What will a Mac do for me?

[JayC]

I am a PC user, but itching for a new laptop. What if I bought a MacBook as a way to get me into macs. My desktop will need replacing soon, and then I could get a Mac desktop. But my question is: How does running Photoshop differ when running on a mac vs a PC?
If I bought into mac, I would need to be able to run my PC version of CS2, maybe Office 2003, and Quickbooks 2009. Would I see any difference or gain anything by using a mac?

Jay

[Pablito]

Go to an apple store and try it; see for yourself. You'll get a lot better info there than here.

[Creagerj]

I doubt you can run CS2 on a mac if it is a windows version. There are workarounds, but you would be better off using a version of photoshop for mac OS. I like photoshop on mac a lot more, I think the environment is more intuitive. You can always co install windows on your new mac to help ease the transition.

[david.elliott]

You can call adobe and just transfer to a mac version. That is what I did.

You just have to fill out a form and destroy your windows copy.

[maxleung]

I prefer Mac for both Office 2008 and Photoshop. It is more intuitive and it has easier lay out of tool bars.

You can install Parrellel or Bootcamp, these programs allow you to run Windows on your Mac.

[Rob-F]

I switched to a Mac after being a PC user for 11 years. There is a learning curve, but for a PC user it will be largely intuitive. I bought Aperture along with the new computers, and like it a great deal. For a hundred bucks you can get Apple's one-to-one training: an hour with an expert anytime you want it. They also have technical consultation at no charge, if some application doesn't load or run right. You do have to make some software changes as far as photo apps go. For photo work get the iMac. It's a bargain for what you get, and there is enough space to see what you are doing. I use the iMac at home and also have a 13" Macbook for travel. I'm not looking back!

[Nando]

You can run Windows on your Mac but in my opinion, that would defeat the purpose of getting a Mac. The Mac version of photoshop is almost the same and there wouldn't be much of a learning curve. I can't speak on Office or Quickbooks as I don't use those particular products.

The Macbook Pro and Air are at the end of their product cycles. Updated versions with Intel's i5 and i7 chips are expected very soon. In fact, I've been waiting on them since February. There has been a long delay because of a legal dispute between Nvidia and Intel. Now, Intel is in short supply of its i5 and i7 chips due to a very large order from Acer.

[arseniii]

Apple is doing a good job so far. Take a word from electrical engineer and buy a MAC :-)

[swoop]

I use a mac with Aperture. it's a great app and a hassle free combination. Apple's for the most part are pretty trouble free and just work. Which is the big appeal to me.

I have a windows & laptop with Lightroom on it that I use when I'm lazy and I'm editing photos on the couch. It works just as well for the most part. But I just prefer the Mac.

[MPerson]

I switched to all Macs about 8 years ago and would never go back to Windows. I currently have 2 iMacs and 3 Powerbooks and they just work. No crashes, no "blue screen of death" and no constant updates for patching holes, bad code and vulnerabilities.

However, on one of the Macbooks my son is using for school work he needs to run an old version of Office (2000 Pro). I found Crossover for Mac does the trick for Windows software on Macs.

It will run many MS progs even ones they do not have listed officially.

Crossover for Mac (http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/)

[Colin Corneau]

This is all good advice. You avoid bugs, have a much more reliable and intuitive OS...so much more.

The best advice is to go to an Apple store, mention you want to switch and sit back for the great service. They really are informative and I think you'll be surprised how easy the switch is, especially for working in Photoshop.

[flip]

I bought a Mac after 13 years of Linux. I have adjusted and still run Linux in parallels, but rarely use it. Really, the question of switching is not one that should be considered merely in the context of PS, but rather as an environment. It will cost more. It will have less bugs / viruses. It will possibly have different software availability / updates / versions. The one guarantee is that because of the consistent hardware environment, things will 'just work' more often than not and more often than under windows.

I think that Nando's advice is right-on: don't buy it to make it into something else.

[abumac]

All but coffee. :D

[historicist]

I use both a Mac (Macbook Pro, 10.5) and a PC (X61, Vista) and to be honest I'd be happy using either - on macs all the details of the OS have been thought out better but apart from that I don't really find one easier to use or less prone to crashing.

[Jamie123]

I use both a Mac (Macbook Pro, 10.5) and a PC (X61, Vista) and to be honest I'd be happy using either - on macs all the details of the OS have been thought out better but apart from that I don't really find one easier to use or less prone to crashing.

That's also my experience. Macs crash with a bit more style than PCs but they crash nonetheless.

I am a PC user, but itching for a new laptop. What if I bought a MacBook as a way to get me into macs. My desktop will need replacing soon, and then I could get a Mac desktop. But my question is: How does running Photoshop differ when running on a mac vs a PC?
If I bought into mac, I would need to be able to run my PC version of CS2, maybe Office 2003, and Quickbooks 2009. Would I see any difference or gain anything by using a mac?

Jay


The OS is pretty nice and if you can afford it go for it. Personally, I'm not sure I'd buy both a MacBook and an iMac. I'd rather spend the money on a nice MacBook Pro and just get a nice large monitor to use the MB Pro at home.

[wakarimasen]

What has always put me off is the hardware side. I've built two of our home PCs from components, and run Linux and Windows. The ability to renew the motherboard etc. in the same box, and incrementally make hardware updates is a big plus for me. If this was (is?) possible with a Mac, then I would definitely consider it.
Best regards,
RoyM

[Jamie123]

What has always put me off is the hardware side. I've built two of our home PCs from components, and run Linux and Windows. The ability to renew the motherboard etc. in the same box, and incrementally make hardware updates is a big plus for me. If this was (is?) possible with a Mac, then I would definitely consider it.
Best regards,
RoyM

I'm sure it's possible with a Mac Pro but the hardware choice will be limited compared to a PC and also much more expensive.

[tom.w.bn]

What has always put me off is the hardware side. I've built two of our home PCs from components, and run Linux and Windows. The ability to renew the motherboard etc. in the same box, and incrementally make hardware updates is a big plus for me. If this was (is?) possible with a Mac, then I would definitely consider it.
Best regards,
RoyM

What you like is also a large part of problems in the PC world: you can mix components as you like because they should be compatible. But they are only 99.9% compatible. I know so many people who experience compatibility problems with drivers for hardware. You will always find a combination of highend board, highend graphic card, highend soundcard that will not work together properly.
Less options with a mac but all options will work.

[gavinlg]

Macs will make you coffee when you wake, dry clean your favorite suits, attract the ladies to your apartment and even make you a better lover..


In all seriousness though, I bought an imac in 2006 after using powerful windows machines for 10 or so years before that, and I will never own another windows computer again. After 4 years I've never reformatted once, never had a major OS crash. It's been nothing but reliable, it's significantly more elegant in physical design and build and also GUI/OS than windows. I just found out I can sell it on ebay and retain about 50% of the initial price for it as well.

win/win

[tom.w.bn]

win/win

It can't be a win/win situation, if windows is not the winner, right? Does Microsoft own a copyright on the term "win/win"? :rolleyes:

[jarski]

happy Mac user here. only thing am now missing, which didnt even exist earlier, is that snappy window resize option of Windows 7 (that am using in work PC).
you drag any app to either side of screen and it resizes neatly to whole screen height, then you can widen it if needed. very intuitive, almost a miracle it came first from Microsoft.

[Pickett Wilson]

The main reason to use a Mac is that it makes you look cool. The huge, heavy, brushed aluminum cases of my three Power Macs guarantees me a spot at ANY geek party! ;)

[Kent]

I have been a Win-user for many years now. My wife used to have a Mac (with OS 9.2somethig). That was a good machine, but I had bad problems to get it into our home network.

A good friend of mine has changed to Mac after being a win user for a looong time. And he has never regretted it. I have seen his Mac and it's fantastic.
All that stops me from being a Mac user now is the price. Macs are much more expensive than Windows machines here in Germany.

I can get a decent Windows laptop for about €500,- and I pay twice as much for a comparable Mac laptop. That difference is too high for my taste.

Nevertheless, I like Macs a lot.

[mgd711]

I’m a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, or at least I was. I switched to a Mac 2 years ago and now own (my wife and I) an iMac, 2 MacBook Pro’s and a Mac Mini.

For me it just works... Simple as that, there is a learning curve but I had been playing around with Linux (Ubuntu) for 6 months or so before so it wasn’t such a big difference from that.

Adobe may change your license but CS2 is getting old and you may get a deal upgrading to CS5 and switching to a Mac version at the same time. Office 2008 for the Mac I find more user friendly than on Windows but I tend to use iWork and Mellel more but keep Office around for compatibility reasons. For the financial software forget Intuit. There Mac versions are terrible... Have a look at iBank instead, very nice software and a very helpful developer team. In fact that’s the one thing that has surprised me the most about switching to a Mac, all the software developers listen to you, offer help and work arounds and more importantly build in customers suggestions into new releases, they are friendly, approachable and you always get an answer (at least the people I’ve dealt with). I doubt I’ll ever switch back to a PC.

However as already pointed out there is the Apple Tax to pay, though if you break it down, you’ll find a similarly spec’d Windows computer is actually the same price or slightly more expensive, but the fact that in 2 years I’ve not had a single problem that couldn’t be fixed with a restart is worth the price Apple charges. With my windows computers I used to do an fdisk and reinstall every 6 to 9 months. Unfortunately at my work I have to look after 40 or so Windows machines and it’s a pain, I’m slowly converting the guy’s on the ship to Mac’s :)

[Pickett Wilson]

I used PC's since IBM's first one, but switched to Mac's about 10 years ago (although I still have a Windows 7 PC here among the Macs. The thing I like about Macs is that they seldom develop OS problems that are simply unfixable like Windows PC's do. And don't scatter installation files over 400 directories as PC software often does.

[Bobfrance]

I'm a graphic designer and use macs at work and have done for years. At home I have a PC. To be honest there isn't much difference between them these days. Just don't compare a $1000 macbook with a $500 PC. The same money will certainly get you more power in a PC but do get one from a quality manufacturer that builds to similar standards to Apple.

I'd possible recommend a mac to somebody who is new to computers because the OS appears less confusing, but if you know your way around one then it makes little difference.

[wakarimasen]

What you like is also a large part of problems in the PC world: you can mix components as you like because they should be compatible. But they are only 99.9% compatible. I know so many people who experience compatibility problems with drivers for hardware. You will always find a combination of highend board, highend graphic card, highend soundcard that will not work together properly.
Less options with a mac but all options will work.

Touche! More 'flexibility' almost always brings more problems :D

What is a reasonable 2nd-hand Mac-Book for around £400 or $600? I have no idea of the chronology of macbook releases!

Best regards,
ROyM

[semrich]

I left the windows world 8 years ago, now play the refain: "And never looked back" with iMac's, Powerbooks, Macbooks, iPods, iTouch, iPhone and Apple stock.

I had reason to help someone with a notebook running Vista recently and found it incomprehensible and pitifully slow, I can't imagine what could come along to get me switch.

Just go to an Apple store and first hang around a while in the crowd and watch the number of boxes going out the door in the hands of people who have just switched. It is a sight to behold. Then start playing around with one and soon someone will come over and awaken you.

[mhanc]

In addition to all the benefits already talked about, I find my MACs just last a long time. They don't every really wear out and I only replace them when the technology becomes to outdated. Just this year I replaced a G5 desktop with an iMac; I had had it for 7 years.

In the long run they are cheaper AND more fun. Enjoy!

[dfoo]

I use predominately macs for all of my business. However, there are some caveats you should be aware of.

- Mac office is not good. In particular, the mac word files don't necessarily lay out the same with the PC version of word. That means if you want to share documents with a PC user, and you want to retain the same formatting, then you are out of luck.
- I generally run any games on a PC.
- I also don't use quickbooks on my macs.

That being said, for a PC solution you can use either bootcamp, or VMware fusion. I use a combination of both, depending on what I'm doing. The macbook and macbook pro hardware is also excellent when compared PC notebook hardware. PC notebooks invariably have lots of issues, like the keys falling off the keyboard, and the screen hinge getting floppy. None of the mac's I've owned have any of these issues. MacOS is also excellent, and although it is no more crash resilient than Windows these days. Virusus and malware are not a problem on Mac's, but I would still practice safe surfing :)

[David R Munson]

Go to an apple store and try it; see for yourself. You'll get a lot better info there than here.

This thread was over at the first reply.

[Brian Puccio]

I bought a Mac after 13 years of Linux. I have adjusted and still run Linux in parallels, but rarely use it. Really, the question of switching is not one that should be considered merely in the context of PS, but rather as an environment. It will cost more. It will have less bugs / viruses. It will possibly have different software availability / updates / versions. The one guarantee is that because of the consistent hardware environment, things will 'just work' more often than not and more often than under windows.

I think that Nando's advice is right-on: don't buy it to make it into something else.

Hey, another Linux guy!

I've been a Mac user for about four years. Before that, I had a Linux desktop for three. Before that, Windows. My day job is supporting an office of 200 Windows workstations. I use a Mac at home because I don't want to spend more than 8 hours a day dealing with Windows problems. That's originally why I ran Linux, and it did the job well, OS X is just a more refined UNIX.

Servers, on the other hand, those are still Linux servers and probably will be for a while, I particularly care for OS X as a server.

Go to an Apple store on a weekday when there aren't tons of kids checking their facebook and try it out. Open up Aperture while you're there, too. If you find yourself liking it after an hour, you can buy a refurb from Apple's website (usually at 15% off) that will have the same warranty and will be the same quality product you'd get if you paid full price. If you don't like it after a month, you can sell it on eBay for what you paid for it. Don't buy AppleCare when you buy it, you can buy it up until the last day of the one year warranty. Save your money and think about it for a year. If you do buy it, buy it from a reseller on Amazon, you'll pay two thirds the price you would in the Apple store. Yes, this is legit.

On the other hand, if you go to the Apple store and don't like it and keep wondering how you can make some task more Windows like, don't buy it. There are some people who just cannot accept that OS X is different and they will spend the entire afternoon cursing it for not operating exactly like Windows. (Maximize button anyone?) It's a different way of approaching a task and if you cannot switch, don't bother.

Use either VMware Fusion or Parallels to run your Windows only applications, Bootcamp is annoying, who wants to keep rebooting?

[tom.w.bn]

- Mac office is not good. In particular, the mac word files don't necessarily lay out the same with the PC version of word. That means if you want to share documents with a PC user, and you want to retain the same formatting, then you are out of luck.


What do you mean with "Mac office"? If you mean iWork then you are right. If you mean MS Office for Mac then you are absolutely wrong.

[flip]

What has always put me off is the hardware side. I've built two of our home PCs from components, and run Linux and Windows. The ability to renew the motherboard etc. in the same box, and incrementally make hardware updates is a big plus for me. If this was (is?) possible with a Mac, then I would definitely consider it.
Best regards,
RoyM

no doubt, if you are a linux user, you're used to thoroughly spec'ing hardware for your box and getting a great deal fo performance for the money. That said, in spite of my reluctance to get a mac, I did (my sister works at Apple) and welcomed the ease of installing onto known hardware. I would guess that this holds even more true for native Apple apps.

[flip]

Hey, another Linux guy!
We're everywhere.....

It took a while, but my first week when I got my imac involved bricking it repeatedly until I knew how to revive it from death with a dual boot intact. Somehow, that made me feel secure to start putting real data on the drive. :rolleyes:

[dfoo]

What do you mean with "Mac office"? If you mean iWork then you are right. If you mean MS Office for Mac then you are absolutely wrong.

I mean MS Office for Mac, and in my extensive experience with word on both the PC & Mac within my company I'm afraid that I am not wrong. They are simply not that compatible.

[JayC]

Wow, thanks for all the insight. I will stop by a Mac store and ask more questions. Thanks.

[tom.w.bn]

I mean MS Office for Mac, and in my extensive experience with word on both the PC & Mac within my company I'm afraid that I am not wrong. They are simply not that compatible.

Opposite experience here. But that's ok.

I exchange a lot between Office for Mac 2008 and Office 2003 for PC in the old Office format and that works fine so far for Word and PowerPoint.

[gnuyork]

Macs are pretty bullet proof. In the 12 years or so since I have been using them I have had no major issues -NONE.

Photoshop should work nearly identical. I use Office (for Mac) and it's been a while since I used Quickbooks, but they would all be somewhat similar if I had to guess.

I know a lot of people coming from PC to Mac may be intimidated, but I find the opposite. I have worked on PCs, but not a lot. I think the Mac OS is a much more user friendly interface and easier to understand. If I suddenly had to do the majority of my work on a PC I would be less confident. I'm sure I would adapt, but I'd be complaining about it the whole time.

[tom.w.bn]

If you go all the way back to Office 2001, then yes there are some problems, but nothing spectacular, but no company is going to be running such outdated software.


Not 2001 but my company still uses Office 2003 and I don't know if it's the latest Service Pack. And we are midway in migrating from Win XP SP1 to Win XP SP2 :D

[dfoo]

If you go all the way back to Office 2001, then yes there are some problems, but nothing spectacular, but no company is going to be running such outdated software.

We are using the lastest versions for both mac & windows. We had a spectacular number of issues when sharing documents between both. Most, but not all, were formatting problems. I remember one disastrous edit my colleague made that completely screwed up the document causing me hours of work...

[historicist]

I have problems transferring documents between word on PC and Mac - usually a font on the mac ends up as wingdings or something on the PC, and of course my PC using supervisor thinks this is my fault.

Word on the mac is also slow (starts up slower than Photoshop) and lacks a keyboard shortcut for footnotes, which is a real pain for academic writing.

Reliability wise, I've had much more problems with my Mac (hardware) than either second hand laptop I've owned, to be honest I think it comes down to chance as much as a mac/pc thing - Apple are very good at sorting things out though, I'd trust them more than most PC resellers.

[filmfan]

It will break on you when you need it most... (my experience)

[Melvin]

If you do buy a Mac I highly recommend paying for the apple care warranty. I'm glad I did, since my machine so far has needed a new motherboard, CD drive and battery. And back up your files.

[dfoo]

I have years of typesetting experience with InDesign across both Mac & Windows and that worked absolutely perfectly. We use word to do the initial document creation and editing due to the excellent change tracking & commenting tools in word. Unfortunately, due to incompatibilities we no longer use word cross platform.

[gnuyork]

If you go all the way back to Office 2001, then yes there are some problems, but nothing spectacular, but no company is going to be running such outdated software.

Hey now. I still run the 2000 version office (Mac) with no issues on Snow Leopard. I got my money's worth for that. I actually did just buy 2008 version for my wife because she wanted to learn the latest version of Excel to make herself more marketable.

I will eventually put it on my macbook pro.

[ferider]

What will a Mac(Book) do for me?

It will instantly make you more attractive to the opposite sex. In particular when used at Starbucks. Then again, an iPad might be even better .... :)


I recommend to buy whatever you can afford with as much memory as possible. And if you have money to spare, get a full PS version.

[jsrockit]

What has always put me off is the hardware side. I've built two of our home PCs from components, and run Linux and Windows. The ability to renew the motherboard etc. in the same box, and incrementally make hardware updates is a big plus for me. If this was (is?) possible with a Mac, then I would definitely consider it.

I'm a huge mac user, but if you're into making your own and upgrading instead of replacing, stay away from Macs. I like Macs because I can still sell them for a decent amount of money after a few years of use. PCs lose their value much quicker.

[jsrockit]

It will instantly make you more attractive to the opposite sex. In particular when used at Starbucks. Then again, an iPad might be even better .... :)

If you are woman using the product, then yes, you'll have many geeks drooling. However, most women don't care about laptops or computer goods.