Guest stnami Posted July 16, 2006 Share #21 Posted July 16, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) IF you REALLY need a laptop the Macbook Pro 15" is the better buy. The MacBook 13" widescreen is ok for horizontal images but verticals are tiny. Post-Processing is a bit ordinary on laptops at the best of times let alone with a tiny 13" screen, laptop screens require spot on screen calibration for proper colour correction etc and as everyone knows the screen angle runs amok on image viewing. I have travelled a lot with 12 and a 17 inch laptops, useful if you require to send images to your newsprint editor yesterday and working as photojournalist. For magazine, book and gallery work I ended up re-working the images at home on a decent monitor, waste of time working in the field.. These days I take the 12" if I really,really need to shoot and look.... otherwise I take 500 gig of external portable HD space, this gives me a decent amount to back up images. I now photograph in the field and process and print at home maximum effort given to both and enjoy the nights away without the burden of looking at images taken on that day. A night out in town beats sweating over a screen in hotels Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 16, 2006 Posted July 16, 2006 Hi Guest stnami, Take a look here MacBook Pro or MacBook?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
xrogers Posted July 16, 2006 Share #22 Posted July 16, 2006 I'm sitting on my front porch writing this reply on a MacBook Pro. I have an early version, and it has been flawless---quiet, great battery life, fast, great screen, no hotter than the Dell I use for work. I don't run PS on it yet, and probably won't, and defer to others about it's performance. I know or work with three other MacBook Pro users and one MacBook user, and they are all running without issues. The ability to run PC operating systems has been wonderful. I run Linux (and XP and 2K) in a window using Parallels (http://www.parallels.com), and use boot camp to run XP as well. I use PCs for parts of my work, and have been a Mac user from day one. This computer is perfect for me. I'd say that either computer would be fine, you should look at them and decide for yourself based on screen size, video performance, and whatever else matters to you. Until later, --clyde Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_dykstra Posted July 16, 2006 Share #23 Posted July 16, 2006 Hi Mitchell, I've been using Powerbooks for a few years and bought a Macbook for my son last week. It's brilliant. No glitches or hangups or problems of any sort so far and we've been running it pretty extensively, with it's native software. Not with PS or anything like that. I just love how easy it is to work with a home wireless network with our macs and the airport. Absolutely brilliant machines. Folks, if you don't need to be PC connected for work reasons, then switch to Apple and start enjoying your computing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kobold Posted July 16, 2006 Share #24 Posted July 16, 2006 My 2¢'s worth (in a world where a penny is worth nothing at all): I have the dual processor 2G G5 and a MacBook Pro. I am a photographer and a video editor. The MBPro is optioned to the max (2G RAM, biggest and fastest hard drive, 7,200rpm, best graphics card, etc.). CS2 works perfectly on it, and the MBPro runs this suite faster than the 15" PowerBook, but not as fast as the dual G5. it is fast enough, especially if you know how to batch process. Adobe will provide a native version of CS2 in "roughly 18 month's time". As I am now on the road for a lot of the time, the tower cannot go with me, so the MacBook Pro was the next best bet. My other major app, Final Cut Pro, is already native for the new Intel chip and runs faster than I can edit. This MacBook does not seem to run much, if any, hotter than the maxed-out PB it replaced. The fit and finish are perfect. hth, kl Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted July 16, 2006 Share #25 Posted July 16, 2006 Kit, I'm comparing my MacBook to an Acer 15" widescreen laptop. Certainly in my case it runs a lot hotter than the Acer. The 'hot spot' if you pardon the pun is underneath next to where the power supply clips onto the body. It sounds as if this may not be an issue for the Macbook Pro. Perhaps the larger body has something to do with this. I went for the MacBook because I wanted something smaller than the Acer, and of course it was cheaper than the 'Pro' version. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
etanguero Posted July 16, 2006 Share #26 Posted July 16, 2006 Christian I guess it depends what you are wanting to use the machine for. For photo work, then yes the tablet approach would be better, but for text/data entry I personally think that the keyboard approach is better. Data I allways enter through the keyboard! I esp. love the tablet-pc's pen as another form of a mouse, been much more easier and faster to use. I love to push data around with it, with two windoze explorer windows open (one abvoe the other) ... this is much much faster than using the mouse. It also requires less coordination than fine movements with a mouse! (do not remember: I do use a screen resolution of 1440*1050 on (only) 12 inch!) Yes, I do use the pen a lot for 'cropping' of photographs and these sort of things. For that purpose I strongly think about buying a Wacom Graphire 4 XL tablet for my next computer (either Win or Mac (plus bootcamp )). Certainly I can type faster that I can imput via handwriting recognintion on my Poacket PC. I do use M$ Journal to scribble at meetings, that's about it. I do not use handwriting recognition at all: 1st I am german and I do have an english language version (but dutch distributor) of Tablet PC OS. 2nd my handwriting is that terrible that I do not dare to blame the handwriting recognition software to fail to read my handwriting [this may also be due to the fact that back in time at school I still learned 'written handwriting', not 'letter per letter' writin, mostly in capitals as I do see it here in the netherlands and have recognized it been done that way in the USofA and Oztralia. As for connecting to the work AS/400, give me a keyboard every time :-) *LOL* eT Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
regista Posted July 16, 2006 Share #27 Posted July 16, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) Bruce, I wouldn't consider the addition of the Intel Core 2 Duo processor to the MacBook Pro line a "refresh". In reality, that was the processor originally intended for the MacBook Pro. Having a MacBook Pro share the same processor as the MacBook is a historical accident due to the planets not aligning well for Apple. Intel has the Core 2 Duo ready to ship in numbers as soon as the end of this month. That's why the Mac Pro should be announced soon thereafter. Perhaps as soon as WWDC. When will the Core 2 Due make its way to the MacBook Pro line? Your guess is as good as mine, but it will probably be sooner than later. And I wouldn't be surprised if it starts with the 17" model first and trickles down to the 15s as the months go by. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
etanguero Posted July 16, 2006 Share #28 Posted July 16, 2006 But anyone having an idea when Apple will eventually add Pen support (with Wacom technique or similar) to their Notebooks??? eT Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleeson Posted July 16, 2006 Share #29 Posted July 16, 2006 Here you go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Newton ;-) Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bernd Banken Posted July 16, 2006 Share #30 Posted July 16, 2006 Hi Mitchell,according to a big Mac forum the new Intel Macbook Pro and Macbooks have many technical defects by now. They are loud, they get very hot, and the shell often lacks reliable workmanship. And software sometimes doesn't work sufficiently with Rosetta. I would wait till the next generation comes out which will, hopingly, be free of defects. It is, as I see it, not really a good idea to buy a completely new generation. Concerning the display: you should test this out by yourself. Some like the new shimmering display, some don't. Regards, Astrid Since April my super quiet, cold (it's at the moment on my naked knees (Bermuda shorts) MacBook pro 15" runs like a breeth. As mentioned from Astrid, there is always a rumor and posting in forums, but not from the satisfied customers.... The screen is sharper compare to the 15" Powerbook G4/800 which I owned before. The Digikux2 and the Mac are the most quiet Silent Sisters... Regards Bernd Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter L Posted July 16, 2006 Share #31 Posted July 16, 2006 The MacBook Pro (17") is a great laptop for photography among other things, I have had mine for 2 months and run fairly complicated professional applications on the windows side (geophysics) flawlessly. I have not experienced any of the problems mentioned on the Apple discussion forum. I bought my unit from a store that has a 2 week return policy no questions asked, and put it through it's paces, no problems occurred. Although, the Apple discussion forum is a good place to find information, it is also a place where mostly all problems are dicussed and a good number of the problems are operator induced. The screen of the Macbook Pro is idential in quality to the 20" inch Cinama display which I have and use less now, exept for my professional applications, where I need 2 screens. Best regards Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
etanguero Posted July 16, 2006 Share #32 Posted July 16, 2006 Here you go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Newton ;-) Phil I do know the Newton. Pity Apple did not follow the path further on ... as they were (too much) ahead of time. But: I'd say with Wacom's technology it's time that Apple hits the road again on this side! Acutally: for me even the digitizer option as described above would be suficient, do not need the 'recognition' feature at the moment. eT Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted July 16, 2006 Share #33 Posted July 16, 2006 But anyone having an idea when Apple will eventually add Pen support (with Wacom technique or similar) to their Notebooks??? eT If you are talking of handwriting input via an external tablet input device, it's already there. The software is called "Inkwell". It only reveals itself when a comaptible tablet is connected. I had/have a Newton and loved it. So far ahead of its time it was untrue. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giulio Zanni Posted July 16, 2006 Share #34 Posted July 16, 2006 I have a MacBook Pro 15" "radical version": 2.16 Ghz, 2GB ram, 7200 rpm. It's fantastic! If you have to run Aperture on a lap-top there's no alternative. At the beginning it was over-heating a lot, but after I updated the firmware and added a cool-pad things got much better. I brought it along during my last trip to Kashmir without any problem. This thing costs a lot, but it is FAST and gorgeous to handle. Giulio Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucemcl Posted July 16, 2006 Share #35 Posted July 16, 2006 The MBPro is optioned to the max (2G RAM, biggest and fastest hard drive, 7,200rpm, best graphics card, etc.). CS2 works perfectly on it, and the MBPro runs this suite faster than the 15" PowerBook, but not as fast as the dual G5.l Thanks for giving us your first hand experience. My understanding is that maxing out the RAM can make a big difference in the speed of Photoshop and other non native programs; they will run a lot slower with the base 512MB of RAM. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted July 16, 2006 Share #36 Posted July 16, 2006 Maxing out the RAM makes a huge difference to Photoshop regardless of whether it's a native app or running through Rosetta. When I bought my PowerBook, I thought a gig of RAM would be sufficient... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest menze_as Posted July 16, 2006 Share #37 Posted July 16, 2006 What does Rosetta do? Do you have a link to that forum? Every time Apple comes out with a new model (let alone a new generation) there is a group of people who find errors. I know the heat problem was up on the Pro when that came out - and was handled in those instances, it occured (not on all machines). Rosetta emulates PPC-made Software so that it runs on Intels. The forum is http://www.macuser.de/ The thing is (@regista) that some sent back their MacBook (Pro) several times because of noise and heat and shell problems ... and new buggy macs seem to happen unproportionally often. That's why I would still wait till 2nd gen. comes out - although of course there are enough users around with well functioning macs. I am working fast enough with my G4 1,42 Dual and my PB 1,33. Greetings, Astrid Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlancasterd Posted July 16, 2006 Share #38 Posted July 16, 2006 Hi Mitchell, you can try to get one of the last version (Oct. 2005) of the "old" powerbook G4 with 15" or 17" (or ibook) - depends what you need on power and dimension! The display with 1440x900 pix is superb, the PB G4 is very quiet and handsome. Battery lasts about 4 hours if you use office. With 2 GB of RAM OS X is your best friend for almost everything! OR wait for a new version of the macbook (pro) with appropriate software. perhaps, this is helpful http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/ greetings, Alexander I deliberately bought one of the 'old' 12" PowerBooks earlier this year before they were deleted as I had heard that software such as PhotoShop wouldn't be Intelised for over a year so didn't want an Intel chip and also wanted the smallest machine possible to go into a shoulder bag as download back-up for my D2 and DMR. I'm glad I got it when I did - even with only 512MB of memory it is amply fast enough for what I want and the smallest new MacBook Pro is considerably bigger and heavier. I did go for the 100GB hard disk - you can never have too much storage space! The last time I looked at the website, refurbished 12" G4 PowerBooks were still available direct from Apple at about 25% off the original list price. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearoido Posted July 16, 2006 Share #39 Posted July 16, 2006 I wonder if it would be wise to wait until the new operating system is included before purchasing. GaryO Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleeson Posted July 16, 2006 Share #40 Posted July 16, 2006 I wonder if it would be wise to wait until the new operating system is included before purchasing. GaryO Probably reasonable if you don't need to upgrade yet. Boot Camp will be supported then, and maybe more Universal apps by then. But then, that's always the quandry -- buy now to fulfill the need or wait for the later, cheaper, faster, sleeker, better versions of computers, cameras, etc. One thing about Leica film cameras -- they're at the max development stage, no need to hesitate! Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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