Simon C

I'm looking at buying a new laptop. I want it for a photo editor as well as a mobile office and the odd bit of video editing. Now the reason for a loptop over a base unit is that I will be taking it on board boats (diver) so need the portability. How would something like the powerbook or Ibook range handle this?. I have had the chance to play with both and put them up against the PC varient. Now learning Mac's OS doen't bother me, but would mean buying all new software is the big put off.

Cheers
Simon

angrynorth

Software wise, most of it you will have to buy again but some software you can transfer the license to a OSX license. There is loads of freeware out for the Mac too, some of which is absolutley exceptional Quicksilver being the most amazing You also have all the usual P2P software running under different names such as Limewire, Poisoned eDonkey...

The PowerBook will handle the video editing well especially with a little extra RAM and the iBook feels more robust than the PB but actually isn't.

About the video and photo editing, buying software for this really depends on how far you want to take things, the free iLife suite that comes with new machines is phenomenal, each piece of software integrates well with any other and you can steam through high level stuff really easy.

If you want to go pro on it, short of an Avid suite, there is no better editing tool than Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro is excellent and After Effects 6.5 is great too, although After Effects will be running scared now that Motion is out at only £200.

All in all, when you get one of these machines you will not regret moving over and you won't miss a thing.

Simon C

I use Adobe premier 6 for the film thing at the moment. I'm not into it in a big way, just compling films of dive trips to use as enticment when we try and recruit new members. As long as ilife will do this then I wont need to look else where.

My main programmes are office and photoshop. everything else I have is freeware and can get for the mac, like yahoo messenger.

Another point, how easy is it to network a Mac and a PC?

angrynorth

Networking 9/10 times just turn them both on and they will see each other. You may need to turn on Windows sharing in the security tab in System Preferences, but that's usually it.

iLife isn't quite as advanced as Premier but it does a very good job of outputting much of what AP can but for nowt and simpler. Its all drag and drop and realtime too http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/ Adding music and photos to video projects is as simple a dragging them in from iTunes or iPhoto. Like I said before though, the Pro app Final Cut Pro spanks premier all over the show, so if you want that bit more then you would need to go for that.

Photoshop is good on the Mac, and I know Adobe were one of the companies that let you transfer the license, not too sure whether they still do though. Office is excellent, even Mr Gates himself was quoted as saying it was better on the Mac than the Windows version. The Microsoft Mac business unit are excellent.

www.demomac.com <<taste of whats to come. Remember that a full screen 1024 X 768 35fps video is being captured at the same time this Mac is doing all this stuff

Markus

Bear in mind that the machine is probably a top-end Dual G5, with max ram installed

Your average ibook/iMac won't be that quick, but pretty quick.

angrynorth

Its my mac, dual 1.8 with 1.5 gig ram and the nVidia GeForce 5200 64meg video card. It is also running in fast user switching mode with my normal account logged in with Photoshop, Illustrator, Mail and Safari open. I was trying to figure out how to capture the switch too but couldn't get it.

Saying that though, I too, doubt that a PowerBook or iBook will match the speed you see there but you won't be a far off with bit of ram considering the PB graphics card is at least as good as mine and the PB will take 1.5 gigs of ram. You will still get the same experience though.

AllanB

If you want a powerbook let me know as we have one machine returned to us with a single dead pixel on the bottom lefthand ofn the screen by onwe of our best customers. As he had turned it on we would not resell this as new unlike some places so we were offering this at a big discount.

Try an dlet me know in thr next day or so at allan.bayman@eu.mwhse.com. I work at MacWarehouse BTW

If you go down the Mac route I think you'll love the reliablilty and how everything integrates so seamlessly. Ease of use is amazing. I took a 17"( big big for lugging around all day)to the Rally Of Wales and filmed some of the stages, edited them in iMovie and had them on a CD in about 20 minutes

If you want to see one in action and like cricket we have a corporate event at Lords Cricket club on the 17th of Sept ( Friday) which you'd be welcome to come along too so you can see the Apple kit in the flesh and get answers to any questions you might have.

AllanB

Markus

I stand corrected then Mr North

angrynorth

For my new site, when I finally get round to doing it. Decided I get asked what OSX is like so may times I thought I would put together a video library of some of the stuff you can do, that you don't get with the PC's. Scoobynet makes it into the video near the end.

One day I will get round to finishing it.

Simon C

Cheers for the answers, guess I'm looking at a big splash into a new world. Allan, thank you for the kind offer, but I'm stuck in work that day and I can't get out of it. Watch out home pc your getting a baby brother.

Simon

RichB

Allan, tried mailing yu but it fails for some reason....
Sent you a PM, can you let me know your thoughts.
Cheers,
Rich