Andy's Un-Official Unsolicited Mac Advice Thread

[Andy]

Or worse, the same install with 2 major updates (Jaguar>Panther>Tiger) and the smaller updates in between. Plus, your drive directory will become corrupted, it's just a matter of time. A little preventative maintenance can go a long way...


Dude, I'm not stupid - I have automaintenance on, and all the updates are fetched automagically. I just don't wanna know what a "cron" is :D

[DavidTO]

Dude, I'm not stupid - I have automaintenance on, and all the updates are fetched automagically. I just don't wanna know what a "cron" is :D


What does automaintenance mean?

[wxwax]

A) Who said maintenance free? Virus free, adware/spyware free, yes. But maintenance, no.

B)You're a d.....a...a...Richard!
:lol3

[rutt]

What does automaintenance mean?

It means a new entry in the ARQG.

[Andy]

What does automaintenance mean?

This:

[DavidTO]

This:


That is not maintenance. Just to be clear. If there are problems it won't fix them, it only updates your system. In fact, if there are problems with your drive and you update, it could cause big problems.

[gus]

That is not maintenance. Just to be clear. If there are problems it won't fix them, it only updates your system. In fact, if there are problems with your drive and you update, it could cause big problems.
whoooo-ahhh there lad ! Y..y...y...y...you mean there is problems with a mcputer :huh All that stuff about ownership curing hangnails & male pattern baldness was hype ?

[DavidTO]

whoooo-ahhh there lad ! Y..y...y...y...you mean there is problems with a mcputer :huh All that stuff about ownership curing hangnails & male pattern baldness was hype ?


I'll just recycle the same thing I said to Sid:

A) Who said maintenance free? Virus free, adware/spyware free, yes. But maintenance, no.

B)You're a d.....a...a...Richard!

[Andy]

That is not maintenance. Just to be clear. If there are problems it won't fix them, it only updates your system. In fact, if there are problems with your drive and you update, it could cause big problems.

I know -- but above, someone was saying about not being current and such. I'm as current as yesterday.

I do have Disk Warrior, I can read (http://homepage.mac.com/david_rosenthal/MacintoshTroubleShooting.htm), y'know!

I'm off like a prom dress :wave

[marlof]

someone was saying about not being current and such

I was not saying you were not current, I was just saying your system is probably that fresh, that the need for maintenance is less felt. I've been running Mac OS X on the same iBook for over three years. Been updating automagically like you, been buying the new cats over the years. But never did a fresh install, just upgraded all the time. Doing maintenance is a requirement, esp. if you use your system for a longer period of time. And running system updates is only part of your maintenance schedule. But I see that you run Disk Warrior, so you do some maintenance. Good for you.

And about those crons, I can't help it but I'll always think Leica, not UNIX.

[gubbs]

whoooo-ahhh there lad ! Y..y...y...y...you mean there is problems with a mcputer :huh All that stuff about ownership curing hangnails & male pattern baldness was hype ?

You notice how they wait till my cash is down on one before they tell you about the lists of problems :wxwax

[Andy]

I was not saying you were not current, I was just saying your system is probably that fresh, that the need for maintenance is less felt. I've been running Mac OS X on the same iBook for over three years. Been updating automagically like you, been buying the new cats over the years. But never did a fresh install, just upgraded all the time. Doing maintenance is a requirement, esp. if you use your system for a longer period of time. And running system updates is only part of your maintenance schedule. But I see that you run Disk Warrior, so you do some maintenance. Good for you.

And about those crons, I can't help it but I'll always think Leica, not UNIX.

I had no troubles upgrading to Tiger last year either - I just folly'd the instructions, taking the defaults all the way :D

:lol3

[patch29]

Anyone else notice that vbulletin and Safari seem to be working properly now, after the 10.4.4 update? :ear :clap my work here is done. :1drink :lol3 :wxwax

[gubbs]

A hint (http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/456030.html) to the performance of photoshop / rosetta / intel imac

ooh, & mines been dspatched : )

[DavidTO]

Gubbs,

The review-meisters at Ars Technica have their review of the iMac Core Duo (http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/imac-coreduo.ars) up.

[gubbs]

Gubbs,

The review-meisters at Ars Technica have their review of the iMac Core Duo (http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/imac-coreduo.ars) up.
Thanks David, not sure how much that all means when he only used 512Kb of RAM :dunno What do you think??

[Andy]

David beat me to a pulp :beatwax so I finally broke down and bought Macaroni.

[pathfinder]

Thanks David, not sure how much that all means when he only used 512Kb of RAM :dunno What do you think??

I thought it was an impressive debut of the Intel dual core chipsets in the iMAC. In some areas it was approaching 2.5GHz Dual PowerMacs speed even with less RAM. The pros software ( PSCS2 ) needs to be ported to Intel code, not translated via Rosetta, but an impressive debut.

In the next generation, next year, these are going to be great machines - I may purchase an 20in iMac for use in my office.

But I won't swap out my PowerMac for at least two more generations - it doea everything I need for now and into the future for a while longer.

[DavidTO]

Thanks David, not sure how much that all means when he only used 512Kb of RAM :dunno What do you think??


It means that if you put more RAM into it you'll get better results, especially with Rosetta, I believe.

[DavidTO]

David beat me to a pulp :beatwax so I finally broke down and bought Macaroni.


Good boy.

[gus]

A gift for you mcheads (http://feelingtea.com/decode/google/play.php?vid=101019)

[gus]

Now this one is even better (http://feelingtea.com/decode/google/play.php?vid=101013) but please please be aware that a swear word is used twice in this rather long & funny vid (it is a bad one) so dont say you were not told.

[gubbs]

One of the benefits is lifetime, free DavidTO Tech Support.
David, please can I have some of this free support :deal

Just planning the transfer of files from my sick PC to the mac. In the PC I have a 300GB slave HDD (NTFS) which I'm going to take out and put in 1 of the 2 firewire enclosures (http://www.raidsonic.de/en/pages/products/external_cases.php?we_objectID=3816) I've bought. I've also bought a new and as yet unformatted 300GB drive which I'll put in the other.

1/ am I right in thinking that for my windows laptop and the mac to be able to read/write the drives they have to be FAT32?
3/ if that's the case, is it possible to reformat an NTFS drive to FAT32
4/ There was a 2 but but I was being thick(er):D

Thanks:thumb

[Andy]

David, please can I have some of this free support :deal

Just planning the transfer of files from my sick PC to the mac. In the PC I have a 300GB slave HDD (NTFS) which I'm going to take out and put in 1 of the 2 firewire enclosures (http://www.raidsonic.de/en/pages/products/external_cases.php?we_objectID=3816) I've bought. I've also bought a new and as yet unformatted 300GB drive which I'll put in the other.

1/ am I right in thinking that for my windows laptop and the mac to be able to read/write the drives they have to be FAT32?
3/ if that's the case, is it possible to reformat an NTFS drive to FAT32
4/ There was a 2 but but I was being thick(er):D

Thanks:thumb

Yes Fat 32 for both. Yes you can format NTFS drive to fat 32.

[DavidTO]

Hey, Gubbs,

I don't know, but I been told...

not to trust FAT32.

It'll be more than fine for transferring files, but I would avoid it for long-term use.

Another option for long-term file sharing is to use a gigabit ethernet switch and share the drive over the network.

[StevenV]

I use Fat32 all the time. see Formatting Big FAT32 Volumes (http://steven.vorefamily.net/2004/09/formatting-big-fat32-volumes.html) for some assist.

[DavidTO]

I use Fat32 all the time. see Formatting Big FAT32 Volumes (http://steven.vorefamily.net/2004/09/formatting-big-fat32-volumes.html) for some assist.


Great resource. My weak point in all things Mac is that all I really know about is Mac stuff, so when people ask about PC things, I'm a little out of my league.

I like it that way.

[DavidTO]

So, Gubbs,

do you have it yet?

[gubbs]

So, Gubbs,

do you have it yet?
Not Yet :cry
latest tacking: (GMT) Depart Terminal SHANGHAI, SH, CN 19 Jan 2006 14:10

Mac tell me I'll have it by Friday, latest. Can't wait!

Thanks for above advice, and your mac help page, great stuff!
I've been lying in bed having a rethink :scratch
I use the laptop mainly for downloading my flash cards to, chimping and some ps editing. As long as I'm able to read the laptop's hd from the mac and then copy files to one of the it's drives I'll be happy. So I might as well just format both the external drives for the mac?
Oh yea, will my laptop be able to read the mac drives :dunno

[rutt]

As long as I'm able to read the laptop's hd from the mac and then copy files to one of the it's drives I'll be happy. So I might as well just format both the external drives for the mac?
Oh yea, will my laptop be able to read the mac drives :dunno

I was going to suggest that. You'll get better stability because the Mac file system is journaled which means that it can survive a crash or a power outtage without damage. NTFS is also journaled, but not FAT.

Both machines are capable of exporting and importing filesystems from each other. This has nothing to do with whether the filesystems are NTFS, FAT, or HFS+ (Mac). The only downside of formatting your external drives for the Mac is that you won't be able to plug them directly into the windows machine.

[rutt]

Macworld has some Mactel benchmarks, including photoshop running under Rosetta: http://www.macworld.com/2006/01/features/imaclabtest1/index1.php

Too bad. On the other hand, look at the first page. There is every reason to think that the next release of photoshop will result in a very nice performance boost on these machines. Long term, there is every reason to think the higher end machines which use the fastest Intel processors will be real PS monsters. They already are under Windows and there is no reason performace should be worse on OS X; in fact, I'd expect it to be somewhat better in some cases.

[DavidTO]

So I might as well just format both the external drives for the mac?
Oh yea, will my laptop be able to read the mac drives :dunno

Yes, I think you're right. If that's really how you're going to work, then definitely format the drives for the mac. You'll be better off like rutt says with the journaling on. You can access the drives over the network, no problem. Ask Andy. He did that until he went all Mac. And really Gubbs, that's the ultimate goal now, isn't it? :D

[jimf]

Both machines are capable of exporting and importing filesystems from each other. This has nothing to do with whether the filesystems are NTFS, FAT, or HFS+ (Mac). The only downside of formatting your external drives for the Mac is that you won't be able to plug them directly into the windows machine.

If you're talking about attaching a network share then you're right, you can do it either way, although I think you have to turn on Windows Share support in MacOS X. But if you're talking about sharing an attached drive (unplugging it from one computer and plugging it into another) then the only portable format is FAT. To my knowledge OSX does not support NTFS and I'm sure that WinXP does not support HFS+. Everyone supports FAT.

Unfortunately FAT is a terrible filesystem so I don't recommend it unless you must share the drive. If all you're going to do is copy files back and forth once in awhile, use the network and format the filesystems on the Mac HFS+ and on the XP box NTFS.

[rutt]

I think that's exactly what I said. In any case, we agree.

If you're talking about attaching a network share then you're right, you can do it either way, although I think you have to turn on Windows Share support in MacOS X. But if you're talking about sharing an attached drive (unplugging it from one computer and plugging it into another) then the only portable format is FAT. To my knowledge OSX does not support NTFS and I'm sure that WinXP does not support HFS+. Everyone supports FAT.

Unfortunately FAT is a terrible filesystem so I don't recommend it unless you must share the drive. If all you're going to do is copy files back and forth once in awhile, use the network and format the filesystems on the Mac HFS+ and on the XP box NTFS.

[StevenV]

question: if an external drive's formatted FAT32 and a bunch of suff (commonly referred to as "data," "images," "files," or "documents", but I prefer to use the more technical term "stuff"), and the external drive is attached to a Mac, can OSX's drive manager utility thingie convert to HFS+ without losing any of the data, um I mean stuff?

[jimf]

question: if an external drive's formatted FAT32 and a bunch of suff (commonly referred to as "data," "images," "files," or "documents", but I prefer to use the more technical term "stuff"), and the external drive is attached to a Mac, can OSX's drive manager utility thingie convert to HFS+ without losing any of the data, um I mean stuff?

I don't believe so. I even checked Disk Utility to be sure, doesn't seem to have any conversion capability at all. You'd have to copy it off, reformat, and copy back.

BTW nice job with the technical jargon.

[cabbey]

question: if an external drive's formatted FAT32 and a bunch of suff (commonly referred to as "data," "images," "files," or "documents", but I prefer to use the more technical term "stuff"), and the external drive is attached to a Mac, can OSX's drive manager utility thingie convert to HFS+ without losing any of the data, um I mean stuff?

Nope. Disk Utility likes to format every chance it gets. In the PC and Unix spaces, there are tools that can accomplish an inplace migration. They usually do something akin to the following:


resize the existing partition as small as the amount of "stuff" on it will allow.
create a new partition with the new filesystem
move as much data as will fit into the new filesystem
resize the existing partition down, and the new partition up
go back to step 3 untill done
delete the old partition and grow the new one to fill the disk.To say the least this is one of those processes where they suggest you have a full backup of your data before you begin. At which point I usually just say to hell with all that and after validating that the backup is good, I toast the old partition and create a new one. :D

[StevenV]

thanks, guys

BTW nice job with the technical jargon.

it comes with the territory (IT guy since the mid-80's... VMS, Unix, Mac, DOS, Win, MCSE certs, blah blah blah.) :D

[gubbs]

Got all excited, UPS arrived, but unfortunately he only had one of the two packages. They've lost the imac :scratch, but I have got my applecare!

An all van message has gone out checking for my missing mac. I hope they find it otherwise I think I'll have to wait for another from Shanghai :cry

[gubbs]

Got all excited, UPS arrived, but unfortunately he only had one of the two packages. They've lost the imac :scratch, but I have got my applecare!

An all van message has gone out checking for my missing mac. I hope they find it otherwise I think I'll have to wait for another from Shanghai :cry

UPS just came back again, he found it!! :D

[DavidTO]

UPS just came back again, he found it!! :D


YAY!

[Andy]

Why can't I use my 15" powerbook as a 2nd display on my G5? Why?

Why?

Come on.... someone must have a way to do this? :D

[rutt]

Why can't I use my 15" powerbook as a 2nd display on my G5? Why?

Why?

Come on.... someone must have a way to do this? :D

Probably for the same sort of reason the smugmug doesn't offer a journal style with variable sized images.

[rutt]

I give up. The OS X world is ahead of smugmug in providing features.

http://www.abyssoft.com/software/teleport/

Tell us if it works.

Found by googling for "powerbook as a second monitor" and then maxvista "os x".

[DavidTO]

I give up. The OS X world is ahead of smugmug in providing features.

http://www.abyssoft.com/software/teleport/

Tell us if it works.

Found by googling for "powerbook as a second monitor" and then maxvista "os x".


That looks to be a very cool little app, but not what Andy wants. He wants his powerbook to be a passive monitor for his G5. This app looks to be a way to switch easily between computers, but when he's working on his powerbook, he'll be working on his powerbook, not his G5, like he wants to.

[Andy]

That looks to be a very cool little app, but not what Andy wants. He wants his powerbook to be a passive monitor for his G5. This app looks to be a way to switch easily between computers, but when he's working on his powerbook, he'll be working on his powerbook, not his G5, like he wants to.

I'm glad I have you to vet Rutt's spurious advice for me, David. Rutt, just for that, I'm giving you a *special* version of Journal Style -

Monday, it has 6 pics per page.
Tuesday, 3
Wednesday, 7
and so on

Don't try to figure it out, it's random.

[rutt]

That looks to be a very cool little app, but not what Andy wants. He wants his powerbook to be a passive monitor for his G5. This app looks to be a way to switch easily between computers, but when he's working on his powerbook, he'll be working on his powerbook, not his G5, like he wants to.

Oh good! Andy's feature request is restored to it's place as being at least as marginal as my variable sized image journal style.

Should have just let my original unbearably smug post stand instead of trying to be so truthful and all.

[Andy]

Oh good! Andy's feature request is restored to it's place as being at least as marginal as my variable sized image journal style.

Should have just let my original unbearably smug post stand instead of trying to be so truthful and all.

Doesn't it so completely suck when you don't get what you want?

[rutt]

Doesn't it so completely suck when you don't get what you want?

Man, I wish I'd said that! That goes way beyond an instand ARQG classic. Hello! Bartlett's?

[gubbs]

all is going well
wifi, internet, email up and running, connected and formatted 2 external hd's, transferred my pix (all 25300 of them), calibrated the monitor, taken weird pix of me.... and still haven't had to RTFM.
I like it!

Can't get used to the funny mouse thing though.....

[Andy]

and still haven't had to RTFM.


They actually have a "manual?" I never knew! The other side is great, eh Gubbs?

Get yourself a wireless two-button mouse from Logitech. I use one on all my Macs.

:deal

[marlof]

two-button mouse

Say what? The innovation never stops! What else will they come up with?

[gubbs]

The other side is great, eh Gubbs?


Yep, :agree....even the the packing is cool, and everything just works.
e.g. setting up our email accts, just had to enter the address, does the rest itself :):

even so... I'm an old dog trying to learn new tricks, it's going to take a few days to get up to speed after 20+ years on windows

[marlof]

Yep, :agree....even the the packing is cool, and everything just works.

That new iMac really does look awfully sweet. I'll keep tuned to your reports on it.

[rutt]

You don't even need any special mouse. Any generic 3 button USB mouse will work and work great. The extra buttons do great stuff; a lot of your finger habbits will just work.

[gubbs]

I haven't actually used it much yet, been too busy transferring all the data over. I did manage a couple of pix last night and first impressions were that photoshop runs slower than on my P4 3.2 1gb ram pc, (more noticeable when using USM & noise ninja) very useable though. I 'll do the ps test later and post up the results.

[rutt]

You don't even need any special mouse. Any generic 3 button USB mouse will work and work great. The extra buttons do great stuff; a lot of your finger habbits will just work.

I realized that I should add one caveat. Don't get a microsoft mouse. I made that mistake and it needed a special driver and I couldn't get the middle-mouse button to work properly with some software. A cheap Chineese generic mouse worked much better.

[jimf]

I realized that I should add one caveat. Don't get a microsoft mouse. I made that mistake and it needed a special driver and I couldn't get the middle-mouse button to work properly with some software. A cheap Chineese generic mouse worked much better.

I've never had much luck with the quality of Microsoft's mice anyway (though their keyboards seem to be ok). Logitech's stuff lasts a lot longer.

I use a trackball for most things, it has better ergonomics, but for photoshop you want something else. I think a tablet is still better than a mouse.

[DavidTO]

Get a Wacom. Although there's a cord running to the tablet, the mouse is wireless, plus you'll have the use of the stylus. Good times.

Let us know more about your PS experiences. Running through emulation it makes sense that it'll be a little slow. I have no idea when Adobe is going to be releasing the Universal Binary version. Don't forget, they have to do the whole dang suite. That's a LOT of work.

[jimf]

Get a Wacom. Although there's a cord running to the tablet, the mouse is wireless, plus you'll have the use of the stylus. Good times.

The wacom mouse sucks. I have two of them (a little graphire and a big intuos) and they both have lousy mice. But the tablets are great.

jim

[wxwax]

connected and formatted 2 external hd's
:scratch You have to format your external drives? Since when?

[Andy]

:scratch You have to format your external drives? Since when?

When he switched them from Peecee to MAC. It's a onetime thingie. You wouldn't understand :lol3

[gubbs]

When he switched them from Peecee to MAC. It's a onetime thingie. You wouldn't understand :lol3
sorry to it say Sid, but andy is correct :D

[DavidTO]

Yep, :agree....even the the packing is cool, and everything just works.
e.g. setting up our email accts, just had to enter the address, does the rest itself :):

even so... I'm an old dog trying to learn new tricks, it's going to take a few days to get up to speed after 20+ years on windows


Gubbs,

One of my favorite things in this world is unpacking an Apple product. The smell, the design, the way they think things out. As much as I want to rip it open and get the thing out, I take my time, slow down and savor every moment.

I think my wife gets jealous sometimes....

[jimf]

One of my favorite things in this world is unpacking an Apple product. The smell, the design, the way they think things out. As much as I want to rip it open and get the thing out, I take my time, slow down and savor every moment.

I admit that some of Apple's packing jobs leave me aghast at how much thought went into the package.

But when the Quad came the packaging was secondary to "how the heck am I going to lift this tank out of here?"

[Andy]

I admit that some of Apple's packing jobs leave me aghast at how much thought went into the package.

But when the Quad came the packaging was secondary to "how the heck am I going to lift this tank out of here?"

What amazed me, was the size difference in the packaging from the G5 dual I bought a year ago, and the G5 quad last month - same size computer, packaging cut by half. Steve cares about the environment, yay.

[Andy]

I think my wife gets jealous sometimes....


Maybe she can't reach (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=5477) apple-gasm? (http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=183656&postcount=14) (yeah the pics are gone)

[DavidTO]

Maybe she can't reach (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=5477) apple-gasm? (http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=183656&postcount=14) (yeah the pics are gone)


I think she just wishes I would take as long undressing her....

[rutt]

I think she just wishes I would take as long undressing her....

Are we up to TMI yet?

[DavidTO]

Are we up to TMI yet?


wife=sexy

rutt in bathtub reading his owner's manual = :puke

N.B for Rutt: that's an animated smiley. Yes, ANIMATED. And I used it. So shoot me.

[gubbs]

There's been a lot of interest about photoshop running on rosetta so I just did the test that andy mentioned here (http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=219265&postcount=4)

intel imac 20" 2ghz dual core 1gb ram - 1m 22sec
I'm waiting for another 1gb, I'll retest when it arrives

[DavidTO]

There's been a lot of interest about photoshop running on rosetta so I just did the test that andy mentioned here (http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=219265&postcount=4)

intel imac 20" 2ghz dual core 1gb ram - 1m 22sec
I'm waiting for another 1gb, I'll retest when it arrives


RAM must be matched pairs! I mean, it'll work otherwise, but you'll have a performance issue if you don't match them.

[gubbs]

RAM must be matched pairs! I mean, it'll work otherwise, but you'll have a performance issue if you don't match them.

:scratch have I screwed up? I told the guy at apple I was buying the second gb from crucial, he replied "that's the only ram we'd recommend"

[DavidTO]

:scratch have I screwed up? I told the guy at apple I was buying the second gb from crucial, he replied "that's the only ram we'd recommend"


No, Crucial's fine. Great. Go for it.

They need to match in size.

It's got 512m, so either get another 512 or two 1gb sticks.

The story I heard about the new iMac Duos is that for some apps you won't notice a difference if the RAM is not matched, for others the difference will be significant.

Read here, start at Jan. 21 (http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/imacintel/topic1964.html)

[gubbs]

No, Crucial's fine. Great. Go for it.

They need to match in size.

It's got 512m, so either get another 512 or two 1gb sticks.

The story I heard about the new iMac Duos is that for some apps you won't notice a difference if the RAM is not matched, for others the difference will be significant.

Read here, start at Jan. 21 (http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/imacintel/topic1964.html)

Phew! I already got apple to uprade it from a 1x 512kb to a 1x1gb module :D being the tight-arse I am I ordered the other from crucial!

[rutt]

wife=sexy

rutt in bathtub reading his owner's manual = :puke

N.B for Rutt: that's an animated smiley. Yes, ANIMATED. And I used it. So shoot me.

wife=sexy, OK, I don't know her, but I can buy that. David equating opening Apple box with undressing wife? Something wrong there.

[DavidTO]

wife=sexy, OK, I don't know her, but I can buy that. David equating opening Apple box with undressing wife? Something wrong there.


No, what I'm saying is that she wishes I went as slow with her as I do with unpacking my Apples. :uhoh

[rutt]

No, what I'm saying is that she wishes I went as slow with her as I do with unpacking my Apples. :uhoh

You starting to get a glimmer of what I was getting at when I said it was TMI?

[Andy]

You starting to get a glimmer of what I was getting at when I said it was TMI?

I was thinking of having a party when I open my MacBook.
if i keep it on order...

[cabbey]

:rofl
So I suppose you'd say TMI if I pointed out that my wife walked out of the room five minutes after I started unpacking my quad, calling over her shoulder, "lemme know when you finally get it up"?

As jimf pointed out, my first question after hauling the box down stairs was "how am I going to get this thing out without killing my back?". Thankfully the packaging was designed almost as well as the system, so it came out quite easily.

[cabbey]

Maybe she can't reach (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=5477) apple-gasm? (http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=183656&postcount=14) (yeah the pics are gone)

you mean like this happy apple (http://www.drunkenblog.com/drunkenblog-archives/000753.html)?

[jvain]

I got iWork yesterday. Pages is amazing.

Hey Guy's ... Several months back I purchased a G5 high powered an all, love my Mac after years Win PC's (Word), seems like every three years I had to chuck it and buy a new computer. I really do miss Words, MS Publisher, Homestead for websites, Lumapix, etc. Now its, iWorks, and ithis and ithat, for the life of me can not get used to Pages totaly Greek to me, no offense to our Greek members. But I totally love Lightroom.

Anyhow Andy you'll love your Mac!

[DavidTO]

Hey Guy's ... Several months back I purchased a G5 high powered an all, love my Mac after years Win PC's (Word), seems like every three years I had to chuck it and buy a new computer. I really do miss Words, MS Publisher, Homestead for websites, Lumapix, etc. Now its, iWorks, and ithis and ithat, for the life of me can not get used to Pages totaly Greek to me, no offense to our Greek members. But I totally love Lightroom.

Anyhow Andy you'll love your Mac!


Did you say you missed Word? Why not get Office for the Mac?

Glad you love your Mac, though...I mean, what's not to love?

[jimf]

Did you say you missed Word? Why not get Office for the Mac?

If you must have office then this is a reasonable thing to do, but unless you can somehow justify (even if it's only in your own head :-) an educational license it's gawdawful expensive. I was taking night classes for photography and got educational discounds for Photoshop, Office, etc. I didn't even feel slimy about Office, I don't use it enough to pay $400.

Having said that I would suggest working more with Pages. I never used '05 but '06 is pretty nice. I really like the fact that it does a decent job at generating both print and HTML pages. Word mangles the HTML. But the interface does take some getting used to.

[DavidTO]

Hey, speaking of Office...

I have long known about Open Office, which requires X11, and is ugly, a pain, and only for the geeky.

I just found out that for 6 months now there's been an OSX native version of the app. Now you can get your Office for free, and it might just be all you need!

Here (http://www.planamesa.com/neojava/en/index.php).

[rutt]

Hey, speaking of Office...

I have long known about Open Office, which requires X11, and is ugly, a pain, and only for the geeky.


It's too much even for me, though it's OK on linux, sort of. I'll have to try out the native version. But what I really like is plain simple old fashioned ASCII text! Then I can edit with emacs!

Oh oh. Must count to ten. Mustn't show my age.

[jimf]

Hey, speaking of Office...

I have long known about Open Office, which requires X11, and is ugly, a pain, and only for the geeky.

I just found out that for 6 months now there's been an OSX native version of the app. Now you can get your Office for free, and it might just be all you need!

Here (http://www.planamesa.com/neojava/en/index.php).

I have tried Open Office on a number of platforms and, frankly, I am not especially fond of it. It's big, it's slow, it has poor output quality, and its on-screen rendering is buggy. I was happier with abiword although its functionality was more limited (it has, admittedly, been a couple of years since I last tried it).

On the PC there's no need for it, there are many high-quality alternatives available for low cost (WordPerfect is a nice one). On the Mac, fewer, but even Apple's Appleworks is more than workable for most tasks. I am becoming more and more a fan of Pages as I use it, although it needs configuration to work well at some of the documentation tasks I do regularly.

The place where you find yourself really limited is when you want spreadsheet or presentation software. While I'm not especially fond of Word, which I think is a nightmare for typists due to overdependence on the mouse and a ridiculously overcomplicated interface, Excel is best-of-breed. I've never seen anything better (although Borland's product was pretty sweet while it lasted). GNU's spreadsheet, GNUmeric, is coming along nicely but is still very much a work-in-progress. And, of course, there's that X11 bugaboo again.

Lastly is presentation software. Powerpoint is also a very well done program and so indispensable for business that Microsoft sells all of Office just to get it on many desks. In fact, I purchased the full version of Office for the Mac simply to get Powerpoint so I could interoperate with my PC-based co-workers. If you don't need that interoperability then there are some alternatives. I have spent some time using iWork's Keynote software which, while relatively simplistic compared to Powerpoint, is more than good enough for most presentation tasks. (In fact, it's a rather nice tool for building diagrams for putting into technical documents.)

The salient point in all of this is that there are some options if you don't want to spend a lot of money on Office, but that you're going to be making tradeoffs in some cases -- particularly spreadsheet and presentations. Less so with wordprocessing since so many tools can read and write Word documents at least to the degree necessary to interoperate.

[cabbey]

If you must have office then this is a reasonable thing to do, but unless you can somehow justify (even if it's only in your own head :-) an educational license it's gawdawful expensive. I was taking night classes for photography and got educational discounds for Photoshop, Office, etc. I didn't even feel slimy about Office, I don't use it enough to pay $400.
And sadly I think the better of the two versions of office for mac is the older, no longer for sale, Office/X... the newer Office for Mac 2004 seems more bloated, more unstable, and quite often produces documents that crash OOo. (but then so does the current generation of winders office versions... which is what lead me to get a copy of the Mac version of office in the first place, so I could work with and on insanely complex word, powerpoint and excel documents created and owned by my co-workers. (anything I create from scratch tends to be created in either OOo on linux, or Keynote/Pages on the mac. And yes, I was ready to shell out cash for iWork '06, if it included a spread sheet... but without one, no sale for me, I'll stick with iWork '05).

[Andy]

you mean like this happy apple (http://www.drunkenblog.com/drunkenblog-archives/000753.html)?

:lol3

[Andy]

Anyhow Andy you'll love your Mac!

:wave and welcome to Dgrin! You are so right. I have been loving my Macs for 13 months now :D Thanks!

[Andy]

Just got a new phone yesterday.

Turn on phone.
2 clicks on phone, make bluetooth "discoverable"
iSync - discover devices
Found! - Connect to Motorola Razr? Yes.
Sync Contacts? Yes!
Done.

Painless as could be.
I shudder to think what this would have been like on "the other side..." I have many horrible memories synching devices on peecees.

[marlof]

I'm glad it works. And that RAZR is a nice phone, that goes well with the Mac. :)

On the other hand: I can't remember the last issue I had setting up sync partnerships between my Windows desktop and my HP/Compaq (6) and i-Mate (2) Pocket PCs, T-Mobile SDA Smartphone, Palm m505, PalmOne Treo 600, Ericsson T39, Sony Ericsson T610i, in the past three years as well. I must have been very lucky.

[rutt]

Just got a new phone yesterday.

Now you are ready for Opera Mini (http://www.opera.com/products/mobile/operamini/phones/?phone=motorola_razr_v3). Let me know what you think.

[cabbey]

Oi, I'm in the process of trying to remotely support my inlaws through exactly that issue on their winders system. Headache after headache, I'm really regretting not chipping in the extra cash myself to move them up to a mac back when I helped them buy this machine.
:bash

[patch29]

LotsaWater (http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/19934) cool screensaver, graphics intensive, but very cool.

[patch29]

Final Cut Pro to Studio upgrade/crossgrades (http://www.apple.com/universal/crossgrade/).

This seems like an awesome deal (I have the FCP4 upgrade, so I could get it for $199). I guess it is the right thing to do. I don't own any of the other programs in the suite and the price just seems too low. Is there a catch I am not seeing? I know I have to wait until March, not a big deal and I have to send in the FCP 4 install disk, but other than that it seems great, anyone? :ear I am guessing that I would in the future have to always upgrade the entire suite, which will probably not be as cheap in the future. Maybe I will make dgrin the movie and release to HD DVD or something. :dunno If only I knew a producer and maybe an editor. :scratch :lol3

Upgrade from... Price You get... Availability Ordering information
Final Cut Pro 5 $99 Final Cut Studio (Universal) Shipping March 2006 Download order form
Final Cut Pro 4 or HD (4.5) $199 Final Cut Studio (Universal) Shipping March 2006 Download order form
Motion 2 $199 Final Cut Studio (Universal) Shipping March 2006 Download order form
Soundtrack Pro $199 Final Cut Studio (Universal) Shipping March 2006 Download order form
DVD Studio Pro 4 $199 Final Cut Studio (Universal) Shipping March 2006 Download order form
Production Suite $199 Final Cut Studio (Universal) Shipping March 2006 Download order form
Final Cut Pro 1, 2, or 3 $699 Final Cut Studio (Universal) Shipping March 2006 Available in March 2006

Crossgrade from... Price You get... Availability Ordering information
Logic Express 7 or 7.1 $29 Logic Express 7.2 Shipping February 2006 Download order form
Logic Pro 7 or 7.1 $49 Logic Pro 7.2 Shipping February 2006 Buy now
Final Cut Studio $49 Final Cut Studio (Universal) Shipping March 2006 Download order form

[DavidTO]

File this (http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=08405) under "things I did not know."

Apparently, PPC Macs and Intel Macs have different requirements for boot drives. The end result is that if you are booting from and external drive, firewire, for instance, that drive needs to be formatted specifically for the platform. You can't have one boot drive that will mount on PPC and Intel. It's one or the other. This does not effect data drives, only boot drives. Ugh.

[CatOne]

File this (http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=08405) under "things I did not know."

Apparently, PPC Macs and Intel Macs have different requirements for boot drives. The end result is that if you are booting from and external drive, firewire, for instance, that drive needs to be formatted specifically for the platform. You can't have one boot drive that will mount on PPC and Intel. It's one or the other. This does not effect data drives, only boot drives. Ugh.

No more partitioning for YOU.

:-)

[Andy]

No more partitioning for YOU.

:-)

And apparently, he's lost the ability to speak proper English, too :lol3

[DavidTO]

And apparently, he's lost the ability to speak proper English, too :lol3


From the Oxford American Dictionary:

affect 1 |??fekt| verb [ trans. ] have an effect on; make a difference to : the dampness began to affect my health | [with clause ] your attitude will affect how successful you are. • touch the feelings of (someone); move emotionally : [as adj. ] ( affecting) a highly affecting account of her experiences in prison. See note at moving . • (of an illness) attack or infect : people who are affected by AIDS.

Hmmmm....the definition of affect: "to have an effect on...." hmmm...

[DavidTO]

And apparently, he's lost the ability to speak proper English, too :lol3


Oh, and if you're gonna slam someone's English, at least make sure you've spelled correctly.

[Andy]

Oh, and if you're gonna slam someone's English, at least make sure you've spelled correctly.
??

[DavidTO]

??


Let me be clear. Apparently, you don't know how to spell. Richard.

[Andy]

Let me be clear. Apparently, you don't know how to spell. Richard.


?? :lol3

[Andy]

Aw David you are right, I misspelled. :lol3

[DavidTO]

Aw David you are right, I misspelled. :lol3


Gud. Gladd that weere in agremant abut that.

[iBrian]

Ok, I'm so excited I just have to tell someone…

After about 2 months of reading everything I could about Macs on this forum, dpreview (Mac Tools), and every other Mac related website I could, I finally decided to switch. Last night I ordered one of the new 20" Intel iMacs with 2Gb of RAM and the upgraded video card. As a software developer developing Windows applications, it was a really big decision for me. Other than spending most of my lunch hours for the last month at the local Apple store, I've never really used a Mac. I've been going to the Apple store several times a week to try to learn and to get as familiar as I could with them.

Now that I've ordered it, I can't wait for it to get here! My primary motivation for switching is for my photography. I've been needing to upgrade my software for a long time now, and I don't want to go out and buy Windows versions since I've been "Mac curious" for sometime now. Don't laugh, but I'm still using Photoshop 5.5. I want to eventually run Aperture and Photoshop CS3. I know the UB version of Photoshop will not be out for maybe another year (hopefully sooner), so I'm hoping to find alternate tools in the mean time to hold me over. I'm thinking about trying PS Elements since it's a watered down version of Photoshop. Maybe it will run faster than Photoshop would with Rosetta.

Anyway, even though I haven't been active on this forum, this forum (especially Andy's post) has been very helpful in getting me to the point to where I was comfortable enough to take the plunge and finally switch. I've also followed Andy's post on dpreview. Thanks to Andy and everyone else that has contributed to this forum.

BTW, I've also recently made the switch from Pbase to Smugmug. I spent four years with Pbase, but finally decided to switch because of the incredible support that is available through Smugmug/Dgrin as well as the customization capabilities that Smugmug offers. So far, I love Smugmug!

I'm still working on my new site, but here's what I have so far: http://www.bkphotography.smugmug.com (http://www.bkphotography.smugmug.com)


Thanks again!
Brian

[DavidTO]

iBrian,

Congrats! I prefer to call it an upgrade, rather than a switch!

Let me know what if any help you need in the Mac world!

[W.W. Webster]

Ok, I'm so excited I just have to tell someone… I finally decided to switch.Come on in - the water's fine!

[cabbey]

Ok, I'm so excited I just have to tell someone…

Welcome aboard. I think you'll like both upgrades.

[DavidTO]

Gubbs,

Haven't heard a peep out of you. Everything going well in Mac Land?

[colourbox]

Yeah kinda quiet around here today, given that we now have a new OS X update and a new Lightroom beta........

[DavidTO]

Yeah kinda quiet around here today, given that we now have a new OS X update and a new Lightroom beta........


The MacBook Pro's have faster chips that were announced a month ago, too. They got upgraded before they even shipped!

[Seamus]

I am seriously considering a mac laptop and have read all of the mac threads here. If some of the mac gurus don't mind I have some stupid questions:

I: use Adobe Elements 3 on a pc. It has a great cataloging program. I think the mac version doesn't have this feature. Is Adobe photoshop album a good substitute?

2: I have an external hard drive. From all of my reading over the last week, I will have to reformat this drive to use it with the laptop. I will keep my windows computer to run garmin software until Garmin release their mac software but plan to use the laptop for everything else.

3: Apple.com has 2ghz processors in the Ireland/uk store and has 2.16 ghz processors in the US store. Is there a big difference?

4: I have always used internet explorer and outlook express. I have read about safari and firefox. Which is the best? ( i warned you the questions were stupid:rofl )

5: The applecare plan is expensive. Is it worth it?

6: I have a netgear router. Will there be any problems getting the mac to work with this?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Seamus.

[marlof]

Far from a guru here, but I did go from Windows to Mac (actually added the Mac to the collection), so I'll chime in with the bits I know.

I: use Adobe Elements 3 on a pc. It has a great cataloging program. I think the mac version doesn't have this feature. Is Adobe photoshop album a good substitute?

No, since Photoshop Album is currently not under development for the Mac. Adobe doesn't do that one, since the Mac comes with iPhoto, a basic cataloging application. Some like it, I loathe it, since it does all kinds of stuff under the hood that I can't control. So I went for iView Media Pro, an excellent cataloging application. And you get to use the same license on both Mac and Windows computers. Since you'll be having a Windows desktop around as well, this might come in handy for you too.

I'm skipping the questions on the portable hard drive and the speed difference. All I know is that I kept my portable hard drive (a LaCie one) in FAT32, so I can hook it up to both Mac and Windows without any issues. Dunno if that's the best solution, so I'll keep my ears open on that part of your questions.

As for the speed, I think that all stores will offer the same options in the end, but the speed bump the not yet released Macbook Pro has received may be too recent to get trickled down to all country sites. I'm not sure of that though.

4: I have always used internet explorer and outlook express. I have read about safari and firefox. Which is the best?

I prefer Firefox over Safari, simply because it seems better supported at different sites. As my email application, I prefer Thunderbird over Mail.app, simply because I had my database get corrupted in Mail.app, so I lost confidence. I never had any issue using Thunderbird on OS X.

5: The applecare plan is expensive. Is it worth it?

I never bought it, but then again, I only had a cheap iBook, that wouldn't be too pricey to replace. If I'd have spent much more on my notebook, I would have went with Apple Care. In the experience in my family, Apple products can break, even after the initial warranty time. You get to decide on Apple Care until your standard warranty period is over BTW, so you don't have to decide that at the time of your purchase.

6: I have a netgear router. Will there be any problems getting the mac to work with this?

Probably not. I've had no problems whatsover hooking my iBook to different routers, regardless their brand (Linksys, Microsoft, Apple).

[Seamus]

Thanks for your help Marlof, as always answers lead to more questions.

All I want the laptop for is internet / email and basic photo editing using elements or a similar program. I have checked out the prices on the macbook, powerbook and ibook and there is a substantial difference in price.

Will the ibook handle my modest needs? I could wait and get the macbook later in the year but the price difference is €2,000 :huh :huh :huh.

[marlof]

It totally depends on what your needs in the "basic editing" is.

I have a 3 year old iBook G3 800 MHz with 640mb of RAM. It does fine for e-mailing, webbrowsing, word processing, on-the-road offloading of images. It is not very good at basic editing (it *is* 3 years old, with an ancient processor to boot), but still very doable. I use it to run PSE3 and Olympus Studio. Heck, I recently even edited some DV movies on it with iMovie, and that was still doable. Barely, but doable.

A current iBook would have a much speedier G4 processor. If you also max out the RAM, I'd say it'd be ok for basic editing.

Personally, I tend to like my notebook to be as small as possible. It is not my main computer, and will only have a fill in job to do. Portability is important to me. The downside is that the current small Apple notebooks (12" iBook and Powerbook) only have 1024x768 resolution. I can edit on such a screen, but it isn't perfect.

The other thing I don't like is that the 12" doesn't have the superdrive for DVD burning. You'd have to get the 14" (bigger, but with the same resolution) to get that. If this would be a show stopper for you, you also might want to check the 12" Powerbook, since it can be equipped with the Superdrive, and it also has some additional goodies (like the ability to use a real additional screen, in stead of just mirroring the notebook screen).

And if you want to play the waiting game: it is rumored that this year the Intel based iBook will be released. I really don't know if that's true. I just know that I'll wait to replace mine until the Intel based iBook is in its second revision (Rev B), to give Apple come time to work out the initial problems that their Rev A hardware sometimes has.

Edit:PS: I don't know if it's wise to order a G4 Mac right now. I've noticed with the G3 that support for two technologies ago (intel Mac -> G5 -> G4 -> G3) will fade. The latest iLife officially is not supported on my G3, that was two technologies ago. I really don't know how long the G4 will be supported, since their notebooks never ran anything faster than that. May be one of the real gurus could shed a light on that.

[StevenV]

2: I have an external hard drive. From all of my reading over the last week, I will have to reformat this drive to use it with the laptop.

What file system is it currently formatted with? (my computer, right-click on the drive, select properties) If it's NTFS, then yes you'll need to copy the data off and reformat it. If it's FAT32, the Mac will be able to read it just fine (though some folks will say you should reformat it, it's not necessary in the short term).

[Stustaff]

Well I dont have a supe expensive/powerful system like most of you guys!

But I did just buy an ibook 12" for use with my 350D/rebel xt mainly for use on a long (3 month) holiday to the US pretty soon.

Plan to use that and smugmug for storing my pics somewhere safe during the trip.

It appears that it is currently:
Shipment Picked Up SHANGHAI, SH, CN 14 Feb 2006 11:00

I want it too hurry up! :(

Ive never had a MAC before and have found reading this thread very useful.

Thanks

[NHBubba]

Excellent posts marlof.. I too am considering a similar purchase. Thank you! :clap

[DavidTO]

Applecare is worth it, especially for a laptop.

[Seamus]

Marlof and Stephen, thanks for the help. I played with an Imac today and the osx is brilliant. I think I will sit on the fence for a little while longer while Apple changes all of it's range to intel processors. Again, thank you for the advice, it is very helpful.

Seamus.

[Seamus]

Applecare is worth it, especially for a laptop.

Thanks David, I will include it when I buy. (note the word when, :rofl )

[DavidTO]

Thanks David, I will include it when I buy. (note the word when, :rofl )


Word on the street is that the MacBook Pro will be 64 bit in October. My guess is that the iBook Intel will come out at that time and that the 32/64 bit difference will be what really sets them apart in the lineup.

[cabbey]

Applecare is worth it, especially for a laptop.

AMEN.

I neglected to opt for it when I bought my mother her iBook, I'm now kicking myself for that.

Note to anyone out there that might be regretting it, you can buy the extended applecare at any time during the normal full coverage waranty, ususally 30, 60, or 90 days, depending on the product. But after that.... too bad, so sad.

[DavidTO]

AMEN.

I neglected to opt for it when I bought my mother her iBook, I'm now kicking myself for that.

Note to anyone out there that might be regretting it, you can buy the extended applecare at any time during the normal full coverage waranty, ususally 30, 60, or 90 days, depending on the product. But after that.... too bad, so sad.

1 year for laptops and desktops.

[cabbey]

1 year for laptops and desktops.

er, duh, yes... I don't know why I was thinking the shorter time periods.:scratch

[Stustaff]

Shipment Picked Up SHANGHAI, SH, CN 14 Feb 2006 11:00 Depart Terminal SHANGHAI, SH, CN 16 Feb 2006 15:30
QUICKER!!! QUICKER!!! :cry

not that long though i suppose :D

[cabbey]

Shipment Picked Up SHANGHAI, SH, CN 14 Feb 2006 11:00 Depart Terminal SHANGHAI, SH, CN 16 Feb 2006 15:30
QUICKER!!! QUICKER!!! :cry

not that long though i suppose :D

just the few days it will spend sitting in customs in AK.

[Stustaff]

just the few days it will spend sitting in customs in AK.

Whats AK? my order tracker currenly shows 24th feb for delivery.

[StevenV]

Whats AK? my order tracker currenly shows 24th feb for delivery.

Alaska. A lot of computers & things coming from from China go through customs there (nominally a 2-3 day process, from what I understand).

[Stustaff]

Oh right, even for europe!? oh well I guess to an extent it arrives when it arrives :)

[StevenV]

Oh right, even for europe!? oh well I guess to an extent it arrives when it arrives :)

Umm, well, maybe Apple requires everything to go through their warehouse in California, yea, that's the ticket.

:uhoh

I don't know.

[DavidTO]

Back in the days before Safari, I used to use a browser called Camino. But when Safari came out, and then Firefox got useful, and I forgot about Camino.

The other day, Andy's going through some stuff and asks, "Who uses Camino?" Well, apparently he never had. So he tried it, and said, "Hey, this is pretty quick!"

Made me wonder what had happened to my old friend Camino. I gotta tell you, it's pretty quick! It's also got a nice look that's easy on the eyes.

Check it out (http://www.caminobrowser.org/). Sorry, Windows users, this one is Mac only.

[Stustaff]

Umm, well, maybe Apple requires everything to go through their warehouse in California, yea, that's the ticket.

:uhoh

I don't know.

It seems like it didnt get the USA after all! Its in amsterdam now! thats only 4 hours away! Although I bet it still takes a few days!

Arrive Terminal AMSTERDAM, NH, NL 20 Feb 2006 11:57

[pathfinder]

Dave, I think Safari 2.0 in the tabbed browsing mode is pretty quick also. I didn't find the tabbed mode until a few days ago.:dunno

[Andy]

Dave, I think Safari 2.0 in the tabbed browsing mode is pretty quick also. I didn't find the tabbed mode until a few days ago.:dunno

:lol3 the ONLY thing I like about Safari, is it's tight integration with dotmac. Otherwise, FF and yeah, Camino, work even better IMO. Try Safari on www.pricegrabber.com and then try FF or Camino on www.pricegrabber.com

Some websites totally CHOKE on Safari.

Oh and don't forget, Safari displays your colors MUCH differently than FF:

http://blogs.smugmug.com/great-prints/2005/06/27/mac-browsers-can-you-believe-your-eyes/

[DavidTO]

:lol3 the ONLY thing I like about Safari, is it's tight integration with dotmac. Otherwise, FF and yeah, Camino, work even better IMO. Try Safari on www.pricegrabber.com and then try FF or Camino on www.pricegrabber.com

Some websites totally CHOKE on Safari.

Oh and don't forget, Safari displays your colors MUCH differently than FF:

http://blogs.smugmug.com/great-prints/2005/06/27/mac-browsers-can-you-believe-your-eyes/


Try this (http://www.webstandards.org/act/acid2/test.html) in Safari, FF and Camino. Safari's the only one that passes the Acid Test.

[StevenV]

anyone got recommendations for a good image browser/renamer on the Mac?

I've been using BreezeBrowser (http://www.fredmiranda.com/BB_review/index.html) on Windows for sifting through my images and making the first keep/toss decision, launching into PS for editing, and batch renaming.

The batch renaming is a big deal for me, I don't use the default names that the 10D gives the images. So I need something that can do some good batch renaming and understands that .CRW and .THM go together.

[photocat]

The batch renaming is a big deal for me, I don't use the default names that the 10D gives the images. So I need something that can do some good batch renaming and understands that .CRW and .THM go together.[/QUOTE]

I have been working with Bridge lately, and discovered the DNG converter.
The latter is very good to rename and make a dng file from the images, original RAW format embedded, so you always keep your RAW file.
I would not call it quick, but it does a good job.
If you say fast, have a look at iViewMediaPro, which gives you a QUICK look of what is coming in from your card.
The ultimate cataloguiing would have to be Portfolio, with endless naming, tagging and what more possibilities.

But I am extremely happy with DNG converter and Adobe Bridge... Have you tried out the Lightroom beta from adobe? I would be left dangling about what to prefer, lightroom or bridge... I have no clue what Adobe will go for...

[DavidTO]

I hate portfolio.

Bridge is great, but doesn't catalog, only browses. In other words, you couldn't find offline media.

I would get iView Media Pro, it's excellent. While you're at it, check out The DAM Book (http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1146395).

If you just want renaming, and a great little app to do it, check out A Better Finder Rename (http://www.publicspace.net/ABetterFinderRename/), it's awesome.

[Stustaff]

The batch renaming is a big deal for me, I don't use the default names that the 10D gives the images. So I need something that can do some good batch renaming and understands that .CRW and .THM go together.

I have been working with Bridge lately, and discovered the DNG converter.
The latter is very good to rename and make a dng file from the images, original RAW format embedded, so you always keep your RAW file.
I would not call it quick, but it does a good job.
If you say fast, have a look at iViewMediaPro, which gives you a QUICK look of what is coming in from your card.
The ultimate cataloguiing would have to be Portfolio, with endless naming, tagging and what more possibilities.

But I am extremely happy with DNG converter and Adobe Bridge... Have you tried out the Lightroom beta from adobe? I would be left dangling about what to prefer, lightroom or bridge... I have no clue what Adobe will go for...[/quote]

Ive started using.... Iphoto!
I have set it to not create its own copies so all of my file directory stays as it should and i have set it to open files for editing in in CS2... I just cant get on with bridge!

[StevenV]

Iphoto!
I have set it to not create its own copies so all of my file directory stays as it should

where's that setting (or is it a new feature of 06)?

[photocat]

If you really really want a good cataloguing system, nothing beats Portfolio.
I have tons of CD's in portfolio, and It tells me exactly what file is on what CD.

Bridge is a little minor pain to get to know it, but once you get it, it works a charm. But as D. said: it is not really a cataloging unit.
Depends on what you want to do.
If it comes to fast workflow, bridge and CS2 do it for me.
If it comes to cataloging, Portfolio or iViewMedia Pro would be my choice.
I think that if you are an official photographer, with thousands and thousands of frames, that portfolio is the only one to be able to help you quick, straight forward and surely. I must admit though that I had some of my portfolio catalogues corrupted, which was a major pain.

For most of the programs there is only one way: if you play with it a lot, you will get to know it in depth, and you will have a satisfying experience.
In the end, I want to find a file quick, and without too much hassle...

The strength of portfolio sits in its watch folders (which you have now in Iview too, and in Bridge), but portfolio seems to be the easiest to find files back after transferring them from computer to external storage.
It is very fast and very adequate for making and keeping paths to files.

One big contra: it is very expensive. iViewMedia is VERY reasonable in price, which might for a lot of people (including me) be the one to go for... After all, if you make enough money out of your photography, you CAN spend money on cataloging apps.

[Stustaff]

where's that setting (or is it a new feature of 06)?

Its in preferences on 06, havent used any other versions!.

I find the keywords system of iphoto to be very very useful!

Meanss for example I can have a photo of me snowboarding and give it keywords of

stu
snowboarding
keeper
canada
whistler

and then open all photos - very quickly due to the iphoto thumbnails system

then select stu that leaves 300, them snowboarding that leaves 70, then keeper, that leaves 12, then Canada, leaves 6, then whistler leaves 4.

prolly sound harder than it axctually is to be honest.

Also love the abilit to select say keyword of Snowboarding - then select slideshow and can immediatley show them to people.

The smart folder sytem is also excellent - basically create a smartfolder that contains links to as set keyword or words, a specific image size etc etc. then use that smartfolder to update a blog or website created in Ilife.

and the double click opening the image iin CS2 makes life almost perfect.

[pathfinder]

For MACS only!! PCs cannot do this yet --- (Warning:I don't depend on my images to make a living - A good thing some folks may be thinking:D )-

I find my images quickly with Spotlight.

I name my images with the tags I would otherwise enter into the metadata slots, and just file them in folders by the month they were shot.

If I don't know when they were shot, I enter the search terms in Spotlight. This gives me a list of files with the search term in the file name, grouped by documents, applications, folders, and IMAGES.

In the Images heading, on the right side there is a Play button - an arrow pointiong to the right and looking like a PLAY button on a CD player.

Press on the play button, and EVERY image with that term in its title will be displayed across my monitor as an image - on every active hard drive connected to my MAC of which there are now 6 hard drives, or over 1 TerraByte. MY next step is to see if SPotlight wil work with a netword server on my network.

Thus I can quickly, visually scan my entire set of six hard drives for an errant image file. THIS IS A COOL TIP!!:)::):

[DavidTO]

Portfolio definitely can't be beat if you're using it with many others over a network. Aside from that, I just don't care for the interface. I'm sure it does what you want, though.

Don't use iPhoto if you're shooting RAW. You lose the ability to manipulate the RAW image, as iPhoto imports the RAW but converts to JPEG before you actually work on it. If this has changed in '06, let me know, but iPhoto is not a RAW solution, AFAIK.

[Stustaff]

Portfolio definitely can't be beat if you're using it with many others over a network. Aside from that, I just don't care for the interface. I'm sure it does what you want, though.

Don't use iPhoto if you're shooting RAW. You lose the ability to manipulate the RAW image, as iPhoto imports the RAW but converts to JPEG before you actually work on it. If this has changed in '06, let me know, but iPhoto is not a RAW solution, AFAIK.

Good news it has changed!

If you select to leave original folder and not import into Iphot it just creates a small thumbnail for looking at in iphoto and allows me to click that to open the RAW file into CS2.

[StevenV]

Does elephants - I mean PS Elements 4.0/Mac - have a batch rename function? And if so can it create the new filenames based on EXIF data?

[StevenV]

I name my images with the tags I would otherwise enter into the metadata slots, and just file them in folders by the month they were shot.

Do you mean that you change the filename of each picture, or that in iPhoto (or some other app) you apply the tags in some other field?

[colourbox]

I find my images quickly with Spotlight. I name my images with the tags I would otherwise enter into the metadata slots, and just file them in folders by the month they were shot.

This is a very cool tip, I use it too.

But you do not need to pollute your filenames with tags!

Use Bridge or iView or any other IPTC compliant app to add keywords to the photos the standard way. Spotlight is metadata compliant will find the images by the embedded keywords. You can use a more rational file naming system such as that recommended in Peter Krogh's "DAM book," and as long as the photos are keyworded they will work with Spotlight. If you have embedded keyword tags in preparation for uploading to smugmug, they are already ready for Spotlight.

[pathfinder]

When I edit an image, (as opposed to a RAW file that is stored unaltered, with its original numbering), I name the edited file with pertinent terms AND continue to list the original file number from the RAW file. That way I can find the edited file, and the RAW file, via Spotlight.

Yes, I could add the information in the metadata fields and Spotlight would find it there also, but that is an extra step that takes more time to enter, and I prefer not to spend my time editng metadata.

I am not suggesting that this is the best or even a better way to do it. Just that it works for me, and, as I said, I do not depend on my images for my income.

[cabbey]

Does elephants - I mean PS Elements 4.0/Mac - have a batch rename function? And if so can it create the new filenames based on EXIF data?

If not, an application to do that could be created. I've actually been looking for that kind of little toy app to write.

And for those that have missed it, we have another take on apple (http://dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=273184&postcount=4) vs winders (http://dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=278893&postcount=30) in the photo challenge thread this go round... I think it's a pretty clear indication of which platform is the sexier of the two. :wink

[patch29]

Apple Introduces Boot Camp (http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2006/apr/05bootcamp.html)

WOW! I cannot say I would have thought they would release this software. Now I want to know if it will run the GPS software via XP. :ear

Apple® today introduced Boot Camp, public beta software that enables Intel-based Macs to run Windows XP. Available as a download beginning today, Boot Camp allows users with a Microsoft Windows XP installation disc to install Windows XP on an Intel-based Mac®, and once installation is complete, users can restart their computer to run either Mac OS® X or Windows XP. Boot Camp will be a feature in “Leopard,” Apple’s next major release of Mac OS X, that will be previewed at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in August.

[pathfinder]

Pretty cagey, eh??!!:): Bill better watch out!!

Lets see what Vista offers in the next year when it is available. Maybe....:D

[patch29]

Pretty cagey, eh??!!:): Bill better watch out!!

Lets see what Vista offers in the next year when it is available. Maybe....:D


Apple is planning to release Vista this year on the Mac. :lol3

[cabbey]

Apple is planning to release Vista this year on the Mac. :lol3

:roflIf you've seen the video floating around the net, you'll notice that Apple released "vista" a few years ago.

And given what I've been hearing from ISVs, it's starting to sound like MS is jetisoning all the interesting features out of the initial release just in hopes of getting vista out the door.

As for bootcamp...wow, that's quite unlike apple to put something out as a beta, at least to openly admit it's a beta. I've got to wonder if this may not have been hurried along in some way by the dell/alienware deal. :scratch

[DavidTO]

Apple Introduces Boot Camp (http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2006/apr/05bootcamp.html)

WOW! I cannot say I would have thought they would release this software. Now I want to know if it will run the GPS software via XP. :ear


Dunno if this helps, Patch, but I found this on macosxhints.com:

Seeing the TomTom post, I thought I'd chime in that while everyone waits (and waits) for Garmin to make good on its Mac compatibility promise, the new nüvi 350 (a great in-car GPS) is already fully Mac compatible, only it seems Garmin doesn't even know it!

Last night, I updated my nüvi's firmware to 3.2 using nothing but my G4 iMac, 10.3.9, and a USB cable. It's almost too easy to call a "hint." Download the updater from Garmin. It's a .exe self-extracting archive (boo, hiss). Drop it on Stuffit Expander. Mount an SD card, either in your nüvi attached via USB, or in a card reader.

Drag the Garmin folder from the expanded archive to the card. Put the card in the nüvi and boot 'er up. Let the nüvi do its full update process. That's it.

If you're updating from a version of 2.9 or older, be sure to back up your waypoints file first, found in the main nüvi directory. Again, it's drag and drop. No Windows needed

[pathfinder]

That is interesting. I had not seen anything on Garmin's website that suggested Mac support. I'm running OS 10.4.6

I keep an old 500Mhz PIII laptop just for keeping my Garmin GPS units and software up to date.

[StevenV]

anyone got recommendations for a good image browser/renamer on the Mac?

I've been using BreezeBrowser (http://www.fredmiranda.com/BB_review/index.html) on Windows for sifting through my images and making the first keep/toss decision, launching into PS for editing, and batch renaming.

While wandering around the net, or maybe it was because of a pointer from some thread here on dgrin, I came across http://www.dg28.com/Opinion43.html the other day. As soon as I saw it, I remembered that just about everyone I saw at the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar seemed to be using Photo Mechanic (http://www.camerabits.com/pages/PM4.html). I downloaded it and dropped in their 30-day demo code and barely two days later I'm about ready to send 'em some money. Looks like it does everything I need.

[DavidTO]

My new-found love is MailTags (http://www.indev.ca/MailTags.html). I had known about it for quite a while and thought, "eh, who needs it?" Well, I saw it posted again somewhere, gave it a shot, and I love it. You can tag and group emails, make iCal todos and more, most likely. I've only had it for 10 minutes now, but it was love at first site...check it out. Oh, and it's $20 donationware, so if you feel like it's worth it, you give them $20, otherwise it's free...

[patch29]

Announced at NAB

17" Macbook Pro $2799

Interesting that it has FW 800 and the 15" does not. :scratch

17-inch widescreen display
1680 x 1050 resolution
2.16GHz Intel Core Duo(1)

1GB (single SODIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
120GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memory
One FireWire 400, one FireWire 800, and three USB 2.0 ports

[patch29]

They need to look at the 15" pricing now. If you add in the same chip and max out options, 7200 rpm drive the 15 is $100 more than the 17. :scratch

[patch29]

Cool the DVD write speed is 8x on the 17" MBP. :clap

8x Slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Maximum write: 8x DVD-R and DVD+R; 4x DVD-RW and DVD+RW; 2.4 DVD+R (double layer), 24x CD-R; 16x CD-RW
Maximum read: 8x DVD-ROM (single layer); 6x DVD-ROM (double layer), DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R and DVD+RW; 24x CD-R

[patch29]

Wow. I can see the excitement over the 17" Macbookpro was overwhelming. :rolleyes


Anyone ever use the itunes artwork screensaver setting? It can be entertaining. I usually do not see much of the artwork in my itunes folder.

[Andy]

Wow. I can see the excitement over the 17" Macbookpro was overwhelming. :rolleyes


Anyone ever use the itunes artwork screensaver setting? It can be entertaining. I usually do not see much of the artwork in my itunes folder.
I'll jump for joy at a new 12" or 13" Macbook pro :D

[DavidTO]

Anyone ever use the itunes artwork screensaver setting? It can be entertaining. I usually do not see much of the artwork in my itunes folder.


I have. Cool. But I don't use screensavers, rather set my prefs to turn my display off after a few mintues, hoping to save the bulb, or whatever. I like having the artwork, though. Nice on the iPod, too.

17"? I'm waiting for one of two things, haven't decided which way to go yet. Either the iBook replacement (cheaper) or a 64 bit MacBook Pro, when they come out.

[jimf]

I'll jump for joy at a new 12" or 13" Macbook pro :D

I here they aren't going to make one, but instead make two levels of Macbook. But I really want the metal housing and may have to go for a 15" to get it.

[LOVEphotos]

Anyone ever use the itunes artwork screensaver setting? It can be entertaining. I usually do not see much of the artwork in my itunes folder.

Just took a quick look ... pulled up changed desktop background ... selected screensaver ... but don't see the itunes artwork as an option :scratch

Any help would be appreciated ... would like to check it out ... thanks!

[DavidTO]

Just took a quick look ... pulled up changed desktop background ... selected screensaver ... but don't see the itunes artwork as an option :scratch

Any help would be appreciated ... would like to check it out ... thanks!


Screensaver, not desktop background. ALTHOUGH: You *can* run screensavers as your desktop (http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20020824082233907)! I have *not* tested this in Tiger, but did try it in Jaguar back in the day. Cool, but ultimately annoying.

[patch29]

I'll jump for joy at a new 12" or 13" Macbook pro :D

I would be there too, if they can fit an 8x DVD burner in it and bump up the ram. :D or I would go for the 15". I like the specs on the 17" though, so I will continue to wait.

[patch29]

I have. Cool. But I don't use screensavers, rather set my prefs to turn my display off after a few mintues, hoping to save the bulb, or whatever. I like having the artwork, though. Nice on the iPod, too.

17"? I'm waiting for one of two things, haven't decided which way to go yet. Either the iBook replacement (cheaper) or a 64 bit MacBook Pro, when they come out.


I like the screensaver for when I am warming up the crt for color correcting. :dunno

64 bit would be cool. I will just keep waiting. :D

[DavidTO]

I like the screensaver for when I am warming up the crt for color correcting. :dunno

64 bit would be cool. I will just keep waiting. :D


Makes sense. About 1% of my computer time is spent on post-processing, and it's not on a CRT, so I never thought of that...

[patch29]

I guess the biggest plus to the new 17" MBP is the DVD burner, when I am on the road and have to burn fast, my old PB only burns at 1x, which compared to new burners is super slow. I also do not like having to carry an external DVD burner, even though it is an inexpensive solution.

[DavidTO]

I found a handy widget, even learned a few things from it, x-cuts (http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/reference/xcuts.html), which is a pretty comprehensive list of keyboard shortcuts.

Also, I had found that I had stopped using dashboard, because I was always annoyed at it getting going. Well, now that I'm running Dashboard Kickstart (http://www.alwintroost.nl/content/widgets/dashboardkickstart.xml), I'm using it a lot more, since it's now instant-on.

[pathfinder]

I found a handy widget, even learned a few things from it, x-cuts (http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/reference/xcuts.html), which is a pretty comprehensive list of keyboard shortcuts.

Also, I had found that I had stopped using dashboard, because I was always annoyed at it getting going. Well, now that I'm running Dashboard Kickstart (http://www.alwintroost.nl/content/widgets/dashboardkickstart.xml), I'm using it a lot more, since it's now instant-on.

I like the x-cuts widget - saves having a cheat sheet near the monitor.

[LOVEphotos]

Screensaver, not desktop background. ALTHOUGH: You *can* run screensavers as your desktop (http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20020824082233907)! I have *not* tested this in Tiger, but did try it in Jaguar back in the day. Cool, but ultimately annoying.

THANKS! for your help.

From the desktop background ... u can also select Screensaver ... I found the i-tunes artwork selection ... But, I thought it would display MY personal itunes artwork.

[Mike Lane]

Well, I just ordered one of these (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/6394000/wo/AGAOy4W4P7Hd3AJ8PxhQIjNVhS9/2.?p=0).

Now I need to get one of these (http://www.adobe.com/products/bundles/design_bundle.html).

hoo boy.

[Andy]

Well, I just ordered one of these (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/6394000/wo/AGAOy4W4P7Hd3AJ8PxhQIjNVhS9/2.?p=0).

Now I need to get one of these (http://www.adobe.com/products/bundles/design_bundle.html).

hoo boy.
Congrats. Itsabouttime

[Mike Lane]

:lol3

Got a suggested update for senior clippy?

[DavidTO]

Well, I just ordered one of these (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/6394000/wo/AGAOy4W4P7Hd3AJ8PxhQIjNVhS9/2.?p=0).

Now I need to get one of these (http://www.adobe.com/products/bundles/design_bundle.html).

hoo boy.


Congrats!

How 'bout this?

[DavidTO]

Or you could use the Automator icon...

[bigwebguy]

Well, I just ordered one of these (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/6394000/wo/AGAOy4W4P7Hd3AJ8PxhQIjNVhS9/2.?p=0).cool, interested to hear if the 17" have any of the same probs as the 15".
Now I need to get one of these (http://www.adobe.com/products/bundles/design_bundle.html).:scratchyou need to do your homework

[bigwebguy]

Or you could use the Automator icon...aw c'mon david, i KNOW you have better ones that those

[StevenV]

Congrats!

How 'bout this?
http://steven.vorefamily.net/images/happymac.jpg

[bigwebguy]

Mike...did you order online or in the store? when i bought mine they gave me an 8% discount for being a gov't schmo....i'm guessin you should get the same discount. Plus, you get 16% off apple software, 8% off of accessories and ipod's and 4% off of non-apple software (like adobe, office etc). Plus if you're looking for a pretty common configuration you may walk out with one.

[Mike Lane]

Mike...did you order online or in the store? when i bought mine they gave me an 8% discount for being a gov't schmo....i'm guessin you should get the same discount. Plus, you get 16% off apple software, 8% off of accessories and ipod's and 4% off of non-apple software (like adobe, office etc). Plus if you're looking for a pretty common configuration you may walk out with one.
I ordered online. I got 8% off the 17 incher and 12% off the apple protection plan. I could have gotten that same deal from the store though.

And what homework do I need to do about the CS2 bundle? :ear

[bigwebguy]

I ordered online. I got 8% off the 17 incher and 12% off the apple protection plan. I could have gotten that same deal from the store though.

And what homework do I need to do about the CS2 bundle? :ear

cool, i didnt know if the discount was available online.

CS2 isn't and wont be available as a universal binary. Gonna have to wait for CS3...unless you're gonna run windows too.

[DavidTO]

cool, i didnt know if the discount was available online.

CS2 isn't and wont be available as a universal binary. Gonna have to wait for CS3...unless you're gonna run windows too.


Not entirely true...add the statement: "or unless you're going to run it under Rosetta, and take the performance hit..."

[bigwebguy]

Not entirely true...add the statement: "or unless you're going to run it under Rosetta, and take the performance hit..."so i repeat, wait for CS3.

[Mike Lane]

cool, i didnt know if the discount was available online.

Yup. Just search out apple government employee purchase plan in google.

CS2 isn't and wont be available as a universal binary. Gonna have to wait for CS3...unless you're gonna run windows too.

Yes, that I do know (meaning that I just read it last night). Here's why I'm going to get it. 1) I need it for the shootout. 2) It runs through Rosetta (as I understand it slower than on a powerPC) without any action on my part. 3) CS3 won't be out until the 2nd quarter 2007. It's not like I'm going to just have the MBP to surf the net :dunno Also when CS3 comes out I can get it for the upgrade price.

Not perfect, but it'll do.

[bigwebguy]

Yup. Just search out apple government employee purchase plan in google.



Yes, that I do know (meaning that I just read it last night). Here's why I'm going to get it. 1) I need it for the shootout. 2) It runs through Rosetta (as I understand it slower than on a powerPC) without any action on my part. 3) CS3 won't be out until the 2nd quarter 2007. It's not like I'm going to just have the MBP to surf the net :dunno Also when CS3 comes out I can get it for the upgrade price.

Not perfect, but it'll do.ok, your call but i'll just throw this out. I love firefox as much as anyone, but until they released a universal binary of it, i was using camino. YMMV.

[Mike Lane]

ok, your call but i'll just throw this out. I have a huge man crush on firefox. Until they released a universal binary of it, i was using camino. YMMV.

So what pray tell should I get for the shootout?

:lol3 mancrush

[bigwebguy]

So what pray tell should I get for the shootout?

:lol3 mancrushif you HAVE to have something for the shootout, spend $100 on a copy of XP and use your existing CS2 license (you can install on 2 pc's)

[DavidTO]

So what pray tell should I get for the shootout?

:lol3 mancrush


What is it you want to do? Import the images, or actually process them? I don't plan on doing much more than shooting and enjoying myself. Andy might be busily processing shots, but I'll be drinking a beer in the bar, I believe...

Me? I'd bring your little HD80 gizmo, and shoot and enjoy.

If you want to process, then go ahead and get the suite, although you should check out the upgrade path, and mebbe get PS only for now, and then upgrade to the full CS3 when it comes out? I mean, you're not gonna be building a web site during the shoot-out, right?

[Mike Lane]

Sorry what was that about xp and CS2? I'm teh l05t...

I mean, you're not gonna be building a web site during the shoot-out, right?

weeeeeellllll :dunno

[DavidTO]

Sorry what was that about xp and CS2? I'm teh l05t...



weeeeeellllll :dunno


BWG's suggesting that you sully your new MBP by installing XP on it with Boot Camp, or one of the other solutions, so you can run your current copy of CS2 until you can get the Universal Binary version CS3.

[Mike Lane]

Ahh yes, the bootcamp thing. Well I suppose that'll keep me going until CS3 comes out. Quick question though, will I be able to uninstall the bootcamp / windows xp installation entirely once I no longer have a need for it? Or on second thought should I maybe keep the bootcamp/win xp so I can have one place among all my computers where IE6 still resides (presumably I would then upgrade to IE7 everywhere except for the bootcamp install...)?

[bigwebguy]

Ahh yes, the bootcamp thing. Well I suppose that'll keep me going until CS3 comes out. Quick question though, will I be able to uninstall the bootcamp / windows xp installation entirely once I no longer have a need for it? Or on second thought should I maybe keep the bootcamp/win xp so I can have one place among all my computers where IE6 still resides (presumably I would then upgrade to IE7 everywhere except for the bootcamp install...)?yes, apple includes a nice un-installation tool in bootcamp for removing the XP partition and reclaiming it into macdom.

IF you want to use the macbook as your main image editing box, i recommend going the bootcamp option as opposed to the virtualization option. you'll get 100% performance out of bootcamp vs. a performance hit in the virtual world.

Then, once CS3 comes out and you're using photoshop in the mac world, run XP in virtualization for IE6 compatability checking because you can run windows from inside OSX instead of having to reboot into it.

My opinion....go the bootcamp route for the shootout. I'm assuming this is your first mac? If so then you'll still be cutting your teeth in OSX and want something familiar to boot into when you really want to get something done. Eventually you'll get used to it and start using mac keystrokes on your PC and thats when you can start doing serious work on the mac.

[Mike Lane]

yes, apple includes a nice un-installation tool in bootcamp for removing the XP partition and reclaiming it into macdom.

IF you want to use the macbook as your main image editing box, i would recommend going the bootcamp option as opposed to the parallel's virtualization option. you'll get 100% performance out of bootcamp vs. a performance hit in the virtual world.

Then, once CS3 comes out and you're using photoshop in the mac world, run XP in virtualization for IE6 compat. checking because you can run windows from inside OSX instead of having to reboot into it.

My opinion....go the bootcamp route for the shootout. I'm assuming this is your first mac yes? If so then you'll still be cutting your teeth in OSX and want something familiar to boot into when you really want to get something done. Eventually you'll get used to it and start using mac keystrokes on your PC and thats when you can start doing serious work on the mac.

Sounds like a winner. Nothing extra to buy for now is a definite plus. And also yes, this is my first mac. When I'm using a mac, I feel like a complete idiot. I mean maybe I am, but at least this complete idiot can figure out how to do <alt><tab> to switch between open programs in windows. I'm like a chimp trying to get the thing to do something. Just lots of pressing buttons and staring blankly.

Pretty pretty buttons.

[StevenV]

Eventually you'll get used to it and start using mac keystrokes on your PC and thats when you can start doing serious work on the mac.

unless you continue to go back to Windows for "real work," in which case you'll never give yourself a good chance to get used to the Mac. If you're going to switch, switch. Give Adobe a call and see if they'll give you a cross-grade from CS2/Win to CS2/Mac (which I've heard that they do).

http://steven.vorefamily.net/images/icon_pirate.gif

[Mike Lane]

unless you continue to go back to Windows for "real work," in which case you'll never give yourself a good chance to get used to the Mac. If you're going to switch, switch. Give Adobe a call and see if they'll give you a cross-grade from CS2/Win to CS2/Mac (which I've heard that they do).

http://steven.vorefamily.net/images/icon_pirate.gif

I still have a windows machine at home (2 actually) so it wouldn't be of much benefit to me to switch from CS2/Win to Mac. I'll need both. Actually I'll probably dump CS2 on the win machines entirely after Vista and Expression family come out (I know people who work at microsoft so Vista will be probably $40 for me and Expression will be *guessing* $60 or $70). So I'll eventually have a Mac with CS3 (which will hopefully integrate macromedia stuff entirely) and win boxes with vista and expression (or whatever it gets changed to).

I don't know why anyone would care :scratch

Point is, I'm not going to buy CS2 if I don't have to. I'll have it down cold eventually.

[bigwebguy]

(I know people who work at microsoft so Vista will be probably $40 for me and Expression will be *guessing* $60 or $70)an even better reason to get XP on the Mac as your interim solution. you can get away CHEAP!

the rest of your post didnt make any sense to me though.

[Mike Lane]

an even better reason to get XP on the Mac as your interim solution. you can get away CHEAP!

Just like I like my women.

the rest of your post didnt make any sense to me though.

I got fixated by the thought of pretty buttons...:oogle

[Mike Lane]

quick questions.

1) When I'm talking to someone who knows macs will I get berated if I say Oh Ess Ex as opposed to Oh Ess Ten?

2) Does OSX (see above and pretend I said the right thing) have some way to display my 20D's .CR2 files? If not is there something that I need to download to make it do so? My thought is I could at least weed out bad files if I happen to not be in Win XP mode.

3) Is there some kind of help for brand new to macs but not brand new to computers types of people on the internets?

[DavidTO]

quick questions.

1) When I'm talking to someone who knows macs will I get berated if I say Oh Ess Ex as opposed to Oh Ess Ten?

It's ten. Funny story, in the early days, of the Macintosh SE, the 68030 processor should have been named the SEx, if it followed their naming conventions. They opted for SE30.


2) Does OSX (see above and pretend I said the right thing) have some way to display my 20D's .CR2 files? If not is there something that I need to download to make it do so? My thought is I could at least weed out bad files if I happen to not be in Win XP mode.

It will show them in the Finder (desktop) level.


3) Is there some kind of help for brand new to macs but not brand new to computers types of people on the internets?

There's a bunch of resources on the Apple site, although they may be a bit rudimentary for you. There's also a book for it, I think it's by David Pogue?

And there's always me. I'd be happy to answer any of your questions and guide you as best I can. Here, email or IM.

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1) When I'm talking to someone who knows macs will I get berated if I say Oh Ess Ex as opposed to Oh Ess Ten?

You should ignore any Mac user who acts like a jerk to you. Those cult fanatics make the normal Mac users look bad. They need to be discouraged.

2) Does OSX (see above and pretend I said the right thing) have