New Mac Desktops

[K9IUQ]

I will say this. I have always been, and remain, deeply offended by Apple's policy of "planned obsolescence" and their obvious disregard for their customer base.

My thoughts exactly. I was an Apple fan for a very long time, in fact I started my Apple buying with an Apple II.  

I hate Apple after 20 plus years of them. Give me a PC any day. When it came time to buy a Tablet I almost bought an iPad. Then I remembered why I stopped buying Apple products. I got a nice Android tablet instead.  
FWIW I do own an iPod, my only concession to Apple these days. I never buy anything from iTunes tho.

I have been the Linux route too. Give me Windows anyday..

Stan K9IUQ

[K1CJS]

One thing that almost always affects crashes in some computer systems are the way the machines are maintained.  All too many people think that PCs--or any computer system, for that matter--don't get choked up by dirt and dust.  I went to a small business about a year ago that was suffering crashes on its server system, a computer that was tucked into a closet that I found out, after the fact, had a problem with dust.  The owner had just ordered a new server, and I was there to install it.

Part of the payment was that I took the old server with me--an older IBM IntelliStation Z Pro.  After doing the work and getting the server up and running, I had the chance to open up the old server back at home.  You wouldn't believe the amount of dust and dirt that had built up inside!  After disassembling the server down to its parts and brushing and blowing the dirt out (and restoring the cooling airflow) the old server ran fine!  It's now my home server, and I have, after showing the business owner the restored machine--along with what came out of it--and how it's now running, a cleaning contract that will both keep all his machines clean and running properly--and my wallet comfortable too.

Do yourself a favor.  If and when you're experiencing more and more crashes and failure of programs to execute properly, take your machine offline and clean it out or get it cleaned.  Even if you're not having any problems, do it at least once a year--more often if the machine is in a dusty environment.  There's a good chance that doing that may just relieve your problems--and make your computer systems last longer too!

[K3NPO]

I love my macbook pro... and there's plenty of software to support ham operation on it from what I can tell so far. I only got licensed last month, but have been searching and installing anything relevant I can find...

I've currently got the following installed:

• Aether (simple and efficient, a pricier alternative for logging is MacLoggerDX)
  EchoMac (haven't used yet)
  CocoaModem (haven't used yet)
  SdrRX (works great)
  Morse Mania (use all the time to learn Morse currently)
  MacDoppler (track the satellites, a little buggy but overall works)

And then don't forget about:

• CrossOver

A pretty nifty app that will let you install windows programs on your mac... doesn't work for all programs, but supports a lot.