k-hawinkler Posted January 6, 2013 Share #101 Posted January 6, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) James' laptop can at most be upgraded to 4 respectively 6 GB of memory, the latter only if one ignores Apple's guide lines. The basic challenge for an SSD designer is the type of comparatively inexpensive memory used, namely flash memory and its drawback. Flash memory can only be written and read a limited number of times before it fails although that number has increased over time. So the challenge becomes to spread out write/read requests evenly over the available memory, monitor increased number of error corrections for slowly degrading memory locations, rewrite the data if necessary or relocate the data to better areas, and de-allocate failing areas so that they don't get used anymore before they fail completely. Compared to disk drives, SSDs don't have moving parts and operate faster. My impression is that for typical use newest technology SSDs last certainly as long if not longer than comparably sized hard drives. They also run a lot cooler in heavy use. But neither one lasts forever. So backing up is important. Anyway, not being an SSD designer, the above is my rough superficial understanding of that technology. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 6, 2013 Posted January 6, 2013 Hi k-hawinkler, Take a look here Switching to Macbook. Your thoughts please.. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
urs0polar Posted January 7, 2013 Share #102 Posted January 7, 2013 I'm a mac guy, converted in 2005, but I think it's more than just this or that iteration of Mac/PC OS that makes the Apple experience great. It's about taste. OS X has "taste", and Windows doesn't. I think that's why Apple have so many ardent fans: when you use a Mac, it feels like someone put it together that way for a reason, even if some things are annoying -- later on you find that, even if it's still annoying, the purpose and the workflow become clear. With Windows, boneheaded nonsense like the ribbon bar still persist to this day. And what's up with Windows 8 getting rid of / obscuring the start button (evidently you can hack it back in, but come on). It truly feels as if the entire Windows OS was designed by committee on a Friday. Every once in a while it feels like someone at Microsoft is at least trying. At work, they finally got around to providing Windows 7, and it is much better than XP, but my company has an entire department dedicated to packaging windows for us so that it just works. Every once in a while Microsoft comes together, gets lucky, and provides a nice experience. C#/Visual Studio is quite nice, and the Windows Active Directory authentication model is very good. Excel is the market leader in spreadsheets because it's good (of course it was an acquisition from way back when). But it's not consistent across the whole experience; therefore, it isn't particularly tasteful. And more on the subject of taste, I think that's why people still buy manual focus Leicas in 2013 - Taste. It's why I switched from a Bessa R4A to an M6 (which was a stepping stone to R8, R3, SL, M8 ... oops). Spec-wise, M6/R4A exactly the same (R4A even has aperture-priority). But use them for a while, and it's obvious the M6 designers had superior taste. Taste just costs more; it's a fact of life. A lot of people don't get the concept of taste, but if they did, it wouldn't be taste. Oh well. (about SSD - Most modern SSDs are supposed to have very long lives, beyond most normal drive life, so I don't think you have to worry so much about it being written too much (maybe if you use it for PS scratch?). What I found when investigating putting an SSD in my aging Mac Pro is that you have to buy the very expensive ones in order to get decent write speeds. So, reading is fast, writing is about on par with a normal HDD. Overall they probably feel way faster though, since normal desktop use is overwhelmingly more reading than writing from disk, and either way they aren't any slower at writing. Anyhow, probably a major reason my 11" Air is faster than the giant older Mac Pro.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZDavid Posted January 7, 2013 Share #103 Posted January 7, 2013 ... Only negative on the Mac is the lack of software, and many Windows original software programs that were subsequently written for the Mac are lacking... Here's a useful and extremely good value imaging program for Macs: Apple photo software - Mac picture editor, photo editor, image editor, graphics conversion And a world time zone sunset and sunrise finder: HourWorld World Clock - Sun Time at a Glance Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert blu Posted January 7, 2013 Share #104 Posted January 7, 2013 I'm a satisfied and happy mac user and can only suggest it. Only one thing I miss: a slideshow software like "m-obiects" for window which enables you to see the waveform of the soundtrack and to set the points of a transition exactly according to the music. I tried various programs for mac but found they good for general presentation but not for an high end use. robert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted January 7, 2013 Share #105 Posted January 7, 2013 Only one thing I miss: a slideshow software like "m-obiects" for window which enables you to see the waveform of the soundtrack and to set the points of a transition exactly according to the music. I tried various programs for mac but found they good for general presentation but not for an high end use. robert I think Fotomagico can show the soundtrack waveform. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert blu Posted January 7, 2013 Share #106 Posted January 7, 2013 Thank Steve, I'll give a try, unfortunately from the web site it seems it does not work on Snow Leopard (my current OS) but I'll give a try if I'll upgrade my Mac...(not sure if...or when...). grazie, robert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpitt Posted January 8, 2013 Share #107 Posted January 8, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) K-H, Thanks for pointing out that James' macbook has an official max RAM limit of 4GB. Using maxed out RAM to get the bare minimum of the OS you want to use is a sign that you overstretched IMO. In this case I strongly recommend downgrading to Snow Leopard, because even RAM and SSD will not make the Lion experience as fluid as it should be because of lack of processing power and Graphics support. Keeping older Mac's running is all about limiting yourself to the best suitable system.... My son is using a 12 year old Powerbook G3 without complaints about speed. He is a very happy gamer on his Mac OS 9.2 machine Luckily Mac has always been ahead of its game, so using an older system does not feel primitive when compared to current Windows version Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted January 8, 2013 Share #108 Posted January 8, 2013 Dirk, You might be right. I simply would do the upgrades and then find out whether Lion or Snow Leopard works better for me. Anyway, I have also an 8 to 9 year old dual G5 PPC with 8 GB of memory. Internal SATA only runs at 1.5 Gb/s so I don't use it at all. Stuck in 2 SATA boards, 4 ports each, that run at 3 Gb/s. One of the boards is attached to four 256 GB, 6 Gb/s Crucial M4 SSDs in a RAID configuration. The machine boots lightning fast. Did a QuickBench Test: Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! I use the machine as a file server. Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! I use the machine as a file server. ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/194633-switching-to-macbook-your-thoughts-please/?do=findComment&comment=2209043'>More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted January 8, 2013 Share #109 Posted January 8, 2013 Hi, I was thinking of increasing the RAM on my old (actually a 'late 07) Macbook from 2 - 4 gig, however even running Lion it really isn't slow at all, not zippy but not sluggish. The laptop is mostly for internet browsing and 'light' applications. Photoshop software is on the Mini. I'm loathe to 'back-grade' the OS, simply because it seems to be working OK. I have Snow Leopard discs with the Mini, presumably I could use those to reinstall on the Macbook? Thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted January 8, 2013 Share #110 Posted January 8, 2013 Hi James, Have you checked out whether both of your machines have a healthy disk drive? That's the first thing I would do. I described the procedure here: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/2276827-post76.html Also, I believe, one Adobe license allows you to install PS on two machines but run concurrently on only one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpitt Posted January 9, 2013 Share #111 Posted January 9, 2013 K-H, Working with soft RAID is great in these older Pro machines. That really flies! Unfortunately the OP has a Macbook so that is not really an option for him. To others using Lion happily. Stay with it! Upgrade your system until it becomes too slow and then revert one step back. For that purpose it is best to install the newer system on a new partition or drive first to try it out. I have been using Mac hardware professionally and at home from 1988 till now using that principle . I looked up the minimum requirements for both OSes. The RAM requirements of Snow Leopard are exactly half of that for Lion. Minimum requirements are just that. It will run, but will be a bit slow and will not allow heavy use like photoshop and such without disk swapping. As a rule of thumb I always double the minimum requirements to run any system comfortably for anything that goes beyond surfing and email. The basic requirements for Snow Leopard are as follows: An Apple computer with an Intel Processor 1GB of Memory (RAM) 5GB of hard drive space (Storage) DVD drive for installation In order to install Mac OS X 10.7 you will need: Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor 2GB of RAM Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later with the Mac App Store installed At least 4GB of additional disk space to accommodate the download, but more is obviously recommended Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyedward Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share #112 Posted January 9, 2013 I had planned on buying a 15" retina macbook, but would rarely need a to transport it, so I'm now considering a mac mini with a 2.6GHz i7, 16gb RAM and the standard 1TB hard drive. I would also buy a 27" eizo coloredge, which I would keep for a few years. Two wildly different options, I know, but the latter would be more productive in terms of my academic work and photography. Does anyone have any thoughts on this setup, or have something similar? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hicke Posted January 9, 2013 Share #113 Posted January 9, 2013 I had planned on buying a 15" retina macbook, but would rarely need a to transport it, so I'm now considering a mac mini with a 2.6GHz i7, 16gb RAM and the standard 1TB hard drive. I would also buy a 27" eizo coloredge, which I would keep for a few years. Two wildly different options, I know, but the latter would be more productive in terms of my academic work and photography. Does anyone have any thoughts on this setup, or have something similar? Hi Andy! I own both these machines and love them very much. There is quite a price difference but I can guarantee you that the Mini will live up to the task. It's quite the little powerhouse! It will do LR, no problem. The retina is nice and I love mine but not so much bang/buck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpitt Posted January 10, 2013 Share #114 Posted January 10, 2013 Andy, The Mac Mini is certainly a good option. Better than macbook because you can split up the slower aging screen from your processing power. If you would consider buying second hand, I would go for a Mac Pro that is in the same price range as your new mini. For about $1200 you can buy a Mac Pro around 4 years old I think. They are built to last so it will probably outlive your Mac Mini and still be usable when your mini is completely obsolete. The mini also uses a lot of laptop components to save room and money while the Mac Pro uses high end desktop components only. On paper it will probably have about the same benchmark speed as the current mini. Use this site if you want to compare: Apple Mac Pro Specs (All Mac Pro Technical Specs) @ EveryMac.com Even if the benchmark figure is only half of the current Mini like with my 6 year old Mac Pro 4x2.66 it can still easily beat the mini in practical use. My Mac Pro has 2 disks of 1TB in a soft RAID configuration, making 2TB of near SSD speed for storage. It will copy a 5GB file in half a minute! Try doing that on any Mini... RAM on these 2008 Mac Pro's can be expanded to 32GB or even 64GB if you use non-officially supported RAM. Start out with about 8GB and add when needed afterwards. Just my 2 cents.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
elgenper Posted January 10, 2013 Share #115 Posted January 10, 2013 I had planned on buying a 15" retina macbook, but would rarely need a to transport it, so I'm now considering a mac mini with a 2.6GHz i7, 16gb RAM and the standard 1TB hard drive. I would also buy a 27" eizo coloredge, which I would keep for a few years. Two wildly different options, I know, but the latter would be more productive in terms of my academic work and photography. Does anyone have any thoughts on this setup, or have something similar? I went through the very same process of thinking just over a month ago, and settled for the Mini instead of the MBPR for the very same reasons. The only difference is, I chose a 250 GB SSD in the Mini, and a couple of external USB3 drives for heavier stuff. Also, I already had a 30" Cinema Display that I wanted to keep. After a few weeks, I´m very happy with this setup. For more opinions (mine and others) about this kind of decisions, you might want to refer to this thread, and this one in two ´neighbouring´ fora. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted January 10, 2013 Share #116 Posted January 10, 2013 Hi James, Have you checked out whether both of your machines have a healthy disk drive? That's the first thing I would do. I described the procedure here: Hi K-H, all healthy! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdlaing Posted January 13, 2013 Share #117 Posted January 13, 2013 In answer to the OP........ I've used PC's since the Osborne days up thru Windows desk and laptops. As soon as Mac had a notebook that I could run Mac OS and Windows side by side without rebooting I was hooked. The only reason I run Windows is my company has certain online things that Mac just won't do. I wouldn't be without it. MacBook Pro i7 intel processor. 750 gig hard drive. The Mac air is okay but pricey with hard drive limitations and no cd/DVD drive. Once you go Mac you never go back, as they say! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jejlmd Posted January 14, 2013 Share #118 Posted January 14, 2013 Mac. No contest. It will change your life. Period. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartie Posted January 15, 2013 Share #119 Posted January 15, 2013 I'm also making the move over to Mac after years of using a pc,27in iMac on order......can't wait to get my teeth into it. Regards Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdb Posted January 21, 2013 Share #120 Posted January 21, 2013 I also switched to Mac five years ago because of Vista. Never regretted. I bought a 2008 Mac Pro who still works very well with four 1Tb hard disks, and never had any problem. With Vista, I was spending more time tuning up my PC than being efficient in my work. A friend of mine just bought a Windows 8 laptop, and besides the fact that the interface is just horrible, he is still struggling with his PC not only to turn it off, but even to get back to the Windows 7 interface... So what's the use of Windows 8 ? The Mac OS learning curve is not that steep, once you admit that there is only one menu bar at the top of the screen that changes according to the application you are working in. When switching between applications, just remember to click once in the app you get in before doing anything, and the top menu bar will adapt immediately... Mac windows are sober, clear, without useless colors, and the OS does not constantly ask you if you confirm doing what you want to do, which is just irritating... Cheers Gérard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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