PC user looking at Macs

[jay_chadney]

<p>I am a PC user, but itching for a new laptop. What if I bought a MacBook as a way to get me into macs. My desktop will need replacing soon, and then I could get a Mac desktop. But my question is: How does running Photoshop differ when running on a mac vs a PC?<br />If I bought into mac, I would need to be able to run my PC version of CS2, maybe Office 2003, and Quickbooks 2009. Would I see any difference or gain anything by using a mac?</p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>You can run Windows on a Mac using Bootcamp or in a virtual window, and consequently any Windows application (including Photoshop). If this were a newer version of Photoshop, you could get a Mac version from Adobe. They are very accommodating in this regard. I don't know if there are any performance hits compared to a PC, and the Fanboys wouldn't admit it if there were.</p>

<p>Macs tend to have shiny monitors, which most people find less suitable for photo editing than a matte screen.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>versions of Office and Quickbooks run natively on the Mac OS, but there is no particular hit to booting Windows onto a Mac (nowadays, the processors are the same anyhow) except for the vulnerabilities and other stuff than make most Mac users happy to not have to run Windows.<br>

I have worked with Photoshop on both platforms and up til last year at least, and still for all I know, PS runs more smoothly on the Mac OS. There are Mac versions of CS2 but I'm not sure Adobe is so nice that they still support a swap for that. I am still using CS3, but plan to do the upgrade to CS5 after it settles down a little. There are real improvements by the time that you've skipped two upgrades, much less 3.</p>

[dan_south]

<p>I'm a Mac user and I love Macs, but if you're a PC person, what do you think you'll gain by switching? If you already know Windows well and the PC platform works for you, I would just upgrade to a new Windows PC. Macs are great, but unless you try using one for a while and say, "Eureka, this for for ME!" I don't think it's worth the expense and learning curve to make the switch.</p>

 

[monika_epsefass]

<blockquote>

<p>How does running Photoshop differ when running on a mac vs a PC?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>It differs by a lot of money, above all. That's one of the real big differences - be prepared to pay more money for software. Other than that, it's not sooo much different. One of the things you'll never notice, though, is the permanent harassment of Windows to upgrade, upgrade, restart, upgrade. Never had such troubles on a Mac.<br>

Dan South is right: what is the gain? Unless you say you want to abstain completely from Microsoft and its programmes, stay there.</p>

[ann_clancy6]

<p>I went through this process about 18 months ago and went into a local Apple store to ask some question etc. They told me that with the software i had on hand , and my workflo, to continue using a PC, as yes i could run parallel but would lose all the features that people find so attractive with a MAC.</p>

<p>Needless to say, i was a bit surprised, but appreciated their honesty.<br>

In May i am taking a workshop and they use MAC's so, it will be interested to see what will happen with the learning curve.</p>

[jay_chadney]

<p>Thanks a lot for all the help. It sounds like I need to wait a bit and when I am ready to upgrade software then that may be the time to look at switching platforms.<br>

Jay</p>

[patricklavoie]

<blockquote>

<p>How does running Photoshop differ when running on a mac vs a PC?</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Same exact thing.. only need to repalce control + (letter) by command + (letter) as your shortcut.. other then that it the same thing.</p>

<p>For the rest, Dan have a good answer ; )</p>

<blockquote>

<p> </p>

</blockquote>

[carbon_dragon]

<p>I wouldn't recommend running photoshop in bootcamp or parallels. You can do it, but I don't like to have to decide what to boot into and I had the windows partition corrupt on me while running against the partition in parallels. I guess what I'm saying is you're better off cross upgrading to the Mac version if you decide to go that route. There's no reason you have to.</p>

<p>There are two advantages to Macs. One is less worry about viruses and spyware. The second is you run Aperture which I think is a great program. But there will be a learning curve.</p>

[patricklavoie]

<p>Being a Mac user, i have to add something to that;</p>

<p>1_One is less worry about viruses and spyware. / by getting a good anti virus and make sure it is up to date you can live a happy life on a PC too.</p>

<p>2_you run Aperture which I think is a great program / Yes it is, but why not get Lightroom witch i find better and faster, and work on both platform ; )</p>

[digitaldog]

<blockquote>

<p>How does running Photoshop differ when running on a mac vs a PC?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>In terms of the app, zero difference. And the scare tactics about software cost , well you can get a side grade, often for free from companies that have multiple OS products. You’re probably going to upgrade to CS5 anyway, its 64 bit and will love all the RAM you can fit into the Mac, so in terms of this product, its moot. Lastly, as pointed out, you can run Windows on the Macbook as well; best of both worlds. Consumer Reports among others have reported very high (highest) satisfaction ratings for support from Apple over the other companies for several years now. IOW, there’s pretty much zero disadvantages to switching other than having to get hip to a new (some would say superior) OS. </p>

[john_demott]

<p>As others have explained, Photoshop is essentially identical for both Windows and Mac. If you have the current version of Photoshop, Adobe will allow you to switch from PC to Mac or vice versa, free of charge and will even send you replacement disks for a nominal charge. If you are running an older version of Photoshop, you have to upgrade to the current version to qualify for the switch.</p>

<p>For reasons that are unclear to me, Adobe will not let you run one copy of Photoshop on Windows and a second copy on a Mac without purchasing two licenses, even though either a Windows or Mac license will allow you to run a second copy on your laptop or backup computer. For some reason, Adobe requires both machines to be on the same platform--you have to agree to destroy the first version in order to get the license for the new version. I don't know about Quickbooks, but Quicken on the Mac is very much inferior to the Windows version.</p>

<p>FWIW, I switched from PC to Mac about a year and a half ago. I'm generally happy and find that things work fine, but I wouldn't claim that it was a life changing experience.</p>

[geoffrey_barnes]

<p>I purchased a new 27" iMac i5 last January after being a PC since the beginning of Windows. I have a lot of friends with Macs and they go on and on about how great they are so I broke down.<br>

<strong>Pros:</strong> I love the aesthetics. It just looks like it's going to make your life simple. The keyboard and mouse are so tiny but very usable. It was hard to get used to but I swear it cured my carpel tunnel. The display is what made me finally switch. A display like that costs over $1000 anyway and here you are getting a good machine along with it.<br>

<strong>Cons:</strong> Since it is an all-in-one you are limited to what upgrades you can make, especially hard drive space. Desktop PCs and even Desktop Macs let you add hard drives. You only have one bay in the iMac. It's true that PCs are more prone to viruses and shutdowns due to updates but my iMac likes to lock up and display this pretty colored pinwheel where my cursor used to be. Sometimes it works itself out after several minutes but it usually requires a restart. Mine was slow when running Photoshop so I had to put down more money to get up to 8 gigs of RAM to get things running smoother.<br>

If you go Mac, then go all the way. File sharing may be easy but it is not fast and the waiting will drive you nuts. I built a Network Attached Storage to try to transition but that was futile. Kiss most of your PC software goodbye too. If one thing goes wrong with your Imac then you have to take the whole thing in. You cant just open it and replace the problem component. I am sure you could try but do you want to risk breaking the glass and then breaking the LCD panel to get to the guts?<br>

I am typing this now on my PC. My iMac is frozen again and this time it will not restart. I have an appointment today at 6:54pm with a Mac Genius at the Apple Store. I have had two previous Mac genius encounters. Apple has redefined the word genius from its original meaning to: a guy just out of college who may or may not have owned a Mac. I'm sure it is something I did wrong but I have had it with the Mac. I am going to have them restore it to out of the box condition and I am going to sell it. My PC may be 3 years old and only have 4 gigs of RAM but it swims circles around my Mac even with it's on-board graphics. My name is Jeff and I guess I am just a PC.</p>

<p> </p>