mac" 16" MacBook Pro M1 Max (1920x1200) 31.2 78.9 16" MacBook Pro M1 Max (3456x2160) 9.5 43.4 14" MacBook Pro M2 Pro (1920x1200) 36.1 41.4 14" MacBook Pro M2 Pro (3042x1890) 15.8 30.5 13" MacBook Air M3 (1920x1200) 4.3 34.7 13" MacBook Air M3 (2560x1600) 2.6 27.3 15" MacBook Air M4 (1920x1200) 6.1 34.4 15" MacBook Air M4 (2880x1800) 2.8 22.8 16" MacBook Pro M4 Pro (1920x1200) 14.1 65.8 16" MacBook Pro M4 Pro (3456x2160) 4.8 38.8 Mac Studio M4 Max (1920x1080) 29.5 108.8 Mac Studio M4 Max (3840x2160) 8.5 60.2 You might also notice that the older M1 Max MacBook Pro appears to run the game better than the new MacBook Pro M4 Pro, and the reason is simple: M1 and M2 Macs don't support ray tracing, and the game is a lot less demanding without it. So if you have a newer M4 Mac, don't sweat it: disabling ray tracing should give you a nice framerate boost. However, I'd personally be bummed to lose that feature because I find it adds a nice patina of realism to the game. Now let's compare those results to what we saw when we ran the game on some of the latest and best gaming laptops we've recently tested. Before you look at the numbers, keep in mind that this is a raw performance test so we do not enable any graphical upscaling tech like the MetalFX resolution scaling available on Mac. So that means none of these test results were generated using any Nvidia DLSS, AMD FSR or Intel XeSS upscaling. Ray Tracing Ultra Asus TUF Gaming A14 RTX 4060 (1920x1080) 29.6 Asus TUF Gaming A14 RTX 4060 (2560x1600) 15.3 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 RTX 5080 (1920x1080) 49.6 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 RTX 5080 (2880x1800) 24.3 Razer Blade 14 RTX 5070 (1920x1080) 39.6 Razer Blade 14 RTX 5070 (2800x1800) 9.1 HP Omen Max 16 RTX 5090 (1920x1080) 71.5 HP Omen Max 16 RTX 5090 (2560x1600) 46.8 As you can see, the numbers are generally better than anything you can get running the game on Mac with no upscaling enabled. One notable exception is the 2025 Razer Blade 14, which seems to struggle with this benchmark at its native 1800p resolution. But of course, since we don't benchmark our review units with any kind of upscaling enabled you don't get the full picture of what's possible on a modern Windows gaming laptop with framerate enhancements like Nvidia's DLSS. To show you what I mean, look how fast a modern gaming laptop (the Asus ProArt P16 with an Nvidia RTX 5070 GPU, AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU and 32GB RAM) can run Cyberpunk 2077 with graphical settings cranked to max (Ray Tracing Overdrive) at its native (2560x1600) resolution with increasing levels of DLSS 4's Multi Frame Generation enabled. Ray Tracing Overdrive Multi Frame Gen x2 73.4 Multi Frame Gen x3 83.7 Multi Frame Gen x4 110.6 That's fairly typical of the performance increase I've seen on multiple gaming laptops and PCs after enabling DLSS and Multi Frame Gen while playing Cyberpunk 2077. Admittedly, when Multi Frame Gen debuted with the first GeForce RTX 50-series graphics cards in January I didn't love how the higher levels (3x-4x) seemed to cause disorienting graphical glitches in some games, but nowadays CD Projekt Red and Nvidia seem to have fine-tuned it and even at Multi Frame Gen 4x I rarely see any issues in Cyberpunk. While we haven't yet had a chance to test every config of Cyberpunk 2077 on every Mac, it's pretty safe to say that even the most tricked-out Mac Studio M3 Ultra probably won't run it as well as an equally expensive Windows gaming PC with the latest and greatest. But let me tell you, I've been reviewing some very expensive gaming PCs recently (like this $7,399 Corsair Vengeance i8300) and despite sporting an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 GPU and cutting-edge components that thing struggles to surpass a solid 80+ FPS with all graphical settings cranked to max—even with DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Gen 4x enabled. That's in part because Cyberpunk 2077 is a very demanding game that employs some of the latest graphical tech you can get, so it's remarkable that our testing shows you can now play it on a MacBook from four years ago and expect a decent 30-60 FPS, especially if you enable MetalFX upscaling and trust in Apple's "For Your Mac" config. There's no shame in relying on it either, since you also need to rely on DLSS or FSR to get great framerates in the game at peak settings when playing on Windows. So while Windows gaming machines still seem like the best place to play Cyberpunk 2077 if you care about graphical fidelity and performance, it's clear Apple and CD Projekt Red have done yeoman's work to bring one of the best PC games to Mac.
Buzz Feed
a day ago
- General
- Buzz Feed
13 Things Growing Up Poor Teach You That Rich Kids Don't Know
Growing up without having a lot of access to money can really impact how someone views their world. For instance, when I was younger, there were certain things I had to learn how to do on my own that my friends, who were considered middle class, had financial help with. So when I saw Reddit user Donte_writes asked: "What did growing up poor teach you that rich kids will never understand?" I thought I would share some of their responses below: "The satisfaction of repairing something yourself. When you have no other choice, it's amazing what you can do!" —Goddess_BeatrixFDC"I'll add to this: buying something expensive that's broken and getting it working again. I got a MacBook Air recently for $200 that someone sold because some of the keys weren't working. Watched a tutorial on how to remove Mac key caps safely, realized they'd gummed them up eating while using the PC, cleaned them out, and now I have a 2020 MacBook that works like a dream."—tiparium "The deep psychological weight of 'no.'" "How the butter knife is the most universal tool." —Truestorydreams"I feel the spoon is the most versatile utensil there is. I eat my salads with it mainly because my wife chops or slices things so small that eating a salad would otherwise take weeks with a fork. I just scoop it all up, including the dressing resting on the bottom of the bowl or plate. So easy."—AgITGuy"A butter knife is also a screwdriver, pry bar, straight edge, saw, scalpel, and you can whack things that need percussive maintenance. It's how you get bike tires back on the rim. Garbage disposal repair in a pinch. It's the one tool that does it all."—TenderDiatribe "Your socioeconomic status can and will affect who you grow up to be." "That graduating from high school or college is a big deal for most of us." —Weekly-Inspection247"I remember in high school, I shared with my classmates that I was excited to get my acceptance letter from my local community college. I went to a pretty wealthy school district, and the standard was to go to a university or a large college after high didn't understand that getting an acceptance letter to a community college is a big deal for someone like me who came from a family of high school dropouts who struggled later on to get their GED."—MidwestCherry "The difference between 'want' and 'need.'" "Second-hand clothes that your mom got from a friend or coworker, that she brings home in a big trash bag. I got my best clothes from those bags." —salvagemania"Lol, these days, even the rich kids love second-hand clothes."—badgyal876 "What actual hunger is. They don't understand that kind of hunger. The one where you are hungry, but there is no food in the pantry, and no money for it. It's hunger, not by choice, and it changes you. Profoundly." "In a pinch, you can eat cereal with no milk. Saltines with jelly were a treat." —1969quacky"Yes! We would have a spoonful of peanut butter as a snack."—byfar82 "I only ever had one pillow, and it was never replaced. I was well into adulthood before I allowed myself to purchase a second pillow. The luxury of replacing my pillows every few years and having more than one has never gotten old. There are many other things I did without as a kid that I have never gotten to the point of being 'normal,' it always feels excessive or that I am being extra to have the 'luxuries.'" "Without money, some consequences hurt a lot more (i.e., traffic ticket, making a mistake on a purchase, missing a bill payment, etc.)." —twoDuckNight "Patience. Saving a little money each week until I can buy a big item, instead of just buying it when I need it." "Nothing is ever given. One year, as kids, my siblings and I had zero toys for Christmas. Our parents did their best, but it just didn't work out for us on the big day. The Boy Scouts came to our house on Christmas Eve and gave us presents as kids. I was so happy to get a low-quality basketball under the tree. It meant the world to me because somebody gave me something, and it felt like I mattered. So, this Christmas, go to a store or mall, take a tag off the tree for an angel gift, and make a kid's entire Christmas with your donation. It really does make a difference!" —Pandemonium1x Is there anything else you would like to add to this list if it resonated with you? If so, tell us in the comments or anonymously in the Google Form below.
