AsymcoMar 4
MacBook Neo is: A18 Pro chip, $599, four colors. A watershed event. First Mac with a mobile processor and the end of the disruptive arc of mobile computing. From Motorola to Intel to Apple silicon M, now personal computing is an accessory to mobile computing. A sharp punctuation point.
Show threadJohn HuggMar 4
@asymco The really interesting thing is a huge educational discount to $499.
Show threadDavid StarrMar 4
@hugg @asymco This was the big surprise. If you assume there’s some ok residual on the device 3 years later (as is the norm) it’s a no brainer for an education deployment at scale.
Show threadJohn HuggMar 5
@djstarr @asymco The thing about a Chromebook is my son can log into a blank one with his school id and it instantly becomes his computer, but it is also managed by the School District. MacOS is a long way from that.
Show threadDavid StarrMar 5

@hugg @asymco That absolutely is part of the experience that makes Chromebooks so popular in education. The other half of “cheap and easy”.

But I disagree *strongly* that macOS is a “long” way from that. With most of the device management services schools use (such as Jamf or Mosyle; analogous to Google Admin Console) provide single sign on tools that let you do *exactly* what you describe.

Show threadJohn Hugg

@djstarr @asymco I used Jamf. I've used Google Admin Console. I've even used Apple Business Essentials (shudder).

You can do most of the same stuff on a mac, but everything is 2-3 times slower, more likely to have a surprise issue, and more likely to change how it works with a new MacOS release.

Then you get the integration: Drive, Docs, Classroom, Backup have a smoother story. These things are all possible on Macs, but the 100% Apple solution is more limiting, and the hybrid Google/Apple solution is more complex.

Mar 5 at 7:52pmWeb