- Joined
- Sep 30, 2022
- Messages
- 34
- Reaction score
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- Points
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Preface: I am not a professional writer, or reviewer. Don't take this as a factual hard-core in-depth review. It's my opinion only, YMMV.
__
So yeah, my Mac Pro 2013 (henceforth referred to as the "Applelith" because "Trash Can" is derogatory and Mac Pro 2013 is too plain. The Mac Pro 2013 looks like the Monolith from 2001 a Space Odyssey, if it were designed by Apple and since this is my Mac Pro 2013 and my review, I'm callin' it what I like. Feel free to use the hashtag #Applelith. I hope it catches on) arrived today in a HUGE cardboard box.
Inside, past all the packing peanuts is the original box (oooh! dark, mysterious... and...and.... rectangular!) and boy is it heavy. That is something I hadn't expected. This sucker weighs more than my main workstation (which is a Dell Precision T7610 which was made out of Cold War-era steel and is about as attractive.)
Now comes the moment of truth...had a bought a nice example, or was it scuffed to heck and back? I apprehensively remove the top Styrofoam and take out the Applelith.
Aside from my new fingerprints, the machine is spotless. Like factory fresh. No dust, no scuffs, no marks of any kin...no wait...I see something! I quickly grab my electron microscope and place the Applelith under it's electronic eye.
Just as I had feared...a 2 micron scratch near the base. I take a deep breath and remind myself it IS used, after all. Disappointed by this callous handling of the Applelith, I set it on the table and ever.so.carefully remove the shroud. I feel like a kid again, catching that magical glimpse of Darth Vader having his helmet put on in his chamber of solitude. What wonders will I behold inside? Alien tech? The remaining parts to the Antikythera mechanism? The black hole generator from Event Horizon? The Eye of Sauron?
Slowly, as not to cause more damage to this artistic masterpiece, I remove the shell completely, steeling myself for Revelation....or Madness. No dust I note. That's good, it's been cared for. No dings or scratches...or any signs it had been used at all for that matter. Had I gotten the Holy Grail? An unused Applelith? No, the original box has seen plenty of wear and tear so....but wait! What's that? A small sticker partially hidden behind the bottom Styrofoam.
"Store Demo Unit"
Hmmmmm the plot thickens. Used...but lightly so. Interesting.
Looking about elsewhere in the box is another sticker with the specs. 6C/16GB/D500/256/10.9 Okay, so those match what I got, a good sign.
Placing the shroud (carefully! no new scratches!) back on the Applelith, I clear a place on my desk for it. I clean the glass desk area, and make various arcane signs in the air, asking for the blessings of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to be bestowed upon the Applelith.
My bleatings are answered and the Applelith fires right up, like some alien artifact reactivating from torpor. I am greeted with the traditional Mac chime. Another good sign, the system lives (it Lives! it lives! My creation Lives! Muhahahahahahahahaha! Ahem....)
The startup process begins, asking for wifi, date/time etc.
So far, so good. It gets to the Apple ID. I actually have one!
Then it asks for my Apple Phone lock.
(insert record scratching sounds)
My what??
I don't own an Apple Phone....
I pause, rigid with fright.
Well...it's not technically mine. It belongs to my Agency.
I type in the passcode.
That seems to mollify the Applelith. It proceeds with a ton of other (mildly intrusive, IMO) questions. Apple iCloud, focus mode, etc.
Weird, I don't recall OS 10.9 asking all that.
Well that's because it's not 10.9. It's 12.6. macOS Monterey. Okay, fair enough, someone went through the trouble to update the system from 10.9 to almost current. That's good, as I wasn't really looking forward to trying to update the system.
The system boots up silently. And I mean dead quiet. My laptop makes more noise than the Applelith. Chalk one up for the engineering team. All the same, I download "Mac Fan Control" because I've read about the overheating issues that plagued the Appleliths.
Not a fan of the constant "are you sure you want to open this?" dialogue boxes that pop up, but I'm sure that can be turned off...somehow. No matter, I'll get around to that later. First things first. Impressions:
It's really pretty. It's clear a lot of thought has gone in to the small details that give the OS an overall polished look. I like that. It makes it nice to use.
My generic wireless mouse is recognized, as is the right click option, which is a must for me.
My generic budget-rgb keyboard is also picked up with an option to configure. An option that won't go away until I configure it, but once done, it's done.
Something on the taskbar called "Launchpad" greets me with a full screen of applications....which I can't seem to drag to the trash. There are a LOT of programs I'll never use. Gotta figure out how to reclaim the space.
Much exploring needs to be done I can see that, but my Mad Skillz(tm) using Windows all these decades gets me around the system well enough.
This will be a fun learning experience. One one hand, I kind of wish I'd started sooner, but on the other hand, the price of this kit was right today, so there's that.
Cheers!
__
So yeah, my Mac Pro 2013 (henceforth referred to as the "Applelith" because "Trash Can" is derogatory and Mac Pro 2013 is too plain. The Mac Pro 2013 looks like the Monolith from 2001 a Space Odyssey, if it were designed by Apple and since this is my Mac Pro 2013 and my review, I'm callin' it what I like. Feel free to use the hashtag #Applelith. I hope it catches on) arrived today in a HUGE cardboard box.
Inside, past all the packing peanuts is the original box (oooh! dark, mysterious... and...and.... rectangular!) and boy is it heavy. That is something I hadn't expected. This sucker weighs more than my main workstation (which is a Dell Precision T7610 which was made out of Cold War-era steel and is about as attractive.)
Now comes the moment of truth...had a bought a nice example, or was it scuffed to heck and back? I apprehensively remove the top Styrofoam and take out the Applelith.
Aside from my new fingerprints, the machine is spotless. Like factory fresh. No dust, no scuffs, no marks of any kin...no wait...I see something! I quickly grab my electron microscope and place the Applelith under it's electronic eye.
Just as I had feared...a 2 micron scratch near the base. I take a deep breath and remind myself it IS used, after all. Disappointed by this callous handling of the Applelith, I set it on the table and ever.so.carefully remove the shroud. I feel like a kid again, catching that magical glimpse of Darth Vader having his helmet put on in his chamber of solitude. What wonders will I behold inside? Alien tech? The remaining parts to the Antikythera mechanism? The black hole generator from Event Horizon? The Eye of Sauron?
Slowly, as not to cause more damage to this artistic masterpiece, I remove the shell completely, steeling myself for Revelation....or Madness. No dust I note. That's good, it's been cared for. No dings or scratches...or any signs it had been used at all for that matter. Had I gotten the Holy Grail? An unused Applelith? No, the original box has seen plenty of wear and tear so....but wait! What's that? A small sticker partially hidden behind the bottom Styrofoam.
"Store Demo Unit"
Hmmmmm the plot thickens. Used...but lightly so. Interesting.
Looking about elsewhere in the box is another sticker with the specs. 6C/16GB/D500/256/10.9 Okay, so those match what I got, a good sign.
Placing the shroud (carefully! no new scratches!) back on the Applelith, I clear a place on my desk for it. I clean the glass desk area, and make various arcane signs in the air, asking for the blessings of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to be bestowed upon the Applelith.
My bleatings are answered and the Applelith fires right up, like some alien artifact reactivating from torpor. I am greeted with the traditional Mac chime. Another good sign, the system lives (it Lives! it lives! My creation Lives! Muhahahahahahahahaha! Ahem....)
The startup process begins, asking for wifi, date/time etc.
So far, so good. It gets to the Apple ID. I actually have one!
Then it asks for my Apple Phone lock.
(insert record scratching sounds)
My what??
I don't own an Apple Phone....
I pause, rigid with fright.
Well...it's not technically mine. It belongs to my Agency.
I type in the passcode.
That seems to mollify the Applelith. It proceeds with a ton of other (mildly intrusive, IMO) questions. Apple iCloud, focus mode, etc.
Weird, I don't recall OS 10.9 asking all that.
Well that's because it's not 10.9. It's 12.6. macOS Monterey. Okay, fair enough, someone went through the trouble to update the system from 10.9 to almost current. That's good, as I wasn't really looking forward to trying to update the system.
The system boots up silently. And I mean dead quiet. My laptop makes more noise than the Applelith. Chalk one up for the engineering team. All the same, I download "Mac Fan Control" because I've read about the overheating issues that plagued the Appleliths.
Not a fan of the constant "are you sure you want to open this?" dialogue boxes that pop up, but I'm sure that can be turned off...somehow. No matter, I'll get around to that later. First things first. Impressions:
It's really pretty. It's clear a lot of thought has gone in to the small details that give the OS an overall polished look. I like that. It makes it nice to use.
My generic wireless mouse is recognized, as is the right click option, which is a must for me.
My generic budget-rgb keyboard is also picked up with an option to configure. An option that won't go away until I configure it, but once done, it's done.
Something on the taskbar called "Launchpad" greets me with a full screen of applications....which I can't seem to drag to the trash. There are a LOT of programs I'll never use. Gotta figure out how to reclaim the space.
Much exploring needs to be done I can see that, but my Mad Skillz(tm) using Windows all these decades gets me around the system well enough.
This will be a fun learning experience. One one hand, I kind of wish I'd started sooner, but on the other hand, the price of this kit was right today, so there's that.
Cheers!