I wasn't a Sync user on Reddit, but Relay didn't make it over to Lemmy. Sync has some of the most non-intrusive ads I've ever seen, and that's coming from someone who is extremely anti-ads. They're very different from the actual posts and super easy to just scroll past. It's also very clearly made by someone who is great with UI/UX.
I'm pro supporting devs (I'm also one myself), but I'm even more anti-subscription for software. I'd 100% buy a lifetime subscription for $20, however, $100 for a mobile app is insane in my opinion. The developer can set their prices how they please though, and I'll continue using the ad supported version until the price comes down.
This is my first setup since moving away from home and into my own place with my partner. I finally had the ability to setup my Raspberry Pi running Plex, qBittorrent, and a Samba share. We use Plex more than we use Apple TV or Netflix at this point because it is just so much less of a hassle, and we would cancel them immediately if we did not get them free with our phone plan.
I have my work Macbook and PC both connected to a KVM to easily switch between the two. I run both Win10Pro and ZorinOS in dual-boot, but I primarily use Windows as the last thing I want to do after work most days is write code (I'm a software engineer). Recently my PC's primary use has been to stream games to my Steam Deck that it is not powerful enough to run. My partner and I spend a good amount of time on the couch playing our own games next to each other as they've recently taken over the living room TV with their PC to play their millionth run of Stardew Valley.
I've mostly been playing Tetris Effect Connected but I just finally got around to starting RDR2, so that will probably take over soon enough. I also jump between The Binding of Isaac, Borderlands 2, and Minecraft quite a bit.
I added some more pictures below. The decorations around my desk are nothing spectacular, but they are all things that make me happy, and I don't like to be surrounded by too much unnecessary clutter. If you have any questions about my setup feel free to ask!
100% agree. The few times I have to turn off uBlock because it is breaking some obscure website it is always an awful experience. Auto-playing videos, ads taking up half the screen, and those annoying as fuck cookie banners. I can't imagine using the internet without an ad/cookie blocker. I accidentally turned it off on Lemmy for a while and it was the only site that I didn't immediately notice.
The Max would be major overkill, and might actually be worse for you because of the worse battery life to drive the higher power draw chip. My personal laptop is a 16" M1 Pro MBP and I've never had it hitch on me. My work laptop is a similar spec 14" and I regularly run a dozen of programs at once (Outlook, Slack, Chime, dozens of Firefox tabs, Music, and 3 to 4 IntelliJ instances) without issue. Occasionally it does get a little warm when I'm doing 30+ minute builds, but that is akin to many torture tests reviewers use.
Edit: After seeing the price difference is only $200 I'd just get the Max if you don't mind a bit less battery life.
I've never personally used the machine you're referring to, but unless you're doing long video renders it likely won't matter. Programming takes very little resources, even when using a debugger, compared to the torture tests reviewers use. Any heavy load comes in bursts of compiling/interpreting which also don't hit the machine anywhere close to as hard. Music production might be a bit more strenuous, but still well within the area of not having issues.
I'd say stick with the 14" if that's what you prefer. It's not designed to render videos 24/7, but even if you did that it's still pretty damn fast even when throttling.
My primary issue with Connect at the moment is it desperately needs a reduction in the amount of taps to do anything. It takes 3 to download an image, and 4 to subscribe to communities. Both of these are things I feel should be in the ellipsis menu of any post, but currently you have to click through to the post or community. Meanwhile there are a dozen things in there I rarely use absolut flooding the menu. I also wish it saved comment drafts, but that is relatively minor.
It just needs some reprioritizing of actions and it would be perfect IMO.
I've never heard anyone other than OP have any privacy concerns over Signal. Their encryption method is rock-solid, and they win the award for best response to a government subpoena
I can't imagine having a manager like in this post. I had to get a few hours coverage for my on call shift to pick my partner up from the hospital for an outpatient surgery. Manager didn't ask why I needed coverage but it just happened to come up. They immediately offered to get my entire shift moved without me even asking.
I was super into piracy when I was ~12, but as Netflix took over and you could get everything you want with 2-3 subscriptions totalling <$20 per month I eventually stopped because it was easier, a much better experience, and worth the money. Now that there are too many services to count guess who has an RPi BitTorrent/Plex server? I'd prefer to go back to the old Netflix way of things as it's so much easier, but there isn't any option more convenient than my current setup.
If I could pay $50 a month and get everything I want content-wise I would, but I cannot. Not counting that half the subscription services are awful to use, or are missing major portions of series,. I've even started pirating content I pay for access to because I don't have to deal with DRM bullshit.
With Steam though I'll pirate a game, and if I like it I'll go buy it because it's a better experience. Gaben is 100% correct that you have to provide a better experience than pirates, otherwise why would anyone pay for a worse experience?
As long as they don't have different allergies or had biometrics recorded and assigned to them at the hospital it arguably wouldn't even matter.