• 73 Posts
  • 646 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
cake
Cake day: June 7th, 2024

help-circle










  • The Macbook has 128GB RAM so it can run some beefy local models. The Qwen family of models are pretty good, but I use LMStudio to switch around. For experimenting, kt’s good to have a large SSD drive. None of the local models are as good or fast as the big/centralized ones, but the code stays on the machine, and you don’t have to pay monthly or token fees.

    For serious dev work, you’ll still want at least one of the big ones, in case the local one gets into a loop.

    The Macbook has slightly better speakers, but I mainly use bluetooth headphones to listen to music or videos.


  • I used to develop iOS apps professionally. For a solid 5-6 years, used nothing more than a Macbook Air. It was light, easy to take to a coffee shop, and I could run VMware or Parallels on it for Linux and Windows development. Worked great, especially if you could connect it to an external monitor so each window could be its own OS. The two things you can’t change are RAM and built-in SSD storage. I’d take those higher if you can afford it.

    My current machine is a Macbook Pro, but that’s because I run local LLMs and databases on it. If I was only doing mobile development, it would be way overkill. Not sure if the Neos have enough power to run Xcode.









  • If you need a plain scope, the Rigol entry-level ones are all decent. But if specifically looking at serial/CAN, may want to take a look at a Saleae-8. The device is headless and comes with probes. Connects to a computer via USB. The software runs on the computer and is what sets them apart.

    If too expensive, suggest finding a used 8 and not succumb to cheapo knockoffs on EBay. The software gets regularly updated and runs only on their devices. That alone is worth the investment. You can even extend it by writing your own analyzer code to handle event sequences.

    No relation. Just a happy long-time owner of a Saleae-16. Has saved my bacon a few times. Also have an old DS1054, but haven’t had to use it for eons.