One of the most common reasons for opening Activity Monitor is to check the % CPU of processes that might be running out of control. How accurate are those figures, though, and should you believe them?
Apple silicon
Is an M4 next week a better risk than the promise of a better model next year? Understand how to select the M4 chip suited to your needs, and specify your new Mac.
Comparing CPU core counts and maximum core frequencies across the four families in the M series, plus expected performance of Thunderbolt 5. Which M4 Mac should you buy?
How to check Apple Intelligence Reports, available when you use Writing Tools and other AI features in an Apple silicon Mac.
What does the new Writing Tools feature in Sequoia 15.1 offer? Here are examples of its different types of summary, and a comparison with other types of AI.
How Intel Macs without a T2 chip boot, and how Secure Boot works in those with T2 or Apple silicon chips. How the latter can still enjoy Secure Boot when starting up from an external disk.
First securing the Home folder in an encrypted sparse disk image, then to whole-volume encryption using CoreStorage, now using T2 and Apple silicon chips.
Full details of firmware installed by macOS Sequoia on supported Macs, including on remaining Intel model without a T2 chip, T2 and Apple silicon Macs.
Explains the three different settings, including Permissive Security, why you might need to reduce security, and how to do so using Startup Security Utility.
If you don’t know your M2 from an M3, here’s a short summary of the timeline of their release, and their major differences, before we all get our heads around the coming M4 Macs.
The Eclectic Light Company 