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General discussion

mac or pc

Apr 19, 2007 4:44AM PDT

I am involved in the ongoing debate on whether I should buy a mac or a pc. I know either side could probably argue until they are blue in the face. However, I am in the market to buy a computer for my digital photography, and I just don't know what to buy. I would probably have to buy the imac 20' because I don't think I could afford the 24' or macpro. Not only that, but I am not very computer saavy. I love to use picasa for a quick upload and viewing of my photos. I am dissapointed that mac does not have a version of picasa. I also heard that iphoto is insanely slow, and not as user friendly. Does anyone have any input?

Discussion is locked

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Let's see.
Apr 19, 2007 5:01AM PDT

Who's opening the wallet?

Hint: Let they decide. Or the one with the gold wins.

As to iPhoto, get down to the Apple store and try it. I found it just fine even on the slowest Mac Mini. Then again I think if I click and it opens in 2 seconds that's fast. Some want it to work like a lightswitch.

Bob

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so many things to say...
Apr 19, 2007 5:24AM PDT

I'll try to be succinct...

1) "pc" = personal computer. There used to be a time when Apple Macintosh hardware and traditional "wintel" hardware were very different. That definition has blurred.

2) Apple Macintosh hardware now runs Apple Macintosh OSX or Windows... you you can have both OS's for the various applications you like.

Since you run and enjoy Picasa so much, who says you cannot continue using it - on Macintosh hardware running Windows?

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iPhoto
Apr 19, 2007 6:19AM PDT

I have found no appreciable slowdown of iPhoto even on my G4 450Mhz.
Today's Macs are much, much faster than that and will manage your photographs easily.
You may have to limit the number of photos you have though, iPhoto will only handle 250,000 pictures in one database.

On the subject of Picassa, you should take up the lack of a Mac version of that software, with Google.

As already pointed out, you can run Windows on your Mac and still use Picassa. Having given iPhoto, and the rest of the iLife suite, a fair chance, you may find that you do not need Picassa.

P

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I Photo
Apr 20, 2007 8:55PM PDT

I have both a PC and the Mac pro. I like them both for different reasons. For photos, I like Photoshop with the Mac. What kind of camera do you have?? I ask because some camera companies have excellent software and storage. Canon for instance has a great storage and organizer software package. Do you process RAW? Canon supposedly has the best RAW processing. Canon software has PC and Mac applications.

On the other hand, photoshop also has PC and Mac applications. I guess my advice would be to figure what exactly do you want to do with your photos. Your requirtement may be a software question and not a hardware one.

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Mac for photos
Apr 22, 2007 5:04AM PDT

I am familiar with both options, having set up my wife and my mother with Picasa. I happen to own a 20 inch iMac with the new Core 2 Duo processor. The iMac, using iPhoto is at least as fast as is a Windows machine running Picasa. If you live near an Apple store you might want to copy a few photo files onto a flash drive, load them onto a Mac and play with them. Both programs are incredibly easy to use, although I have found iPhoto's organizational tools to be a little more intuitive to learn. Then again, if you are comfortable with Picasa, you may want to stay with that.

There are several advantages that I find with the Mac. If you want to begin using a more sophisticated photo editing application one day, iPhoto will be completely compatible. I set iPhoto's Preferences to open Photoshop whenever I double-click on a thumbnail. I am able to edit in Photoshop and the edited photo appears in iPhoto after I have saved it. You may use this trick with another photo software package, as well. For quick, simple projects, I just change the Preferences so that I can edit the photos directly in iPhoto. Also, the monitor included in the iMac is beautiful. You will really enjoy using it to work on your pictures. Finally, if you want more screen real estate one day, you can easily add a second monitor to your iMac to create a huge working surface.

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Please clarify...
Apr 22, 2007 5:44AM PDT

Are you a consumer, a student, or a semi-professional?

Don't forget students get discounts on apple hardware and software. The new Aperture 1.5 is a great photo-management suite and I believe the student price is only $100.00 US.

I'm assuming since you're using Picassa and not extremely computer savvy that your a hobbiest. iPhoto along with the rest of the iLife suite may surprise you in its speed and versatility... especially on the faster hardware that is coming with the new mac-intels.

Of course, if you plan on getting more serious about your photography you will probably get Photoshop. If you get the newer CS2 or CS3 versions you will also get the "Bridge" program which allows almost instant access of all your photo resources for quick editing in the Photoshop/ImageReady suite.

Since you indicate your not an IT specialist - neither am I Wink - the Mac OSX may surprise you in the ease of use and the fact that you won't need to spend money and time on security and maintenance software.

PC champions will point out there is more software and cheaper hardware if you go the PC-MS route. Some programs you are used to (such as Picasso) wont be available. They are partially correct but most of those giving this advice have never owned a Mac so they may not be fully aware of how much is available for macs (which is quite a lot). Many of us here have used both macs and PC-MS machines. I think you will find that those of us who are cross platform capable will tell you that a mac is a joy to use.

Best advice I can give is find someone you know with a mac and try it out or go to an apple store and check out what they have.

Please let us know what you decide (even if it's a PC-MS box)

grim