Computers Have a Job
New computer coming - it has a job to do. I’m reversing a satellite philosophy that has served me well. Let me explain.
A number of years ago I joined an early stage startup as CTO - no pay, but I did get a fully maxed out 16” MacBook Pro. An amazing “desktop replacement” machine. 64gig ram and a core i9 GPU and best available GPU. It was an everything machine - I could run Linux and Windows in vm’s, docker containers, databases - the whole stack on one glorious device. At a price I’d never choose to spend out of the family budget.
A couple years later I picked up the base model M1 Air. This was to replace my beloved MacBook, that 12” iPad sized dream machine. It was my travel laptop, and my take to meetings laptop. Under powered for development but perfectly fine to remote into powerful computers.
The M1 disrupted my computing life. It was SO powerful, with all day battery life. Even with 8gig of ram, I could do everything but run servers on it. The all day, no fan, doesn’t get hot - made it my daily driver. It was just as fast as the 2019 top of the line Intel chip - 2 years later as the entry level Apple Silicon machine. My “do everything” powerhouse became a paper weight.
I began to get smaller satellite PC’s to run Windows or Linux. They would have the ram and storage needed. This works well. No more $4k desktop replacement laptops that are only top dog for a year, 2 tops.
The m2 Air I upgraded to get the 15” screen and 16gig ram to have more headroom. 8 was fine for the thin client role, 16gig is nicer. I still remote into the mini-Pc’s which now number 3.
These days I’m actually developing a lot of projects using AI - so my satellite PCs are getting a workout - and the Remote Desktop part is a pain point. Not horrible pain, but since my oldest daughter needs a new PC - I decided to upgrade for me and give her the wonderful M2 air.
I went with 32gig ram, 2tb or nvme - held my nose and paid the Apple tax - to go back to local development. I’ll still remote into the windows box for windows apps. My Linux box will host my docker servers and the apps I’m developing once they are developed and need a place to “sit and run”. Not sure what my M4 Mac mini will be for. It’s more than given me $599 in value over the last year.
What I didn’t do is gear up for running local models. 32gig ram and the M5 will allow some use - but for how I use AI, I’d need a very expensive Mac. I’ll just rent LLMs like I’m doing. You can’t touch the power via local models - yet.
I genuinely expect that the speed of the M5 and the nvme (its twice as fast at some things) will be “not all that”. The M2 air is plenty fast. What I didn’t have was capacity - and that’s because it’s “job to do” was to be the thin client. And it’s wonderful at running dozens of apps simultaneously.
The upgrade I’ll feel is doing my development back on the main machine and not via Remote Desktop.
FYI - windows is the best remote experience. When I’m working in my windows machine, it feels like I’m directly connected.
Linux is the worst. For my AI work Linux is awesome and it’s a great docker host. But it’s frustrating that I can’t copy/paste with ease between my machines. It’s something I could probably get working better - but when your laptop is a Mac with Mac keys, you are using remote software, and then Linux which has its own thoughts on copy/paste and terminals to app differ. It’s not a deal breaker, but it is friction.
In case I didn’t make clear - Linux is a wonderful AI platform, for me, so far. My Linux box will get the most use out of all my satellite PCs. It has a clear job to do that it does well for much cheaper than any Apple computer.
The 13yr old MacBook Air - now runs Omarchy. I just need to find a kid to give it to
The new M5 Air will take the job of laptop for my lap. No heat, no fan noise. Nice big screen. And it will take back the development role.
