Multizone | All our technotes
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Mac computers based on Intel processors are obsolete now. Here's a list of what not to buy and why.
TL:DR — Apple no longer make Intel-based Mac computers. With the introduction of Apple silicon these computers are obsolete.
It's not just me, heres what the Macrumors website says about the last of the line Intel-based Mac mini — "The Intel-based Mac mini is a relic from the period before Apple began to transition the Mac lineup to its own custom silicon, which offers massive performance and efficiency benefits. For this reason, and since it is effectively four years old, those interested in the high-end Intel Mac mini should not buy it under almost any circumstances." Tuesday August 23, 2022 8:00 am PDT by Hartley Charlton in MacRumors
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Read more: The dead Macs walking — Mac computers you shouldn't buy
Android 13 was pushed to the Android open source project (AOSP) on Monday 15th August 2022. At the same time Google made available images for Google Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a (5G), Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 6a.
Security update available — Android 13
More personalised, private and designed to work across multiple devices.
New features include: Expanded themed app icons, an updated media player with album artwork and a fun playback bar, Per-app language preferences, Faster hyphenation, Text Conversion APIs, Improved line heights for non-latin scripts, Improved Japanese text wrapping, Unicode library updates, Color vector fonts, Quick Settings placement API, Clipboard preview, Predictive back gesture, Bluetooth LE Audio, MIDI 2.0, Programmable shaders, Choreographer improvements, Anticipatory audio routing, Safer exporting of context-registered receivers, Photo picker, New runtime permission for nearby Wi-Fi devices, New permission to use exact alarms, Developer downgradable permissions, APK Signature Scheme v3.1, Better error reporting in Keystore and KeyMint, Improved support for tablets and large-screen devices
Installing on Google Pixel 4a 5G
TL:DR — Android 13 is here for Pixel 4 and later devices from Google. It updated my Pixel 4a 5G over the wifi without any obvious issues, and kept all my data and account settings intact.
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Raspberry Pi Imager is a quick and easy way to install Raspberry Pi OS and other operating systems to a microSD card, ready to use with a Raspberry Pi.
Setting up a Raspberry Pi has never been simpler, thanks to Raspberry Pi Imager, a versatile tool designed for seamless installation. This software provides the quick and easy way to install Raspberry Pi OS or other operating systems directly onto a microSD card, ensuring your device is ready to use with minimal effort.
To begin, download the Raspberry Pi Imager from the official Raspberry Pi website, ensuring you have the latest version. Once downloaded, install the application on your computer, following the straightforward setup process. After installation, insert your SD card into your computer’s card reader and launch the Imager.
Within the interface, select your desired operating system. The tool offers a curated selection, including the official Raspberry Pi OS alongside other supported systems. Choose your SD card as the storage destination, and initiate the writing process. The Imager will handle formatting and installation automatically, creating a bootable card in just minutes.
With the SD card prepared, insert it into your Raspberry Pi and power up the device. This method eliminates complexity, streamlining the entire setup process for beginners and seasoned users alike. Embrace the efficiency of the Raspberry Pi Imager and simplify your project workflows.
TL:DR — If you have a Mac computer the Raspberry Pi OS imager software download on the Raspberry Pi website is the easiest way to get going with Raspberry Pi OS.
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Guest operating system (GOS) support for latest macOS versions on VMware Fusion will be discontinued in upcoming release 13.0 of VMware Fusion and at end of support for ESXi 7.0. At that point a deprecated support level will be provided to legacy macOS certified versions which support the VMware hardware version technologies in ESXi and Fusion but only for legacy Intel based Mac computers. Apple silicon macOS guests will never be able to be supported at all.
A guest operating system is an operating system that is secondary to the OS originally installed on a computer, which is known as the host operating system. VMware have always had their own technology known as the VMware hardware version, which reflects the virtual machine's supported virtual hardware features on ESXi and Fusion. VMware say they will continue to attempt to test and certify new macOS releases for use as a guest on Fusion for Intel based Macs for as long as VMware Fusion is a production product for Intel Macs. These existing macOS VM's would be ones which have been created and run using a particular VMware hardware version. VMware go on to say that they cannot commit to supporting any future macOS operating systems releases as a guest OS on Fusion. My speculation is that this could be because of a requirement from Apple to use Apple's Virtualization framework, introduced in macOS 11, for virtualisation of macOS, particuarly on Apple silicon.
In the VMware Fusion tech preview for Mac computers with Apple siliconm, a new hardware version 20 supports guest operating systems such as various flavours of Linux and Windows 10 and 11. My speculation is that VMware hardware technology cannot be used to support the Apple Virtualization framework introduced in macOS 11 for creating and running a macOS VM the Apple way. As well as having new mechanisms to create and manage guests, while respecting Apple's security requirements, the Apple Virtualisation framework also enforces Apples End User Licence Agreement by limiting the number of guests to 2.
VMware Fusion tech preview (TP 22H2) shipped with hardware version 20 and guest support for various flavours of Linux and Unix. Fusion also supports Windows 10 and 11 on Mac computers which are Intel based and Mac computers with Apple silicon. And it is rocket ship fast on Apple silicon. But VMware Fusion contained the cryptic release note "macOS guest VM - Not currently supported". I guess that based on the two recent announcements (VMware Discontinuation of latest macOS as a GOS on Fusion and vSphere ESXi 7.x will be last version to officially support Apple macOS Virtualization), that this can be updated now to "macOS guest VM - Will never be supported". Unless VMware Fusion can be modified to support Apple's Virtualization framework for Apple silicon based Macs, and theres a hint that it might, this is probably the clearest sign of the end of the road for me. By the end of the year I planned to be all Apple silicon. I need macOS virtualisation. Thats my main requirement for development and testing.
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ChromeOS is full of capability these days, provided you can live with having a G-Suite / Google Apps based world. You have to embrace Google accounts and ID's if you develop apps which end up on Google Play anyway so a Chromebook is as much an ideal development system for mobile apps as an equivalent Apple Mac with its Apple ID and whatnot. On a decent and recent Chromebook you can use Android apps directly from Google Play and Linux apps via the Linux system that is optionally available but very welcome not just for developer computers. Linux apps are a little more complicated to deal with but are worth the trouble.
TL:DR — Chromebooks have evolved into decent developer capable computers. Mozilla Firefox for Linux works well on supported Chromebooks which by now means all brand new ones and it is easy to install.
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Does anybody know of a hardware compatibility list for the MIPS, Alpha, and/or PowerPC versions of Windows NT?
— Thom Holwerda (@thomholwerda) June 22, 2022
A tweet about the hardware compatibility list for the MIPS, Alpha, and/or PowerPC versions of Windows NT caught my eye in my timeline
I had a lot of affection for the non-Intel releases of Windows NT 3.x back in the day. I seem to recall that Windows NT 3.1 was slow as slow can be compared to OS/2 back then on equivalent computers but NT 3.51 was fast! I went to the launch of Alpha AXP at Digital Equipment Co. with the catchy tagline "Imagine being the one without Alpha AXP" and they excitedly sent a couple of Alpha AXP desktop computers with Windows NT for Digital Alpha AXP on them for evaluation. Nothing we made ran on them at Lotus. Just like today, an 'Error in exe' or some such message was returned if an invalid binary was launched. Unlike today fat binaries were not a thing despite some early hints that perhaps they would be for NT. Anyway the Alpha AXP desktops were beautifully built computers as you'd expect from Digital, and they were fast for the time with what were big specifications. Importantly they never made it to the company books as they were on evaluation from Digital. This meant they were fair game to take home since they were also incapable of being used for anything much! Wheeling them out of Lotus Park reception one evening the CEO helped us load them into our cars, thanking us for working late as usual. We were grateful! In reality they weren't that useful for anything — apart from for learning Windows NT of course!
All those memories came back to me as I was reading the tweet and thinking, "I know I've read that hardware list somewhere, but where was it? This was when support was via ftp, and CompuServe.
TL:DR — I found it, it was distributed on the MSDN Platform archive CD at the time in HLP file format which has long been obsolete. You can however coax Windows 7 into loading it up if you have an old Windows XP CD kicking around. Details of how to do that below.
It came with NT 3.5.1 distributed with MSDN platform archive CD at least back in the 90s. I knew I had read it somewhere years ago. Its in .HLP format at this path WINNT351_WKS/FREE/SUPPORT/HCLMAY95.HLP if you have that CD. It is hard to open on modern Windows computers :) pic.twitter.com/Rm5EgNKLrG
— Angus Fox 🏴 June 22, 2022
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Read more: Microsoft Windows NT, Hardware Compatibility List
I wanted to mark the blog in a way which copyrights my work unless separately attributed, allows anyone to use it or make derivitaves of it but not commercially, under the same terms, with attribution to me, through my company, such as it is. Guess what, the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, also known as the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License is just the job!
Why 
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 ?
This license is the latest revision from Creative Commons fixing some issues with previous licences lately pointed out by Cory Doctorow. It requires that reusers give credit to the creator. It allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, for noncommercial purposes only. If others modify or adapt the material, they must license the modified material under identical terms.
TL:DR — I chose Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License for all content on this site unless separately attributed, because it is the latest recommended licence which meets my needs. YMMV.
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Read more: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International
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