Computing SHA-256 digests is a common and demanding task, particularly in security. A late Intel Mac is shown to be much slower at doing that than M-series Macs, and this considers why that might be.
Intel
If you’re still using an Intel Mac, do you know when its macOS support will end? Is it worth upgrading any more when most of the new features are for Apple silicon Macs?
Although Macs can resolve time to nanoseconds, this isn’t apparent from tests writing log entries very rapidly. This explains what is probably happening.
Although there are important differences between Intel and Apple silicon Macs, both can resolve time to nanoseconds. So can this new version of LogUI.
Will macOS 16 support Intel Macs? All T2 models, or just a few of them? What about the 5 year rule? It’s all down to demand and cost benefit, and maybe convincing those who have been sitting on the fence.
68K to PowerPC in 1994-1998, on to Intel in 2006-2009, and to Apple silicon from 2020. The 68K emulator, Rosetta, and Rosetta 2 that enabled backward compatibility.
How much faster are the P cores in M3 and M4 chips, compared to late Intel Macs? How do they compare when running threads at low QoS, such as those of macOS background tasks?
A round-up of firmware updates across 15.4, 14.7.5 and 13.7.5, prospects for future macOS and firmware updates, and problems updating to 15.4.
Apple silicon laptops start up (if not asleep) when you open their lid or connect power. Now you can change that behaviour by setting their NVRAM.
Two important catches that can cause a macOS installation to fail in Apple silicon: using the DFU port, and not setting up ownership correctly. Both are explained here.
The Eclectic Light Company 