PC to Mac & Lightroom

[Martin_Doudoroff]

Originally Posted by Ken Little

So, I started down the path of considering a MacBook Pro (lower end, but with 4GB memory) and a 23" Cinema Display. This would be my primary system, but I cold unplug and use the MacBook Pro solo, if traveling.

In my experience, that full 4GB of RAM is really important for running Photoshop and Lightroom. The difference between a 2.2Ghz and 2.4Ghz processor is comparatively irrelevant. In other words, I think you're on the right track.

Two recommendations:

1) if you can find a way to swing it, I highly encourage you to buy a 30" monitor instead. You can never have too much screen real estate in this business, and unless the monitor won't fit in your workspace, you are extremely unlikely to regret the investment. Keep in mind that your monitor should last through at two or three computers.

2) The AppleCare extended warranty for your laptop is an absolute must. Don't consider forgoing it for a second.

Originally Posted by Ken Little

1) Are the problems with Lightroom and Leopard only with the Apple version of Lightroom?

I believe most of the problems have been addressed, and the rest should dissipate over the next 30-60 days. One exception is that I haven't seen any serious analysis of the compatibility between Time Machine and Lightroom. Of course, you're under no obligation to use Time Machine, and since it's a first-generation tool, it might be wiser to avoid it until it has matured more.

Originally Posted by Ken Little

2) Is anyone running Lightroom successfully through Parallels/XP configuration on a Mac or Mackbook Pro?

This does not sound like a good plan to me at all. If you want to run Lightroom under OS X, contact Adobe about converting your Windows Lightroom license to an OS X license. You can do the same with your Photoshop license. Contact Adobe Customer Service at 800-833-6687 (US and Canada).

Originally Posted by Ken Little

3) If there are problems in my proposed configuration (besides running slow and using the Mac as a Windows machine temporarily), what are they and can they be overcome?

Seems pretty reasonable to me. You might save a few bucks buying a Dell monitor instead of the Apple monitor. The top-end Dell monitors are usually functionally equivalent.

Originally Posted by Ken Little

4) Will my external hard drives (Western Digital) and printers (Epson 340) work with a MacBook Pro? I think I read that there are sometimes issues with how your hard drive is configured (FAT vs. NTFS).

The Epson Stylus R340 driver is pre-installed in Leopard.

Your hard drive situation may require some experimentation. In the worst-case scenario, you may need to acquire some additional blank drives and copy files from the old drives to the new ones.

Originally Posted by Ken Little

5) Any other ideas or advice is certainly welcomed!

The Mac is not a panacea, but it does deliver a lot of value. The broader your computer use is, the more its advantages will be felt.

If you have an OEM Windows XP SP2 install disk already, then you will have what you need to set up Boot Camp on your new Mac. I encourage you to do so: it's easy to set up, and it provides a familiar fall-back position. Parallels and VMWare are fascinating, but they cost money to license and are somewhat trickier to set up and employ. I'm quite skeptical of their value to someone in the digital imaging business.

If you have other Windows software (besides Photoshop and Lightroom) that you are concerned with replacing, I will be happy to appraise you of your options.

[Ken Little]

Thanks Martin for the detailed response. I need to figure how to use quotes like you did in your reply, so as to better respond to future replies.

Thanks for acknowledging the RAM requirement and making me feel better about going with the 2.2Ghz. I was reading somewhere that having the 7200rpm hard drive also made a difference over the 5400rpm drive. But, I can't afford to spend another $650 to get this and the 2.4Ghz performance. Additionally, while I would LOVE a 30" Cinema display, it is twice as expensive as the 23" version. So Dell monitors run on the MacBook Pro at about the same resolution?

Thanks for the advice on getting AppleCare. Had not considered this.

Regarding contacting Adobe about converting my LIghtroom license to an OS X license, I think I read that users of Raw Shooter Premium, who received upgrades to Lightroom, weren't eligible for upgrades and such. Of course one doesn't know until they try!

On the hard drive front, I even thought about a Drobo with interchangeable hard drives, which I could NTSF format for use with the Mac.

Thanks also for the comments on VMware & Parallels and willingness to help with other Windows software. It appears my money spent for joining ProPhotoHome is a wise investment, as where else can you get so much information so fast and have a place to help others as well. Thanks again Martin!

[Martin_Doudoroff]

Originally Posted by Ken Little

Thanks Martin for the detailed response. I need to figure how to use quotes like you did in your reply, so as to better respond to future replies.

Unfortunately, it's a total pain in the neck. You have to copy and paste the bracketed markup all over the place.

Originally Posted by Ken Little

Thanks for acknowledging the RAM requirement and making me feel better about going with the 2.2Ghz. I was reading somewhere that having the 7200rpm hard drive also made a difference over the 5400rpm drive. But, I can't afford to spend another $650 to get this and the 2.4Ghz performance. Additionally, while I would LOVE a 30" Cinema display, it is twice as expensive as the 23" version. So Dell monitors run on the MacBook Pro at about the same resolution?

With LCD monitors, all that matters is native resolution. One of these should work fine with the Mac Book Pro, and it provides the exact same 2560x1600 resolution as the 30" Apple Cinema Display. Chances are pretty good it's exactly the same LCD panel in a different case with slightly different electronics.

Originally Posted by Ken Little

Thanks for the advice on getting AppleCare. Had not considered this.

No joke. If you have one single repair problem on a laptop, AppleCare has paid for itself.

Originally Posted by Ken Little

Regarding contacting Adobe about converting my LIghtroom license to an OS X license, I think I read that users of Raw Shooter Premium, who received upgrades to Lightroom, weren't eligible for upgrades and such. Of course one doesn't know until they try!

Please report your experience.

Originally Posted by Ken Little

On the hard drive front, I even thought about a Drobo with interchangeable hard drives, which I could NTSF format for use with the Mac.

Drobo is expensive and USB-only. You will not be using NTFS with OS X. NTFS is a poorly-documented proprietary Microsoft file system, and last I checked, no non-Windows platform has more than dubious support for it. You are probably going to use the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system for most purposes. If you set up a Boot Camp volume, it could be NTFS, but you will probably be better off using FAT32 to facilitate read/write to that volume whilst running OS X.

[Noel_Carboni]

FYI, I bought the Applecare plan.

-Noel

[Ken Little]

With LCD monitors, all that matters is native resolution. One of these should work fine with the Mac Book Pro, and it provides the exact same 2560x1600 resolution as the 30" Apple Cinema Display. Chances are pretty good it's exactly the same LCD panel in a different case with slightly different electronics.

Good info to know and thanks for the link. I noted that the Dell also had extra USB connections and built-in card reader, which would be handy if using the MacBook Pro as my desktop replacements since it has very few USBs and they caome out of the side of the Macbook Pro. Of course, the Cinema Display may also have these features.

No joke. If you have one single repair problem on a laptop, AppleCare has paid for itself.

With AppleCare, do you have to mail the unit in, or can you take it to your local Apple Retail Store? Or, do they remote into your computer and fix online?

You will not be using NTFS with OS X. NTFS is a poorly-documented proprietary Microsoft file system, and last I checked, no non-Windows platform has more than dubious support for it. You are probably going to use the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system for most purposes. If you set up a Boot Camp volume, it could be NTFS, but you will probably be better off using FAT32 to facilitate read/write to that volume whilst running OS X.

It turns out that my Western Digital "book-like" drives are all three FAT32 formatted. Do I still have to reformat to use with OS-X? I guess I get confused, if I am running both operating systems on one computer, can I use my FAT32 hard drive for use with both systems, or do I have to use one drive for one system and one for another?

Drobo is expensive and USB-only.

I guess that since I already had three hard drives running off USB ports from my existing configuration, that a Drobo would be a viable option, having numerous hard drives, plugged into just one port. Also that I could use it as a backup mechanism, somewhat like a RAID.

Thanks again for all the help!

[Martin_Doudoroff]

Originally Posted by Ken Little

With AppleCare, do you have to mail the unit in, or can you take it to your local Apple Retail Store? Or, do they remote into your computer and fix online?

You take your machine to your local Apple Store or a local authorized service center.

Originally Posted by Ken Little

It turns out that my Western Digital "book-like" drives are all three FAT32 formatted. Do I still have to reformat to use with OS-X? I guess I get confused, if I am running both operating systems on one computer, can I use my FAT32 hard drive for use with both systems, or do I have to use one drive for one system and one for another?

The FAT32 drives should work with both OSs. The point of confusion may be that to set up Boot Camp, you have to set aside a small (but adequate) volume for the Windows installation.

Originally Posted by Ken Little

I guess that since I already had three hard drives running off USB ports from my existing configuration, that a Drobo would be a viable option, having numerous hard drives, plugged into just one port. Also that I could use it as a backup mechanism, somewhat like a RAID.

I would be surprised if the Drobo was fast enough over a USB connection for doing daily work efficiently, but I'm a little out of my depth. As I see it, you're going to be working with a large Lightroom database, so you're probably going to want that sitting on the absolute fastest external drive you can set up. You might want to read this and this. Perhaps some of the other folks on this forum who use Mac Book Pros can chime in with their experiences, too? (I use a Mac Pro, not a laptop.)

[Ken Little]

Thanks for taking the time to educate. The Drobo is not something I have to have now, but will be studying my options. The links you provided appear to provide options that would provide similar benefits and better speed. Thanks again Martin for taking all the time! I can't wait to get my Mac!

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