Which computer?

[Curt]

I'm using a Sony Vaio notebook computer right now, what are you using for you scanning / printing work?

Curt

[Walt Calahan]

A Mac Pro

http://www.apple.com/macpro/

[pellicle]

thinkpad for some things a black box that sits on the floor for others. (dual core AMD thinggy with 4Gig of ram and a couple of 250Gig SATA disks)

[Worker 11811]

I use a Mac Pro but regardless of your hardware vendor and operating system choice, if you are going to edit photos, you will need lots of memory and hard drive space. A fast CPU is, of course, a good thing to have but you can do with a little slower computer if you have enough memory and space to store your photos.

Terabyte HDs are getting cheap. $100.00 US for a 1 TB drive right now. RAM is pretty cheap too.

[Curt]

Yes the drives are getting a lot more affordable these days compared to what a hundred dollars bought ten or fifteen years ago. I've never owned a Mac, what price range would I be looking at for a PS model, do they all have the one button mouse, I have a MS optical mouse with four buttons and a wheel.

[Worker 11811]

The new mice that ship with Macs are called "Magic Mouse." It's a multi-touch thing that allows scrolling and gestures on a seamless touch sensitive surface. It LOOKS like it's a one button device but it's actually got many functions.

Check it out here: http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/

I'm not sold on it yet but I have not had a chance to really try it out. I only played with it in the Apple Store.

The mouse I have is the "Mighty Mouse." It is a 4-button, X-Y scroll mouse. It takes some getting used to but, once you do, it is very natural to use.

If you want to use your existing mouse on a Mac it is usually possible to do so. Almost any USB mouse will work. Some of the functions might not work. You can often download a driver from the manufacturer's website which will make all the functions work. 95% of the time I have been able to make any random mouse work. You might just have to do some homework.

If you're doing Photoshop and/or graphics work it is worth it to look into a graphics tablet. I have a Wacom tablet. It is a godsend for doing retouching and spotting work. Entry level tablets can be had for $99.00.

http://wacom.com/index.html

An entry level Mac Pro will start at about $2,500.00 US. But for extra software like Photoshop you will probably have everything you need. So the entry cost is higher but once you are running you should not need extra stuff unless you want it.

If you want something a little less expensive an iMac will run you about $1,200.00 US. Again, once you install PS and any extra peripherals you should be ready to run.

The down side to the iMac is that it is an all-in-one machine. The Mac Pro has four modular hard drive bays inside. Just open the cover and slide it in. Hard drives can be installed in 90 seconds. RAM is upgradeable too. With the iMac you will have to use external hard drives. You can upgrade RAM on an iMac but it's not as straightforward.

If you are a PC guy (or a Linux guy) and you are thinking about getting a Mac I suggest going to an Apple Store and getting your hands on one before you take the plunge. Their sales people can give you a lot of help. You can test drive a couple of different models and see what you like or don't like.

Nowadays, a computer is a computer. They are all becoming more and more the same every day. What's really important is what we talked about above. Get lots of HD space and lots of RAM. If you want, an upgraded video card is a good thing to have as well.

The bottom line is, no matter what system you choose, you should buy as much computer as you can afford and not "cheap-out." The extra money you spend will help you in the long run. You have less chance of ending up having to spend more money upgrading a computer to do what you want and, with luck, you should be able to use a given machine for a longer time if it has more capability to start with.

I kept my last Mac running for over 10 years before I upgraded because I bought the best I could afford right out of the gate. Had I bought a cheaper model I would not have gotten that kind of "value per year" out of it. That doesn't just apply to Macs but many people keep their Macs longer than they would a similar PC.

[bob carnie]

I work with a Mac pro loaded to the max and G5.
A couple of G4's spread around driving the scanners and I mac for bookeeping.
Our lambda is driven by a PC that is Unix based with a Cheeta rip unit that kicks ass.

Looking forward to my leases to expire and then load up with more toys.

[Curt]

For graphics it looks like a Mac world. I'll be checking them out.

[livemoa]

I work with a PC that was built for me by a local shop. It's "optimised" for photoshop, dedicated, fast hard drive as a scratch disc, lots of RAM and a fast dual core cpu. It fly's, cost less than a mac, and I'm happy.

[Curt]

I work with a PC that was built for me by a local shop. It's "optimised" for photoshop, dedicated, fast hard drive as a scratch disc, lots of RAM and a fast dual core cpu. It fly's, cost less than a mac, and I'm happy.

Can you tell me a little more about the PC you had built? I had one made to order back in the '90's which was great for quite a while. I've done repairs and upgrades on computers, drives, ram, power supplies, tape backups, cpu's etc., Then I got a notebook and filled up the ram and changed the drive to a larger one. It's getting time to start again.

I'm doing fine with the Epson 4990 scanner and the Epson R1900 printer with my notebook and PS but storage is going to be a problem and only so much can be added to the notebook in the way of software.

Ansel Adams, Paul Strand, Edward Weston, Brett Weston, and all those photographers in their time never had this much to consider did they? They only had to worry about small things like eating, no cable bill, phone bill, Internet bill, gas, garbage, sewer, water, todays taxes and the modern cost of living. How things have changed in the last fifty years or so.