Ann's "Official", Solicited, Mac Advice Thread
If I were going to the Apple store this week, what would I plunk my money down on - sole purpose is for my photos - storage, editing, etc.
currently not thinking budget, but ultimately there will be one. My favorite question for any salesperson is "best bang for buck"
If you buy a new mac within the new OS upgrade window, when the send the disk out is it a full install disk or a model specific OS disk, similar to what you get with the computer purchase?
Well, maybe there's a way to do what you want. Describe a typical situation.
We've been through this before, I'm afraid. Writing, with perhaps six Word docs open (for reference or for cutting-n-pasting.) In Winders, it's easy to remember where each doc is on the taskbar, you can see it and click on it.
On a Mac, it's at least a two step process. Not the end of the world, but the taskbar is nice.
It's also nice to see when an internet site sends you a pop-up. On the Mac, it's hidden behind your window. But on the PC, it appears on the taskbar.
Small things. I like my Mac, very happy with its overall ease-of-use. Just a few things, that's all.
We've been through this before, I'm afraid. Writing, with perhaps six Word docs open (for reference or for cutting-n-pasting.) In Winders, it's easy to remember where each doc is on the taskbar, you can see it and click on it.
On a Mac, it's at least a two step process. Not the end of the world, but the taskbar is nice.
It's also nice to see when an internet site sends you a pop-up. On the Mac, it's hidden behind your window. But on the PC, it appears on the taskbar.
Small things. I like my Mac, very happy with its overall ease-of-use. Just a few things, that's all.
mmmm expose + hot corners = tres sexy
Y'all don't want to hear me, you just want to dance.
I don't understand Spaces. Is that a way to address the taskbar I miss from Winders?
The developers I know that have played with 10.5 say it's a lot like DesktopManager, which you can get today and has been rock solid for me for years, or Codetek Studio's Virtual Desktop, which seems fragile. Ironically, DesktopManager is the free one.
SmugMug Sorcerer - Engineering Team Champion for Commerce, Finance, Security, and Data Support http://wall-art.smugmug.com/
it depends....
Andy's unsolicited advice thread is more for after you've bought it. There have been a number of threads around here that have tried to answer that question for various folks, it's always dependent on what they're looking for. A laptop? a desktop? an all in one? How many monitors they plan to use? reuse current one? (maybe a mini then?) just the one it comes with? (maybe NOT an imac then if you care about color accuracy and the glossy screen), adding an external color balanced monitor? (then maybe the imac is ok) want two color balanced screens? (mac book pro with matte screen + external maybe, or mac pro with dual externals)
I think about the only thing we've all agreed on for every single user is "the more memory the better" and "if you have any technical ability, or know someone that does, consider adding 3rd party memory instead of paying for apple memory IF the machine you end up with allows it."
One comment I would say. I do not recommend the glossy monitor. I tried it out in the store before purchasing a MacBook Pro and I found that the color was less affected on the flat/matte monitor/LCD panel.
I shall learn to use hot corners. Thanks for the tip, I'll see if it's what I want.
No problemo. It's not too difficult to set up. Just go to your sytem preferences > dashboard & expose and then make sure you set one of your active screen corners to application windows.
Y'all don't want to hear me, you just want to dance.
Something instead of Hot Corners
I started using Hot Corners and then I got a new multi button mouse and I was able to assign the same features to the mouse buttons. I found that a lot more efficient.
The mouse I use is a Logitech MX 400 and I am happy enough with it that I bought a second one for use at the office/
Parallels and Leopard play well together.....at least as well as parallels and Tiger anyway
Andy
A Brit among the HAWKEYES Canon 5D Mk III Canon 24-105L IS USM; Canon 16-35 f/2.8L USM; Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM II Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM; Bigma 50-500 f/4-6.3 EX DG HSM My Galleries
Target profile?
I'm using an Apple 20" Cinema display on a G5 PowerMac, Spider Pro 2 calibrator. The question is.. during the setup/wizard portion of the calibration I'm asked to choose a target setting. The choices are stuff like "1.8 Gamma (Native)" and 2.2 gamma, sRGB, etc.
I chose the 1.8 as that's the standard Apple gamma. Is this correct?
Sorry that's not a lot of info, I'm at work not in front of the machine, just thought I'd ask since there are probably people reading this that know exactly what I'm talking about. Thanks. I'm editing photos in sRGB so.. should I choose that instead?
Don't rule out the glossy. I mean, it's better than a laptop display, IMO, and if you get a MacPro you need to get a monitor, anyway. You most likely don't need the power of a MacPro, so getting an iMac with a second monitor makes some sense. You can even put off the purchase, and use the glossy for the time being, knowing that a matte screen will be better in the long run for processing pics.
Don't rule out the glossy. I mean, it's better than a laptop display
I would basically agree, I should have been clearer, I meant that on a laptop where the internal display is available glossy or matte, I would recommend matte.
Most bang for your buck is probably going to be the iMac with a second monitor... I plan on getting the 24" iMac for myself in the next few months, and then possibly upgrading Schmoo's monitor so I can steal her 23" (shh, don't tell her!) if I find the glossy is just too hard to work with. I've always been a big fan of LOTS of real estate on the screen, so the two big displays would make me a happy camper (room for all of this is another story for another thread). Get as MUCH memory as you can. When we bought her macpro we went for CPU over RAM with the thought that we can upgrade the RAM, can't upgrade the CPU (according to Apple, I haven't looked into this anymore than that). She really noticed the lack of memory. The CPU boost was almost an order of magnitude greater, but she halved the memory she had, and it was noticeable. Not that her new machine is slower than her old, just that when she starts really grinding you see it swapping to disk. Slow Slow Slow.
Most bang for your buck is probably going to be the iMac with a second monitor... I plan on getting the 24" iMac for myself in the next few months, and then possibly upgrading Schmoo's monitor so I can steal her 23" (shh, don't tell her!) if I find the glossy is just too hard to work with. I've always been a big fan of LOTS of real estate on the screen, so the two big displays would make me a happy camper (room for all of this is another story for another thread). Get as MUCH memory as you can. When we bought her macpro we went for CPU over RAM with the thought that we can upgrade the RAM, can't upgrade the CPU (according to Apple, I haven't looked into this anymore than that). She really noticed the lack of memory. The CPU boost was almost an order of magnitude greater, but she halved the memory she had, and it was noticeable. Not that her new machine is slower than her old, just that when she starts really grinding you see it swapping to disk. Slow Slow Slow.
Hi Ann,
I'm in a similar boat. I've got a PC desktop dying a slow death and am about ready to get a new Mac. With the Leopard announcement, they also mentioned that anyone buying a Mac this month gets Leopard for $10 (S/H of a CD) so no need to wait for that. That being said, there are lots of rumors of new machines to be announced on the Leopard sale date or very shortly thereafter. I'm about to get a 13" Macbook (and external monitor for the photo work) but am holding off til word of new models comes out.
Good luck with the decision,
E
Comments
If I were going to the Apple store this week, what would I plunk my money down on - sole purpose is for my photos - storage, editing, etc.
currently not thinking budget, but ultimately there will be one. My favorite question for any salesperson is "best bang for buck"
ann
My Galleries My Photography BLOG
Ramblings About Me
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
Thanks, that is what I figured they would ship.
Muahahah!
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
Mine too, muahahahaha!
It won't break Parallels will it?
Charlie
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
Wikipedia in Dictionary
Harness the power of Wikipedia when you're connected to the Internet — built right into it’s Dictionary.
I don't understand Spaces. Is that a way to address the taskbar I miss from Winders?
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
More for suites of apps. Like your word processing and internet apps separate from your imaging apps.
At least, that's my understanding.
Workspaces. Like having an office and a darkroom.
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
I just need an easier way to manage multiple docs. I miss clicking on the taskbar, so easy.
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
Well, maybe there's a way to do what you want. Describe a typical situation.
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
On a Mac, it's at least a two step process. Not the end of the world, but the taskbar is nice.
It's also nice to see when an internet site sends you a pop-up. On the Mac, it's hidden behind your window. But on the PC, it appears on the taskbar.
Small things. I like my Mac, very happy with its overall ease-of-use. Just a few things, that's all.
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
Oh, that's right. I'm sure I gave you all the tips I had back then.
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
http://photos.mikelanestudios.com/
That's NOT what I got for 10.4 for a laptop we bought it within the window. The cd that showed up a couple weeks later was tied to that model.
hehe, me three!
The developers I know that have played with 10.5 say it's a lot like DesktopManager, which you can get today and has been rock solid for me for years, or Codetek Studio's Virtual Desktop, which seems fragile. Ironically, DesktopManager is the free one.
http://wall-art.smugmug.com/
Andy's unsolicited advice thread is more for after you've bought it. There have been a number of threads around here that have tried to answer that question for various folks, it's always dependent on what they're looking for. A laptop? a desktop? an all in one? How many monitors they plan to use? reuse current one? (maybe a mini then?) just the one it comes with? (maybe NOT an imac then if you care about color accuracy and the glossy screen), adding an external color balanced monitor? (then maybe the imac is ok) want two color balanced screens? (mac book pro with matte screen + external maybe, or mac pro with dual externals)
I think about the only thing we've all agreed on for every single user is "the more memory the better" and "if you have any technical ability, or know someone that does, consider adding 3rd party memory instead of paying for apple memory IF the machine you end up with allows it."
You might wanna skim the old threads, or post more details of what you want.
http://wall-art.smugmug.com/
Pictures | Website | Blog | Twitter | Contact
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
http://photos.mikelanestudios.com/
I started using Hot Corners and then I got a new multi button mouse and I was able to assign the same features to the mouse buttons. I found that a lot more efficient.
The mouse I use is a Logitech MX 400 and I am happy enough with it that I bought a second one for use at the office/
Pictures | Website | Blog | Twitter | Contact
According to the official blog site
http://parallelsvirtualization.blogspot.com/
Parallels and Leopard play well together.....at least as well as parallels and Tiger anyway
Andy
Canon 5D Mk III
Canon 24-105L IS USM; Canon 16-35 f/2.8L USM; Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM II
Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM; Bigma 50-500 f/4-6.3 EX DG HSM
My Galleries
I'm using an Apple 20" Cinema display on a G5 PowerMac, Spider Pro 2 calibrator. The question is.. during the setup/wizard portion of the calibration I'm asked to choose a target setting. The choices are stuff like "1.8 Gamma (Native)" and 2.2 gamma, sRGB, etc.
I chose the 1.8 as that's the standard Apple gamma. Is this correct?
Sorry that's not a lot of info, I'm at work not in front of the machine, just thought I'd ask since there are probably people reading this that know exactly what I'm talking about. Thanks. I'm editing photos in sRGB so.. should I choose that instead?
regular site
oo
smug site
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
I would basically agree, I should have been clearer, I meant that on a laptop where the internal display is available glossy or matte, I would recommend matte.
Pictures | Website | Blog | Twitter | Contact
HTH
I'm waiting for the Mac midtower with one Intel quad processor. The price has come WAY down.
Gateway starts the quad core (single chip) at about $950 now.
A 2.4 quad, with 2bg ram, 400gb HD, nVidia 8500 or 8600GT, dual layer drive and 24 inch monitor is $1500.
Now if it only ran Leopard:ivar
Gene
iMac with as much memory and processing power as possible
second monitor if possible
Okay - I can handle that. I believe that I can get both for less than a mac Pro. And anything will be superior to my current monitor situation.
Now, what about CS3?
What about other stuff?
How about waiting for Leopard?
Thanks again
ann
My Galleries My Photography BLOG
Ramblings About Me
I'm in a similar boat. I've got a PC desktop dying a slow death and am about ready to get a new Mac. With the Leopard announcement, they also mentioned that anyone buying a Mac this month gets Leopard for $10 (S/H of a CD) so no need to wait for that. That being said, there are lots of rumors of new machines to be announced on the Leopard sale date or very shortly thereafter. I'm about to get a 13" Macbook (and external monitor for the photo work) but am holding off til word of new models comes out.
Good luck with the decision,
E
My site | Non-MHD Landscapes |Google+ | Twitter | Facebook | Smugmug photos