Who else loves their new Aluminum Macbook? [Archive] - Canon Digital Photography Forums

Laramie

21st of November 2008 (Fri), 20:33

I got my first mac 2 years ago when I got the then newly updated macbook pro. Due to various reasons, I had to get rid of it and went back to a pc laptop.

Having a mac, then going BACK to pc really makes you realize how much more you enjoyed the mac.

I know have the unibody Macbook and happy as ever. Now looking to ditch my HP desktop and get an iMac 24".

gmmjw06

23rd of November 2008 (Sun), 19:03

I've had my 17" Macbook Pro 6 months now and from the first moment of powering it on I'm still wondering why the heck it took me so long to make the switch. I'm an official "Fanboy" now and Proud of it!

Had some doubts on the glossy screen but that soon went away as soon as the first pics were being edited. Amazingly simple to operate and to be honest, my home will switching over when it's time to update.

Kronie

1st of December 2008 (Mon), 19:21

..............Just kidding!!

What a beautiful machine......too bad I just bought a new laptop 4 months ago. I'm seriously want to sell it and get a MBP. Ive just had too many issues lately with windows and P.O.S. Dell laptops.

I know Mac's aren't perfect but the build of the pro is incredible and will be way less glitchy than my current PC.

Perry Ge

4th of December 2008 (Thu), 03:09

My iBook is about to die on me. I see one of these puppies on the horizon in the near future. I've been a Mac user since 1993 though, not a recent switcher :lol:. It's been a good last few years.

low note lee

4th of December 2008 (Thu), 06:06

I'm starting to realise how slow my 1.83GHz CoreDuo MacBook is. Even with 2GB RAM, it still isn't as snappy as I want it to be. A new 2.4GHz MacBook Pro would be perfect :D

jacobsen1

4th of December 2008 (Thu), 08:24

After 24 years of being a PC, now I'm a Mac... Any other recent switchers?

since they went intel, I've always said my next computer will be a mac. It's been 4 years with my current box, so it's time is about up. I know I'm getting a mac, and have always wanted that macbook, but I'm thinking a 24" iMac is better for us considering we don't travel that much if at all right now. Plus if I went macbook I'd get a external display, keyboard and mouse, so it'd make for a cluttered desk.

That's basically a lappy -vs- desktop issue though, not mac -vs- PC.

I was about to order my iMac next week, but luckily the guys here told me January is then launch of the new iMacs, so if I wait 1 month I get either better options at similar prices, or a few hundred off what I want... So I'll wait another month. :confused:

How you liking the switch hoff? What's good? What's weird? What's bad?

SoundsGood

4th of December 2008 (Thu), 08:53

After 24 years of being a PC, now I'm a Mac... Any other recent switchers?
I came close a few times. Just can't do it.

To be honest, I'm perfectly happy with Windows, and Vista is great. Really truly. :)

Kronie

5th of December 2008 (Fri), 11:25

Wow, moderators at work. My other post was slightly edited and the start of a new thread......
....anyway, I actually like the look of the old MBP's better than the unibody ones. I am def getting a 17" MBP in a few months.....

TheHoff

5th of December 2008 (Fri), 11:37

Hmm? What new thread? This was originally mine; did you think it was split off?

TheHoff

5th of December 2008 (Fri), 11:42

since they went intel, I've always said my next computer will be a mac.

How you liking the switch hoff? What's good? What's weird? What's bad?

Do it, do it, do it... I originally thought of switching a few PCs ago but I thought I wouldn't get used to the lack of "fullscreen" Photoshop where it takes over the monitor. Funny that other people must've been concerned about that because Adobe added a special Windows-like fullscreen mode to CS4. Anyway, even that is not an issue after a few days; I like being able to see things in the background now..

and Expose... hot hot hot... it is what the visual task flipper in Vista wants to be.

I came close a few times. Just can't do it.

To be honest, I'm perfectly happy with Windows, and Vista is great. Really truly. :)

I was happy with Vista as well. OS X just feels a generation ahead.

When I imported some ISO tests for my new camera, I had my normal suite of junk apps open as well as LR2 and CS4. I wanted to test the book a bit so I had LR2 export 8 fullsize 1DS2 RAWs (16.7 mp) to Photoshop at once. They all opened with no delay, CS4 popped up and was done in a 10 or 12 seconds. I dragged them all into one document as layers (that is one big document with 8 full size layers) and started messing around (with the 8 RAWs still open in the app) and no delay... at all... it didn't even wheeze. With the same 4 gigs, Vista would've been obviously swapping... and I'm sure OS X was but you couldn't tell while working.

Now it was another story when I tried to pop up an app that I hadn't used in a few hours but was still in the background. I pulled up FTP and I felt the swap, for sure... OS X seems smart though in the way it "puts things away" and frees up memory for the big app you're currently working with.

Nick5

6th of December 2008 (Sat), 11:00

I bought the new 15" MacBook Pro Friday afternoon. I have to take my tower from my PC to the Mac Store so they can download my info to my MacBook.
I did get the upgraded version as I will need this for my regular work also.
My office has been on Mac since 1990.

TheHoff

6th of December 2008 (Sat), 11:02

Dunno about you but after talking with a few of the Geniuses at the store, there is no way they were touching my existing data :D I'm sure yours will be competent though...

MaxxuM

6th of December 2008 (Sat), 11:11

Funny that other people must've been concerned about that because Adobe added a special Windows-like fullscreen mode to CS4. Anyway, even that is not an issue after a few days; I like being able to see things in the background now..

CS4 is freaking me out with the new layout. I've been tempted to turn it off, but I'm trying to give it a chance before doing so. Locking image panels so they are stacked is irritating since I do work on multiple images at once... Time will tell if I can get used to it.

TheHoff

6th of December 2008 (Sat), 11:14

CS4 is freaking me out with the new layout. I've been tempted to turn it off, but I'm trying to give it a chance before doing so. Locking image panels so they are stacked is irritating since I do work on multiple images at once... Time will tell if I can get used to it.

Even coming directly from Vista/CS3 to OSX/CS4, I turned off most of the new layout features.

Are you on a new Macbook, too? Have you had the problems with unintended canvas rotation on the trackpad?

MaxxuM

6th of December 2008 (Sat), 11:31

Even coming directly from Vista/CS3 to OSX/CS4, I turned off most of the new layout features.

Are you on a new Macbook, too? Have you had the problems with unintended canvas rotation on the trackpad?

I've only had the new MBP for two days and don't have much on it yet. I'm still on my early 08 MBP which is what I have CS4 on. The new Mac is for work and I'm only prepping it to go out but I haven't experienced any problems yet with it. Monday I'll be loading it with the Adobe Master collection and put it through a week long trial. I've heard of odd things happening with the new MB/MBPs but have seen no signs of anything amiss yet. (knock on wood)

TheHoff

6th of December 2008 (Sat), 11:43

You'll see it in CS4 if you have any sort of bad trackpad habits like leaving a thumb at the bottom for clicking or support. Here is my thread on Adobe's forum...

http://www.adobeforums.com/webx?14@@.59b6f178/0

It ends with an engineer agreeing that it is now an open bug and they are investigating with Apple. I don't think it is Adobe's fault as they didn't have the new glass trackpad machines when finishing CS4.

Basically the image canvas rotates waaaay too easily with two fingers on the trackpad in CS4 when you have the Open GL things turned on.

MaxxuM

6th of December 2008 (Sat), 11:46

Ahhh, I use a mouse 90% of the time.

Kronie

6th of December 2008 (Sat), 17:09

Hmm? What new thread? This was originally mine; did you think it was split off?

No, I started a thread that was similar to this one and kind of bashed apple in a baiting way. The post was slightly edited and merged into your thread. No big deal.

TheHoff

12th of December 2008 (Fri), 11:06

I'm sure this is front page of all the Mac sites but they just pushed out a new Macbook Pro Boot ROM firmware version over Software Update that is said to improve stability, address the sleep/wake issues, some USB problems, and device compatibility.

BeritOlam

12th of December 2008 (Fri), 13:14

The new Aluminum Macbooks are pretty slick. My buddy just bought one about a month ago, after his old 14-inch iBook finally started falling apart on him. The touch pad is very cool, though it takes some getting use to if you have been using the track pad on Macs for the past 3-4 years.

The one thing I don't like? The lack of firewire! I think I understand the logic of Mac on this -- they figure the people that really need the firewire capabilities are the people working with digital media (particularly video!), and those people are likely going to spend extra to get a Macbook Pro!

But I really love firewire, particularly when I need to drag and drop large files to/from a friends Mac. USB typically isn't set up to do that...at least not without a special cable that tends to be brutally expensive!!

I still don't know how they made that thing even thinner than my 3rd-generation Macbook, which I felt was already super thin compared to an old 2003-generation iBook!!! :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:

red hot sheep

12th of December 2008 (Fri), 13:20

Yes!

It's great having such a capable machine that is so thin and portable! Very liberating.

Even coming directly from Vista/CS3 to OSX/CS4, I turned off most of the new layout features.

Same situation here and the new interface takes a bit of getting used to. That adjustment panels tab is slightly annoying as by default, when you click 'new adjustment layer', it opens the tab. Any way to get it by default to open the larger old fashioned stand-alone window?

But I love the new ACR features! And got CS4 at a very good student price. :)

TheHoff

12th of December 2008 (Fri), 13:31

Yes!

It's great having such a capable machine that is so thin and portable! Very liberating.

Same situation here and the new interface takes a bit of getting used to. That adjustment panels tab is slightly annoying as by default, when you click 'new adjustment layer', it opens the tab. Any way to get it by default to open the larger old fashioned stand-alone window?

But I love the new ACR features! And got CS4 at a very good student price. :)

That still throws me -- I expect to see the Levels box up in the center of the screen... Keep working with it though, getting them in the tabs really is better, IMO.

TheHoff

12th of December 2008 (Fri), 13:32

Oh and I can't even install this stupid firmware update because my drive is partitioned as Master Boot Record. I moved this drive over from my Vista laptop and everything I read on MBR vs. GUID said it didn't matter which one you chose... so I didn't re-partition. Guess what.. IT MATTERS! You can't install firmware updates from an MBR drive... so now I'm screwed until I take the 4 hours to backup, re-partition, and restore.

Nick5

13th of December 2008 (Sat), 08:37

Dunno about you but after talking with a few of the Geniuses at the store, there is no way they were touching my existing data :D I'm sure yours will be competent though...Hoff.
Got everything transfered fine. Looks great.

LuckyRobJ

18th of February 2009 (Wed), 11:35

I'm reviving this thread in the hopes that some current macbook users might be able to help me out. :-)

I'm about to pull the trigger on a macbook, but I can't decide between the macbook and the macbook pro. To me the only real differences are the size and the better display on the MBP. I'm leaning towards the MBP for the screen mainly, but I'm not sure if the MB screen is decent for running Lightroom and the odd CS4 touch up.

Also, I'm going to be living away from my main desktop for a few months, so this will be my main system for a while. Not sure how much photography I'll be doing in that time though, but hopefully a fair share.

So what were the reasons why you chose your macbook or macbook pro over the other?

TheHoff

18th of February 2009 (Wed), 11:51

The screen. Before I bought, all reports said that the panel used in the pro is significantly better than the standard Macbook in viewing angle and colour display. Since I use mine quite a bit now without an external monitor for editing, that is the main reason I chose the pro. I've also given up towers now altogether so I want the best laptop I can get.

Kronie

18th of February 2009 (Wed), 13:18

+2 for the screen.

Although there is a bit of controversy between glossy or matte screens. You can only get a matte screen for a 17" and the glossy is very glossy so if you cant control the light source I can see where you could have problems.

I have actually been waiting since October for apple to release and ship the 17" version. Just a few days left....I should hopefully have it by next week...and yes, I bought the glossy!

TheHoff

18th of February 2009 (Wed), 13:19

I like the glossy but if I were doing pre-press work most of the time I'd probably go matte simply so the colours match the dullness of ink a bit better. The glossy isn't like a traditional glossy -- it is a glass plate over the LCD. You can wipe it down, etc.

I use my machine in a coffee shop once in a while with windows all around and usually all it takes is a tilt up or down a few degrees to eliminate the reflections. In exchange, you get very nice blacks and deep rich colours. I don't have any issue getting it to match with my home printer or my lab's Epson.

I couldn't wait for the 17"; my Vista laptop died a few days after they released the Unibodies.

red hot sheep

18th of February 2009 (Wed), 13:38

I thought the glossy would annoy me but I love it! Looks much nicer than my brother's matte MBP screen and I rarely encounter reflection problems.

LuckyRobJ

18th of February 2009 (Wed), 14:48

Thanks guys. I think I'm leaning towards the pro... the size of the 13" would be great for portability, but I think it might not be that practical for post processing (not enough real estate).

steve535

19th of February 2009 (Thu), 15:36

I switched to the 15" MBP two weeks ago and love it. I sold a job with it this morning using a slideshow presentation on Aperture. The customer kept saying "what a beautiful computer". The old pc is now a iTunes machine for my 12 year old.

LuckyRobJ

22nd of February 2009 (Sun), 20:52

I did it. I picked up a 15" MBP yesterday. :D And now that I've finally got Lightroom installed I really appreciate having the extra screen real estate compared to the 13" MB. I'm also finding it runs a bit snappier when using the "high performance" graphics. Overall, very happy camper here!

dlpasco

22nd of February 2009 (Sun), 21:02

I switched to a Mac a little over a year ago but switched back for reasons beyond my control. A new project in Europe triggered another switch - to Ubuntu this time and I love not having to face Redmond every morning!! My HP Laptop is now at the end of its useful life and my new MBP 17" glossy screen unibody is sitting at the FedEx facility in Denver - I should see it tomorrow. I already have a 24" Cinema display on my desk just waiting for it to arrive. I've never used a glossy display...

My plan is to upgrade to CS4 from CS2 as soon as the new MBP arrives.

zigphoto

23rd of February 2009 (Mon), 13:23

just bought the 13" 2.4mhz macbook lastnight...mmmm beautiful

*edit* Can the SSHD be added to the 13" MB? That was the only reason i wanted the MBP

LuckyRobJ

23rd of February 2009 (Mon), 16:46

just bought the 13" 2.4mhz macbook lastnight...mmmm beautiful

*edit* Can the SSHD be added to the 13" MB? That was the only reason i wanted the MBP

I believe an SSHD can replace any HD, so should not be any problem there. Mind you, I'm not an expert and I've never done this myself. If you go ahead with it, post back here and let us know how you made out!

One thing I'm finding different (not sure if it's good or bad) is the lack of a HD activity LED on the MBP. Must be my Windows bad habits to need to look at the HD LED to see if it's still working or if it has just hanged on me! ;)

TheHoff

23rd of February 2009 (Mon), 16:50

hah, same thing here with the HD activity light... I have to wonder if it is working sometimes.

And yes, you can swap in any SSD; the new design of the unibodies makes it easy. It takes about 5 minutes. I'd wait a few months for the new SSDs to come out though as the selection will be much better and cheaper (512GB with a new controller for the price you'd pay now for 256GB and a crappy controller).

zigphoto

23rd of February 2009 (Mon), 18:17

cool thanks! This laptop will probably be in some shifty places. So what i think the benefit of the SSHD would be if the computer gets nudged or bumped hard i dont run into the possibility of scratching the HD discs...does this sound like a good excuse?

Titus213

24th of February 2009 (Tue), 20:34

The first MacBook, a simple aluminum 13" unit, came home with us a week ago and I already love it. I started in PCs with a dual 5 1/4 floppy system and 64K of memory. Never had anything but a PC and I am a full blown convert now. Now to replace the desktop because that 13" screen isn't big enough for image processing. But the unit is up to it for sure.

Tony-S

25th of February 2009 (Wed), 00:35

Now to replace the desktop because that 13" screen isn't big enough for image processing. But the unit is up to it for sure.

You can always add an external display. Your MacBook will drive a 30" display at its native resolution (with Apple's dual-link adapter).

Stealthy Ninja

25th of February 2009 (Wed), 00:51

Funny you know.
1984-88 - Commodore 64
88-97 - Mac
98-2005 PC
2005-2009 Mac
2009-?? Mac and PC

(PC is a strict gaming computer... yes I play games and I'm over 30). I have a KVM so I can switch from PC to Mac in a couple of seconds. Mac = better for actual work. PC = better for games and playing around with hardware/upgrading etc.

S-Man

25th of February 2009 (Wed), 01:11

I just found this thread, but I also recently converted to Mac. It's frikin' awesome.
My long story short: Bought a Pre-Unibody 15" 2.4Ghz on Amazon, it died 2 days after I got it. After a week and a half at the apple store, they deemed it a total loss and upgraded me to a new unibody 2.53GHz with 4-gigs ram. Amazing customer service there. Had it for a week and I'm lovin' it. It blazes through Aperture 2 processing my 5D Classic RAW files...
Although after working on it all day today, my eyes kind of hurt from straining to look at the small words. I'm going to see if I can swap it for a 17" matte screen and pay the difference ($250).