Need help choosing a hardware color calibrator

I'm in the market for a hardware color calibrator for my Cinema display and MBP. These are the ones I'm looking at. Spyder3 Pro, EyeOne LT and Huey Pro.
Any comments or recommendations would be appreciated.
thx
lenn

Over in another forum (can't remember which) a color expert was saying that if you want to be able to accurately calibrate an LED-backlit display, make sure you get a calibrator that's a spectrophotometer like the ColorMunki, instead of the colorimeter that's inside most inexpensive calibrators.
Oh, I found it
http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=30026&pid=242999&st=0&#e ntry242999
He mentions the Eye-One Pro

Similar Messages

Need help choosing optimal hardware for a laptop that will run AE CS5

BACKGROUND INFO (Questions listed below)
I need some help figuring out the best hardware configuration for a new laptop. I’m a student at a design school and I will be using the laptop to mainly run After Effects and to a lesser extent Photoshop and Illustrator. I don’t need to worry about 3D rendering software or Premier Pro. I am primarily interested in getting the best performance during editing. I am not looking for the best performance for final output. I would prefer to sacrifice final output times for better editing/interface performance.
I will be working with standard definition content and perhaps HD up to 720p on occasion. I do not need to operate in resolutions higher than 720p. My projects are generally animation and use many sources and many layers.
I’ve been reading up on optimal hardware configurations for CS5 but my understanding is still a little foggy and I would like to use this thread to figure out how to build the best machine for my budget. The budget is about $1400 to $1600 CANADIAN after tax.
I DON’T need help finding the laptop. I will search for it on my own. I just need to understand the best hardware to purchase within my budget.
I realize that it is probably impossible to buy the laptop I want with the hardware configuration I need “off the shelf”. Instead I will be looking for a good base model (~$900-$1100) and I will purchase the necessary hardware upgrades separately. I will not be purchasing a Mac.
Right now I’m thinking of a machine built something like this:
- 15”-16” screen (17” models are too big/heavy)
- Mid to high end i5 processor OR entry level i7 quad core
- 8GB RAM (I would go to 12GB, but it’s hard to find a 15”-16” laptop with 3 memory slots)
- SSD to replace HDD (However, if possible, I would like a laptop with dual HDD support or swap the optical drive for another HDD. If I had access to 2 drives, I would have and HDD/SSD combo).
- Medium/high end NVIDIA GPU to take advantage of OpenGL while editing.
QUESTIONS
1) Does the “Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously” option enhance general editing performance (applying filters, scrubbing through the timeline, reverting history states)? Or does it ONLY help speed up RAM previews and final output? Does it reduce the length of RAM previews?
1b) Is this option even necessary to enable on 64bit systems? (As far as I understand it was used to solve a problem where 32bit systems/software would only recognize 4GB of RAM per instance of AE).
1c) If I turn this option on to help with RAM previews, would I be hindering general editing performance in any way? Or does this option have basically zero drawbacks?
2) How come “Actual CPUs that will be used” will read 0 even if the sum total of RAM assigned to the CPUs plus the RAM reserved for other applications is less than the total available system RAM (on a 64bit system)? For example, I currently have 4GB RAM and 2 installed CPUs. I have 1.5GB reserved for other programs and when I set 0.75GB per CPU both CPUs are used. However when I set 1GB per CPU then 0 CPUs are used, even though the total RAM adds up to only 3.5GB.
CPU
3.) Considering the fact that I am more concerned with smooth performance while editing rather than final output speeds, would it be better to get a dual core i5 clocked around 2.5 or a quad core i7 clocked around 1.8?
4.) What is the difference between an i3 and an i5 processor even if they are clocked at the same speed? How does an i5 460M compare on the grand scheme of things?
RAM
6.) Should the quantity of RAM that I get (8GB vs 12GB) be based on the number of cores in my CPU? If so, how should I be calculating optimal RAM based on # of cores. Should I also be counting threads, or just actual physical cores?
STORAGE/SWAP
7.) Should I replace the HDD with an SSD? I'm looking for snappy interface performance while editing. I would think that if the RAM fills up it would be best to have the SSD for scratch/cache.
8.) What performance benchmarks are most important when considering an SSD for After Effects? (4k writes? IOs per second? Max read/write?)
9.) I can afford the OCZ Vertex2 120GB SSD. Would this be a good choice if an SSD is recommended?
10.) Would it be better to have 8GB of RAM and an SSD, or 12GB of RAM and an HDD? Explain why.
GPU
10.) After Effects utilizes OpenGL to enhance editing performance. I will not really be using Premier Pro, so catering to the CUDA Mercury Engine is not a concern. Do high end gaming cards provide significant gains in OpenGL performance? Or do OpenGL performance gains taper off around the mid-range GPUs? (i.e. can you justify buying a high end GTX 260M graphics card for enhanced editing performance versus an "entry level" dedicated card like the 310M?)
11.) What hardware specs are most important when considering a GPU for editing performance in AE? (Memory size? # of Pixel shaders? Core speed? Shader speed?)
Thanks so much for any answers you can offer to these questions.

Please make sure that you've read through this page and what it points to.
> 1) Does the “Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously” option
enhance general editing performance (applying filters, scrubbing through
the timeline, reverting history states)? Or does it ONLY help speed up
RAM previews and final output? Does it reduce the length of RAM
previews?
It only increases rendering speed for RAM previews and rendering for final output. In After Effects CS5, it doesn't decrease the length of RAM previews. (In CS4, it does.)
1b) Is this option even necessary to enable on 64bit
systems? (As far as I understand it was used to solve a problem where
32bit systems/software would only recognize 4GB of RAM per instance of
AE).
You misunderstood. Yes, it's still relevant on 64-bit computers. Moreso, in a way. (I'd rather not spend my entire Sunday writing out detailed answers to satisfy idle curiosity, so I'm not going to give all the technical detail to that answer.)
> 1c) If I turn this option on to help with RAM previews,
would I be hindering general editing performance in any way? Or does
this option have basically zero drawbacks?
It takes a small but nonzero time for the background processes to start up when they need to be used and shut down when they're done. And as they sit waiting, they take up a little bit of memory. So, it's not exactly correct to say that there are no downsides to leaving it on. But it's close. I leave it on.
> 2) How come “Actual CPUs that will be used” will read 0 even
if the sum total of RAM assigned to the CPUs plus the RAM reserved for
other applications is less than the total available system RAM (on a
64bit system)? For example, I currently have 4GB RAM and 2 installed
CPUs. I have 1.5GB reserved for other programs and when I set 0.75GB per
CPU both CPUs are used. However when I set 1GB per CPU then 0 CPUs are
used, even though the total RAM adds up to only 3.5GB.
4GB - 1.5GB for other software leaves 2.5 GB for After Effects.
If you have 1GB assigned per background CPU, then the foreground takes 1.2x that = 1.2GB. That leaves 1.3GB for background processes, which is enough for one background process. There's no point in starting only one background process to do rendering, so it doesn't bother. (Note: When background processes are rendering, the foreground process isn't rendering.)
> 3.) Considering the fact that I am more concerned with
smooth performance while editing rather than final output speeds, would
it be better to get a dual core i5 clocked around 2.5 or a quad core i7
clocked around 1.8?
Get the quad-core. That gives you a greater total number of cycles. And After Effects works very well with mutliple processors, even beyond Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously multiprocessing. An entirely unrelated sort of multiprocessing (multithreading) spreads work out to multiple processors.
> 6.) Should the quantity of RAM that I get (8GB vs 12GB) be based on the number of cores in my CPU? If
so, how should I be calculating optimal RAM based on # of cores. Should
I also be counting threads, or just actual physical cores?
The optimum amount is the amount that you can cram into the computer. I'm not kidding. Spend your budget on RAM until you have 4GB installed per processor (and I'm counting the virtual processors due to hyperthreading). If you have a quad-core, that's 8 CPUs with hyperthreading, so the optimum amount of RAM installed is 32GB. You can work with less, but you did ask about optimum. For HD work (i.e., 1920 pixels across), you're OK with more like 3GB installed per CPU. That's what I have at home: 24GB in a quad-core. You're going to assign 2/3 or so of the RAM to After Effects, so 3GB installed per CPU is 2GB per core for HD work in After Effects.
> 10.) Would it be better to have 8GB of RAM and an SSD, or 12GB of RAM and an HDD? Explain why.
12GB of RAM. Because After Effects likes RAM. (If you're thinking of deliberatly using virtual memory to swap memory to the hard disk, don't. That's a performance killer.)
> 10.) After Effects utilizes OpenGL to enhance editing performance.
Not really. If you're on a limited budget, don't even think about the GPU until you've already got the most RAM, the fastest CPUs, the largest number of CPUs, two fast hard disks, and a couple of good monitors. Then, and only then, should you even consider getting soemthing beyond a non-stock graphics card. Yes, OpenGL can be used to accelerate some things, but that's only for the low-fidelity preview renderer. (Pardon the bluntness, but I want to make sure that you heed this.)

I need help choosing a new MBP (previous one was stolen)

Hello everyone, I need help choosing my next macbook pro because my previous one (15" Core i7 high res anitglare screen) was stolen . As you probably tell I spent a lot of money on my previous one and now I am a broke college student that doesn't have $2,400 to drop on a replacement.
So this is where you come in... because of budget reasons I have been looking at the 13 inch macbook pro but I just cannot bring myself to spend $1200 on a laptop with old technology (Core 2 duo processor) not to mention it is only 2.4ghz. I am not really sure what to ask about it I think i just need some good stats or other convincing information to allow me to buy it.
I know about the student discount and the refurb. macs, are there any other reliable ways to get a less expensive MBP?
I am a converted PC user and I LOVE macs, please don't let my budget make me revert back to a PC...

Like you’ve already said refurb is a good option.
I know it’s a bit late now but let me point you in the direction of Prey Project.
Prey Project is an open source program I use on my MacBook Pro, it’s a program that can track your computer and phones if stolen using GPS / Google Maps etc to give you location of it.
It will also take pictures of who is in front of it, log what they are doing etc.
Check it out here http://preyproject.com/ this such an amazing program that is free to use, will work on Apple, Windows, Linux and Android phones.

Need help choosing processor and display for X240 please

I'm about to purchase an X240 today or tomorrow and, after doing multiple forum searches and reading a 67-page X240 thread elsewhere, I would really appreciate some help choosing a processor and a display. If it makes a difference, I've decided on:
*Windows 7 Pro 64 bit
*8GB of RAM
*256GB SSD
I intend to use the laptop for viewing/editing Word documents and Powerpoint presentations, streaming movies, and streaming recorded lectures. I'm not sure what lecture viewer/player my school uses yet, but I do know that it has options to play the lectures at accelerated speeds (1.5x, 2x, etc.) and that I will definitely need to use this feature. I'm not computer literate enough to discern whether the processor type has any effect on this. I will use an external drive if I need to download and save any lectures. I also plan to do some infrequent and basic photo editing with Windows Photo Gallery and MS Paint. I'm willing to pay extra for a smoother/faster experience, but I don't want to go with the i7 processor if it's overkill for my purposes or if there are other significant trade-offs besides price.
As for display, I'm torn between the regular HD (1366x768) IPS Non-touch, regular HD IPS Touch, and FHD IPS Touch. Re: HD vs FHD, I've been using a 1280x800 13.3" non-IPS display for the last 6 or 7 years, and I'm pretty happy with it except for the limited viewing angles. Wouldn't regular HD on a 12.5" screen be a step up in resolution? A lot of the reviews of the regular HD on the X240 express disappointment with the "low" resolution, but I don't know if it's really that bad, or if people just have much higher expectations/standards than I do. I'm leaning towards regular HD because my glasses are so strong that increasing the sharpness of what I see also has the side effect of making things appear smaller (minimization error), so I'd probably have to mess with text/DPI scaling if I went with FHD, which isn't a perfect solution from what I've read. I'd only consider getting a touch version if I need FHD (since it doesn't come in non-touch), or if it somehow makes the HD display sharper or more vibrant--I have no intention of actually using touch features.
Apologies for the length, and thanks in advance for any advice! :-)

Actually I have been doing further research and I personally would either go with the 2.6GHz NON RETINA MBP or cough up the cash and go all out on a 2.6GHz RETINA MBP and upgrade the RAM to 16GB and upgrade to 768GB Flash storage, I am a student as well so will get a discount which will help.
My fears are that if I get the Retina model I will not be able to upgrade it even further, I want to keep the computer for at least a good 5 years, during those 5 to 8 years will the current upgrades be enough to keep up with the top games and programs etc? Also I have read that repairing the Retina display model is very diffcult and it can malfunction commonly, so I am guessing I should get apple care on top of it just to be sure with this particular model?
I am assuming that they they will bring out the new models out next year and all the chinks and bugs of the current Retina model will be fixed so to speak, of which I have read there is a few... Would it be worth buying the NON RETINA MBP and then selling and upgrading to an improved RETINA MBP model next year?
Finally if i back up my files on a hardrive would I have to use the USP SUPER DRIVE to install files onto the RETINA MBP or can i directly do this without the USP SUPERDRIVE?
Thanks

I need help choosing RAM for MSI PM8PM-V 7222 VER. 2.0 MB

hey everyone as you know my MB is in the subject and i need help buying ram for it. on the MSI website it says it can surpport max. 2GB so 1GB in each slot? it only has 2 slots also what DDR and MHZ clock, DRAM fequency etc does the ram have to be and both single sided or double sided or 1 single and 1 double?
thanks

Quote
also what DDR and MHZ clock, DRAM fequency etc does the ram have to be
http://global.msi.eu/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=1&prod_no=1039
Quote
• Supports DDR2 533/400 memory interface.
Check the memory support list for best compatibility:
http://global.msi.eu/uploads/test_report/TR10_1039.pdf

Need help understanding profiles and color management

I made the big leap from inexpensive inkjets to:
1 Epson 3800 Standard
2 Spyder3Studio
I have a Mac Pro Quad, Aperture, PS3, etc.
I have a steep learning curve ahead, here's what I've done:
1 Read a lot of books, watched tutorials, etc.
2 Calibrated the monitor
3 Calibrated the printer several times and created .icc profiles
What I've found:
1 The sample print produced by Spyder3Print, using the profile I created with color management turned off in the print dialog, looks very good.
2 When I get into Aperture, and apply the .icc profile I created in the proofing profile with onscreen proofing, the onscreen image does not change appreciably compared with the no proof setting. It gets slightly darker
3 When I select File>Print image, select the profile I created, turn off color management and look a the resulting preview image it looks much lighter and washed out than the onscreen image with onscreen proofing turned on.
4 When I print the image, it looks the same as was shown in the print preview...light and washed out, which is much different than what is shown in edit mode.
5 When I open PS3 with onscreen soft-proofing, the onscreen image is light and washed out...just like displayed in PS3 preview. If I re-edit the image to look OK onscreen, and print with the profile and color management turned off, the printed image looks OK.
So, why am I confused?
1 In the back of my simplistic and naive mind, I anticipated that in creating a custom printer profile I would only need to edit a photo once, so it looks good on the calibrated screen, and then a custom printer profile will handle the work to print a good looking photo. Different profiles do different translations for different printers/papers. However, judging by the PS work, it appears I need to re-edit a photo for each printer/paper I encounter...just doesn't seem right.
2 In Aperture, I'm confused by the onscreen proofing does not present the same image as what I see in the print preview. I'm selecting the same .icc profile in both locations.
I tried visiting with Spyder support, but am not able to explain myself well enough to help them understand what I'm doing wrong.
Any help is greatly appreciated.

Calibrated the printer several times and created .icc profiles
You have understand that maintaining the colour is done by morphing the colourants, and you have understood that matching the digital graphic display (which is emissive) to the print from the digital graphic printer (which is reflective) presupposes a studio lighting situation that simulates the conditions presupposed in the mathematical illuminant model for media independent matching. Basically, for a display-to-print match you need to calibrate and characterise the display to something like 5000-55000 kelvin. There are all sorts of arguments surrounding this, and you will find your way through them in time, but you now have the gist of the thing.
So far so good, but what of the problem posed by the digital graphic printer? If you are a professional photographer, you are dependent on your printer for contract proofing. Your prints you can pass to clients and to printers, but your display you cannot. So this is critical.
The ICC Specification was published at DRUPA Druck und Papier in Düsseldorf in May 1995 and ColorSync 2 Golden Master is on the WWDC CD for May 1995. Between 1995 and 2000 die reine Lehre said to render your colour patch chart in the raw condition of the colour device.
The problem with this is that in a separation the reflectance of the paper (which is how you get to see the colours of the colourants laid down on top of the paper) and the amount of colourant (solid and combinations of tints) gives you the gamut.
By this argument, you would want to render the colour patch chart with the most colourant, but what if the most colourant produces artifacts? A safer solution is to have primary ink limiting as part of the calibration process prior to rendering of the colour patch chart.
You can see the progression e.g. in the BEST RIP which since 2002 has been owned by EFI Electronics for Imaging. BEST started by allowing access to the raw colour device, with pooling problems and whatnot, but then introduced a primary ink limiting and linearisation.
The next thing you need to know is what colour test chart to send to the colour device, depending on whether the colour device is considered an RGB device or a CMYK device. By convention, if the device is not driven by a PostScript RIP it is considered an RGB device.
The colour patch chart is not tagged, meaning that it is deviceColor and neither CIEBased colour or ICCBased colour. You need to keep your colour patch chart deviceColor or you will have a colour characterisation of a colour managed conversion. Which is not what you want.
If the operating system is colour managed through and through, how do you render a colour test chart without automatically assigning a source ICC profile for the colourant model (Generic RGB Profile for three component, Generic CMYK Profile for four component)?
The convention is that no colour conversion occurs if the source ICC device profile and the destination ICC device profile are identical. So if you are targetting your inkjet in RGB mode, you open an RGB colourant patch chart, set the source ICC profile for the working space to the same as the destination ICC profile for the device, and render as deviceColor.
You then leave the rendered colourant test chart to dry for one hour. If you measure a colourant test chart every ten minutes through the first hour, you may find that the soluble inkjet inks in drying change colour. If you wait, you avoid this cause of error in your characterisation.
As you will mainly want to work with loose photographs, and not with photographs placed in pages, when you produce a contract proof using Absolute Colorimetric rendering from the ICC profile for the printing condition to the ICC profile for your studio printer, here's a tip.
Your eyes, the eyes of your client, and the eyes of the prepress production manager will see the white white of the surrounding unprinted margins of the paper, and will judge the printed area of the paper relative to that.
If, therefore, your untrimmed contract proof and the contract proof from Adobe InDesign or QuarkPress, or a EFI or other proofing RIP, are placed side by side in the viewing box your untrimmed contract proof will work as the visual reference for the media white.
The measured reference for the media white is in the ICC profile for the printing condition, to be precise in the WTPT White Point tag that you can see by doubleclicking the ICC profile in the Apple ColorSync Utility. This is the lightness and tint laid down on proof prints.
You, your client and your chosen printer will get on well if you remember to set up your studio lighting, and trim the blank borders of your proof prints. (Another tip: set your Finder to neutral gray and avoid a clutter of white windows, icons and so forth in the Finder when viewing.)
So far, so good. This leaves the nittygritty of specific ICC profiling packages and specific ICC-enabled applications. As for Aperture, do not apply a gamma correction to your colourant patch chart, or to colour managed printing.
As for Adobe applications, which you say you will be comparing with, you should probably be aware that Adobe InDesign CS3 has problems. When targetting an RGB printing device, the prints are not correctly colour managed, but basically bypass colour management.
There's been a discussion on the Apple ColorSync Users List and on Adobe's fora, see the two threads below.
Hope this helps,
Henrik Holmegaard
technical writer
References:
http://www.adobeforums.com/webx?14@@.59b52c9b/0
http://lists.apple.com/archives/colorsync-users/2007/Nov/msg00143.html

Need help now! Preserving color in Pages to PDF format

I read the other recent post on PDF-CMYK and I may be in the same boat. Right now, I need to get my Pages newsletter (6 pages long) saved in a PDF format that will preserve the original colors I used in Pages. This PDF will be emailed and be posted online for others to read online--so I need the same colors. Everything I have tried has failed - but this for some reason worked, and I dont know why (nor I am not sure what it is doing) -
From Pages Print, Save PDF as PostScript (no clue what this is). It created a 40MB file. I used Preview to open it and it converted it to a PDF - *perfect color match to original Pages document* Yes!... BUT - in the title bar I can see the name of my file, it has .pdf a the end. So I try to File Save it in the required directory and it reverts to the off-colors. The off colors consistently appear when I try to use any other PDF save format.
My goals -
#1 Time-date Priority (less than 24hrs) I need a compressed email friendly newsletter in PDF to share via email/web download.
#2 Print ready PDF version (not sure on the file requirements yet)
HELP!!

Thanks. Yes, I realize i need RGB. When I try any of the PDF print options (either export or print PDF or Compressed PDF or Email PDF) they ALL change the color layout of the entire newsletter!! The colored blocks behind the text are all altered, but all of the inserted JPGS are just fine.
I managed to use Automator and applied a custom Quartz filter to apply an RGB profile and render the intent on the shading and it seemed to help some, but it is not the same as the original. This action I created has to start with a PDF file to run it - so you can see I am back at square one with the PDF save not capturing the correct colors. This action took a 7+mb PDF file (created via Export) and made it into 660kb (oh, I also used a compression quartz filter too in the action).
I only had one problem with one image getting fine white lines horizontally through it. I suspect that is one image that was very large to begin with. I will try to resize it in PSE and then insert a smaller version of it. The rest of the jpg's were fine.
Right now this newsletter PDF has to be emailed to members and it will be posted online for download. It will also be emailed to prospective commercial printers to give them a preview of the project (but not use this actual file for printing).
So I am still stuck with PDF saves not preserving my original colors.

I need help choosing a cell phone

Ok. Currently I have an HTC Eris and it has all sorts of bad issues. I have talked with Verizon on the phone, chat, in person for the last several days. They said that I can get a pre-certified phone to replace my Eris and I had been going back and forth over the Blackberry Tour and Bold. Mind you that they don't have a pre certified bold, but are expecting me to come in and get the tour in two weeks when I get paid.
Here is the problem... I do love having the android market, but the only phone that I would even think of getting would be the Droid 2 as I love the way that the keyboard feels. I have priced just adding another line to my account so that I don't have to pay out the full price (539.99) and it would be 99.99 through wirefly, which would be great. I have found that wirefly has the blackberry curve 9330 for free and that is a new released phone. I had a blackberry years ago and loved the phone itself. The thing is too when I looked at the pre certified list this morning they had the moto droid available (I had this phone when I first started my contract and hated the keyboard and the touch keyboard.)
How do I choose what would be best for me?
1) I don't text that often, but I won't buy an all touch phone ever again. The texting on the touch screens drive me crazy and it takes forever to type something out because you have to go back and fix your words.
2) I check Facebook, and browse the internet at random times. I do love being somewhere and having the internet handy to look something up.
3) I do like the android apps, but blackberry has them to download too from their market and I don't remember them having issues of force closing like the androids do.
I mean do I even need a smart phone? I am currently typing this on my little HP laptop. I hadn't used my laptop for about three weeks until my Eris started acting up (god I hate this phone).
The last question is would it be good to get the tour for 189.99 replacement and not have to add a fourth line, or add a fourth line and hope that I can exchange the eris line out for just a T9 phone for an extra 10 bucks a month?
Thanks for any help you all can give me

Yeah I was just reading a difference between the two here online when I got your message. After reading the differences between the blackberry and the android I still can't quite make up my mind, but I think I am getting closer to deciding.
I like the fact that the Androids have bigger screens for you to look at the internet and media
I like the bar style of the blackberry because you can reply quickly and know that with blackberry's system that things will push through quickly.
Android does have a lot more apps, and it took me quite awhile to choose which apps worked best for me. Still there are those cursed Force closes that drive me crazy every day. And when my task killer stopped doing its job I switched to another. I like not having to worry about this on the blackberry.
I like the fact that with the blackberry all you have to do is start typing and it will pull things up. I really wish that the Android phones did this. I like to get things done quickly. I don't like having to click three times or more to get to where I am going. I know I am being a bit picky here, but I like things simple. No I don't have a business or anything as I am disabled, so in a way having the blackberry probably is wasting the phone itself.
All in all I wish that Verizon would be able to get ahold of T-mobiles Motorola Charm. That is the type of phone that I would love to have as it has the qwerty right there on the phone. I know that at some point and time that Android will get caught up within themselves to where everything runs great, but they honestly have to quit letting so many phones come out. With all the different platforms and styles I see the constant threads about what works on a Droid X won't work on a Nexus one and vice versa. They need to do what blackberry has and make phones that are compatible for all their apps.
I have narrowed it down that I do love the apps and entertainment on the Android. I know that I need an android phone with a qwerty as I can't type on the all touch keyboards. I think this is why I am starting to really lean towards the Droid 2. I played with it while we were waiting at the store and I liked the way that the qwerty felt (much better and easier than the original Droid.) I love the LG Ally keyboard, but after looking at the reviews and hearing from my son that it crashes, I decided against that phone.
If you all know of an Android phone that I will be really happy with, and even if it has issues stick with it please let me know. My partner loves her Devour and is on her fourth replacement. She loves the phone so much she will keep getting it replaced until our contract to upgrade comes up. I have tried the Devour as well and don't care for the phone. It's too bulky for me, but to each their own preference.
Please let me know what you all think as I only have two weeks to make a final decision. It will be greatly appreciated.

I need help choosing a monitor! PLEASE HELP!

I getting a brand new mac mini from ebay and i am deciding between a 15-inch or a 14-inch LCD display. I was just wondering, if both of the displays have a resolution of 1024 x 768, is that the pixel count too? so does that mean the pixels on the 15-inch are just bigger or something? i need to know because the 14-inch LCD is $40 cheaper than the 15 inch....Thanks everyone!
also, since i've already decided on getting an apple keyboard, do you think the mighty mouse is really worth $49? i like to stick with apple products so that's why I'm wondering.
~CHRIS~

It doesn't necessarily mean the pixels themselves are bigger or smaller. It could also be the dot pitch (or distance between pixels) is bigger or smaller. If the native resolution is 1024x768 then you are correct, there are physically 1024x768=786,432 pixels. A 15" screen with the same resolution as a 14" screen may appear slightly less sharp but objects will appear larger. It's a tradeoff. Generally I would choose the larger monitor just because it is easier on the eyes when reading small print, etc.
Hope that helps,
-CW

Graphic Design major needs help choosing a Mac!

I'm a Graphic Design student, and I'm about to purchase my first Macbook Pro. I need to know the minimum specs my Mac needs, without sacrificing performance. I'll be running multiple Applications/Programs simultaneously without stalling or crashing. (ie: Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Internet with lots of tabs, music, and occassionally whatever program they'll use for my animation class.) I have a MyBook external terabyte, so saving large projects won't be an issue. Also, I kind of want to have an internal CD/DVD drive, but if that sacrifices performance way too much, I can get an external.
I've been offered this used MBP that is one year old, for a reduced price, http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/ (See the specs for the 13" for $1199), but will it be enough? Even if I buy more RAM and install it myself, will the processor be fast enough? Will everything else be enough?
Here's the link comparing all the new MBP's, http://www.apple.com/why-mac/compare/notebooks.html , some of which can be upgraded for an additonal price. Is it necessary to purchase one of these? Which one? Is Retina Display necessary? Performance is more important to me than money, but I don't want to just get an excessive amount of GHz, RAM, etc...that I won't even need. Can anyone help?

Your link to the Best Buy MBP does not work for me but I looked on the best but website and found the only 17" MBP, model MC725LL/A, which is an early 2011 MBP. It does not say which CPU it has, a 2.2 GHz or 2.3 GHz. Either way the price is the most attractive.
If this is left over and not an open box, it probably represents the best value in that respect. I would establish if it is really new and what CPU it has before committing any funds. I note it has Snow Leopard as the OS which has been supplanted by Lion and Mt. Lion. You might think that this is a negative, but it really is not. You may always install Mt. Lion at a later date ($20) if you feel you have to. I have a late 2011 17" MBP which came with Lion and I have also installed Snow Leopard on it. Snow Leopard is the most efficient OS that Apple has offered and I do not consider obsolete by any means.
Though Apple says that 8 GB RAM is the maximum, all 2011 MBPs will accommodate 16 GB. I have that in my MBP.
There is one point that you should seriously consider. That Is the Glossy vs. the Anti-glare display. It would be best that you go to an Apple store and look at them side by side in order to make an informed decision. I have a MBP with the Glossy display, my first one, which I like but the second one I got has the Anti-glare and that in my opinion is the more practical. The newest one is also Anti-glare. I have heard it said by serious photographers that the colors are more accurate on the Ant-glare displays. It may be worth the price differential, but you have to decide. (That is another item that should be determined with the Best Buy option)
If you have any additional questions, just ask!
Ciao.

Need help choosing a new macbook

I want to buy a small lighter macbook. I have a 15" macbook pro. i do like it despite the MANY times it has been in for repair.
I need the smaller one for travel etc. I don't think I want the Air b/c it doesn't have a burner.
That leaves the 13" Macbook. I am on my computer many hours everyday. I do have too many photos & would like a great way to edit, save, store. I also download lots of music. I have a website and store that all on my desktop b/c my Macbook Pros burner ha not worked more that it has. I have to take it for repair again.
I would spend whatever to have everything I need in it.
Pls help me choose macbook and and things i should have configured on it.
thx!

hello!
the white MBs have always been dependable for me and every at my school. they work great and the new updated graphics card in the white MBs seems to be the thing you need. if you have a ton of stuff on the MB pro, the hard drive may not be big enough on he white MB, but for the price difference of an upgrade to the aluminum one, you can buy a TB of space on an external HD. not bad. the white MB has a SuperDrive. my flute teacher has a silver MB and it has a hard time picking up AirPort signals because of the metal, so the white one is better if you intend to use the AirPort frequently.
hope that helps a bit!
-MD55
p.s. here's a great case if you intend to carry around your laptop. i have it in pink and i absolutely love it!
here's the link: http://store.apple.com/us/product/TS701ZM/A?fnode=MTY1NDA2Ng&mco=MjQyMzA2Ng&p=3& s=topSellers

Need help choosing P.Book 12" or 15" or 17"?

Hi,
I am having the exactly same issue asa many other people on this forum. I was waiting for the MacBook and now its out and I can't buy it because there is no software and won't be for a while.
Well anyways, I need a comp and like a sucker will buy a G4 (paying the same price for a G4 as the Dual Core Intel Powerbook).
But I can't decide which size to buy!?!
I study multimedia in university. I will be using this powerbook for intense Video Editing using Final Cut HD(Max length of films edited would be max 10mins), Audio Production using Pro Tools HD, Cubase SX 3.0 with ALL Plugins, After Effects 6.5, Web Design - Dreamweaver - Flash, Photoshop - Colour Correction and Hi Res Scanning and Re Touching, Illustrator, 3D - Maya, MAX/Msp.
Basically I will be doing intense audio and video/graphic work on this machine.
I have gone over the specs of the 12" and the 15" many many times. At times I decide that I will get the 12" and then at times I change my mind decide on the 15".
Factor 1: Screen Size
How is the 12" in usability wise. Is the screen too small and does the screen size make you angry sometimes? Or once you get used to it doesn't really matter? I will mostly be using this machine in school, therefore, I will not have a dual monitor input (only if I am in the lab). At home I will plug it in a 21" monitor.
Factor 2: Hardware
The 12" has a 100gb 5400 RPM Harddrive, 64mb VideoRAM, 1.5 ghz processor, Max RAM 1.25GB. price: $2200 CAD
The 15" powerbook has better components than the 12". It has a 100gb 7200 RPM Harddrive, 128mb VideoRAM, 1.67 ghz, Max RAM 2GB. price: $3200 CAD
would the 12" be able to handle pro level graphic and audio work?
OR
I also have the option of a mint secondhand 17" powerbook with 1.67ghz, 1.5gb ram, 100gb 5400 rpm harddrive, 128mb video ram. price: $2500 CAD
The 17" is huge!! I think it will hinder my portabilty. I have never used a 17" p.book on the go so I cannot say for sure. Input from anyone who uses a 17" in and around the city would be greatly appreciated. But a 17" would increase work productivity due to the availabilty of space for palettes, etc? Or screen size doesn't really make a big deal, its only a matter of getting used to any screen size?
I need a machine badly, so which machine would you guys recommend me to buy. A 12" or a 15" or 17". Since I am going to be buying old technology I will have to upgrade in 2 years time. By buying a 12" I save $1000. But if a 12" is going to be a nuisance because of its small screen size and slower performance then I don't mind buying a 15".
Thanks in advance,
Rgrds,
usman

"PPC machines will be outdated come 2007. At that point software will start appearing Intel only and the PPC will slowly whither away."
The PPC will eventually start to disappear, yet I highly doubt it's going to be useless in 2007. Technically, every computer is outdated as soon as a new one is released. That doesn't mean, it won't be supported though. Apple announced, they'll be supporting Power PC for a long time and Universal binaries will certainly help. You don't know what Adobe et al. are up to, but they couldn't afford loosing the existing PPC base by introducing Intel-only versions in 2007. Imagine buying a Quad G5 workstation today, you'd certainly want it to last longer than 10 months.
Buying a 12" PB seems reasonable to me (as I've just done so), especially when you need:
"Audio Production using Pro Tools HD, Cubase SX 3.0 with ALL Plugins, After Effects 6.5, Web Design - Dreamweaver - Flash, Photoshop - Colour Correction and Hi Res Scanning and Re Touching, Illustrator, 3D - Maya, MAX/Msp."
I think horrorgram has taken a very good approach, considering the availability of Intel Pro apps today and within the next few months.
" I have decided to get the 12" (max upgrades) instead of the 15" (max upgrades). Portability is priority at the momement and I save 1K. Plan on draggin it for 2 years then acquiring a dual-core. "

Need help choosing a MIDI keyboard

I am about to go on the road with my band, was wondering if any of you guys could help me choose a MIDI keyboard.
I need a keyboard to trigger my samples and synths which are set up in Logic, which has about 88 keys, and quite a few controllers, it also needs to have semi-wieghted keys.
I have at the moment an M-Audio Keystation Pro 88. Im not to keen on it.
I have my eyes on a few keyboards but just wondered what you guys recommended.
Thanks

the current midi controllers that are being offered right now such as from m-audio do seem a little cheap.
a little while ago i had to get a midi controller for my studio and i did not feel comfortable with most of the current controllers when i checked them out. i ended up getting a used roland a-90 and i did not regret this decision!
however, the roland a-90 is heavy. i think for use onstage it boils down to the question how much more weight do you want to carry in exchange for more potential reliability and sturdiness? a nice little detail about the a-90 is that it comes not only with the usual mod/pitch wheel but also with a joystick, which for live playing can be a bonus if you want to apply e.g. vibrato and pitch bend at the same time with one hand.
out of the newer controllers it looked to me that the ones by cme seem to be interesting, at least for the money. at least they have aftertouch...
i am sure there are other good options out there - this is just my little piece of experience.
G5 dual 1.8 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Need help choosing a Tabloid copier/printer for purchase

I need your help! I am replacing a B&W Toshiba Model 2860 tabloid copier, and possibly HP LaserJet 4000TN printer. LaserJet still works great, Toshiba is failing. I need ethernet networking, 11x17 paper and glass, affordable consumables, and of course, excellent Macintosh compatibility. I do not require color, but would have some use for it. The copier function really needs to be top notch. My budget is under $2000.00. Thanks in advance for your advice.

The last proof-printer the company I work at purchased is an EPSON 7900 and while our daily proof-quantity is pretty uneven it performs fairly well.
Apart from that we have an EPSON 4000 and an EPSON 9800.
The 4000 is worst with black and white images and has the smallest gamut of the three, but it performs pretty steadily, too.
We do turn it off nights and weekends, though, and it is situated in a permanently air-conditioned room, so thermal conditions are pretty stable.
Is your 4000 possibly exposed to fluctuations in temperature and/or humidity?

Need help choosing between AJA Kona LHe v. BM Multibridge Pro

Hi gang,
I'm purchasing a MacPro 3GHz and need to put in one of these cards to bring in component and SDI signals. Big differences seem to be:
* Multibridge has HDMI output for monitoring, AJA does not although AJA has two SDI outs (which requires SDI->HDMI converter for monitoring at extra $$).
* AJA has DVCProHD and Dynamic RT effects hardware acceleration but the Multibridge does not.
Question: is the hardware acceleration on the AJA worth the price difference? Or is this a bunch of hogwash and the Multibridge performs just fine with FCP Studio with DVCProHD and RT effect?
Any other comparison experiences between these two cards will be most helpful!
Thanks.
MacPro 3GHz Mac OS X (10.4.8)

i bought a multibridge extreme a couple months ago, and returned it for a few reasons:
1)- cheap, unbalanced fan made a **** of a racket...
2)- the box kept interfering with my monitors (they would start cycling on and off when the box was hooked to the computer.
I was super disappointed in the service i received from BM (after Kaspar Ko told me to contact him, he never answered any of my emails). I have heard BM support pales in comparison to Aja, but Aja is more expensive.
the multibridge needs some help, and i am sure will eventually be an awesome tool (right now i am hounding the boys who make scopebox to upgrade to multi input capture to work with the multibridge's 2 sdi inputs for mutlicam capture on a single macpro), but for now they have to spend a little more time on R&D.
Used the Kona2 at a studio last summer that i was working for and found it pretty flawless...

Need help choosing a hardware color calibrator

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