24-Core 16″ MacBook Pro M1 Max Set Up

Introduction

Once I unboxed my new, 24-Core 16″ MacBook Pro, which you can see here, I immediately began setting it up to handle my work and days as a content creator and aspiring coder.

First Things First

After ensuring the latest OS runs on the machine, I turned off the automatic ‘power-on’ when opening the lid. While some people may appreciate it, I feel it isn’t really cool that the MacBook ships with the feature turned on.

System Preferences

I went to “System Preferences,” “General,” and switched the appearance of my 24-Core 16″ Mac Book Pro to “Dark” with a purple Accent and “Highlight” colors. Still, in the “System Preferences,” I reduce the dock’s size and magnification; I want everything to be eye-friendly and at least distracting and loud. As long as for F.lux, I don’t plan to install that for now. Instead, I’ll enjoy the “actual colors” of the gorgeous retina XDR display. Plus, (as a biohacker) I always have a pair of “swannies” around. 

Grammarly

Before even thinking about installing any power-hungry apps, I immediately did that with the one which is the beginning of all my content creation, Grammarly.
Ukrainian-made Grammarly likely is my all-time favorite app. It didn’t just make me a better creator; It helped me publish both of my books and all my content. It also lets me understand precisely how I want to deliver my thoughts, facilitating my style as an author.

Grammarly in Safari

Although I installed the app, I rather have the projects I currently work on pinned on my browser, which for this type of work and in general is Safari. This also applies to my journals which I back up every month.

Notion

Almost as essential as Grammarly, Notion needs no introduction. Unlike others having sophisticated and colorful templates, I stick to the pre-sets with a few basics. This includes daily intentions, to-do lists, and stuff I’m grateful for, and that impressed me. Lately, I’ve also started copying the entries from my dream and ritual/meditation journals. I believe not separating but incorporating those with your daily life and planning is the “better” approach to have, which Notion allows for. Although that’s a subject for my occult channel.

Adobe Suite

Eager to test my Mac as a content creator, I logged into my Creative Cloud account and began downloading the apps I mainly use. Starting with Premiere Pro and After Effects, these include Photoshop, Illustrator, Media Encoder, and Indesign, which I occasionally use when publishing a new book. Macs are optimized for Final Cut, but I prefer the coherency between all Adobe apps, especially the dynamic link.

Visual Studio

Next to my “main” apps, I downloaded VS Code. I install extensions like ”Highlight Matching Tag,” ”Auto Rename Tag,” ”Live Server,” ”Prettier,” ”Peek,” ”Live Sass Compiler,” and a few others. Besides them, I installed the shell command “Path.” So I can open my VS Code via Terminal.

Chrome

Along with VS Code, I install the latest version of Chrome. While somewhat irritating regarding web browsing, writing, and Notion, Chrome is the “Gold Standard” for expecting your work as a developer. I also ensured that Chrome and its “Inspect Element” were in “dark mode.”

Sound

Eventually, I’ll install Ableton for my voiceovers. That will happen when I finally decide on the dongle to connect my 16″ MacBook Pro with my Apollo Twin. Still not sure; I am considering some products by Satechi and Baseus since they have the ports I need while matching with the space grey. Whenever I decide, I’ll unbox the product on this channel.

Music Production

As long as for FL Studio and my numerous VSTs, I’ll keep them all on my old MacBook Pro. I don’t want to fill up the 1TB SSD, but keep the machine as clean as possible. Although, I’ll eventually buy some external SSDs, which I’ll unbox and review on this channel.

Final Words

Plain and simple, this concludes the setup of my new 24-Core MacBook Pro M1 Max. The app selection is not fancy; it’s just what I use to progress and organize my life. So feel free to comment and maybe share some suggestions based on what you have on your Mac.