Apple iMac?

Mark Morb said:
Well, I was all set to order the iMac last night but during my extensive reading through various Mac forums I discovered that Macworld the big Mac show is on Jan 15th.
No one is expecting a new iMac to be launched but there are rumblings that they may increase the power of the current range due to Intel's new chipset and/or lower the price slightly.
For the sake of three weeks I think I'll hang on a bit....:|
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The aluminium iMac has the latest chip set and has just been upgraded so it is unlikely to actually get any upgrades in January. Apple might surprise us though but I doubt it! The Mac PRO is likely to be updated and there is currently no HD DVD or Blu-ray option in the range which is also likely to change.
 
Chappers said:
I've used Mac's and PC's . Only draw back is switching to a Mac after a PC you keep looking for the right mouse button.
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Then USE the right hand mouse button! All current Apple mice HAVE a right hand mouse button. You go into preferences and turn it on. You can even turn on an option so that you can right click by tapping the touchpad and button at the same time on the laptops.
 
This is an interesting thread. I do not need to upgrade just now, but I can't see my current PC suiting me in say 4 or 5 months time. I need a monstor sized screen, I use an integrated 32" PC at home (Elonex Lumina), and a Dell 26" at work, so screen size is very important. I think Macs look absolutely stunning and would suit a modern and minimilast home.

Also after upgrading to Vista on 3 machines, and immediatly re-upgrading to XP, Windows may have finally run its course for the time being!

Whats the largest screen size for the mac monitors? What resolution?

Gary.
 
EdinburghGary said:
Just been the Apple Store for a look. Not cheap!!!
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lol, you aint kidding but I'm still going to go for it...I've had permission from her who wields ultimate authority.

Pretty good Christmas for me as I bought my Pentax K10D a couple of weeks ago together with the obligatory initial splurge (tripod/bag/filters/books/memory cards/remote control/spare battery/ etc, etc!!!) :nuts:
 
John Lewis has them in stock, but I think not as powerful as the model on the Apple Store.

Gary.
 
W.Smith said:
If it doesn't bother the pros, should you be worried?
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Don't know if a pro uses a Imac or not, I would have thought they would go with a mac pro and dedicated monitor.

There's a thread on avforums which mentions this problem, this is what the guy said:

'The screen is a more purer white on the far left of the screen and a warmer colour on the right.

This is very easy to re-create in a shop if you want to look for yourself in person, setup the desktop to one of the B&W images like mine (right click or CTRL + click on desktop), then take a screen grab of said desktop(shift+cmd+3), now if you open this screen grab with preview, you can move it around the screen and compare how the colour actually changes with the actual desktop image.

I only discovered my problem when I was about to go to print with my iMac adverts, I thought I had the white balance totally different on one of the shots as I was comparing them side by side, both came back fine from print.'
 
EdinburghGary said:
Whats the largest screen size for the mac monitors? What resolution?

Gary.
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30" monitors are the largest Apple sells but they all have DVI ports so will take ANY PC monitors at all.

The MacBook PRO and Mac PRO have AT LEAST ONE Dual-Link DVI port (these will directly drive a 30" monitor at 2560X1920 !!)

The Mac Pro's standard graphics card is a 7300 which will ONLY DRIVE ONE dual-link monitor so you are limited to 2 x 23/24" monitors or 1 x 30" monitor (at maximum res) OR 2 x 30" monitors at 1920X1600

ANY of the optional graphics cards for the Mac Pro will drive TWO dual-link monitors so my X1900 will drive DUAL 30" monitors both at 2560X1920 !!

All the other computers and laptops are non dual-link so will only drive 30" monitors at 1920X1600 or 23/24" at their native resolutions which are as above.

One last thing ALWAYS buy a Mac pro with the best graphics card you can. It is expensive to change the card later and they MUST be specific Apple cards (Unless you want to start hacking the bios on them)
 
If anybody is buying an Apple and wants more specific advice such as memory configs, upgrading memory/hard drives etc just PM me.
 
One other point to consider on the 'Mac's are expensive' is that they traditionally have a much higher resale value than equivalent spec PC's, which can offset the initial high price.

Despite having played around with stuff on PC's (graphics/photos/music recording etc) I can honestly say that I never really 'used' a computer until I switched to Mac's.
 
Kasalic said:
One other point to consider on the 'Mac's are expensive' is that they traditionally have a much higher resale value than equivalent spec PC's, which can offset the initial high price.

Despite having played around with stuff on PC's (graphics/photos/music recording etc) I can honestly say that I never really 'used' a computer until I switched to Mac's.
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I couldn't agree more. How many 2 year old Windows PCs costing £1700-2000 do you see selling on ebay for more than a £1000! Check out Apple Mac Pro G5s! In fact check out any second hand Apple machines!!
 
Arnt Mac's supposed to be better for editing Photo's/Music and video?? faster ect??
 
fraggle101 said:
Arnt Mac's supposed to be better for editing Photo's/Music and video?? faster ect??
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I prefer the Mac due to how bloated Windows has become (this is mainly due to it being so open - anybody can build peripherals for it so it has to handle so much stuff and you don't have the same level of expertise or knowledge with the programmers from different companies).

Windows therefore runs slower than MacOS for the same processor (I have several of each machine).

The major software from companies like Adobe is virtually identical on both machines. (in operation)

I have a Mac pro with QUAD Xeon 2.66GHz processors and it has a basic price of £1699. Try buying a motherboard, PSU and the processors to build a Windows machine of the same spec and you will run out of money just on these without the case, OS, keyboard, mouse, optical drive, HD, graphics card etc... Obviously the extras are the same price on both machines Hard drives, Ram, Monitors etc

Either Windows or MacOS machines are very capable of running CS3, lightroom etc etc but with the Apple machines the total cost of owning them is less and they look better plus historically the image editing software has been better.
 
Just my 2p's worth. I love Macs. I trained at art college on one and have never considered buying a PC since.

I am using last year's 17" white iMac, and it performs flawlessly. I love all those tiny design details, like the little remote control for the monotor that attaches to the side of the unit by a magnet and just hovers there, oh and the little ball on the mouse that lets you scroll horizontally and vertically one pixel at a time - really useful for finely editing images...the list goes on...its just so well desined.
I never realise how much of a geek I am. Forget it! keep your PC, you will turn into a design loving, geek who wants to stay in and surf the net rather than go out and freeze your socks off.:naughty:
 
Im tempted with a Mac.. im soo fed up with Windows!!...
 
fraggle101 said:
Im tempted with a Mac.. im soo fed up with Windows!!...
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Ring the Apple shop up and explain what you are interested in and then arrange an appointment with one of the "Apple Geniuses" they can go through all the options and show you the software. Once you buy you can keep ringing and getting appointments and get help on any software or hardware. Its a totally different experience to owning a PC!
 
Could someone please answer a few questions regarding Macs (I've been thinking about going over to one but as yet not made my mind up) and editing software. I see that Adobe brought out Photoshop Elements 4 (Mac) earlier this year. Has anyone had any experience with this programme especially in editing RAW images ie:

a) Can the Raw files be converted into 16 bit TIFF files.
b) Does it allow for exposure correction.
c) Does it deal with Canon CR2 RAW files or is an update required.
d) Does the software supplied with the Mac recognise RAW and Tiff files.

By the way this is what I'm looking at https://www.krcs.co.uk/shop/product/details/imac-20-inch-2-0ghz-core2duo-1g250-ati128mb
Thanks for looking.
 
lammie said:
d) Does the software supplied with the Mac recognise RAW and Tiff files.

By the way this is what I'm looking at https://www.krcs.co.uk/shop/product/details/imac-20-inch-2-0ghz-core2duo-1g250-ati128mb
Thanks for looking.
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TIFFs are standard files and PCs,Macs & pretty much everything else works with them. RAW files are somewhat different. A RAW files is specific to the camera model and so you need to check each specific model against the computer software you are thinking about. iPhoto does support RAW files from most Canon and Nikon cameras. It certainly works with my D200 but as the D40x was new it did not work with that but I am lead to believe it now works with that too.


As for the iMac you are looking for, yes that seems like a reasonable choice but again go and spoeak to them at the Apple centre. I would go for 1Gb Ram and upgrade it yourself. 2Gb costs about £35 now and 4Gb can be had for about £75. They are VERY easy to install and it does not affect your warranty!

iPhoto is a good piece of software. I would arrange a visit to the Apple centre with your camera and go from there.
 
Thanks for the info cowasaki, if I decide to get one they are doing the extra 1GB Ram free up until the end of December.
 
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