After a few years as a Windows only user, I’m back on a Mac. Specifically, I’m on a M4 Max.

I’ve had it for about three weeks now, and the difference in productivity is obvious. For software development, setting up environments is much easier thanks to the UNIX foundation. In that short time, I’ve already built a couple of new apps, put them into production, and shared them as open source.

Lightroom work is also dramatically faster. Editing feels effortless, which makes me more open to taking on photo contracts. I’m spending far less time behind the screen, especially with newer AI tools that understand my editing style after learning from years of my photos.

What really stands out is how well everything works together. Every tool I use, including the app I’m dictating this with, feels native and thoughtfully integrated into the operating system.

Part of my motivation for purchasing this Mac was to run LLMs locally and that has been so easy! I feel like it’s so great to get ahead of the curve of publicly available LLMs becoming monetized soon. Also it’s just really awesome to be able to use these LLMs whenever I feel like it, even if I don’t have any internet at all. Which is going to be really awesome when I travel with this device.

I used a Mac years ago, and coming back feels natural. My fingers still know the shortcuts. It honestly feels like coming home. The app ecosystem available for Mac has certainly evolved since I’ve been gone and I just want to record so far the apps that have been most useful so far.

Integration with my iPhone – getting calls and responding to texts from my Mac is a game changer. Using my iPhone as a small secondary screen is also great.

I feel like I shouldn’t have waited so long! I am excited to take this machine with me on my next trips and edit my raws during my downtime on vacation! Also, I find myself being able to update this blog more easily thanks to orchestrating a lot of the annoying bits away. Since it is self hosted, I am able to keep an entire local version of the wordpress stack and work from there! Expect more posts, more photos, and better documentation of my interests and life!