So....this mac thing

[gus]

.

[Thusie]

Gus,

Don't have mac LT and are you saying it looks washed out? The native Mac 'what ever its called' is 1.8 and PC is 2.2. Change that and the LCD will look much better. The other is the resolution, if the LCD is set to a lower res than max it will look fuzzy. Macs have a pretty fair monitor calibration tool that makes a world of difference in how the LCD looks.

Just a thought:):

[Justiceiro]

Gus,

Don't have mac LT and are you saying it looks washed out? The native Mac 'what ever its called' is 1.8 and PC is 2.2. Change that and the LCD will look much better. The other is the resolution, if the LCD is set to a lower res than max it will look fuzzy. Macs have a pretty far monitor calibration tool that makes a world of difference in how the LCD looks.

Just a thought:):

Have you guys been to the apple.com site and looked at what's available refurbished? And the prices? Nice.

I paid for my 5 year old Sony Vaio desktop about what an iMac g5 costs now.

[bwg]

Today ...for the 2nd time 'ever' i went into a macburger shop & even played with one. I feel (cough) somewhat grubby.

I was looking at this new laptop that has the intel core duo (sorta like having to put a chevy donk in a ford to get the ford working properly 'eh )

What is the attraction here ? Great power & size But that screen detracts from the whole computer. It would have to be the worst on the market for resolution & that dusty look. We dropped a P100 toshiba next to it & the mac guy just said at the end that it was chalk & cheese. Also said there was an announcement due in a few weeks from macburger...is it a screen worth looking at possibly ?

Get someone to put a toshiba screen on that thing & i will buy one tomorrow ! :1drink
gus, the screen on mine is great...i've never had another lappy to compare it to though, so maybe i'm just inexperienced.

also, from a lot of reviews i've read, previous powerbook owners have said the displays on the new macbooks are far and away brighter and sharper than the old iBook/powerbooks.

[DavidTO]

Gus,

Don't have mac LT and are you saying it looks washed out? The native Mac 'what ever its called' is 1.8 and PC is 2.2. Change that and the LCD will look much better. The other is the resolution, if the LCD is set to a lower res than max it will look fuzzy. Macs have a pretty fair monitor calibration tool that makes a world of difference in how the LCD looks.

Just a thought:):


Gus, Thusie is most likely right. Mac's heritage is in print--pre-press stuff, and for some reason the gamma ended up at 1.8. You're used to 2.2. Heck, I'm used to it, because all my Macs are set to it. At 1.8 it looks washed out and "chalky". But trust me, the screen's fine.

[wxwax]

They all do that. :lol3

[pathfinder]

I am inclined to agree with David and Thusie.

The screen on my PowerBook 15 in LCD is not as good as the 23 in Cinema display ( which you can also run from a PB....:):), but when you calibrate the screen using their included screen calibration routine, or better, with an optical colorimeter like the SPyder2Pro, the difference between my PB and my desktop screeens is minimal, sitting side by side.

And I agree that the gamma of 1.8 looks washed out, so both of my machines run with a gamma of 2.2 also.

The brighter, higher contrast screens of Toshiba, HP, Dell look appealing at first, my wife has a new HP 17in laptop, but for editing images, the PowerBooks screen is fine and resembles my desktop display which almost all reviewers rank as superb ( Apple 23 in Cinema Display )

One of the things I love about the Apples, is that with a .MAC account, I can synch all of my machines so the calender, bookmarks, security settings, and address books are the same and all are up to date.

Synching things via .MAC is just one more reason I like the Apple world better. I am about to replace the Windows box I am writing this on right now, with a new MiniMAC partially for that reason. The new Mini's with the DuoCore Intel Processors look to be reall useful devices and they look great with the 20 in LCDs from Apple. I think the new Minis are going to slowly be accepted as real, powerful machines.

[DavidTO]

They all do that. :lol3


Do what?

[pathfinder]

You know!


NO, I don't know either!:dunno

[DavidTO]

Today ...for the 2nd time 'ever' i went into a macburger shop & even played with one. I feel (cough) somewhat grubby.

I was looking at this new laptop that has the intel core duo (sorta like having to put a chevy donk in a ford to get the ford working properly 'eh )

What is the attraction here ? Great power & size But that screen detracts from the whole computer. It would have to be the worst on the market for resolution & that dusty look. We dropped a P100 toshiba next to it & the mac guy just said at the end that it was chalk & cheese. Also said there was an announcement due in a few weeks from macburger...is it a screen worth looking at possibly ?

Get someone to put a toshiba screen on that thing & i will buy one tomorrow ! :1drink

Gus, I simply can't keep up with you. Between talking trash and drooling over the Macs, who knows where you stand?

If you go back in the shop or have a chance to play with one again, go to the Apple Menu (top left) and pull down to System Preferences. In there is a button for Displays. Click on the Color tab, then calibrate and go through the calibration steps (advanced mode), and see what you think of the display after that. Make sure that when you're calibrating that you set the gamma to 2.2.

[wxwax]

Do what?
It's a motorcycle thing. Your bike has a problem (say, a chalky screen) and the dealer says "they all do that."

It's a nice way of excusing a fault. :lol3

[Andy]

It's a motorcycle thing. Your bike has a problem (say, a chalky screen) and the dealer says "they all do that."

It's a nice way of excusing a fault. :lol3

You'll never get it....

[Thusie]

It's a motorcycle thing. Your bike has a problem (say, a chalky screen)

Bikes have screens???:scratch Wow Sid I learn something new everyday from you.

[gus]

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[Andy]

I stand where i get the most value for money & i will always look to see the enemys weapons. Mate he tried everything with that screen...changed it left, right & center to get it looking anywhere near the toshiba as he could see $4k going down the drain. Im serious here...a beautifull powerfull ultra slim machine that has a screen worse than my '91 Amiga. It is a dog of a screen plain & simple.

To turn the table here for a min....have you seen a toshiba P100 or qosmio's screen ?

Gus, I have a very expensive Apple 23" Cinema Display, if I want to make it look like a dog, I can do that. Gamma for one, contrast / brightness buttons for two, etc. You were looking at a lappy which was poorly adjusted. And the saleskid probably didn't know that, either.

Enjoy that new Qosmio, it looks sweet!

[DavidTO]

Enjoy that new Qosmio, it looks sweet!


Quosimodo? :dunno

[DavidTO]

To turn the table here for a min....have you seen a toshiba P100 or qosmio's screen ?


Come on, Gus. Get serious. You know I never give the other side a fair shake.

[gus]

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[Andy]

Im not talking about a $4K screen here...i saw those & they look great . Im talking about the new core duo maclaptop.
I can do the same exact thing to the maclaptop, Gus. They're settings, and if they're not set right, well, it's all facacta and you buy the Qosmidio jobby :D

[gus]

.

[colourbox]

Man ...im giving up. Its like telling a parent their kid is ugly....you have all been implanted with the controller 2b45X. If any of you mcburger users ever walk past a higher end toshiba...just have a quick look at what your missing out on.

I agree, newer PC screens look great. But attractive, bright, glossy color does not necessarily equal accurate color representation. How come photography guru Rob Galbraith (http://www.robgalbraith.com/), who has long complained about how slow Macs have been compared to PCs, says "the 1280 x 854 pixel screen in several generations of 15 inch Powerbook has been our gold standard (http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-7890-8160) for notebook displays."

[gus]

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[DavidTO]

How come it looks like a bit of crap then ? That plain & simple...it is dull & ordinary.


It's the gamma, Gus.

[Dee]

What on earth attracts you to the Mac side?

Don't you know you can probably put any monitor you like on the Mac... there's usually a plug for an external or second monitor.

PC monitors are usually set up to knock your eyes out and rot the eye cells... I get a headache looking at them too long, and wind up adjusting them... (just kiddin' you here).

The reasons Mac monitors are set a little "faded" is because of the dot gain when things are offset printed. When you print your colors look darker than the monitor. So some production artists will look at an optimized file on the screen, then the printed piece to acclimate themselves to the printing world. Sort of like adjusting your photos and when the print looks good out of your inkjet, that's what you aim for in the future...

That's how I discovered that the inkjets are optimized for Windows machines and SRGB... Huge difference once I had to turn my poor Mac into a Windows Monitor....

I have sensitive eyes anyway... it was great when we printed our own black and white photos in the darkroom, I could easily see subtle nuances. Hubby would argue with me until the prints were out of the chemicals and all dry...then he had to admit my timing was better than his. Of course, that meant I had to make all the prints from then on (so being right can sometimes be bad!)

If you're not planning to do production work for graphic arts -- then by all means turn your Mac monitor into a "PC monitor" or buy a separate PC monitor and use the Mac monitor to hold your software pallets, giving you more room to mess with your pictures!

But the question is, if you're such a happy Windows user, why even bother with a Mac?

My theory is happy Windows users don't deserve a Mac! Don't all flame me here at once now! But really... if you love Windows and love what Windows entails, why bother switching?

My daughter just got the 20 inch iMac -- I have to say, what a beauty! And you can easily carry it around.

I'm still stuck with my 21 inch CRT (which I love! But it weighs a ton) and a Mac G4 Multi-processor...

And I've been forced to play with Windows and I didn't like it... things made deliberately difficult to ensure the employment of IT personnel! :rofl

And yes, I moaned and groaned at OS X -- WAY too Windows like for me! Permissions, users, UGH what a royal pain! Fonts all over the place, I hate it!

But, it rarely crashes (note I didn't say never) and dashboard is cute...

So why are you looking at Macs?????

[Thusie]

How come it looks like a bit of crap then ? That plain & simple...it is dull & ordinary.

Could be a defective screen, video card, that can happen, poor calibration, that can def happen. What ever the reason it didn't work for you and you got what you liked. Thats what makes the world go round.

[Andy]

So why are you looking at Macs?????

He knows he wants one - he can't resist the Siren Song. Why do you think he keeps bringing it up every month or so? And now, he's looking at them in the store!

It's like a 13year old boy - says he HATES girls, but secretly...he loves them!

[Bob Bell]

Big Mac or Whopper. I think that is more interesting than all of the mac n cheese threads. LOL

[gus]

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[Justiceiro]

Man ...im giving up. Its like telling a parent their kid is ugly....you have all been implanted with the controller 2b45X. If any of you mcburger users ever walk past a higher end toshiba...just have a quick look at what your missing out on.

I use a pretty high end toshiba laptop at work- It just can't handle the big images the way that a Mac can.

replacing a laptop doesn't really make sense to me, however. What do you use your laptop for, other than a field lab or a sort of glorified huge storage tank? I do post processing at home on my Ancient Sony Vaio. I would never consider making a laptop my principal work station, because you get much more performance for your dollar in a desktop.

Seriously, refurbished 2.1ghz iMac G5s for $1300 or so? That's incredible.

[Dee]

He knows he wants one - he can't resist the Siren Song. Why do you think he keeps bringing it up every month or so? And now, he's looking at them in the store!

It's like a 13year old boy - says he HATES girls, but secretly...he loves them!

On many different levels here Andy.... I had to think a minute or two there!:):

[Andy]

On many different levels here Andy.... I had to think a minute or two there!:):

But secretly he loves them!
Gus' assimilation is just taking a bit longer - but that's to be expected :lol3

[W.W. Webster]

! will always look to see the enemys weapons..... and you want us to believe you're going through an objective evaluation process, Gus?

Yeah right!

[wxwax]

You'll never get it....
:smooch

:poke

I look at Macs everyday and twice on Sunday. Lovely machines.

It's their users who are risible. :bigbs

:flip

[Dee]

:smooch

:poke

I look at Macs everyday and twice on Sunday. Lovely machines.

It's their users who are risible. :bigbs

:flip

I had to look that one up. So you think we're funny, or just to be laughed at?:dunno

[wxwax]

I had to look that one up. So you think we're funny, or just to be laughed at?:dunno
The latter. But not you, Dee. David and Andy like to blow a lot of Mac smoke up our skirts, so it's fun making fun of them for it. Although sometimes I think they don't enjoy it very much. :uhoh

:lol3

[Dee]

The latter. But not you, Dee. David and Andy like to blow a lot of Mac smoke up our skirts, so it's fun making fun of them for it. Although sometimes I think they don't enjoy it very much. :uhoh

:lol3

I was beginning to worry there for a bit!:):

My hubby is an adamant Mac user. He can't stand Windows! I really don't care what other people use as long as they don't force me to use Windows :rofl

My daughter is contemplating making her iMac a dual boot, just because she can, not for any love of Windows. Plus she's into anime and I suspect some stuff is only on Windows, so she'd have the best of both worlds.

She had to IT the boss's Windows machine. The problem wasn't so much with the machine, but with the boss' lack of interest in learning to take care of the machine by himself. He'd open e-mail attachments, etc. So his machine always had some sort of virus or another. He's pretty smart in other areas, just hates computers!

Hey, I rememer the days when we had to run virus software on our Macs at the office. Again people not checking for a virus before uploading stuff from their friends, etc. We had a heck of a time getting our machines virus free because some of them resided on floppies or zip disks and the employees just wouldn't run the virus check on them. I finally hired a temp to do just that!

We got a lot of viruses from our clients who used PCs and even if we told them they had a macro virus (told you this was way back) they wouldn't do a thing about it. I guess it was a big thing to have to call IT to have them fix the problem or something.

We spent more time running their floppies or zip disks thru the virus checker -- we should have charged them extra.

Now with e-mail and the internet it's even more difficult to get users trained and aware. It's just too bad it's so easy to get a virus these days, or get tricked by spam or phising schemes. The 'net can be a pretty dangerous place for the unsuspecting.

[wxwax]

:nod Good post.

I guess there's a huge generational divide. I believe the kids are growing up with computers and are entirely comfortable with them. Then there's everyone older than, say, 30 or 35 :dunno who didn't play on these things as children. To many of us, computers are mystery boxes that sometimes bite you! So we do silly things because we don't like to deal with them.

[Dee]

:nod Good post.

I guess there's a huge generational divide. I believe the kids are growing up with computers and are entirely comfortable with them. Then there's everyone older than, say, 30 or 35 :dunno who didn't play on these things as children. To many of us, computers are mystery boxes that sometimes bite you! So we do silly things because we don't like to deal with them.

But computers don't scare me!!!!:rofl

My mom is petrified of them -- but a friend of mine the same age really got into using them (but he had a local college help him with the maintenance and trouble shooting).

I had to learn to trouble shoot our Macs and printers, look up software for them, etc. So I was an IT person for a simple set up. We (my daughter and I) even had to string wire to make a LAN....

We were lucky, had a really good store -- ComputerWare -- close nearby and they helped a lot with advice and how to. It was really simplier in OS8 and 9 days.

I'm a visual person, so being able to put "pretty pictures" on the desktop is a big deal, and I love the Mac interface. It's visually interesting and friendly... the Windows platform is getting better but I find it more intimidating and confusing.

But, as I said, OSX is getting there -- intimidating and confusing. I don't feel as confident with it as I did with OS9.

And those stupid permissions! It gets more complicated in a larger office. I contract at one where there are over 20 Macs networked together. I was trying to put a file in a folder and couldn't -- didn't have permission! Boy, did that get my temper going!!!!!:D

So now instead of checking for viruses, I'm busy fixing permissions all the time! Grrrrrrr.

I sometimes I wish I was more of the "engineer" type so I wouldn't find this stuff so daunting.

[bwg]

ok, so i just did the calibration. holy difference! gus, you gotta go back to the store and calibrate one of these jobbies.

and so i have a good measuring stick, i'll go to the non apple store and do the same. i'm a new convert so i'm not attached to the kool-aid teet yet.

[DavidTO]

ok, so i just did the calibration. holy difference! gus, you gotta go back to the store and calibrate one of these jobbies.

and so i have a good measuring stick, i'll go to the non apple store and do the same. i'm a new convert so i'm not attached to the kool-aid teet yet.

Ah, but you're a convert. Uh-huh, that's what I'm talkin' about!

[wxwax]

I'm a visual person, so being able to put "pretty pictures" on the desktop is a big deal, and I love the Mac interface. It's visually interesting and friendly... the Windows platform is getting better but I find it more intimidating and confusing.


From my point of view, Thusie, you've put your finger on the Mac's biggest appeal.

[Andy]

i'm a new convert so i'm not attached to the kool-aid teet yet.

give it some time

http://www.rockfordacromatic.com/dwayne/webspace/sleepingapple.jpg

[gus]

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[DavidTO]

Can you ..better yet...do you do all your editing on the mac LCD or for the quality stuff do you still use CRT ?

LCD. Sometimes I do my editing on LSD, but usually it's just LCD.

The graphics guys at work here even are moving from CRT to LCD.

[gus]

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[wxwax]

All our work, video and graphics, is done using Apple flat panels. However, the video editors all also have a CRT for playback.

[DavidTO]

All our work, video and graphics, is done using Apple flat panels. However, the video editors all also have a CRT for playback.


Most likely NTSC, which is an entirely different beast than a computer CRT.

[wxwax]

Most likely NTSC, which is an entirely different beast than a computer CRT.
That is correct.

[Bob Bell]

I assume butchers means looking at. While your at it, the widescreen Dell 20 and 24 inch are alledgedly the same part number as the Apple Cinema. Just the LCD part not the case.

[Thusie]

From my point of view, Thusie, you've put your finger on the Mac's biggest appeal.

Aha Sid that was Dee not me, put your glasses on old man..Geez:D

[DavidTO]

From my point of view, Thusie, you've put your finger on the Mac's biggest appeal.


Excuse me, Mr.

How many hours have you logged on a Mac to all of a sudden be an expert on THAT?






(Sid, please don't search for all the times I spouted off on windows and throw it back in my face. That would be so unfair.)

[W.W. Webster]

I assume butchers means looking at.Butcher's hook = look (Cockney rhyming slang).

[Thusie]

(Sid, please don't search for all the times I spouted off on windows and throw it back in my face. That would be so unfair.)

Oh go for it, this thread is getting a bit too calm:rofl

[Bob Bell]

Butcher's hook = look (Cockney rhyming slang).

Thats like that guys words in the movie Oceans 11.

What brand of cereal has the Cockney to English decoder ring?

[Jamoke]

Man ...im giving up. Its like telling a parent their kid is ugly....you have all been implanted with the controller 2b45X. If any of you mcburger users ever walk past a higher end toshiba...just have a quick look at what your missing out on.
My kid sure is beautiful -

I have a Dell XPS Gen 2 for my gaming addiction, and I love looking at my photographs on it's beautiful 17" screen (1900x1600) - It was one of the best LCD screens on the market when I got it. However my other child is a titanium Powerbook - 15". And pictures look just as beautiful. Andy is right - it is a setting, but don't buy a mac for the screen. Get a Mac Mini if that is your hang up. The mac is built better for pictures. If the screen on the laptop doesn't suite you then don't buy the portability (They did make minor sacrifices for portability)

I have a friend who just bought one of the new ones - He bought it cause it won't get viruses. I have another friend who wants one because it is one of the only consumer level monochrome laptops on the market. While these aspects are nice, it should never be the basis of a purchase of a mac. Try photoshop on one of these suckers, or Aperature if it's available. Try Final Cut, or even the pathetic iPhoto (Which is adequate... for some things) I used a 12" powerbook before I had my 15" - and I thought the 12" screen was beautiful. I just had to hold it really close.... K K K

:soapbox


:deadhorse

Mac's are amazing - And it's not just that He's my child.

[wxwax]

Excuse me, Mr.

How many hours have you logged on a Mac to all of a sudden be an expert on THAT?

(Sid, please don't search for all the times I spouted off on windows and throw it back in my face. That would be so unfair.)

:lol3 OK, I won't. :evil

But I keep telling you boys, I work around Macs all day. I even *gasp* need to wade into Final Cut Pro and do things for myself every once in a while. :deal

[wxwax]

put your glasses on old man..Geez:D
You have no idea how accurate that is. :uhoh

[gus]

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[Andy]

Can you ..better yet...do you do all your editing on the mac LCD or for the quality stuff do you still use CRT ?

I edit freely on my maclappy when I'm traveling - it's a great screen, calibrated the same way with the same tool as I use on my 23" LCD at home, so yeah, I use it. In fact, using it now!

[gus]

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[gus]

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[DavidTO]

S..ss...s.SSShhhaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/iMac-20-G5-2-0-Ghz-1GB-RAM_W0QQitemZ8784752936QQcategoryZ4603QQrdZ1QQcmdZ ViewItem)
Send for waxy...bring doom 3 & anything else you can find that wont run on a mac.


Looks nice, Gus! :D

[dragon300zx]

Man ...im giving up. Its like telling a parent their kid is ugly....you have all been implanted with the controller 2b45X. If any of you mcburger users ever walk past a higher end toshiba...just have a quick look at what your missing out on.

Gus, I hate to say this. GOD i HATE TO SAY THIS. But for once the idio.. I mean mac users are right. The screen on that laptop wasn't setup properly and the guy at the store is a sales person, they are far from e=mc2. Having to agree with baka :cry. Now my stomachs upset.