PC to MAC Switch...
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- mg33
Enlighten me dear friends:
PC user for years, gigs and gigs of artwork and files and Photoshop and Illustrator files and web site code and so on an so forth sitting on my PC. Gabillions of fonts. Tons of music. etc. etc.
If I were to totally make a switch to a Mac (because I'm really craving a laptop) what kind of roadblocks am I looking at? I know fonts will be a problem to track some down. What about all my Adobe files? Will they work flawlessly? Same thing for saved actions, brushes, etc. etc.
I know some of you have made this switch before. What are any catches as far as wanting to use MIDI controllers and recording software?
I've still not built a new PC and now I'm contemplating getting a Macbook Pro. I have a nice Dell 21" LCD that could be used with it. Does using a laptop for hours and hours at home as a regular computer pose any problems?
Would I still have a use for my PC (2.0 Ghz Celeron, 2 GB memory, Win2K)?
Generally just annoying myself and contemplating all this crap.
Any tips, war stories, whatever, please share.
- edd-e0
the simplicity of using key commands on a Mac machine is so muych easier not only on your hands but also speeds efficientcy by a lot, you will notice the difference rather quickly after you get used to the new command and option key layout.
other than that no virus and no virus and no virus did i say no viruses?
- bukka0
I see the only main problem is fonts.
Adobe stuff is cross platform etc. I use Lacie Drive that are FAT 32 formatted which work both on PC and MAC. So if you had to you could get a large HD to help transfer things and its good to have to keep space on your Laptop for work...
- edd-e0
i have the macbook pro and its always on, i rarely shut it off, it never crashes and it can handle a good amount of programs at once...as bukka stated having an external HD will help solve a lot of any issues you may foresee happening with alll the fonts and what nots.
- mg330
bukka - as far as external drives I have considered that as well.
Are they all Fat32? Say I buy one and transfer everything from the PC, to an external, then use that with a Mac, it's as simple as that?
And leaving a laptop on frequently - will the thing blow up?
- mg330
Can I use Firefox and if not how dose Safari compare?
As for web coding, CSS, XHTML, that stuff, any worries there? Any good programs available beyond Notepad that are CSS specific?
- edd-e0
the Itel chips in the macbook pro is dope and no it wont blow up!!!
i mean some have, mine is actually not burning hot like others are or can get.
- edd-e0
i cant answer any of the web questions, Firefox works great, so does Safari. i use mainly illustrator and bridge and itunes and fontbook and the mail and transmit always and it never slows down. i dont use fonts or anything like that as its not part of my work to use it...i assume those things that i dont do can effect the speed, but i have no idea, for what i do its a perfect machine and i have yet to feel any issues with it...i have the max on everything you can put into it though so perhaps that is why. i ahve yet to try CS3 but im in no rush to switch outt from CS2 as it works perfectly fine.
hope that helps.
- mg330
Adobe stuff is still Mac or PC version, correct?
Also, piece of cake to connect to a larger monitor and us that one only, or use them in a dual configuration?
Easy to hook up seperate keyboard, mouse, all of that? Any special gizmos for, say, having the keyboard and mouse plugged into one USB thing so that the laptop only needs to plug into one thing?
Thanks for answering these questions, just totally unfamiliar with some things.
- mg330
Especially with that USB question, I currently have cables to connect:
Epson Scanner
Epson printer
digital camera
ipod
8 track recorderDo they make a USB hub? I like out of sight and out of mind.
- edd-e0
its very easy to connect a separate monitor, i have a 20" flat panel and it functions perfectly as a dual monitor.
in terms of adobe, mac and pc are different you i believe would need a new installer for the mac as the coding internally is different, im not sure on this, but id ask around or call appple store and stee what they say. epson scanner should easily work and if it doesnt you can easily download and install the correct drivers so it does work...again printer is same as scanner it should work no problem, i dont use either so i cant be the judge on that, i jsut am assum ing it should work...ipod works fine..8 track??? i cant help you there, but i have saturday night fever and paul anka on 8track...yes USB hubs all work fine... i have 2 USB 2.0 ports and 1 Firewire port, plus the extrra monitor has 2 USB and 2 Firewire ports as well.
- welded0
Search for Cool OSX apps on NT and you'll find a metric ass load of awesome applications - many of them free. My quick 2 cents:
- HTML/CSS/etc
Coda
- FTP
Transmit
- Font management
FontExplorer X
- Web browser
Camino (Firefox for development)
- Video playback
VLCAs for your hardware, make sure to check the vendor's site for drivers. A standard OSX install comes with tons of drivers out of the box so you'll probably be fine. I don't bother installing these and just use what I need. The camera will probably be recognized with no problems, but you will probably have to reformat your iPod. I'm not 100% sure on this though. 8 track recorder? Beats me.
You'll probably be fine with just about any old USB hub, but I don't have any to recommend. Just keep your receipt. ;)
The external HD must be FAT32 if you plan to share it between the two platforms because Windows and OSX can read/write it no problem. OSX can read NTFS, what Windows normally uses, but Windows can't read JournalFS, what OSX uses (I think).
- welded0
If you go for a MacBook, you'll easily be able to hook up a second monitor. I used to do this with a crappy old CTR, but luckily there was a dongle in the box so I could even hook it up with no troubles. You could even hook up an external keyboard and mouse if you wanted.
- mg330
LOL re 8-Track Recorder!!
It's my digital 8-track music recorder, a Fostex MR-8:
- edd-e0
what is FAT32?
- welded0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat…
Basically, the file system determines how data is stored, organized, and accessed on a hard drive.
- edd-e0
so its not mac its just ms.dos? or did i read it wrong?
- welded0
Let's be clear that there is a good chance I'm completely talking out of my ass, but LOTS of devices can read/write FAT32 so it's not so much a Mac thing or DOS thing a Windows thing as it is something incidental to their operation. So I could format my Mac's external HD in FAT32 if I wanted and hook it up to a Linux box.
My understanding is that FAT32 is sort of like the lowest common denominator because it's so old.
I suppose an analogy would be if you organized your 8-tracks by name (FAT32) it'd be easy for you and your buddy to find that Paul Anka tape because it's a system you've been using for years in every apartment you've lived in. Now lets say you decided to reorganize by the mood you were in when you bought the tapes (JournalingFS). You understand both, but your buddy isn't going to have much luck finding Paul now.
- mg330
I think you need a drink.
- edd-e0
poor paul...
;)
- studderine0
shut up.