Switching from PC to Mac

[hoaxcoder]

Hi,

I am a currently PC user but I am getting tired of it. I am a professional photographer and I work a lot with Photoshop. I am planning to buy a Macbook Pro this week for this Christmas season. I will use the computer with a program that runs only in Windows and is about photo management and so on, the laptop will be running from morning to night working with photos and sending them to a local printer. The location will be a Mall so that's why I decide that a Macbook is better to transport. I want to know what is the best option for me at this moment because I have to order the computer this week. I think that with a 15" will be good but what about the other components? And finally I want to know the best software to run Windows on a Mac because that is one of the things that I am more worried because the software works only on Windows, any problem with that? Please answer me as soon as possible and thanks a lot for your response.

Thanks,
Luis

 

[r.j.s]

If you will be running this software all day and the software only works on Windows, why get a Mac?

What software is it? There may be a Mac version of something similar.

 

[Badger^2]

if you are only gonna run windows on it...

Then why bother with a MBP?

Sounds like a nice windows machine of any flavor with Windows 7 would be more than perfect?

Is there some other reason you want a MBP?

 

[hoaxcoder]

I am gonna run windows on it for this month and for that software only, but later on I will continue to use the Mac OS to work with Photoshop and so on.

 

[Badger^2]

then get the most you can afford.

too bad you cant wait a couple of months -- new MBPs most likely out in January

 

[EndlessMac]

Hi,

I am a currently PC user but I am getting tired of it. I am a professional photographer and I work a lot with Photoshop. I am planning to buy a Macbook Pro this week for this Christmas season. I will use the computer with a program that runs only in Windows and is about photo management and so on, the laptop will be running from morning to night working with photos and sending them to a local printer. The location will be a Mall so that's why I decide that a Macbook is better to transport. I want to know what is the best option for me at this moment because I have to order the computer this week. I think that with a 15" will be good but what about the other components? And finally I want to know the best software to run Windows on a Mac because that is one of the things that I am more worried because the software works only on Windows, any problem with that? Please answer me as soon as possible and thanks a lot for your response.

Thanks,
Luis

To answer some of your questions, yes you can run Windows on it. All you need is a copy of Windows to install it and then when you start up you choose whether you want to use Windows or Mac. Windows will run like you had a PC so it will be no different than what you are doing now. You also need a copy of that software you are concerned about to install into your new Windows.

If you want to run Mac and Windows at the same then you need to buy software such as VMware Fusion or Parallels. You can search the forums to find opinions on both.

 

[rgarjr]

I agree if the program requires a lot of resources from the machine then you run Windows in BootCamp.

 

[OldMike]

We have been running VMware Fusion for Windows only software, and I am surprised at how nicely and smooth it works. With unity mode, you can put the icon of the photo management application in the OS X dock. When you click on it, it will open and appear as if it is an OS X application - very slick.

We find it easiest to keep the VM open and when shutting down the MBP, we have it save the VMs state (it prompts you for this). When you start the machine up again, and click on the Windows app, VMware will automatically bring the Windows VM back up. The nice thing is that, by saving state, you are already logged in, so your app just starts up, once again appearing as if it was any other OS X app.

If it was me, I would probably stick with your windows machine, until you need to upgrade Photoshop. When you do, buy a Mac and the Mac version of Photoshop. I just can't see spending so much money buying the Mac version of Photoshop, if you have already paid for a Windows license. Otherwise, you can run Windows in BootCamp (which is basically like running Windows on any PC laptop), but then you lose out on using your Mac as a Mac. If you wait until you are actually ready to use OS X, then you will probably be purchasing a newer generation machine with better specs at the same price.

As to switching from PC to Mac, I love it. I made a living as both a Software Engineer and Network Engineer - primarily on the Windows platform for close to 20 years. Burnout ensued, after which I ditched my Windows machine for a Mac and completely love it. After 20 years, computers have become fun again!

Good luck and I know you will enjoy the switch!!

 

[harperjones99]

I just switched and chose the 15". It's used mainly at home so I went with my gut about screen size and am happy with my choice. I wobbled back and forth between 13 and 15 for a while as I shopped. I needed a new computer and all the PC laptops in the shop (probably 30 or more choices) were cheap and flimsy looking and I used this as a good excuse to give Apple a try.

After a couple days of feeling like an idiot and learning the differences I love this thing. As long as it continues to work as it does I think I prefer Apple for computers now. There are some small annoyances like the sharp edge that bugs my palm when using the track pad but I have seen several people have sanded it a bit and changed that problem...other than that I can't complain so far. Good luck.

PS unless you are one of those people who prefer the lenovo nipple to a touch pad you going to love the multitouch features. I can do 99% of my needed actions by swiping a finger or four...I find myself swiping just for kicks

 

[Gabriel GR]

I am using a stripped down version of XP so that I can use my paid licences for Navicat Postgresql, arcgis and open VPN with Fusion and it runs like a native windows machine.