Tuesday, October 26, 2021
There was a hazy fog over the Tennessee valley I call home. It was chilly, like the first real bite of winter. Yesterday, Apple released the new Monterey operating system. I decided not to hog local connectivity and a 24-hour wait would not dampen my excitement. So today it is time. Looking at my iMac, I see Monterey is waiting for me. I start the iMac updating. I look at my wife’s Macbook Air and see she has an update waiting. Only one machine left, and I feel a harsh sense of loss. Sitting on the right side of my work desk is my first MacBook Pro 15”. A top performer when she was young, still able to do anything I push her to do today. I got her the year she was built, late 2013, and besides from a dent to her top, she is in perfect condition. But Apple has decided she is, like her human, getting older. Too old to graciously handle the types of upgrades to hardware and software that Apple wants to pursue.
Apple did warn me
About 5 months ago, Apple released a list of MacBooks that would not be supported once Monterey was released. My MacBook Pro was on the list. Warnings are nice, but they do not give warm fuzzy feelings. I needed a plan to follow when my MacBook was no longer actively supported. My first step was to find a temporary workaround.
The Temporary Workable Solution
I set up my Apple iMac the week before I got the infamous list. The iMac became the hub of my writing and other endeavors. Before, everything ran under Big Sur. Now Big Sur is on my MacBook Pro. Monterey is on my iMac. Very soon, my iPad and iPhone will be humming all under Monterey, leaving only my MacBook struggling to keep up.
Once it was apparent my MacBook would never leave the care of Big Sur, I stripped away about 96 percent of its applications. It has WordPress, Ulysses, Scrivener, Grammarly and Upnote for notes across all my devices. It also has a small but powerful Python Developer’s system. The same systems are on the iMac. I want to write from my desk, a park bench, or the nearest Starbucks so the MacBook is never far from reach.
Alas, my temporary solution is flawed and cannot last
I am writing this on the iMac using Ulysses thinking this is doable. Maybe my temporary idea is the permanent solution. Nope. It can’t work. Ulysses shows me a screen detailing all its new nifty features under Monterey not available under Big Sur. Not a problem as long as I don’t use the new features. For a few weeks, it is not a deal-breaker, but it is obvious a change must be in order.
The Absolutely Insane Undoable Solution: Let’s Tell Apple to Fuck Off
So we might have two viable contenders, especially since, at the moment, all of my computers stand firmly entrenched behind Intel. Windows 11, seems to be a possible solution until I spent a few hours searching for good writing software available to Windows users. They do have a version of Scrivener that works. Nothing near like Ulysses. There does not appear to be a windows version of Ulysses in the near or far future. Scratch Windows.
OK, let’s look at Linux. I am well acquainted with Mint Linux which is reasonably friendly to Apple users. And, while really good writing software is not just waiting for you, there are at least two reasonably good writing/research applications; Joplin and CherryTree. I could do it. If Apple was going under, if no one would support the brand, I probably would do it. But Apple still lives. I’m not going to cut off my nose to spite my face.
The Viable, Workable Solution.
We are going to upgrade the MacBook. Like all loyal Apple people, we know upgrading a Macbook means replacing a Macbook. I just can’t buy the “Pro” or the “max” chip and plug it into the MacBook and SHAZAM, the MacBook is supersized. Nope, that’s not how it’s done. When you upgrade your MacBook, you get a new, always more expensive, MacBook.
My solution is I am getting the new Macbook with the pro chip, 16” screen, 16 megs of memory, 1 TB SSD storage. The price point is about $2700(USD). Originally, I was seriously considering the Max chip and 2 TB of SSD storage. The sticky point was the almost $3,700+ price point. I had nothing which I could use to justify the extra expense. I have no plans to work with YouTube, I am not writing musical compositions, and I do not have a strong interest in developing games. In short, I will be writing and doing research, so the Pro chip will easily satisfy my requirements.
A helpful suggestion
I am reasonably certain that many of you will be in my situation, if not already, then reasonably soon. I did a lot of reading and researching about these two computers. I found an excellent article that helped me with my [decision]. Mark Ellis has a unique talent for making the technical easily understandable.
Summary
This is an explanation of how a situation was resolved. The resolution created a new problem. When I have my new MacBook, what do I do with the old one? Apple offered me $250.00. If they had offered me $500.00, I would have accepted. I have a couple of thoughts, and I would really like to hear your suggestions. All comments are most appreciated.
1) Convert it to a Linux Machine.
2) Donate it to a local high school.
3) Try to sell it myself.