Report from the Front Lines: I am a NEW Mac User

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

01/10/2006 11:00:51 PM · #1

There have been plenty of threads about Canon v. Nikon, Mac v. PC, Photography v. ...well, nothing stands up to photography. But I wanted to share a few thoughts on my first couple of weeks with a Mac. This is the first time I have owned or used a Mac (iMac G5) and have been a PC geek since I was a kid. I wanted to lend some insights for someone who might be doing the same. Some positive thoughts:

1. I wanted all the benefits people have said: ease of interface, intuitive operating system, quality monitor, "photoshop" friendly. Those all have come true.
2. I find myself not wasting time, just playing with things that have become such a habit, I feel like it is too easy in a Mac. i.e. control panel and details within applications.
3. Mac's seem to have a pleasant nature about them. The cleanliness of design is agreeable to us more artistic minded people.
4. The assistance I have needed from Apple has been stellar. Quick and helpful.
5. I have CS2 now and came from PS 5.0 LE from about 1997 and that has been difficult to adjust to. I guess in the last 10 years there actually have been some changes made to Photoshop.
6. Since the operating system seems more streamlined than XP, I have sense that it will hang in there better. It is weird. When working with a Mac you just get the feeling you are dealing something of a little higher quality than a PC.
7. Honestly, I have no complaints. But for Mac people: If you want to uninstall an application, do you just trash it? Or is there an uninstall programs place similar to Windows?

If someone wants a fresh perspective on switching to a Mac, ask me any questions in this thread and I will tell you my first impressions...

digitalpins

Canon EOS-60D

01/10/2006 11:03:44 PM · #2

just trash the program, no uninstall software like there is on the pc's. glad to see you are happy with your mac and no problems at all with it. They are great machines, I've been using macs for years I remember when they were ugly and had a big ugly mouse, thats how long I been using them.

Message edited by author 2006-01-10 23:05:04.

Katmystiry

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

01/10/2006 11:23:07 PM · #3

I have been seriously considering the switch over to a mac .. problem is I don't want to re-purchase all the software I have for my pc. You've stated all positive comments .. any negative?

Qart

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

01/10/2006 11:39:43 PM · #4

I've been really unhappy with the pc for a long time but the thought of leasrning all over again is really troubling to me... Was it an easy transition? After 10 years or so, I feel like I'm just now getting to really understand the right way to use the pc.

ellamay

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

01/10/2006 11:40:02 PM · #5

welcome to the mac world, the unistall thing is just another example of how simple it is with a mac...yup just drag into trash...the new spotlight is awesome for finding photos once you put keywords into PS and you want to find the shot from 'christmas' of your 'dog' and you put in 'christmas dog' and there they all are. I love this feature for finding 'the' photo I am looking for. So fast when you have 10,000 pix on comp

barndog

Canon EOS-6D Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

01/10/2006 11:46:36 PM · #6

Are you going to try the new aperture program?

Spork99

OM System OM-1

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

01/10/2006 11:50:31 PM · #7

I can't say I miss my PC...

Mattel Barbie Photo Designer Digital Camera

01/10/2006 11:55:00 PM · #8

Negatives:

I am an optimist by nature so let me think here....The Mac is going to be easier than a PC I believe, so really that was the weird part. Just realizing that "a-b-c-d-e-f steps" is now "a-b" and you are done. I find the browser to be simpler but just as effective.

With AppleCare, or their support system, they will be patient with you and help you with any question. And they will be familiar with PC's so you can say, "well on my pc i did this, how do you do it on the mac".

Negatives.....i will think more.

I am NOT going with the aperture program. I think CS2 does everything I want, am never willing to spend more money, especially if I don't need it. And quite frankly, I don't even use RAW. I use high quality JPEG and find it just fine for me, no matter how large I enlarge the photo. I think the aperture program is supposed to streamline the RAW process for digital photographers.

Mystopia: I know about the re-purchase thing. I simply didn't need that much and desparately needed to upgrade photoshop anyway. I guess I am really into simplifying everything in my computing/tech life right now and Mac has helped there big time.

nsbca7

01/11/2006 12:12:34 AM · #9

Originally posted by mystopia:

I have been seriously considering the switch over to a mac .. problem is I don't want to re-purchase all the software I have for my pc. You've stated all positive comments .. any negative?

First, a lot of that software you won't need. Think of the annual bill you pay for such things as Nero, Norton's and Adaware or their equivalents. Nothing like that is needed for a mac. As far as the transition. It is fairly smooth.

Originally posted by Spazmo99:

I can't say I miss my PC...

I second that notion. I forget just how aggravating some of the tasks that most PC users take for granted really are until I have to got to a friends house to up-date, de-frag or remove a pesky trojan on their PC. When I come home I almost want to kiss my Mac.

o2bskating

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

01/11/2006 12:30:25 AM · #10

ok so here is my question do any of you know how easy or hard it is to tear a mac appart and put what you want in it, ie.. sound cards, graphic cards, then there is the issue of all 27 of my hard drives. i edit music and i know my programs have a 30% speed increase on a mac but i don't know how or if i can use my hard drives and the special soundcards....

anyone have any idea?

scalvert

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

01/11/2006 12:35:47 AM · #11

I know of very few people who have moved from PC to Mac and didn't smack their forehead about not doing it sooner. It's amazing how much PC users are willing to accept as normal when it could be so much easier/smoother.

Installing upgrades depends upon the Mac, but it's typically no-brainer easy. Swapping a hard drive in an iBook is best left to a tech shop, but RAM and Airport card upgrades are simple. You can change or add a hard drive to a PowerMac in about two minutes and you don't even need a screwdriver! PS- fewer upgrades are necessary because Macs include most of the things you'd have to add to a PC (like sound cards, bluetooth and WIFI).

FWIW, the new version of iPhoto announced today appears to have most of Aperture's functionality.

Message edited by author 2006-01-11 00:37:46.

MadMan2k

Sony Alpha a6400

Tamron 70-180mm F/2.8 Di III VXD

01/11/2006 12:40:29 AM · #12

I'm more and more tempted to use a Mac for most of my tasks - I don't even game anymore, so that's not an argument at all. Only thing is the mac hardware is pretty expensive and I already have PC components and everything - are they going to make a version of Mac OS that officially supports standard PC motherboards now that they have the Intel processors in some of them?

nsbca7

Mattel Barbie Photo Designer Digital Camera

01/11/2006 12:41:00 AM · #13

Originally posted by o2bskating:

Everything is remarkably easy (on the G5) The side of the case opens and adding ram, another HD or a sound card is so simple. No wires in the way, no screws to remove.

As far as using extra hard-drives I have twelve for back-up and extra projects that I plug into a disassembled external USB/Firewire drive. It works just like a plug and I think I paid $32 for it on eBay. The drives plug right into it and swapping them out takes less then a minute.

jazzmik

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Nikon

01/11/2006 12:43:36 AM · #14

Originally posted by o2bskating:

I've edited music on my macs for years, using various sound cards and multiple drives. No problem changing any of those, and can be done very quickly and easily as Scalvert mentioned.

Whether or not your hard drives will work in a mac depends on the drives and the mac.

scalvert

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

01/11/2006 12:44:02 AM · #15

Originally posted by MadMan2k:

...are they going to make a version of Mac OS that officially supports standard PC motherboards now that they have the Intel processors in some of them?

Don't bet on it. Part of what makes Macs special is the elegance of the hardware engineering and how well the parts work together.

dacrazyrn

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

01/11/2006 12:56:11 AM · #16

The only other part of unisnstalling programs, is there are (relatively small) pieces and preferences lying around. If you can find them and KNOW they are for that program, you just have to trash them. These are almost always preferences though.
The only other one in there is the Receipts folder, that holds the SOftware Upgrade download info and programs. Easily deleted out of the Library folder on your main drive.
One thing that has bothered me with my auto software updates...if you move the main (Apple) programs out of the folder, Applications, or into another folder within it, it will not update that program, but place the new one in, or sometimes can't install, because you don't "have" the program.
I just make an Alias of it into my Pictures folder, etc.

ubique

Olympus PEN-F

Olympus 17mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko

01/11/2006 01:01:08 AM · #17

Hmmmm ... I have no idea how good Macs are, because I've never owned a PC. Just Macs, for almost 25 years. I have used a PC, but happily it was only the once.

01/11/2006 01:02:24 AM · #18

Yeah, I don't game on my computer anymore either, so I didn't feel so bad about the software end of it and strength of power in that sense. dacrazyrn...I did notice that spare bits lay around after deletion of an application, and have found it pretty easy to find them.

dacrazyrn

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

01/11/2006 01:03:29 AM · #19

Originally posted by ubique:

Hmmmm ... I have no idea how good Macs are, because I've never owned a PC. Just Macs, for almost 25 years. I have used a PC, but happily it was only the once.

Right there with ya...since 1982! Have to use PC's at work...what a shame. Just for entering patient info though. Nothing as exacting as editing my photos. :)

01/11/2006 01:05:11 AM · #20

The thing about PC's that drove me to the brink was the unreliablity of the operating system (with numerous different manufacturers) and the fact that after a year or so of moderate usage, it would become so bogged down and slow, no matter what precautions or cures I used. So hopefully the Mac will maintain this beautiful power and pace.

jazzmik