My favorite fruit company no more.

Good point, Cisco is all Apple now too. At this event I'm at this week (Gartner Symposium), casual observation shows about 50/50 Macs and PCs. Most of the PCs are MS Surfaces.

Interesting that it is so high - are these technical or sales type people? Man, MS Surface is indeed a nice looking Windows machine.

I miss Steve Jobs very much; it becomes more and more obvious how irreplaceable he was to Apple.

More news about Apple is everywhere by now:

https://9to5mac.com/2016/10/18/apple-oc ... to-expect/

No talk of the Mac Mini..... sooooo...... I'm wondering what are the implications to my Home's home automation specifically in regards to Indigo. Is anyone running Indigo on a MacBook and does that kill the screen life? What are the pro's and cons? Anything I should be thinking about? Can one run a MacBook with the lid down (I suspect it needs to be open for cooling but don't know). I can see one advantage being that a UPS would not be needed.

Buying a 2014 Mac Mini just seems wrong.

Good point, Cisco is all Apple now too. At this event I'm at this week (Gartner Symposium), casual observation shows about 50/50 Macs and PCs. Most of the PCs are MS Surfaces.

Interesting that it is so high - are these technical or sales type people? Man, MS Surface is indeed a nice looking Windows machine.

It's an IT executive leadership conference. There are technical aspects, and an Expo floor, but everything is directed toward Director-level and up. IOW they're targeting people with signing authority LOL. The Redhat guys are all MacBook, the Google guys have Macs and Chromebooks, most of the AppDev-oriented booths had folks using Macs. Satya Nadella had a Surface obviously, but Robert Gates had a MacBook. It's a really interesting mix. For fun yesterday/today I wore Redhat/Oracle shirts and most people left me alone LOL.

The big trends EVERYBODY is pushing this year? IoT, Security, and AI. The most interesting thing I've seen? "Mezzanine" from Oblong Technologies (http://www.oblong.com/mezzanine/overview/). It's a immersive data visualization and conferencing tool, developed by the guy that did the futuristic interfaces in the movie "Minority Report" and in the Ironman movies. You hold a wand, but can use it in 3D space (like a Wii controller) to swipe, shrink and grow windows of information (really anything at all) between tablets, PCs, or monitor anywhere in the room. It was honestly pretty freaking cool.

Terry

I got 8 years so far out of my mac pro (2008 2x quad core ), and the op-sys is supported for one more year.
In a year I need to think about what to do next. The only thing I am missing is a faster USB port if I want to burn SSD etc. Rest is still very good.
I might swap it back as indigo server, currently a MAC mini 2014, but I hesitate to have a not supported system connecting to the internet.
Would buy a Mac Pro again, if apple would come out with a new mac-pro that is maintainable. 9 years is a pretty good time for any box .

Karl

[jay (support)]

I miss Steve Jobs very much; it becomes more and more obvious how irreplaceable he was to Apple.

More news about Apple is everywhere by now:

https://9to5mac.com/2016/10/18/apple-oc ... to-expect/

No talk of the Mac Mini..... sooooo...... I'm wondering what are the implications to my Home's home automation specifically in regards to Indigo. Is anyone running Indigo on a MacBook and does that kill the screen life? What are the pro's and cons? Anything I should be thinking about? Can one run a MacBook with the lid down (I suspect it needs to be open for cooling but don't know). I can see one advantage being that a UPS would not be needed.

Buying a 2014 Mac Mini just seems wrong.

I ran my production Indigo server on a first-generation MacBook Pro until it finally died in the move earlier this year. The screen can be set to sleep so that's not an issue. As you mention, it doesn't need a UPS. The biggest downside is it's relative lack of USB ports (depending on the type of MacBook), though Z-Wave interfaces seem to be better at working on a USB hub than PowerLinc's so perhaps that's not a big problem either.

All in all, it was a solid Indigo server for 8 years (and a good general purpose Mac for the 2 years prior to that). Come to think of it, I think that Mac was used the longest of any I've owned.

And just on time:

Apple's Big MacBook Event Is October 27
http://gizmodo.com/apples-big-macbook-e ... 1787929562

Would buy a Mac Pro again, if apple would come out with a new mac-pro that is maintainable. 9 years is a pretty good time for any box .

I still have my wife running my MacPro 1,1 (2006)... runs fine though it has been end-of-life'd in terms of OS support. I may hack on the 64-bit EFI emulator similar to how the Hackintosh crowd does to install later OSes on it. Her and my son do so little on it other than web-based stuff and Microsoft Office, hate to give it up.

Been running Indigo and a few other apps on a 2009 Unibody MacBook for over 2 years, it's been fine. Was used by middle school students for the first 4 years of its life. I did upgrade the ram and the HD is slooow, but it works. Been waiting patiently for a Mac mini. If we don't get one soon I've a 2012 MacBook Air on standby to use.

I bought a 2008 Mac Pro last year for a server and I have to say I have no regrets at all. Exceptionally stable (at least since OSX 10.11.4 shipped) running indigo, iTunes with a 14TB library (shared with plex), OSX Server running DNS, dhcp, file sharing, etc, SecuritySpy with 8 HD cameras.. and a whole multitude of other utilities and services and what not.

My wife and I own a 2008 early mac pro (mine, which is NOT compatible with OS-x since 10.7.5) and a later-but-same-year 2008 Mac Pro (hers, which just went obsolete with Sienna). I honestly stopped using my MacPro for the last 5 years and just use an 11" MacBookAir exclusively... which it'self needs replacing since it is like 2010 or 2011. My Early 2008 Mac Pro was obsoleted because Apple didn't want to write the OS (10.8 and beyond) to use the older graphics cards in the older 2008 Mac Pro's.

I would do it again too cause I like the Mac Pro, but actually I don't need a Mac Pro. If I were to do it again, I'd get 27" retina iMac's for desktop, the latest MacBookAir but a 13", and a new Mac Mini. I find that between my iPhone, iPad, and MacBookAir... I can do just about everything.... until I go to the office where I must have a PC workstation due to electrical engineering CAD tools that require PC's.

I'm getting quite the collection... I also have...

Wallstreet Powerbook
Mac IIfx
G3 Mac Pro
G4 Mac Pro (powerPC)
....and, a 128K MacIntosh with signatures of the original design team on the inside of the case and yes, it still works.

Paper weights

I ran my production Indigo server on a first-generation MacBook Pro until it finally died in the move earlier this year. The screen can be set to sleep so that's not an issue. As you mention, it doesn't need a UPS. The biggest downside is it's relative lack of USB ports (depending on the type of MacBook), though Z-Wave interfaces seem to be better at working on a USB hub than PowerLinc's so perhaps that's not a big problem either.

All in all, it was a solid Indigo server for 8 years (and a good general purpose Mac for the 2 years prior to that). Come to think of it, I think that Mac was used the longest of any I've owned.

Thanks for this information. Can you run the powerbook with the lid closed? I'm just about finished with a hidden "in-wall" cabinet and I was planning it for a Mac Mini. But I could modify my plans for a MacBook if I just install a pull-out drawer type shelf but I would need to be able to close the doors and keep the Mac out of sight.

Here is the project so far and as you can see, I had planned on a mac Mini... but I think I could add a slide out drawer for a MacBook where the BlueRay was to go, however the macBook needs to be closed most of the time.

Audio/Home Automation cabinet in progress. It will be hidden behind a panel in the board and batten.

IMG_0230B.jpg (68.91 KiB) Viewed 2743 times

Cabinet swings out of the chamber for access to cables.
Mac Min was to go here, cooling added as required.

IMG_0235.JPG (69.87 KiB) Viewed 2743 times

Wallstreet Powerbook
Mac IIfx
G3 Mac Pro
G4 Mac Pro (powerPC)
....and, a 128K MacIntosh with signatures of the original design team on the inside of the case and yes, it still works.

Paper weights

Nice. I've had all of the above (Including a IIfx that was once owned by Douglas Adams apparently) but never had a 128k Mac. My first Mac was a Mac Plus in 1989.. but I was only 8 at the time so I suppose that's not bad place to have started. I think during my time running an apple service centre I must've went through almost every model that was ever made available including some real rare ones like the PowerBook 550c and a TAM. Even once had a Macintosh XL appear, not that we could do much with it. Apple have made some fantastic Macs over the years... and some real awful ones.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Macintosh_6200

Thanks for this information. Can you run the powerbook with the lid closed? I'm just about finished with a hidden "in-wall" cabinet and I was planning it for a Mac Mini. But I could modify my plans for a MacBook if I just install a pull-out drawer type shelf but I would need to be able to close the doors and keep the Mac out of sight.

Yes, but you'll need to put in a display emulator so the laptop thinks there's an external display attached. I use one on my mini so that Screen Sharing works properly.

Probably need a display port to HDMI cable, female-female HDMI adapter, and the display emulator. Depends on what the external display connector is on the laptop.

Might also need a keyboard and mouse plugged in. Or at least BT ones paired.

[jay (support)]

Apple have made some fantastic Macs over the years... and some real awful ones.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Macintosh_6200

The Mac SE/30 was the best Mac server Apple ever produced. Small(ish), fast (for the time), and reliable as hell. When I managed a team at NASA many (many, many) years ago, we had a rack full of SE/30s acting as servers of various kinds, and they never died or required a reboot. Amazingly rock solid.

I think the Mac IIsi was the worst, sorta the precursor to the 6200 series. It was a huge piece of crap engineering.

Yes, but you'll need to put in a display emulator so the laptop thinks there's an external display attached. I use one on my mini so that Screen Sharing works properly.

Thanks for the information and I'll look into how to do this. This will be connected through a 7-HDMI input Yamaha 11.2 Receiver to both a 4K SamSung TV and a Projection system, however, that connection won't be all the time. I'm not sure yet how to make this work.

Something tells me I really just stick to my Mac Mini plan... but man, 2014 Mac Mini's don't make me happy.

My first Mac was a Mac Plus in 1989.. but I was only 8 at the time so I suppose that's not bad place to have started.

Steve Jobs and I are (or were) the same age. I was graduating from college when the Mac 128K first came out. The IIfx was originally $10K, but I waited 2 years and got a model off of the University (computer) Bookstore floor on lower campus for $3K. I don't know why I keep any of these things... I'm thinking of dumping it all soon. We were using Quadra Mac's for our work on the Human Genome Project at the University of Utah when I bought that IIfx (1992ish). The Mac Links for the 6200 came out just after the Quadra stuff.

The Mac SE/30 was the best Mac server Apple ever produced. Small(ish), fast (for the time), and reliable as hell. When I managed a team at NASA many (many, many) years ago, we had a rack full of SE/30s acting as servers of various kinds, and they never died or required a reboot. Amazingly rock solid.

My 85 year old father would love to hear that He loved his SE/30. He was a physicist for Sperry Rand/Univac back in the day.