Investigating the Dark Side

[mwgrice]

So it turns out I may be in the market for a new laptop. I've been thinking about giving a Mac a try. (And yes, I read the thread about the possibility that they're going to announce new MacBooks. I'm not going to buy anything that quickly, trust me.)

Now, I really have only two concerns. You've probably picked up on the fact that I'm not running a Mac now. The only software which I would really miss on Windows is Photoshop and the occasional game. How difficult (and more importantly) expensive is it to move the license for CS3 to the Mac?

For the games, I could certainly dual boot. Dual booting isn't terribly convenient but it does work (I've booted as many as four different operating systems at a time in years past). Any gotchas with doing that? Is there any additional licensing cost?

[Andy]

Adobe will transfer your license from Win to Mac.

[Richard]

For the games, I could certainly dual boot. Dual booting isn't terribly convenient but it does work (I've booted as many as four different operating systems at a time in years past). Any gotchas with doing that? Is there any additional licensing cost?

You will need a licensed, installable copy of Windows...Apple doesn't provide that.

As far as CS3 is concerned, I know that you can transfer the license, but I don't know whether Adobe charges you for that.

Regards,

[Miguel Delinquento]

The dual booting functionality is built in. I would also encourage you to investigate both Parallels or Vmware's Fusion applications. Both allow you to run Windows (and other OSes) in a virtual space simultaneously with OS-X. Windows appears in just another window on your desktop. In fact, both of these applications incorporate a "hiding" feature that visually spares the user from really seeing much of the Windows environment--so a Windows app just runs alone in another window on the Mac. You can also copy and paste data from one to the other platform.
These are ingenious and <$100US. You will need your own retail version of Windows though. I use Parallels, and Windows-only apps like Visio run excellently. I have read that Qimage runs well too. Though I don't play games, I have used Neflix's Windows-only video on demand playback through IE/Parallels and it works just fine.
Oh, BTW, I always thought that Windows was the dark side:wink

M

[mwgrice]

Oh, BTW, I always thought that Windows was the dark side:wink


Thanks, I'll have to look into Parallels and VMWare fusion. If I do go the Mac route I'll almost certainly be running something like that; I've run VMWare for years. I'm currently pricing them out and trying to decide if I want to spend the extra money.

By the way, the dark side is obviously the side where I am not. :rofl

To tell the truth, before I started using Photoshop I was running Linux on the desktop (with a Windows VM if I needed it).

[KED]

Thanks, I'll have to look into Parallels and VMWare fusion. If I do go the Mac route I'll almost certainly be running something like that; I've run VMWare for years. I'm currently pricing them out and trying to decide if I want to spend the extra money.

By the way, the dark side is obviously the side where I am not. :rofl

To tell the truth, before I started using Photoshop I was running Linux on the desktop (with a Windows VM if I needed it).
Be sure to verify Parallels' compatibility with Leopard. I had it on my last Mac and when I upgraded to 10.5 there were compatibility issues.

I haven't kept up with the issue because to tell you the truth, it skeeved me to run Windows on my Mac so I never ended up using Parallels much. And while I'm a Mac fan, I use Windows at work (90% of my computer time) and had been, up until last year, a PC guy since the dawn of the PC.

[i_worship_the_King]

To tell the truth, before I started using Photoshop I was running Linux on the desktop (with a Windows VM if I needed it).

It was a sad, sad day when they quit support for PS on sun machines. I <3 those big monitors, clean UI, and enough buttons to launch a small rocket from the keyboard. :cry

[mwgrice]

It was a sad, sad day when they quit support for PS on sun machines. I <3 those big monitors, clean UI, and enough buttons to launch a small rocket from the keyboard. :cry

Yeah, it's too bad. Never used Photoshop on them, though.

I saw Google was funding CrossOver Office's attempt to make Photoshop run smoothly on Wine. That would be cool--I have run Word etc. with CrossOver Office for years now. A native Linux version of Photoshop would be better, though, although I don't see it happening (at least not now).

[kisi]

hey, i moved my copy of PS from a pc to a mac a couple of years ago when i got my macbook pro. they don't charge you to make the switch. they basically void the license of the old copy, make you sign something saying you'll destroy the copy, and send you a new one for the other platform (i may have had to pay shipping, i don't remember).

from what i remember, they have some weird policy where you have a maximum of 5 "lifetime platform switches" for your licenses. of course, once you go mac... ha, ha. :D

[i_worship_the_King]

once you go mac...

... you take out a second mortgage? :rofl

[noeltykay]

So it turns out I may be in the market for a new laptop. I've been thinking about giving a Mac a try. (And yes, I read the thread about the possibility that they're going to announce new MacBooks. I'm not going to buy anything that quickly, trust me.)

Now, I really have only two concerns. You've probably picked up on the fact that I'm not running a Mac now. The only software which I would really miss on Windows is Photoshop and the occasional game. How difficult (and more importantly) expensive is it to move the license for CS3 to the Mac?

For the games, I could certainly dual boot. Dual booting isn't terribly convenient but it does work (I've booted as many as four different operating systems at a time in years past). Any gotchas with doing that? Is there any additional licensing cost?

I bought a 2.4GHz C2D iMac in August just after they were announced. I run VMWare Fusion because I need Windows for my day job...if I did not have to boot Windows again I would not. I love OSX! My wifes Thinkpad needs to be replaced and we bought her a refurbed black Macbook yesterday from the online Apple Store. The refreshed black Macbook is $1,499 new compared to $1,049 for the refurb...the extra 2ghz of processing power will go unnoticed to my wife and I...the 90GB's of extra storage, and the extra GB of memory would be nice...but I already ordered 4GB's for $100 which would have been done in either case...I would rather have the extra $450 the 90GB's of storage and the 2Ghz of processing power.

My point...check the refurbs on the Apple site...Macbook Pro's start at $1,499.

Does anyone know if I can use my copy of Lightroom on two machines?

[mwgrice]

Well, I broke down and bought one. It was more expensive than I would have liked (duh), but the first four hours with it have been great.