To MacBook or not to MacBook

[keggerz]

Thinking about upgrading my laptop before the end of the year (could use the write-off) and I am not sure if I should take a plunge into the Mac waters or not....

 

Things that I will use it for:

Basic Surfing (no PC gaming)

Adobe Lightroom for processing pictures and possibly some video editing if I ever dive into my 7D's video capabilities

Adobe Contribute...I use this program to write and publish my articles directly to the web here

 

Outside of that stuff I have a ton of NFL stats in excel files

 

so, pluses minuses etc? and if I decide on a PC I am not sure the exact differences between the i3 vs i5 vs i7 intel processors.

 

oh and fwiw, the one thing that I don't like is that unless I get the 17" Macbook Pro I can't use my Lexar Professional ExpressCard Reader, which means I would need to buy a firewire reader and that is just more cash to outlay

 

tia and hope everyone had a Merry Christmas

 

as it stands now I have a Dell Vostro 1500

Intel Core2 Duo (T5270) @ 1.40GHz

4 GB of Ram

NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS

Windows XP Pro

[electricrelish]

I don't have a Mac, but I am seriously considering getting one for my parents because they don't have the whereabouts about what not to click half the time in random e-mails that lead to trojans, etc. The amount of time that I spend cleaning or rebuilding the box may be worth it considering that Mac users tend to have less of these problems.

[Caveman_Nick]

Hit me up on AIM if you like sometime this week to discuss. I am pro MacBook. Happy to bat it around with you

[tazinib1]

If you are going to be doing full fledged video editing, you need a Mac. Nobody in my business that calls him/herself an editor uses anything else. And when/if you purchase a Mac, you need to get Final Cut Pro. It's the industry program for editing.

Edited December 26, 2011 by tazinib1

[Pope Flick]

If you are going to be doing full fledged video editing, you need a Mac. Nobody in my business that calls him/herself an editor uses anything else.

 

Seeing as how I'm a professional producer and editor in LA, I have to say this is wholly false. It's no longer the platform, but the software. In fact, currently the best editing consumer software is clearly Adobe Premiere 5.5. I have both that and Final Cut 7. I primarily use FCP because I'm so used to it, but Premiere does everything FCP does and more. (FCPX is probably 1-2 years from catching up.) Plenty of people use PC systems to edit here. And Avids used by the studios are probably still the non Mac versions, at least the ones that have been arounda while:

 

http://www.promax.com/s-19-avid-pc-editing...CFWHatgodMUEkQg

 

Tell these people they aren't editors.

 

You might want to consider your cost of getting Mac versions of those Adobe programs - also Adobe is much more PC friendly.

[tazinib1]

Seeing as how I'm a professional producer and editor in LA, I have to say this is wholly false. It's no longer the platform, but the software. In fact, currently the best editing consumer software is clearly Adobe Premiere 5.5. I have both that and Final Cut 7. I primarily use FCP because I'm so used to it, but Premiere does everything FCP does and more. (FCPX is probably 1-2 years from catching up.) Plenty of people use PC systems to edit here. And Avids used by the studios are probably still the non Mac versions, at least the ones that have been arounda while:

 

http://www.promax.com/s-19-avid-pc-editing...CFWHatgodMUEkQg

 

Tell these people they aren't editors.

 

You might want to consider your cost of getting Mac versions of those Adobe programs - also Adobe is much more PC friendly.

 

 

Thanks for correcting my obvious lack of knowledge in this venue Pope

 

Listen to Pope...I'm a lighting guy. He's an Editor....I'd take his word for it over anything I have to say.

 

 

 

BTW: I had no idea you had made the jump from 1stAD to Producer/Editor. Nice man!!

Edited December 26, 2011 by tazinib1

[Pope Flick]

I certainly enjoyed telling 70 people what needed to be done and then watching them do it but I couldn't handle putting the walkie on at 5 in the morning any longer. I've only got one feature as producer and a handful of shorts. After free lance production a 40 hour/wk editing gig is like vacation. I used to do that inside 3 days.

[Pope Flick]

I certainly enjoyed telling 70 people what needed to be done and then watching them do it but I couldn't handle putting the walkie on at 5 in the morning any longer. I've only got one feature as producer and a handful of shorts. After free lance production a 40 hour/wk editing gig is like vacation. I used to do that inside 3 days.

[tazinib1]

I certainly enjoyed telling 70 people what needed to be done and then watching them do it but I couldn't handle putting the walkie on at 5 in the morning any longer. I've only got one feature as producer and a handful of shorts. After free lance production a 40 hour/wk editing gig is like vacation. I used to do that inside 3 days.

 

I co-produced a 15 second Can Cancer commercial that I somehow managed to piggy back off a national brain cancer spot a few years ago. I will never, ever do it again. More power to you brother.....I'd rather have ear boogers from the surveillance headsets than to ever, ever do that again. Takes a special breed which I am not. And its odd, after making union, I really don't mind the 14-16+ days any longer

 

 

 

ETA: Sorry for the hi-jack Keggz....I like to talk shop.

Edited December 26, 2011 by tazinib1

[CaptainHook]

Bought a MacBook Pro in October. I love it. Do it!

[Hooper]

You can buy a much cheaper PC that will do the same things, but I wouldn't do it.

 

I think of buying a PC just like buying a car. You can buy a cheaper one that will do the same things, but it won't be as reliable and you won't enjoy the daily experience with it as much. Its a very personal choice and I've learned that its never a good idea to judge which way someone leans. I'm a Mac guy. The reasons that I would rather buy a Mac are my own, and those reasons wouldn't sway someone else that has a different set of priorities when it comes to their personal computing experience.

 

Good luck.

[CowboyGal2011]

Is there something you want your laptop to do that your current one won't, or do you just want something new?

 

I would recommend the Asus units, aluminum, powerful, 1st year accident coverage is free, some have 24month factory warranty.

 

i3<i5<i7, higher the more powerful. Browse newegg for pricing. Sleek, fast, priced right and excellent warranty/support.

 

Mac = overpriced, nitch PC wanna be platform (apple stopped making their own hardware years ago, they install their bastard OS on pc hardware)

[keggerz]

Is there something you want your laptop to do that your current one won't, or do you just want something new?

 

I would recommend the Asus units, aluminum, powerful, 1st year accident coverage is free, some have 24month factory warranty.

 

i3<i5<i7, higher the more powerful. Browse newegg for pricing. Sleek, fast, priced right and excellent warranty/support.

 

Mac = overpriced, nitch PC wanna be platform (apple stopped making their own hardware years ago, they install their bastard OS on pc hardware)

Not won't do but do faster...normally when using Lightroom to edit pics it bogs down my laptop...same with Contribute at times...but not nearly as often...and I just have a pretty good gut feeling that if I add a video editing program that it isn't going to be very happy with being bogged down.

[CowboyGal2011]

Not won't do but do faster...normally when using Lightroom to edit pics it bogs down my laptop...same with Contribute at times...but not nearly as often...and I just have a pretty good gut feeling that if I add a video editing program that it isn't going to be very happy with being bogged down.

 

That is a def reason to upgrade, if something like this fits in your budget, its a very nice unit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16834230133

[Caveman_Nick]

Apple never made it's own hardware. That's a misnomer.

 

Thir stuff works as well as it does because their hardware choices are very controlled and their developmental process very much holds their OS, Software and Hardware developmental choices in unison throughout the process.

 

As to their stuff being overpriced, that really depends on how well you want your computer to work every time you sit down at it. Every time I would go to a user's PC they would have some kind of issue, stuff to update, stuff that didn't work right, needed a new driver, new virus definitions, etc.,etc. My Mac users just kept trucking along, all day every day. Hardware issues were extremely rare and almost always were fixed gratis.

[CowboyGal2011]

Apple never made it's own hardware. That's a misnomer.

 

Care to elaborate?

 

Apple exclusively produces Mac hardware, choosing internal systems, designs, and prices. Apple does use third party components, however, such as graphics subsystems from nVidia and ATi.

 

They started falling so far behind, they finally had to adopt x86 hardware to stay competitive.

 

Thir stuff works as well as it does because their hardware choices are very controlled and their developmental process very much holds their OS, Software and Hardware developmental choices in unison throughout the process.

 

Meaning proprietary, meaning expensive.

 

As to their stuff being overpriced, that really depends on how well you want your computer to work every time you sit down at it. Every time I would go to a user's PC they would have some kind of issue, stuff to update, stuff that didn't work right, needed a new driver, new virus definitions, etc.,etc. My Mac users just kept trucking along, all day every day. Hardware issues were extremely rare and almost always were fixed gratis.

 

Now that there is some Grade A Nonsense!

 

I can see you have watched enough apple commercials to blurt out the company talking points to perfection!

 

Hey, we get it. You like macs. That is your prerogative. But spewing nonsense like the above just goes to show how truly fanboy you are.

[Caveman_Nick]

Care to elaborate?

 

Apple exclusively produces Mac hardware, choosing internal systems, designs, and prices. Apple does use third party components, however, such as graphics subsystems from nVidia and ATi.

 

They started falling so far behind, they finally had to adopt x86 hardware to stay competitive.

 

Sure....

 

Apple is the only source for buying a machine that runs OSX. Their OS is developed to run on specific sets of hardware.

 

They do not make any hardware components. They assemble only, and they develop their environment specifically for their chosen hardware suite.

 

 

 

Now that there is some Grade A Nonsense!

 

I can see you have watched enough apple commercials to blurt out the company talking points to perfection!

 

Hey, we get it. You like macs. That is your prerogative. But spewing nonsense like the above just goes to show how truly fanboy you are.

 

Funny, because I would say that you go out of your way to tear Apple's products down. The difference between you and I is that I have built and supported a ton of Windows machines from the original Windows NT through Windows 7 (I carried an MCSE I earned in 2001 Not entirely true now that I think about it. I took the course load but never completed the suite of tests as they were money for nothing in my position...I was only a "MCP"), many Linux machines, SGI, Novell servers, every version of Apple server ever released and pretty much any workstation they have sold.

 

The Apple stuff has always run more solidly and been easier to support. Yes, it's more expensive, but you get what you pay for. For people that want to spend less time screwing around trying to keep their machine running right it is absolutely worth every penny.

Edited December 26, 2011 by Caveman_Nick

[Pope Flick]

Of course he suggests crappy computers, he runs a repair shop.

[CowboyGal2011]

They do not make any hardware components.

 

Never?

[tazinib1]

Of course he suggests crappy computers, he runs a repair shop.

 

 

ZING!!

[CowboyGal2011]

Funny, because I would say that you go out of your way to tear Apple's products down.

 

You feel this way because you have an emotional attachment to a machine, an unhealthy one at that.

[gsmayes]

if it was a slight premium to get a Mac I could see it, but I'm not paying double the price for the same hardware to get the Mac OS.