Jon Jacobi is a musician, former x86/6800 programmer, and long-time computer enthusiast. He writes reviews on TVs, SSDs, dash cams, remote access software, Bluetooth speakers, and sundry other consumer-tech hardware and software.
Apple's digital audio workstation is an incredibly powerful, super affordable reason to buy a Mac. As of version 11, it can replace those pesky band members and their egos. We kid, but is Logic now the real "Garage Band"?
Though this 20Gbps dock and its modules are limited to 10Gbps on a Mac, it's a slick looking combo and super handy for organizing projects and backups on their own media.
OWC's Envoy Pro FX Mini packs true USB 10Gbps speed into the thumb drive form factor and also provides both Type-C and Type-A connectors. It's pricey, but super convenient and fast.
Focusrite has designed this pod/video-casting kit to makes sense to the budding content creator. The audio interface and mic are surprisingly high quality, and the design metaphor is bang on.
Modern in appearance and simplicity, just about anyone can use the surprisingly full-featured Ninox for Mac database app. It also interfaces directly with Ninox's online service.
Digital Performer is a vastly capable digital audio workstation that offers unique organization abilities for soundtracks and other large-scale projects. It also takes a deep dive to plumb its capabilities and quirks to reap the rewards.
Sabrent's XTRM-Q Thunderbolt 3 drive sports two 8TB NVMe SSDs that can be combined (striped) for speed, or mirrored for redundancy. But it's over-priced at $3300, uses software RAID, and performance on the Mac slowed under load
While only an average performer among 10Gbps USB drives, the LaCie Portable SSD's unique and attractive design, as well as its svelte form factor make it one of our favorites
Users are concerned over SSD lifespan with the M1 swapping from memory under heavy loads. It's not something to ignore, but the fact is, SSDs last a lot longer than most people think.