leftj Loc: Texas

You're expressing your own needs again.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Hey, I thought comic relief was your contribution to this thread. I can't seem to find anything from you other than wisecracks and running commentary that I believe only you find amusing. Anyway, I do recognize and applaud your efforts, but I wouldn't pursue a career in comedy if I were you.

leftj Loc: Texas

Looks like you just described yourself.

wds0410 Loc: Nunya

As you can see there are some opinions on this subject so I will give you my two cents.

I don't use Lightroom or any other Adobe product if I can avoid it but I made the switch to Apple four years ago after leaving the corporate world. Yes, it costs more but I wouldn't go back to Windows even if any PC enthusiast specd it out, installed it, promised to maintain it and pay for it.

Suffice to say I'm a happy Apple user who doesn't regret the switch one bit. My experience shows that Apple stuff just works and the learning curve was pretty small. I use a Macbook pro with a 15 inch retina screen, 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 with 16GB memory. I think it cost me $2k in 2014.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI

I used a PC for years; but, when I got serious about pp and had learned Lightroom, I got the 27” iMac. I really hated Windows 10 & the PC had become unreliable.

Like you, I love the Apple and replaced my VERY slow Toshiba with a MacBook Pro. I’m still getting used to the track pad and so far it’s been a great machine. Although it was pricey, I wanted everything Apple.

I only edit pictures on the MacBook when I am away from home, though

tomcat

PC guy keeps wanting to use cost as a crutch and a reason for not purchasing a Mac, like we care. They just don't seem to realize that we Apple "cores" just don't care about the cost. We want the quality, the dependability, and the usefulness. Like with a Shelby GT, I don't care that it costs $30,000 than the average Mustang. I would buy it because I wanted it and same way with my Apple stuff. I absolutely don't care about the cost. When I have a problem, which is rare, I have AppleCare to support me. Who do the PC folks call? The time I had a PC and a software problem, none of the 3 vendors would accept the blame: neither Microsoft, HP, or McAfee. So I took a hammer and ended the misery. Bought a Mac and will never regret the decision. PC folks just don't get it---we don't care about the cost--obviously we have the money........ So quit using cost and quit using upgrades as a reason for your PC snootiness in not wanting to make the switch. When I need to upgrade, I just buy a new machine and keep on working.

wds0410 Loc: Nunya

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

Hold down the Windows Key on the keyboard (between Ctrl and Alt on the bottom left) and then press the E key. This will open "File Explorer" If you click on "This PC" on the left, you'll see all of the drives on your computer, including any flash drive you inserted. Opening these drives will show you the contents.[/quote]

Hot damn; thanks therwol! Since I haven't touched Windows in two years I felt like an idiot not being able to even view an alternate drive on my sister's laptop. As TriX noted, the PC versus Apple is about the same as the Nikon versus Canon and the RAW versus JPEG debate that will never be resolved. All the arguments I've read, pro and con are pretty much valid and it all comes down to the user's preferences. I used to love Microsoft when I was able to edit the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files in order to run a new program but as Windows evolved to take more and more "authority" away from the user, I slowly lost the ability to manipulate the software as I used to. So now, I'm willing to pay the extra price for an Apple that simply runs without problems since it's no longer possible to delve into the innards of an operating system to make it work.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I used both a Windows PC AND a Mac from 1991 to 2012, at work. I still run Windows 10 (and 7) on my iMac, in Parallels Desktop virtualization software, when needed.

By the way, Apple portables are called ‘notebooks,’ not ‘laptops’ (PowerBook, iBook, MacBook, MacBook Pro).

Both OSes have their uses. However, when you spend a month actually using a Mac daily, you’ll understand why Mac users are so passionate about it, and become converts.

While you may pay less *initially* for PC hardware, by the fifth year of ownership, the Mac is less costly overall. That’s been IBM and GE’s experience. Support costs for Macs (training, help desks, repairs, upgrades) are 75% to 80% lower than for PCs.

MacOS is simply easier to use. Because Apple makes both OS software and the
hardware that runs it, it’s tightly integrated. I’ve encountered far more issues with PCs (where “plug and pray” seems more appropriate than “plug I and play”), when adding peripherals (scanners, printers, bar code readers...).

Windows is geeky. The Mac is intuitive. It is a tool that seldom gets in the way of your task. The whole Apple ecosystem is a gestalt. It’s whole is way bigger than the sum of its parts.

For instance, I recently purchased Final Cut Pro via Apple’s App Store. It was up and running flawlessly on my 5-year-old iMac in 15 minutes. As an experienced video editor, I have found it instantly understandable and intuitively useful. Everything I know from 3/4-U and VHS tape systems, digital audio editing apps, eight versions of iMovie, Final Cut Express 4, and a brief dalliance with Adobe Premiere Pro tells me that THIS is the one that makes the most sense. It’s DEEP *and* elegant.

OTOH, I occasionally do database development in FileMaker Pro. I might develop a solution on the Mac, but it always gets deployed on PCs. FMP runs better on Windows, but the Mac version is faster for development because the GUI is smoother. Odd... Apple owns FileMaker!

Lightroom and Photoshop run finest on the 15-inch MBP with Retina Display. Be sure you get as much RAM and SSD drive space as you can, up front. And get familiar with Other World Computing (http://www.macsales.com). You’ll want their drives, docks, and upgrades.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

^^^ This is pretty typical. We just don’t care about cost. It’s about experience.

hpucker99 Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

I use Lightroom and Photoshop on a late 2013 iMAC and early 2011 15" refurbished MacBook Pro. They are both fine for everyday use in both Lightroom and Photoshop. The only time they bog down is when I am exporting 2000 photos from LRTimelapse in Lightroom, time to watch some TV. I have been thinking on upgrading both computers but will wait to see what is happening on the recent MacBook Pro keyboards and whether they update the iMAC line this fall. Apple seems to be proud on selling (at a high price) older processors.

MTG44 Loc: Corryton, Tennessee

Love my Mac Pro.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Clearly, you are about as useless as teats on a bull . . . Just sayin'

Still nothing of value to contribute. It's ok. There is one in every crowd.

therwol Loc: USA

Hot damn; thanks therwol! Since I haven't touched Windows in two years I felt like an idiot not being able to even view an alternate drive on my sister's laptop. /quote]

You're welcome. Windows 10 still has many features that allow for tweaking, but everything is rearranged from previous versions, and they're harder to find intuitively. That's where Google comes in.

nytexano

What's being ignored here is the primary difference between using a Windows machine or a Mac: the OS. I started with mainframe computers, then to PCs, and then, to my astonishment and delight, to the Mac. Suddenly, computing was simplified and intuitive. Windows is everything Gates managed to steal from Apple, hobbled together from MS-DOS. Macs cost more.

There's nothing you can do on a Mac that you can't do on a Windows machine, albeit with several more clutzy steps. How much is your time, and less frustration worth to you?