Well, I have had my new Mac G5 about 6 weeks now and like I promised, I am here to report on my experience so far... The short version is that it has gone much smoother than I even thought possible. The hardware G5 - 23 inch Cinema display is lovely. The displays always look nice in a store, but only when I compare it side to side with my previous LCDs do I really appreciate how nice the Apple display is.
.
Oh, good lord! I needed (not) to find this thread. After my last bout with spyware, running scans, repairs, etc., I was ready to say it would be a Mac next time.
After my last bout with spyware, running scans, repairs, etc., I was ready to say it would be a Mac next time. Now I have serious Mac envy NOW!
ROTFL! I switched about six years ago and it has been great ever since. Things just WORK. And the famous price delta is not that great when comparing Apples to apples, so to speak. Rock-bottom Dell's are cheaper, until you throw in a nice monitor, some software, yadda yadda.
iBooks are a great value, as are eMacs (which has a lovely CRT as well, great for photos). My only complaint on my 12" PowerBook is I did not buy the Super Drive. Oh well.
And don't tell my employer, AMD, that I am telling people to buy Macintosh.
Oh, good lord! I needed (not) to find this thread. After my last bout with spyware, running scans, repairs, etc., I was ready to say it would be a Mac next time.
I just upgraded to a SONY box with a sony 19 xbrite lcd monitor that is very impressive. I'm seeing my pictures in a new light. I'm sure it doesn't compare spec wise with the apple display, but this is a really great looking monitor. Cost about $800 at Best Buy. Resist the dark side Ginger.
My only complaint on my 12" PowerBook is I did not buy the Super Drive.
I bought an 8x Lacie external DVD burner for about $200.00 a few months ago to use with my Powerbook, since the superdrive was only 1X. It has been great and it came with the full version of Toast 6. Something to add on if you have not already done it. It is so much faster than my old drive.
Thank you - Anytime - I am ready to learn more and do more with the Mac
The first thing to make sure of is that you are running the basic maintenance.
You should do the following things regularly:
1)Repair Permissions
2)Repair the disk directory
3)Run the UNIX periodic maintenance
4)Backup
There are many ways to get those things done, but I'm going to recommend only one. It requires that you buy three things.
First,Macaroni. This $9 app will repair your disk permissions and run the UNIX maintenance scripts on a schedule that you set in the background. You actually don't need to set anything, as the default settings are fine. Just install it, enter your serial number and let it go.
Second, get Disk Warrior. This does one thing, and it does it better than any other application. It repairs corruptions to your disk's directory that WILL happen over time. You should run this every 2-4 weeks, just to be safe. This will be your most expensive purchase, at $80. But it's well worth it.
Third, is SuperDuper! a great $20 app for backing up your data to a firewire drive. It will make an exact, bootable copy of your drive so that when your drive fails (they all fail eventually) you only lose the time it takes you to reboot on the other disk. Very nice. It's got lots of other features, too.
Third, is SuperDuper! a great $20 app for backing up your data to a firewire drive. It will make an exact, bootable copy of your drive so that when your drive fails (they all fail eventually) you only lose the time it takes you to reboot on the other disk. Very nice. It's got lots of other features, too.
Those are some good links. I have been using Carbon Copy Cloner to make a bootable backup copy on a FW drive of my main drive. It works very well and is shareware (don't pay or pay $5.00). A real bargain. CCC reviews/info on versiontracker.
I guess I'll stick with the viruses and worms in the dungeon....[/QUOTE]
Want to chime in here... My first mac was a plus. A tiny little square almost box with black and white screen. But it smiled at me when I started it up.
I have been hooked on macs since that time (1990). I went from plus to LC, to LCII color screen, with a giant HD of 40 MB.
But my mac kept smiling at me, it knew me, and I knew it. I could adapt everything I wanted. I could add icons all over the place. I could play and fiddle with it. I took floppies of 400 K over to move stuff.
I have now just bought the iMac G5, and I love it to death. I use photoshop around 14 hours a day. I say you have to have good shoes and a good bed. You are either in one or in the other.
I forget my mac in that reasoning.
I have converted my hubby to a mac. He works as a astro space ingeneer (I think... grin) and was pc only.
Now we are both happy... on mac.
Hmm, what was I saying? Photoshop... I used my ibook 12 inch for 3 years to do photostuff, with that little screen that had over time turned white into yellow.
The main reason I love apple mac is not because of the consumer friendlyness of the firm, but because it looks so good, and it works so smoothly. You can have fun with that thing. Consumerfriendlyness is a total different matter. If you ever had a problem with a mac you will know what I am talking about. Apple support is hell. You have to be switched through six automated voices before you actually get a person to speak to you. Here in UK we then are connected with some chap in bangladesh who has the most terrible accent and who probably doesn't understand what I am talking about just as I have no idea what he is talking about.
If you know what you are doing and know the mac, you are better off with mac.
I love the fact that I still can adapt icons and the playful stuff. We do work on pc's in school, and it is a disaster for me. I have to look for everything.
The mac is plug and play. (Hah! that is after you checked the voltage).
I believe in the mac as being user friendly and nice to look at.
It costs more then pc's, but it is worth every penny I say.
In general, your mac lives a lot longer then a pc.
I firmly believe that every photographer should have a mac.
I have worked for a newspaper in Belgium for more then ten years, and the graphics companies all have mac.
WYSIWYG is no lost word with mac.
Those are some good links. I have been using Carbon Copy Cloner to make a bootable backup copy on a FW drive of my main drive. It works very well and is shareware (don't pay or pay $5.00). A real bargain. CCC reviews/info on versiontracker.
I moved from CCC to SuperDuper. CCC is great, and a great deal, but SuperDuper has taken it a step higher, and is a more polished app. You can even set it up so that you can easily revert to a prior system state (like if you find that 10.3.6 breaks something you need) through a simple restart. Very cool.
I believe in the mac as being user friendly and nice to look at.
It costs more then pc's, but it is worth every penny I say.
In general, your mac lives a lot longer then a pc.
Interesting reading material though I am no wizz kid, so there is lot that escapes me. Call me technically challenged.
Thanks for the links. So the mac is not more expensive then the PC. What a positive note...
The first thing to make sure of is that you are running the basic maintenance.
You should do the following things regularly:
1)Repair Permissions
2)Repair the disk directory
3)Run the UNIX periodic maintenance
4)Backup
There are many ways to get those things done, but I'm going to recommend only one. It requires that you buy three things.
First,Macaroni. This $9 app will repair your disk permissions and run the UNIX maintenance scripts on a schedule that you set in the background. You actually don't need to set anything, as the default settings are fine. Just install it, enter your serial number and let it go.
Second, get Disk Warrior. This does one thing, and it does it better than any other application. It repairs corruptions to your disk's directory that WILL happen over time. You should run this every 2-4 weeks, just to be safe. This will be your most expensive purchase, at $80. But it's well worth it.
Third, is SuperDuper! a great $20 app for backing up your data to a firewire drive. It will make an exact, bootable copy of your drive so that when your drive fails (they all fail eventually) you only lose the time it takes you to reboot on the other disk. Very nice. It's got lots of other features, too.
I have purchased and installed Macaroni, and downloaded SuperDuper. I am not quite sure if it will clone to a DVD or multiple DVDs. I am in the process of adding a 2nd internal hard drive to my Power Mac to use for backup. I will order Disk Warrior soon - apparently it will not boot a G5 with the 30 Inch display - mine is 23 inches so this probably is not a problem.
I do have one question tho .... sometimes when I am copying and moving files into different directories I don't think I quite am doing it right.
I can select files to move by using Apple-A to select all the files in a directory or shift-mouse click the first and last file in a group to select all the files in between. The click and drag should move them to the new directory. But occaisionally, after highlighting several files ( selected) in blue, when I try to click and drag the group, I will only get the single file the cursor is on even though numerous files were selected. I am not sure what is causing this to happen and it is not consistent. But when this starts, I cannt seem to move more than one file at a time in the affected directory. I think there must be something simple I am overlooking, but I can't seem to find it. Any suggestions?
The three articles you linked were very interesting. One point the first article pointed out was that in similarly equipped high end desk top machines - MAC versus Wintel - Dual G5 vs Xeon - The Wintel boxes were more expensive. This was exactly my experience when I began shopping for a dual processor high end desk top image editing computer. That was what first started me looking again at an Apple - I had thought they were more expensive - but when compared - Apple to Dell - I did not find that to be the case.
One of the things that really irritated me was Adobe's requiring activation iin WIN XP. I lost several hours of work when Photoshop in Win XP would SUDDENLY shut down because it could not find the activation coding and any editing I had done was also lost - AND I did buy and own the activation coding - some software glitch I am sure but annoying big time . Macs, of course, do not require the activation coding for Photoshop.
Thanks for your suggestions. I am interested in any others you may think I need to be aware of.
But occaisionally, after highlighting several files ( selected) in blue, when I try to click and drag the group, I will only get the single file the cursor is on even though numerous files were selected. I am not sure what is causing this to happen and it is not consistent. But when this starts, I cannt seem to move more than one file at a time in the affected directory. I think there must be something simple I am overlooking, but I can't seem to find it. Any suggestions?
I'm not sure what's causing the problem, could be a corrupted pref, bad permissions, or even a wanky mouse.
My one suggestion is to copy/paste. Simple type cmd-c to copy the files, navigate to where you're going and then hit cmd-v to pase.
What view are you in for the finder window? There are times when being in column view can be a problem when deleting files--and that is when you've got the preview activated. The finder thinks the file is open (I guess it is, really) and won't allow deleting it. If you go to another view or close the preview thing, it'll delete just fine.
Ahhh, a question for the ages. One of the true classics, right up there with
Canon or Nikon?
Film or digital?
Dave or Sammy?
Less filling or tastes great?
Although I'm a PC guy, for what you've described I'd say go with a Mac. I'll have to defer to someone else for the spec you would want in a Mac for photo work.
virus/spyware ridden mess or utopian bliss
highly critical security flaws or tightly protected OS
frustratingly poor user interface or pleasant user experience.
Comments
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Operating System Design, Drivers, Software
Villa Del Rio II, Talamban, Pit-os, Cebu, Ph
Now I have serious Mac envy NOW!
g
ROTFL! I switched about six years ago and it has been great ever since. Things just WORK. And the famous price delta is not that great when comparing Apples to apples, so to speak. Rock-bottom Dell's are cheaper, until you throw in a nice monitor, some software, yadda yadda.
iBooks are a great value, as are eMacs (which has a lovely CRT as well, great for photos). My only complaint on my 12" PowerBook is I did not buy the Super Drive. Oh well.
And don't tell my employer, AMD, that I am telling people to buy Macintosh.
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
TML Photography
tmlphoto.com
I bought an 8x Lacie external DVD burner for about $200.00 a few months ago to use with my Powerbook, since the superdrive was only 1X. It has been great and it came with the full version of Toast 6. Something to add on if you have not already done it. It is so much faster than my old drive.
I always kinda liked to mix chocolate with vanilla.
Just felt like more freedom to me.
The first thing to make sure of is that you are running the basic maintenance.
You should do the following things regularly:
1)Repair Permissions
2)Repair the disk directory
3)Run the UNIX periodic maintenance
4)Backup
There are many ways to get those things done, but I'm going to recommend only one. It requires that you buy three things.
First,Macaroni. This $9 app will repair your disk permissions and run the UNIX maintenance scripts on a schedule that you set in the background. You actually don't need to set anything, as the default settings are fine. Just install it, enter your serial number and let it go.
Second, get Disk Warrior. This does one thing, and it does it better than any other application. It repairs corruptions to your disk's directory that WILL happen over time. You should run this every 2-4 weeks, just to be safe. This will be your most expensive purchase, at $80. But it's well worth it.
Third, is SuperDuper! a great $20 app for backing up your data to a firewire drive. It will make an exact, bootable copy of your drive so that when your drive fails (they all fail eventually) you only lose the time it takes you to reboot on the other disk. Very nice. It's got lots of other features, too.
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
Those are some good links. I have been using Carbon Copy Cloner to make a bootable backup copy on a FW drive of my main drive. It works very well and is shareware (don't pay or pay $5.00). A real bargain. CCC reviews/info on versiontracker.
Want to chime in here... My first mac was a plus. A tiny little square almost box with black and white screen. But it smiled at me when I started it up.
I have been hooked on macs since that time (1990). I went from plus to LC, to LCII color screen, with a giant HD of 40 MB.
But my mac kept smiling at me, it knew me, and I knew it. I could adapt everything I wanted. I could add icons all over the place. I could play and fiddle with it. I took floppies of 400 K over to move stuff.
I have now just bought the iMac G5, and I love it to death. I use photoshop around 14 hours a day. I say you have to have good shoes and a good bed. You are either in one or in the other.
I forget my mac in that reasoning.
I have converted my hubby to a mac. He works as a astro space ingeneer (I think... grin) and was pc only.
Now we are both happy... on mac.
Hmm, what was I saying? Photoshop... I used my ibook 12 inch for 3 years to do photostuff, with that little screen that had over time turned white into yellow.
The main reason I love apple mac is not because of the consumer friendlyness of the firm, but because it looks so good, and it works so smoothly. You can have fun with that thing. Consumerfriendlyness is a total different matter. If you ever had a problem with a mac you will know what I am talking about. Apple support is hell. You have to be switched through six automated voices before you actually get a person to speak to you. Here in UK we then are connected with some chap in bangladesh who has the most terrible accent and who probably doesn't understand what I am talking about just as I have no idea what he is talking about.
If you know what you are doing and know the mac, you are better off with mac.
I love the fact that I still can adapt icons and the playful stuff. We do work on pc's in school, and it is a disaster for me. I have to look for everything.
The mac is plug and play. (Hah! that is after you checked the voltage).
I believe in the mac as being user friendly and nice to look at.
It costs more then pc's, but it is worth every penny I say.
In general, your mac lives a lot longer then a pc.
I firmly believe that every photographer should have a mac.
I have worked for a newspaper in Belgium for more then ten years, and the graphics companies all have mac.
WYSIWYG is no lost word with mac.
If you work with pics you need a mac...
http://photocatseyes.net
http://www.zazzle.com/photocatseyes
I moved from CCC to SuperDuper. CCC is great, and a great deal, but SuperDuper has taken it a step higher, and is a more polished app. You can even set it up so that you can easily revert to a prior system state (like if you find that 10.3.6 breaks something you need) through a simple restart. Very cool.
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
Some interesting articles on the subject:
http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/36120.html
http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/36964.html
http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/37806.html
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
Interesting reading material though I am no wizz kid, so there is lot that escapes me. Call me technically challenged.
Thanks for the links. So the mac is not more expensive then the PC. What a positive note...
http://photocatseyes.net
http://www.zazzle.com/photocatseyes
I have purchased and installed Macaroni, and downloaded SuperDuper. I am not quite sure if it will clone to a DVD or multiple DVDs. I am in the process of adding a 2nd internal hard drive to my Power Mac to use for backup. I will order Disk Warrior soon - apparently it will not boot a G5 with the 30 Inch display - mine is 23 inches so this probably is not a problem.
I do have one question tho .... sometimes when I am copying and moving files into different directories I don't think I quite am doing it right.
I can select files to move by using Apple-A to select all the files in a directory or shift-mouse click the first and last file in a group to select all the files in between. The click and drag should move them to the new directory. But occaisionally, after highlighting several files ( selected) in blue, when I try to click and drag the group, I will only get the single file the cursor is on even though numerous files were selected. I am not sure what is causing this to happen and it is not consistent. But when this starts, I cannt seem to move more than one file at a time in the affected directory. I think there must be something simple I am overlooking, but I can't seem to find it. Any suggestions?
The three articles you linked were very interesting. One point the first article pointed out was that in similarly equipped high end desk top machines - MAC versus Wintel - Dual G5 vs Xeon - The Wintel boxes were more expensive. This was exactly my experience when I began shopping for a dual processor high end desk top image editing computer. That was what first started me looking again at an Apple - I had thought they were more expensive - but when compared - Apple to Dell - I did not find that to be the case.
One of the things that really irritated me was Adobe's requiring activation iin WIN XP. I lost several hours of work when Photoshop in Win XP would SUDDENLY shut down because it could not find the activation coding and any editing I had done was also lost - AND I did buy and own the activation coding - some software glitch I am sure but annoying big time . Macs, of course, do not require the activation coding for Photoshop.
Thanks for your suggestions. I am interested in any others you may think I need to be aware of.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
I'm not sure what's causing the problem, could be a corrupted pref, bad permissions, or even a wanky mouse.
My one suggestion is to copy/paste. Simple type cmd-c to copy the files, navigate to where you're going and then hit cmd-v to pase.
What view are you in for the finder window? There are times when being in column view can be a problem when deleting files--and that is when you've got the preview activated. The finder thinks the file is open (I guess it is, really) and won't allow deleting it. If you go to another view or close the preview thing, it'll delete just fine.
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
d00d you left out:
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
Geez, and I thought it was:
virus/spyware ridden mess or utopian bliss
highly critical security flaws or tightly protected OS
frustratingly poor user interface or pleasant user experience.
But I guess that's just me
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops