Andy's Un-Official Unsolicited Mac Advice Thread

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  • Ann McRaeAnn McRae Registered Users Posts: 4,584 Major grins
    edited October 29, 2007
    The weakness of the USD has a net result of lots more internet shopping - Cdn $ at 1.04 today, but electronics prices haven't budged!!!!!

    I just paid $900USD for a lens that would cost $1500Cdn from a store here!
    gus wrote:
    So why isnt this mac getting cheaper damn it !!
  • GiphsubGiphsub Registered Users Posts: 2,662 Major grins
    edited October 29, 2007
    gus wrote:
    We we at 0.92c against USD yesterday. At least ours looks nice.

    rolleyes1.gif What, and ours don't look like play money?!?

    Actually this strong Aussie dollar is screwing my plans for world domination...
    My move back to Aus next year is gonna lose me some money :cry
  • colourboxcolourbox Registered Users Posts: 2,095 Major grins
    edited October 29, 2007
    patch29 wrote:
    Does Lightroom work well with 10.5? I read this from Adobe, so I might hold out.

    More specific info from Adobe is out...
    Lightroom 1.2 and Leopard
  • SkyBlueRoseSkyBlueRose Registered Users Posts: 21 Big grins
    edited October 29, 2007
    I rolleyes1.gifwent shopping this past weekend and got Leopard and so far everything I have played with I love! Even more exciting (at least for me) is that I also bought the 30" HD Cinema Displaywings.gifIt is going to make life so much easier! I have it hooked up to my 17" MBP I know I am already not taking full advantage of my mac yet but slowly I am learning new tricks along the way. Now that I got the Leopard I want to take advantage of all that has to offer as well. Hopefully people here will post helpful tips and tricks that may not be obvious to everyone. Allen (and all the people figuring out programming and tutorials for customizing) gets the trophy for being the most helpful to me on getting started on my smugmug site. Now whoever gets the most aha!'s out of me gets the mac trophy! Not a lot of info comes with the display. Silly me couldn't even figure out how to get things to show up on the display until I figured it out by accident. I moved a window over to the edge of my MBP and I was surprised to see it pop in from the side of the HD Cinema like Ms Pacman. Any helpful info to make life even better with my new toys? At first I had different things opened between the 2 displays and then I don't know what I did but now the 2 displays show identical screens. I think there will be times when I will want it one way and other times the other way. How do I switch back and forth because I really don't know what I did to change it in the first place? I already figured out how to take tabs in Safari apart to separate windows and then merge back together which is cool and useful. I'm guessing spaces will be helpful with the big display. Does spaces save several combos that you can use intermittently?

    Linda
  • KEDKED Registered Users Posts: 843 Major grins
    edited October 29, 2007
    DavidTO wrote:
    Ars Technica has posted their review of Leopard.
    Received and installed my "upgrade" today. Primary reaction (post initial and very real BLUESCREEN panic): huge yawn. Secondary reaction, after reading the referenced review and a bunch of other on-line chatter with the hue and cry about the translucency of the menu bar and the 3-dimensional nature of the dock: GET A JOB!
  • cabbeycabbey Registered Users Posts: 1,053 Major grins
    edited October 30, 2007
    patch29 wrote:
    Is the burn disc feature in Leopard any different?

    Burn folders appear to work the same.
    SmugMug Sorcerer - Engineering Team Champion for Commerce, Finance, Security, and Data Support
    http://wall-art.smugmug.com/
  • cabbeycabbey Registered Users Posts: 1,053 Major grins
    edited October 30, 2007
    DavidTO wrote:
    No brainer for me. Hi-Res might be nice once resolution independence is enabled in Leopard, but for now the extra res ain't worth $800, even if those $$ are just aussie play money.

    Even without resolution independence, photoshop will still make use of those pixels.
    SmugMug Sorcerer - Engineering Team Champion for Commerce, Finance, Security, and Data Support
    http://wall-art.smugmug.com/
  • patch29patch29 Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,928 Major grins
    edited October 30, 2007
    I bought it last night, everything seems ok at the moment. Just getting used to the new look.
  • cabbeycabbey Registered Users Posts: 1,053 Major grins
    edited October 30, 2007
    IAt first I had different things opened between the 2 displays and then I don't know what I did but now the 2 displays show identical screens. I think there will be times when I will want it one way and other times the other way. How do I switch back and forth because I really don't know what I did to change it in the first place?

    Launch system preferences, select displays option. One of the two windows that comes up will have an "Arrangement" tab, select it, toggle the checkbox at the bottom that says "Mirror Displays".
    SmugMug Sorcerer - Engineering Team Champion for Commerce, Finance, Security, and Data Support
    http://wall-art.smugmug.com/
  • DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited October 30, 2007
    cabbey wrote:
    Even without resolution independence, photoshop will still make use of those pixels.


    Yes, but not $800 worth, IMO.
    Moderator Emeritus
    Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
  • DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited October 31, 2007
  • GiphsubGiphsub Registered Users Posts: 2,662 Major grins
    edited October 31, 2007
  • greenpeagreenpea Registered Users Posts: 880 Major grins
    edited October 31, 2007
    Anyone read this one. According to PC World, MSFT Vist runs faster on a Mac Book Pro than any other laptop they've tested.rolleyes1.gif
    Andrew
    initialphotography.smugmug.com

    "The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera" - Dorothea Lange
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,936 moderator
    edited October 31, 2007
    greenpea wrote:
    Anyone read this one. According to PC World, MSFT Vist runs faster on a Mac Book Pro than any other laptop they've tested.rolleyes1.gif
    I'm running vista in a parallels session in 512m of memory. Not exactly
    MS's recommendation but it's very usable.

    I've done a mac for someone at work with a parallels install of XP in 1G
    of memory and it's much faster than the desktops we deploy for others.
    Plus it works well with the domain stuff and a Computer Associates
    software distribution package we use. Tastes great and it's less filling :D
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • SkyBlueRoseSkyBlueRose Registered Users Posts: 21 Big grins
    edited October 31, 2007
    cabbey wrote:
    Launch system preferences, select displays option. One of the two windows that comes up will have an "Arrangement" tab, select it, toggle the checkbox at the bottom that says "Mirror Displays".
    Wow, I wonder how I managed to switch it. Thanks so much, it worked like a charm!
  • colourboxcolourbox Registered Users Posts: 2,095 Major grins
    edited October 31, 2007
    Wow, I wonder how I managed to switch it.

    Does your F7 key have two rectangles on it? That key label means you can press to toggle display mirroring. You probably pressed it by accident.

    Which means if you do want to switch it, you don't have to dig your way into Preferences.
  • gusgus Registered Users Posts: 16,209 Major grins
    edited October 31, 2007
    Ok i have been doing a lot of looking at colour on the MBP's in the shops...i think im ok with it but what about sharpening ?

    You guys that process on your laptops...once you sharpen a photo do you find its accurate when you get it on a CRT ? Or maybe there are not many people left like me whom are still on a CRT headscratch.gif
  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited October 31, 2007
    patch29 wrote:
    Does Lightroom work well with 10.5? I read this from Adobe, so I might hold out.
    For what, a day?
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited October 31, 2007
    gus wrote:
    Ok i have been doing a lot of looking at colour on the MBP's in the shops...i think im ok with it but what about sharpening ?

    You guys that process on your laptops...once you sharpen a photo do you find its accurate when you get it on a CRT ? Or maybe there are not many people left like me whom are still on a CRT headscratch.gif

    Sharpening's not an issue.

    Contrast and saturation are.

    Here's a shot processed on a Macbook glossy screen. Looks like crap on a CRT.

    214240113-M.jpg
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
  • gusgus Registered Users Posts: 16,209 Major grins
    edited November 1, 2007
    wxwax wrote:
    Sharpening's not an issue.

    Contrast and saturation are.

    Here's a shot processed on a Macbook glossy screen. Looks like crap on a CRT.
    Yeah i wont buy a glossy screen. I am off with doc on the weekend & i will ask to process a few shots on his mac & then see how they look on my CRT.
  • colourboxcolourbox Registered Users Posts: 2,095 Major grins
    edited November 1, 2007
    wxwax wrote:
    Sharpening's not an issue.
    Contrast and saturation are.
    Here's a shot processed on a Macbook glossy screen. Looks like crap on a CRT.

    Just be aware that the glossy screen is probably only part of the issue here. The MacBook screen is not as good as the MacBook Pro screen, glossy or not. The MacBook Pro CCFL screen is not as good as the MacBook Pro LED-backlit screen, and that is not nearly as good as an iMac desktop screen, before the CRT even enters into it. See the color gamut charts about 2/3 down the page of this article about the new LED-backlit MacBook Pro LCDs.

    The real reason the MacBook screen is not useful is because it is the lowest-end LCD Apple makes, glossy or not. And, according to those gamut plots, even the best matte laptop screen would not measure up to a desktop LCD or CRT. Your best bet with a laptop is still to hook it up to a calibrated desktop monitor, if possible.
  • patch29patch29 Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,928 Major grins
    edited November 1, 2007
    Macbook and Macbook Pro upgrades today.


    The new Macbook supports 4GB of ram, plus a few other items. clap.gif
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited November 1, 2007
    patch29 wrote:
    Macbook and Macbook Pro upgrades today.


    The new Macbook supports 4GB of ram, plus a few other items. clap.gif
    I've had 4gb for months on my Macbook Pro headscratch.gif

    about_this_mac-20071101-094353.jpg
  • patch29patch29 Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,928 Major grins
    edited November 1, 2007
    Andy wrote:
    I've had 4gb for months on my Macbook Pro headscratch.gif

    This is new for the Macbook, not the Pro.
  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited November 1, 2007
    What's all this then? headscratch.gif

    About Leopard.
    And many drives bigger than 500 gigabytes will only work after some obscure manual reformatting.
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
  • thebigskythebigsky Registered Users Posts: 1,052 Major grins
    edited November 1, 2007
    wxwax wrote:
    What's all this then? headscratch.gif

    About Leopard.

    ' The art of writing software involves a lot of borrowing from the work of others. Everyone does it, but Apple (AAPL) is the master. Over the years, it has taken the best ideas from Windows and other programs and made them better.'

    Is that some sort of Joke, it's november 1st, not april 1st?

    Charlie
  • CatOneCatOne Registered Users Posts: 957 Major grins
    edited November 1, 2007
    wxwax wrote:
    What's all this then? headscratch.gif

    About Leopard.

    Laughing.gif. I seriously have NO idea what he's talking about with that 500 GB comment. Unless, perhaps, there is some real issue with using a 500 GB drive that comes shipped formatted for Windows as FAT32 (which you would NOT want to use, as a FAT32 drive of that size probably uses a block size in the 256 KB range meaning it would be HORRIBLY inefficient... a 4K text file would take up 256 KB on disk). So you'd want to format the drive as HFS+, the default Mac file system.

    So perhaps it's that (which is a non-issue)?
  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited November 1, 2007
    CatOne wrote:
    Laughing.gif. I seriously have NO idea what he's talking about with that 500 GB comment. Unless, perhaps, there is some real issue with using a 500 GB drive that comes shipped formatted for Windows as FAT32 (which you would NOT want to use, as a FAT32 drive of that size probably uses a block size in the 256 KB range meaning it would be HORRIBLY inefficient... a 4K text file would take up 256 KB on disk). So you'd want to format the drive as HFS+, the default Mac file system.

    So perhaps it's that (which is a non-issue)?
    thumb.gif
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
  • pathfinderpathfinder Super Moderators Posts: 14,708 moderator
    edited November 1, 2007
    Cat,

    When I read that link, I think it is saying that Leopard does not natively accept external drives for Time Machine that are larger than 500GB. It sounds like if your drive is bigger than 500Gb, you must partition it to drives that are 500GB or smaller. Like a 2 TB network drive for instance. The drive MUST be plugged directly into your Mac, not reside on a network.

    Regarding Leopard,

    I have chosen to purchase Leopard, and install it on my back up hard drive ( but not my main Macintosh drive ) at this time on my desktop machine.

    That will let me experience Leopard, without worrying about applications like ImagePrint, Lightroom, etc that seem to have difficulties with Leopard.

    I will save an image of my Macintosh drive as a B/U of it as well on another firewire HD, since my back up external drive ( a raid 1 MY BOOK Pro) will be running Leopard for me if I choose to boot with the option key from it.

    Then in a month or so, I may just copy the Leopard based drive to my main drive if everything gets updated as needed.
    Pathfinder - www.pathfinder.smugmug.com

    Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
  • CatOneCatOne Registered Users Posts: 957 Major grins
    edited November 1, 2007
    pathfinder wrote:
    Cat,

    When I read that link, I think it is saying that Leopard does not natively accept external drives for Time Machine that are larger than 500GB. It sounds like if your drive is bigger than 500Gb, you must partition it to drives that are 500GB or smaller. Like a 2 TB network drive for instance. The drive MUST be plugged directly into your Mac, not reside on a network.

    Regarding Leopard,

    I have chosen to purchase Leopard, and install it on my back up hard drive ( but not my main Macintosh drive ) at this time on my desktop machine.

    That will let me experience Leopard, without worrying about applications like ImagePrint, Lightroom, etc that seem to have difficulties with Leopard.

    I will save an image of my Macintosh drive as a B/U of it as well on another firewire HD, since my back up external drive ( a raid 1 MY BOOK Pro) will be running Leopard for me if I choose to boot with the option key from it.

    Then in a month or so, I may just copy the Leopard based drive to my main drive if everything gets updated as needed.

    Well the drive I'm using right now is a 500 GB drive, so I haven't had the chance to verify. It seems an awfully arbitrary number, though (and there's no reason OS X wouldn't support disks in the multi-terabyte range when they're available) so it's an odd comment. If I wanted to blow away one of my other backup drives I could verify but I'm not ready to do that just yet :-)

    As far as your plans to test Leopard and eventually upgrade to it -- I can't argue with that. I've been using it as my "production" OS for about 3 weeks now and it has been very stable for me (amazingly so, in fact). But that doesn't mean that there aren't a number of 3rd party apps that don't yet work (or have some number of issues), and I *do* know of some business critical functionality which is flat-out broken and which will put an elephant-sized beat down on people who leap before they look in the wrong environment.
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