Questions for Mac laptop users

[Canuck]

Hi!
I have considered going Mac for a laptop and the 17" screen as the real estate comes in handy. I'm not so impresses with the 1440x900 widescreen but that is rather irrelevant. The question becomes, editing pics on the road/having a cavernous external hd to dump the pics off of, does Mac kick the equivilent PCs butt? Please feel free to share experience on Mac vs PC, but this is objective, and NOT to become a Mac vs PC war. That said I really like the superdrive on the Mac. What does Mac have for image editing like PCs have PS CS, C1, BB, etc?

Just fielding the thought...

[Andy_T]

Canuck,

why not rent a mac for some time and try it out?

I've worked with both a lot (Mac a long time ago) and think I would find it hard to re-adjust to the Mac on the road and use a PC at home/work.

I personally prefer the PC's as they are not so damned confined like the Mac (but that's my opinion).

Best regards,
Andy

[Penguin_101_1]

I personally prefer the PC's as they are not so damned confined like the Mac (but that's my opinion).

Best regards,
Andy

I agree 100%.

I like Windows and LINUX! But I have not tryed editing pics on LINUX.

I also like DOS but I don't think that would work good with pictures.

[Canuck]

I have seen too many stability issues within windows and quite frankly I think that windows xp os leaves a lot to be desired. That said, I like the upgradability of the PC world and that is one of the major selling points. I think it is time for me to pop down to a Mac dealer to see what they have to offer.

[alsmith]

Well here goes... I will do my best to completely represent all the platforms I use.

I have been using Linux, Windows, and Macs for some time now. I enjoy all of them for different reason and that could be a huge post in and of itself. But your question was concerning editing pictures and laptops so that is where i will go with this.

I currently use a new PowerBook 15". I found the 17" to be too large to travel with so this is where I have hung my hat. I owned a consulting engineering firm for 6 years and during that time had many different laptops from different company's so i would have to break this discussion into two parts Hardware and Software.

Software:
I am definitely sold on the New Mac Gear for some good reasons.

1. now that their os is unix based it is just as stable (and some times more) than Linux with a huge base of software. Including all of adobe's products and Corels photopaint and draw. I even run Microsoft Office (which is designed to run on the mac plafrom)

2. I save a ton of time in networking and working with other computers

3. it is intuative and super easy to use (once you traverse the learning curve which is why so many users never fully make the switch)

4. It is graphically much nicer than any of the other os's

Hardware:
1. MAN IT"S SEXY!!

2. everything always works together as it is all designed by the same company and I never have problems with compatabilities.

3. I never ever had anyone approach me in a coffee shop and say man that's a nice pc what is it.. but with my PowerBook EVERYONE has to ask me what it is because it's so nicely designed.

4. Battery life on my PowerBooks is way more than I got with PC's

5. Cool things like bluetooth,airport extreem, firewire, and DVI outs are built in and standard on all powerbooks of this level.

I can tell you after many years of working on both platforms that the bigest reason I like my mac is that i get more work done in less time on it. I figure that I am about 30% faster on my mac.

I love both but for what you are wanting to do I would suggest the 15" PowerBook. You will never be dissapointed in that one.

I also added an iPod at 40 gig for storrage of files and a 120Gig Lacie firewire drive.

Here is a picture of my home office

http://alsblog.com/pics/homeoffice.jpg

[Mills]

My 17 inch G4 is awesome. The more time I spend expanding my knowledge base and abilities with imaging, the better it becomes.

[Canuck]

mills and alsmith,
This is what I was looking for in the way of what Mac has to offer. Cool! I was only looking at the 17" as it has more real estate and it may well be easier on the eyes if I am going to do large amounts of photo editing on the road. I'd definitely get an exterman hd and I can see the inbuild one filling super fast. I recon weight comes int0 play too as I have a camera/laptop backpack that is already not lightweight w/o a laptop in it. It is good to know that it is compatable w/ Adobe software straight thru CS. That could likely be the clincher. I was looking at www.apple.com and iPhoto is compatable w/ the 10D. I don't know if this is a kinda program like the FVU or like PSE2.0 but it is still cool! I am having a look around. Thanks again!

[alsmith]

As for screen size I found the 15" plenty for editing on the road and the extra loss of weight and size was a key for me. the 17" once you are packing it around is just HUGE!! and you can save youself a few bucks and put that toward a big external drive.

As for iPhoto it is only good for viewing jpgs. You can not use it for raw files. It is also a bit slow once you put lots of pics in it. But the export web page from pictures option is HUGE time saver.

[mtndew]

Im in the same boat but i looking for weight being the main problem i leaning toward G4 12in superdrive 4.7lbs especially while traveling. But i found out one problem with adobe photoshop cs you need to buy another copy of it. According to the adobe and apple tech unless someone else knows something that i haven't been told.

[alsmith]

You will have to buy a new copy of CS for the Mac (if the one you have is for windows) This is not a problem as other people I have known have just slod their Windows CS to someone they know.. kind of and "hey I am switching to the mac platform so I need to buy a new CS for it and I know that you want a copy for your comp so if you buy me the mac version I will give you my windows version...."

works everytime.

[Woten]

Im in the same boat but i looking for weight being the main problem i leaning toward G4 12in superdrive 4.7lbs especially while traveling. But i found out one problem with adobe photoshop cs you need to buy another copy of it. According to the adobe and apple tech unless someone else knows something that i haven't been told.

This could help you out a bit. If you know someone who is in school and has a school ID, whether college or HS, you can get CS for a big discount.

http://www.academicsuperstore.com/item/?tname=244935&title=Photoshop

[DeeplyDigital]

I have had a 17" Powerbook (1GB RAM) for three months and cannot imagine ever using a PC again.
The Mac has not yet broken down, except when using Microsoft Office.
PSCS is fast and reliable, no problems working with huge psd or tif files, PS doesn't freeze etc.
To upload from the compactflash card I use a pcmcia card.
The 17" screen is very comfortable to the eye and handy when working with PS
as you can see a large part of the picture and the menues don't get in the way.
1440x900 is very pleasing to the eye, all in all it is less tiring (perhaps it is the lack of frustration I experienced with pc)
Get extra RAM if you can.