The new set-up is working, after moving manually.
As the M1 Macs don’t support more than one screen, have just 2 USB-C ports, and my regular set-up consists of two additional screens, I had to make some adaptations. I added a StarTech USB-C Dual HDMI Monitor Docking station (not visible in the image, as it is at the foot of the left lamp, hidden from sight by the laptop), that also has 3 USB-A, one USB-C, a Gb Ethernet and audio port. That connects to one of the USB-C ports on the Mac. Currently I’ve attached the two screens, my USB keyboard and the 4TB external HDD I’m using to move from my old laptop to the new one.
The docking station is DisplayLink compatible, and combined with installing the DisplayLink manager on my laptop makes the two external screens work. At first one screen went dark for a second every few seconds. DisplayLink suggested this may have something to do with cable quality. Sure enough when I switched the two screens’ cables the other one had the problem. So I tried another cable I had lying around, and then it worked.
My Wacom Intuos pen tablet needed a new driver installed, found in the download section of Wacom’s site. There should be a next version, better suited to the new Macs, available early February, but this one works too. The Wacom is connected to the other USB-C port on the Mac through an adapter that splits that USB-C port into a USB-A, HDMI and USB-C port, the latter one used for the power supply.
I also migrated my 113 Alfred snippets, so my keyboards shortcuts all work again in the way my fingers’ muscle memory knows them.
I’m now ready to fully work from the new laptop, as the most important things are done. Next comes a number of weeks of re-adding tweaks, migrating archive-stuff (old e-mail, images, books, music etc.), and things like my locally run webserver and its related databases and html files.
Welke StarTech is dat? Ik heb ook een M1. Superfijn ding. Mijn vaste werkplek is nog steeds Linux, en dat wil ik zo houden, maar mijn laptop aan kunnen sluiten is ook wel tof.
Het is het type dk30chhpdeu. De prijs die de Startech site nu in januari noemt is 60 Euro hoger dan wat ik bij Coolblue betaalde eind december. Dat was pre-Brexit, en Startech zit in de UK dus dat is denk ik een deel van de verklaring.
Compared to how bad I felt the previous week, this one was better. Key was that thankfully my colleagues stepped in and took a lot of work from my plate. I’m the only one in my company with a young child at home due to the school closures, which cuts my work availability in half (I work mornings, E works afternoons). Reducing my work load allows me to focus on a single large project that is just starting, and take a secondary role in another new project where I bring key parts of expertise. Other projects I can hand over in full for the time being. That created a sense of relief all by itself.
It doesn’t mean I was back to my regular self or regular work rhythm, but it was better, and it was causing less problems.
This week I
Did the onboarding for a new project. I’m taking on the role of secretary of an intergovernmental group looking at how to best implement European data regulations, and how to best build on its opportunities or how to deal with its drawbacks.
Contacted some first people to plan meetings with for that new role
Bought myself a 2001 Keith Haring (estate licensed) chess set on Monday, and received it on Saturday
Discussed with colleague F how to best hand over my various work activities and to which colleague
My old laptop came back with a new battery on Monday, allowing me to prepare for the move to a new laptop, and give E’s Mac I had on loan back to her
Received my new laptop and spent considerable time migrating the most important stuff. I can now fully work from the new set-up. That should also reduce quite a bit of friction in my workflow that I had in the past weeks (due to working on a borrowed laptop)
Had a weekly project call with a province (to be handed over next week)
Had the weekly project call for the Citizen Science project w.r.t. air quality in Rotterdam
Finally read some more of the short Future Ethics book I’m reading, as well as reading fiction in the evening.
I’m heading into next week with more confidence that I’ll be able to get some actual work done