LuLu is intentionally blunt, like a brickwall limiter with minimal user interaction. Little Snitch is more of a network monitor first. It's not "better", but it gives you a lot more configuration options. LuLu is primarily app-level allow/deny. Little Snitch operates at the connection and destination level, so it can do rules per domain. If Little Snitch is configured correctly, there’s usually no reason to touch the hosts file. Little Snitch does the same job with more context.

People may say Little Snitch can be annoying, asking for approval of every little thing, and that is true for a few hours or a couple of days. After it is fully configured it is not bad, even in Alert Mode. That is mostly because you will setup rules to block things in advance of even getting a connection alert.

 

Yes Significantly. As Clone says, and I'll reiterate, once it's set up, it's very flexible and configurable.
You need the latest version for Tahoe.

The learning process for Wares on Mac is a thing, and Terminal is your best friend, but it's a brilliant OS for Workflow, Interoperability and reliability.

 

Last edited: Dec 29, 2025

Finally bit the bullet,
and got the refurbed Mabook Air M3!
(16GB 1TB - Sequoia for now)

I'm loving it so far..

I got it in it's own window/desktop inside of Debian via "NoMachine" / ethernet,
and it works Phenomenally!

very nice n sharp at max quality..

So I can work with both computers at once,
the mac lives inside the debian desktop and everything is fine! :D

-Right now I'm using it to port an app,
so it's basically a Compilation machine... and boy if it can compile!

Just imagine what normally will take 35minutes on an AMD FX8350 32GB..
takes 2,5 Minutes on the M3!

So this accelerates progress a big deal..

-As per mac software,
I'm mostly using iTerm2 - very recommendable to linux users for a soft landing..

Then I tried "Stats" to see more CPU readings and stuff, pretty good.

I have just now installed:
Keka, Lulu, AppCleaner, and Suspicious Package..

Then I'm considering Sentinel and PlistEdit,
as I'm already running into Plists and Quarantining and Certificates little madnesses.. lol

Right now I'm fixing the exports via terminal, Claude AI makes good commands lol
but yeah eventually I will have to put some order in these things..

 

Last edited: Mar 9, 2026 at 6:40 PM

Btw I also got a USB hub,
the Revodok Pro 1091 with ethernet..

Great price from amazon,
gets a bit warm but is working perfectly so far

 

yup those are practically mandatory nowadays,

also if you want Windows-like app/window previews, I can highly recommend DockDoor (it's free and good replacement for those used to Hyperdock in the past)
https://dockdoor.net/
https://github.com/ejbills/DockDoor

congratz on new Mac and enjoy

 

In my humble opinion and past/present experience, all you need to get started in your transition is the following:

• Google
• Little Snitch
• CrossOver
• Sentinel
• AppCleaner
  
  
• The Unarchiver (or BetterZip) for those recalcitrant archives we all run into once in a while

*************************************​

Google what and when you need - YouTube is owned by Google, so you'll get plenty of illustrated tutorials there - and links to forums.

LittleSnitch is invaluable - not just for music production apps, but for web browsers, etc. Block, block, block - as you would your house.

CrossOver will come in handy for some Win only keygens - useless to me otherwise. If you have access to an old Win PC: no need.

Sentinel is an app that allows you to bypass the MacOS safety aka GateKeeper. You could use Terminal, or this app with a GUI.

AppCleaner or equivalent, hunts down dependency files and deletes them along with the main app. Very useful.

Mac has a built-in unarchiver, which is solid, does the job. Sometimes, it encounters a curve ball. BetterZip or 7zip to the rescue.

*************************************
​

The only other thing I would recommend depends on your DAW.

I use LogicPro for Production, and DSP-Quattro for mixing/mastering. Both are AU format only. Some plugin installers let you "customize" the installation and uncheck VST, VST3, AAX, and CLAP. Some don't. They install the whole lot. Over time, you'll get a lot of bloat - GBs of plugins in a format you don't need.

If you use Logic, you can delete all of these extraneous versions of your plugins. In Finder, go to the Menu, select Go\Go to Folder... and type or paste: /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/. You'll see Components where all your AU plugins are stored, and the VST, VST3, and CLAP folders as well. Don't delete the folders, but you can safely delete their contents (you may/will have to type in your password, or use Finger ID to confirm).

If you use Cubase, you can do likewise with the Components (/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components) folder.

To delete Avid AAX plugins, Go to: /Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins.

 

If you have your Mac laptop already connected to the PC via Ethernet, get Audiogridder. There are both Windows and Linux plugins and servers available, and obviously Mac. The server is the machine hosting the plugins you want to load into the Audiogridder DAW plugin on the other. Windows 10 can remain off the internet, so no firewall, etc. You can run quite a lot of plugins with the Windows server not having a DAW even loaded. It should show about 45 milliseconds latency between them, but in Logic it's corrected automatically anyway. Set it up like you would just for filesharing first, and then it is very easy from there.

Definitely get Bluecat Audio's Patchwork and install it as a standalone application as well as the plugin versions.

 

Last edited: Mar 10, 2026 at 6:14 AM

Hey all -- i am in the same boat and just ordered a m5 pro!

my question is how to add kontakt libraries in bulk on mac? on windows i used vkDanilov but i was curious if theres a preferred equivalent on mac?