Memorandum on Apple conputer

One of Steve Jobs's outstanding legacies: MAC Book Air (2021 model, Image from Apple Inc). When the original model was released in 2008, it was named Air, foreseeing the coming of the WiFi era. At that time, the installation of the Operating System (OS) and applications was done via a DVD drive. Therefore, although the design was neat, the author remembers feeling uncomfortable that there was no DVD drive. Soon after, coupled with the spread of iPhones and iPads, the WIFI era arrived, and the installation of OS and applications became via WiFi. Then, for the first time, the author realized later that the installation of a DVD drive was not necessary.

The neat and textured exterior design is made by cutting a single thick aluminum plate with a jet of water, hollowing it out, and processing it. Aluminum material is excellent in heat dissipation, light weight, robustness, and recyclability. The structure and functions of the M1 processor have evolved significantly since then.

After this, the MAC Book Air M2 model was released. In addition, the M3 and M4 models are also added. The price increase due to the weak yen and semiconductor supply shortage is painful for us, but it is still cheap enough to be resold from an overseas perspective. Nowadays, the MAC Book Air is no longer an entry-level model, but a full-fledged model. For these reasons, the author decided that 2022 would be the time to purchase the MAC Book Air M2 model. Until now, the author has been using a MAC mini (Intel chip) with a 2014 Apple genuine 27-inch cinema display connected via Thunderbolt-2.

The software (applications, data, email settings, etc.) transfer from the MAC mini that I had been using to the MAC Book Air M2 model that I purchased this time was extremely smooth, taking just a few hours via WiFi, using the "Migration Assistant" application built into MAC. It is recommended that the source and destination OS versions are the same. The author was able to use Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) without any problems for about a week. However, after that, the author was unable to enter anything in Word. The author thought he would have to enter the Office license number (device ID) consisting of nearly 40 characters, but he was able to continue using Office without any problems by simply entering the email address and password he normally use on his MAC.

The connection to the old Apple 27-inch Cinema Display was made smooth by purchasing an Apple accessory (Thunderbolt-3 (USB-C) - Thunderbolt-2 conversion adapter). The old Apple 27-inch display also includes an LED Cinema Display, which is connected via a mini display port. It seems that this can be connected by purchasing a USB-C - Mini DisplayPort conversion adapter from StarTech.com. Of course, there is no problem connecting the currently available Apple genuine 27-inch 5K Retina Studio Display to the M2 model, so it would be the best choice. However, the price is over 210,000 yen for a display only function. In the past, you could buy an iMAC computer with a 27-inch display for this price.

If you don't insist on an Apple genuine display, there are various options such as Dell and LG. In that case, you need to solve the problem of connecting to other displays using the Thunderbolt-3 of the M2 model in advance.

By the way, the MAC Book Air M2 model has a high-performance LCD screen. So why do you need to bother connecting it to an external display? This is due to the author's personal circumstances. The reason is that the characters are not clearly readable unless an external display is used.

The author connected the display conversion adapter mentioned above to one of the two C-type USB terminals of the Mac Book Air M2 model. The author purchased a peripheral device connector (docking station) and connected it to the other terminal. This made it possible to use USB3, HDMI, VGA, LAN, SD card, etc. The author connected a comfortable Apple genuine 10-key keyboard to the USB3. In addition, the author connected an Apple genuine mouse via Bluetooth. As a result, the author was able to continue using the familiar and comfortable MAC as before, and also experience using the high-performance M2 model.

By the way, in this case, the MAC Book Air M2 model is used in a half-open state, and its precious LCD screen, excellent battery performance, keyboard, trackpad, etc. are not usually used. The M2 model is no longer used as a laptop computer, but as a main computer. However, its laptop functions are fully utilized when used when going out. At such times, the author can continue to use this main computer as it is. The author thinks this is a big advantage that he has never had before. In the unlikely event that this main computer is damaged or lost, all data is sequentially saved to an external hard disk by using the settings of Time Machine, one of the applications built into the MAC. Therefore, the author believes that the contents of this disk can be restored on another computer.

As a data storage medium for Time Machine, the above-mentioned hard disk was replaced with a new SSD (Solid State Drive). The storage medium of the Mac Book Air M2 model is an SSD. Therefore, the external storage medium is also an SSD, and the file format is APFS (Apple File System), which is the same as the main body. This is optimized for 64-bit data processing. MAC's data format has long been HFS+ (Hierarchical File System +), which assumes 32-bit processing, but since MAC OS 10.13 (High Sierra), it seems that only APFS format has been used. The APFS format is also used in other Apple products such as iPhone iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS.

When setting up Time Machine on the MAC Book Air M2 model, as mentioned above, the external hard disk was initially in HFS+ format. However, various problems arose, and as mentioned above, the author has now ended up using an external SSD formatted with APFS for Time Machine.

MAC has always been by the author side during his research. In particular, the author feels that it was a great help when he was writing the scientific papers. Windows would have been fine, but the author thinks that his attachment to MAC eased the difficulties of writing the papers.

Postscript:

The author mentioned above that he used a 27-inch Cinema Display made in 2014 connected to a MAC Book Air M2 model. However, the author purchased and used a 27-inch 5K Retina Studio Display made in 2022. The screen is described as having a brightness of 600 nits, 1 billion colors, and six speakers. When the author actually purchased and used this studio display, he felt that it was a significant improvement compared to the previous Cinema Display in terms of the clarity of the characters and the vividness of the colors of the images. The speaker sound is also very well separated and dynamic, even with an orchestral sound on YouTube, so you can enjoy music even without a set of standalone audio products. On the back, there is one Thunderbolt-3 terminal to connect to the MAC main unit, and three USB-C terminals, which can also be used to connect an external SSD disk or keyboard. The design is completely free of protrusions, and the thickness of the case part with the 27-inch screen embedded in it is only 2 cm, resulting in a sleek finish. Although it was expensive, it was a product that the author has no regrets about purchasing. The words of the Bible (Gospel of Luke) that come to mind are, "New wineskins for new wine."

1. Original Paper

For researchers, publishing academic papers in international journals is extremely important. However, in reality, the time available for writing papers is limited due to daily work. In fragmented time, it is often difficult to concentrate on writing papers. There were various types of mentors, some of whom strongly urged to write papers, some who encouraged, and some who told to do meaningful research rather than just writing papers. Ideally, the author would conduct meaningful research and publish it as a paper. However, it is not that easy. Amidst various conflicts, the author has attached some of the papers he has published for the time being below. Although the author has been involved in various research activities, he thinks that the only thing that will remain in the end is a paper.

2. Japanese-language commentary papers

Writing Japanese-language commentary papers is often requested from outside. Since there is no strict review like international academic journals, you have to write carefully and at your own responsibility. When the deadline approaches, you often regret accepting the request. This type of writing is rarely evaluated academically. However, the author thinks it is very meaningful to stop and look at the research you have done so far, investigate other research, and summarize the content. It is often useful when writing the introduction and discussion for your next original paper. The author has come to think that these commentaries, when piled up, can become a small research history of  his own.