I am actually holding my breath hoping that we start seeing good support for running games on Linux using Proton.
I still hold that Windows is a far better, and more prolific, gaming platform than MacOS.
Was someone arguing otherwise? I agree, and games is pretty much the only reason to have Windows these days, unless you need some specific niche app that only comes on Windows, or want to build your own PC (which is also niche). If Apple got their heads out of their butts and actually prioritized gaming-enablement, I think they would easy triple their computer market share.
Yeah, pcs really are gaming boxes these days. And I'm just poking at stuff, not really serious.
I do think, though, that Apple has shot themselves in the feet - and the feet of those standing nearby - with their Walled Garden approach. I remember buying the Assembler manuals and a nice book of exercises for the Apple ][e and happily messing around at that level, way back in the early/mid-80's. Then came Mac and the lockdown of all the source code, and things just proceeded from there. It's a nice curated environment, but is it still relevant 20 years into the Age of Open Source? I think a lot of artists are just at the point where the Mac is the default - "No artist ever got fired for buying a Mac", but then, look what IBM turned into...
If you search on Steam in the store, there are 19,613 games with the MacOS tag.
Steam tags are not a reliable filter. Tags are largely user-generated content. That's where something like SteamDB, which reads actual depots from the Steam database and catalogs all of the executables, is far more accurate.
I would argue that, hyperbole aside, and bearing in mind that I didn't specify Steam, no one really knows how many PC games there are.
Once you go beyond the storefronts, it turns into an unknowable problem not just for Windows, but for Mac as well. The amount of stuff people can and have self-released as a ZIP file on a website in the last 30 years is just beyond any sort of realistic tracking.
But I think a storefront like Steam is a pretty good proxy for what the reality of computer gaming is for most people.
The takeaway isn't that MacOS is competitive with Windows in gaming, but simply that MacOS has far more support for modern games than I think most people realize. And that's without supporting Vulkan, which like I said a few posts up, is really stupid and constraining MacOS from being an even more hospitable platform for game porting. People shouldn't buy a Mac for the purpose of being a game machine, but people who have Macs for other purposes can find a nice value add with how relatively large Steam's Mac catalog has become.
Yeah to add to what Legion said, in 2019 itch.io was hosting > 200,000 games. Steam is just the tip of the iceberg.
Sooo... anyone here know stuff about monitors and color calibration?
I just bought a new gaming monitor (Dell S3222DGM). It works great on my gaming PC, and the colors are perfect... I guess? I'm no expert. But when I hook up a macbook to it for work the color is off quite a ways, with pure white showing up on the monitor as a kind of pale lavender.
In the mac display settings there's a way to switch color profiles, and while some were better and others were worse, none looked "normal" like windows. MacOS purports to have a calibration tool, but unless I'm missing something there's only one adjustable slider, and all its values looked worse than the presets. I also tried downloading an ICC profile from this review site, which apparently tests on macs, but maybe it was meant for windows or something, as it was much worse than any others I tried. I also tried both DisplayPort and HDMI, but they looked identical so I guess that's not part of the equation.
But basically I have no idea what I'm doing. Can anyone put me out of my misery?
I read that sometimes turning off True Tone on the Mac can help? If not... Well, you could get a software color calibration tool and spend $100 or more on a colorimeter... Or buy an Apple branded external monitor (and BenQ makes some external monitors with Lightning connectors, they might do well).
turning off True Tone on the Mac can help?
!!!!
This seems to be it, thanks! Apparently that toggle only appears for displays that support it, so it can't be turned off in the settings of a monitor where it doesn't work, even though it does affect that monitor. Genius UX.
Also it's apparently global, not per-display. Whatever the hell it was, off it goes I guess...
I'm kind of shocked that Random Internet Search worked. I have not had a Mac in like 15 years. But it sounded right to me... 
Apple really, really wants you to stay within their Disney-style high priced walled garden, yes they do.
Probably the wrong place to ask but do we have a steam deck thread?
kborom wrote:Probably the wrong place to ask but do we have a steam deck thread?
Excellent news. Carry on!
So I'm not that into phones really. I've had a various mid-range Samsung phones, mostly because they're either free or hugely discounted with our phone plan every 2-3 years. I have an opportunity to get a free iPhone 15.
So many questions...
What should I be excited about with this giant change?
What should I be careful of?
Is the Apple Store evil, and will it want my money for apps I have on my Samsung?
Is it difficult to move stuff, like contacts, and like my Steam app/account?
I mean...free, much more high-end phone seems like a no brainer.
So brain for me a bit, please, people who know wtf to do with phones...
Any money you spent on the Samsung or Google App store for apps will not translate to the iPhone. Not sure if you can even get things like movies to cross the boundary, though there are options (like Movies Anywhere). While I am not a fan of the Google or Samsung gardens they are at least more open then Apple. My recommendation will always be stay away from all Apple products. But take my advice with a grain of salt as I haven't used an Apple product since 1997.
I've been a happy member of the Apple mobile ecosystem since the iPhone 3. My immediate family are all iPhone users as well. The only thing you need to be careful of is being unwilling to go back to Android once you've seen how good it is here. 
Seriously though, Kazar is correct that the walled garden is less open than on Android, but with that comes some measure of assurance that what you do download from the store is unlikely to harm your device or your data. Apple is also very vocal about taking steps to promote/enforce user privacy, which surely isn't a bad thing.
If you do choose to make the leap, here are Apple's instructions for transferring data from Android to iPhone/iPad. It looks to be a very straightforward process.
Here's what gets transferred: contacts, message history, camera photos and videos, photo albums, files and folders, accessibility settings, display settings, web bookmarks, mail accounts, WhatsApp messages and media, and calendars. If they're available on both Google Play and the App Store, some of your free apps will also transfer. After the transfer completes, you can download any free apps that were matched from the App Store.
Steam migration is a nothingburger, install the Steam app on new phone, sign in and you're done.
Thanks very much all three of you fine folks. I've been passively given the Samsungs, like I said, as part of phone plans. I do have a history of liking PCs and seriously not liking the interface on Macs. But these are phones, and while I'm sort of a techie on PCs, I'm an old moron on phones.
Anyway, you all knowing better makes me feel much more comfortable, so thanks again for that.
I live in the iOS universe, as does the rest of my family, and I love it. But, we have been there for the past 10+ years.
If possible I'd recommend getting to grips with an ios phone to make sure there aren't any features that are different enough or missing that are deal breakers for you.
Also keep in mind the USB C on an iPhone 15 is slow because the chip used in that phone was a chip used for phones that still had the lightning port. So don't expect super fast charging or fast transfer speeds from that usb c port.
Some apps used to let you cross over without repurchasing but it was very app specific. And I honestly don't know if that is still the case anymore.
Apple also tends to be behind when it comes to features on phones you might already be using on Android. So keep that in mind as well.
I have been on iOS since the iPhone 4. I now have the 15 pro.
But when Apple does finally implement a feature that others have had for years, they give it a oddball name that is uniquely Apple and pretend that they invented it. They then say their version helps with your privacy while using your data for their own gain.
Better than Google who sells my data for fractions of a penny to anyone who will buy it...
Yeah, there is zero comparison between Apple and Google when it comes to privacy and personal data use.
Sure, a 1958 Plymouth Fury and Taylor Swift's private jet both generate pollution, but that doesn't make them the same.
Also keep in mind the USB C on an iPhone 15 is slow because the chip used in that phone was a chip used for phones that still had the lightning port. So don't expect super fast charging or fast transfer speeds from that usb c port.
...
I have been on iOS since the iPhone 4. I now have the 15 pro.
The Pro models offer USB 3 speeds, the non-Pro the same USB 2 speeds that were possible using Lightning.
The Pro models offer USB 3 speeds, the non-Pro the same USB 2 speeds that were possible using Lightning.
Yeah, that’s one of Apple’s tier differentiators. That goes for the iPad too, where the feature is probably even more relevant. Base model is on USB 2, mid-tier (Air, Mini) are USB 3.1, and Pro gets Thunderbolt.
How's the reliability looking on the iPhone's USB-C port? The lightning port on my 12 mini is starting to get unreliable. I improved it a lot by digging a bunch of lint out of there with a toothpick, but it's still having issues occasionally.
How's the reliability looking on the iPhone's USB-C port? The lightning port on my 12 mini is starting to get unreliable. I improved it a lot by digging a bunch of lint out of there with a toothpick, but it's still having issues occasionally.
No issues with my 2021 iPad Pro.
Wireless charging really is the way to go with iPhones though, which sidesteps the port wear issue entirely. I still plug in my phone in the car (because my old aftermarket head unit only does wired CarPlay) or when traveling and charging off an external battery, but my normal daily/overnight charging is entirely wireless.
Wireless charging really is the way to go with iPhones though, which sidesteps the port wear issue entirely. I still plug in my phone in the car (because my old aftermarket head unit only does wired CarPlay) or when traveling and charging off an external battery, but my normal daily/overnight charging is entirely wireless.
That's my situation exactly. I've got a nice charging stand on my desk that keeps it up above the clutter, but I need to plug it in for CarPlay if I want to listen to something while we're driving.
Before I cleaned the lint out of my port I was having issues with losing connection just because I took a corner a little hard. It's better now, but still sometimes takes a couple tries to get it to negotiate a connection.
I noticed I was using my iPhone/iPad so much over the years that it mostly became my default computing platform. I bought a Mac Mini not too long ago and completely cut over to the Apple platform.
I’m almost a little embarrassed how deep I am into the ecosystem with the Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple TVs, and HomePods, but I genuinely love how well everything works together.
It’s everything I thought Microsoft, and later Google, should have been able to pull off, but they're just comically bad at it for some reason.
Better than Google who sells my data for fractions of a penny to anyone who will buy it...
is it? at least with Google we know that they are doing it but I am no Google apologist.
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