Gettin a Mac

Pablito said:
Such a pleasure reading this. Mac and Win folks getting along. Wow. The head of IT at my university is virulently anti-Mac and every so often threatens to ban them from the campus altogether...
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I'm using both. My server and desktop are PC's while my new laptop is a Mac.

The more I play with it the more I prefer it over the PC....😀 😀 😀
 
MelanieC said:
How does one calibrate a monitor?
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There's the easy way (via the color calibration tools built into the OS, i.e. ColorSync on the Mac OS), which can get one pretty close to ideal; or the harder but more precise way (buying and using a calibration kit combining specialized software and a optical calibration tool that reads directly off your monitor, offered by several companies, and even one or two monitor manufacturers). Which one to choose depends on just how fastidious you are about color fidelity from monitor to printer. Thus far, ColorSync alone, tweaked to the proverbial fare-thee-well, works pretty well for my work, but I might end up getting a third-party calibration system at some point, just to get thngs that much tighter.

Also note that, on the printing end of things, HP is starting to make things easier for the end-user by utilizing a self-calibrating, closed-loop color system in its new printers, even the small (by pro standards) B9180 printer, taking more of the guesswork out of good and consistent color output.

But, never mind all this: how about that new iPhone?😉


- Barrett
 
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amateriat said:
But, never mind all this: how about that new iPhone?😉
- Barrett
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The most interesting part of the Apple event is the fact they changed their name to Apple Inc.. They no longer use the word Computer. Makes me wonder if they will shortly stop making computers and make only the MP3 players and phones. Seems that's where the money is.
 
sjw617 said:
The most interesting part of the Apple event is the fact they changed their name to Apple Inc.. They no longer use the word Computer. Makes me wonder if they will shortly stop making computers and make only the MP3 players and phones. Seems that's where the money is.
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Boy, I hope not. No one else seems interested in making anything different than the Wintel system.
I think the big advantage is the operating system, and with so many wanting to run Windows in their new Intel Mac, I wonder how long Mac OS will be around. I sure wouldn't have spent the extra money if I wanted to run Windows, I could'a got a Dell. 😎
 
Windows programing is screwed up in many ways. The next will be a Mac. There is a reason why they are the standard for the graphic arts community.

The other problem is the programing for home use is very lacking. If you get profesional office, things work better, not perfect. All the IT depts are for a reason, they straighten out the mess made by windows.
 
sjw617 said:
The most interesting part of the Apple event is the fact they changed their name to Apple Inc.. They no longer use the word Computer. Makes me wonder if they will shortly stop making computers and make only the MP3 players and phones. Seems that's where the money is.
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With the tremendous effort put into re-imagining the Mac, and extending the OS into new products (and new product categories, which in a way the iPhone and AppleTV are), Apple is in no way set to purge the "computer" aspect of their business. But dropping "computer" from their name (which from a practical standpoint is just simplifying...how many of us have referred to the company as anything other than just "Apple"?), this change signifies how the "computer" has come to be re-defined. Whether we think about it or not we have all kinds of computing devices now, from simple ones in our pockets and bags to the spiffy and powerful ones on our desktops and in our laptop bags and backpacks. (Not to mention cameras...a few years back I got description of the electronics in my otherwise mild-mannered-looking Hexar RFs...indeed, this ain't your daddy's Leica.) They've taken "computer" out of Apple's name, but that's about all.


- Barrett
 
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I just switched less than a week ago and can honestly say I am very happy and have not looked back! It truly is an awesome system!
 
Jorge Torralba said:
I just switched less than a week ago and can honestly say I am very happy and have not looked back! It truly is an awesome system!
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After playing with my Mac laptop I'm at the point of selling off all of my Windows gear and buying a Mac desktop.

Mac is an excellent system and while the thousands of different software titles aren't available for Mac what they do have is more than adequate.
 
I'm a long time user of both...everyday. I need the PC for CAD/CAE apps as the primary system in use by my customer base aren't ported to OSX yet. Kind of silly really as most of them had a BSD ported version for years. I remain hopeful though.

I use the Mac as my machine for everything else. It attaches to the Corp Exchange servers and inter operates with the Win office environment transparently. I generally prefer Keynote to PowerPoint and use inDesign for most of my DP work though.

Managing color is an integral characteristic of the Mac OS and its apps. They've done it well for a long time thus their significant presence in the publishing/creative space.

Melanie-

I'm a big fan of the ColorVision Spyder and Print profiler package for accuracy from screen to output media. It allows for "puck" based screen calibration and then reads scanned output from your printer(s) to generate a device/ink/paper specific profile that can be user selected at output. It's accurate, consistent and ultimately very user friendly for what it does.

Colyn-

Though I tend to favor larger screens for my work, I've been very happy with the 20" iMac Dual Core Intel machine that I've been using of late. With a BT keyboard and mouse it is easy on desk space and a great machine for general use.
 
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I wonder if I should buy a MacBook from apple at its minimum configuration and then upgrade the RAM and HD myself at a lower cost. Would doing that void my warranty?
 
bsdunek said:
Yes, that's the one! They had a lot of potential, although the memory limitation of 64mb was critical. With a G3 processor, 4gb HD, Wi-Fi card, and a few other mods, it served me well for nearly 10 years. 😎
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I'm impressed. And I thought I used my Macs for a long time!

My first Mac was a Classic (beige box, 2.5 MB of RAM!) and it's still going strong in a Peace Corps school in Benin, along with the ImageWriter dot matrix printer I got with it when I started college in 1990.
 
ywenz said:
I wonder if I should buy a MacBook from apple at its minimum configuration and then upgrade the RAM and HD myself at a lower cost. Would doing that void my warranty?
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The RAM, maybe not depending on where the slots are but the HD, probably. Macs have always been pretty user-friendly for upgrades. The last time I upgraded my own RAM was in a PowerBook that had available top and bottom slots. The top slots were accessible right under the keyboard, and installing new RAM in those was within warranty, but installing in the lower slots was out of warranty because a number of things had to be removed in order to reach the bottom slots. It still wasn't very complicated and I did it anyway. I figured that if I had to invoke Applecare I would simply remove the lower slot RAM before getting my laptop serviced.
 
ywenz said:
I wonder if I should buy a MacBook from apple at its minimum configuration and then upgrade the RAM and HD myself at a lower cost. Would doing that void my warranty?
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It will void the standard one-year warranty if you do it yourself. You can usually buy standard RAM and pay an authorized Apple shop to install it for less than the extra RAM costs pre-installed.

Personally, I've never worried much about those warranties.

1. Do a good job of installing the RAM and they are unlikely to notice, unless they have added software that tracks RAM installs and they ask you to produce a receipt for the work. That seems far-fetched, but not impossible I'm sure.

2. Not a whole lot is covered by the warranty that's likely to affect a non-first-generation machine.
 
I just want to make sure Apple doesn't put indicator stickers inside the laptop that would tear if you try to open or service it in anyway...
 
ywenz said:
I just want to make sure Apple doesn't put indicator stickers inside the laptop that would tear if you try to open or service it in anyway...
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The macbook looks very user friendly as far as ram and HD upgrade. See this LINK
It is lightyears beyond the old white ibook I that I spent hours taking apart to replace the old hard drive.

I've never bought a mac, and I have half-a-dozen of various vintage, with any extra factory installed ram because Apple tends to be very over the market price. However, when I bought my aluminum powerbook I did order it with the factory installed super-drive upgrade.

Take care,
Michael
 
I would like to add that when you are a student or teacher, apple will give you a discount. However, they do charge you your state's sale tax. If you don't need a machine with any factory installed options then amazon would be a better choice since they often have rebates on apple machines, and they don't charge sales tax.

Michael
 
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