Switching From PC to Mac Pro

OK, I made the leap and ordered my new Mac Pro. Seems like the time is right to join the Apple bandwagon.
I would like to hear from other people who have made the switch on how their experience with Apple is? After reading the Discussion area here, I am beginning to wonder if I did the right thing.
Come on folks. Make me feel good
My Setup will primarily be used with Adobe Photoshop and In-Design, plus a little Illustrator and Video Production. Yes...I am going to patiently wait for CS3! Hurry up Adobe.
2.66 GHz Quad Xeon
2GB 667 DDR2 FB DIMM ECC-4x512
ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB
250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s drive
500GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s drive
2x16x SuperDrive DL
Airprt Extrm & BT 2.0+EDR
Apple Kybd & Wrls Mgty Ms
Final Cut Express HD
Mac Pro
Mac Pro   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  

I am such a Mac fan now it is downright scary. I was never a Windows user and was IBM's official "OS/2 Guy" for many years. Apple moved to Intel just after IBM announced the end of support and sales of OS/2 and that was enough for me.
The transition was pretty seamless. Both OSes are object oriented unlike Microsoft's OS. Installing a printer under OS/2 was a hit and miss kind of thing due to driver age. When I plugged in an HP ColorLaserJet I had no idea if it worked or not. There was no announcement or sound. So I sent something to be printed and it rolled out like a champ.
My biggest frustration was with the Superdrive. I put a DVD in, watched and loved the way Mac handled it but for the life of me couldn't figure out how to get the disk out of the drive. There is no drive button. Now I know why. None is needed. There are all kinds of ways to get the Superdrive to eject a DVD and so simple I felt incredibly stupid when they were revealed to me. "You're kidding! Oh my GAWD, how simple is that?"
Or to install or delete a program. This will rock your socks. You just drag a program icon to your applications folder and if you don't want it anymore, just delete it. Presto! Gone. To upgrade an installed program just drag the upgrade to the applications folder and OSX asks if you want to update the current program. You say yes and there is no big hoopla or twenty minute wait while the system goes through hoops. Open the program and it is updated!
I bought my Mac Pro within the first 17 minutes of online availability. Same with my BlackBook except I kept speed dialing because they weren't quite ready to accept my order. Now?? Now??? Can I order now?? I bought two Intel iMacs for the office - 20" and 24" and love love love 'em.
I could rant all day at how great they are but I won't. You'll see. Three months from now you'll be one very happy camper.
Tim...
3Ghz Mac Pro w/8GRam, 1500GHD/ 13" BlackBook, Black iPod - ALL fullly loaded   Mac OS X (10.4.8)   30" Cinema, HPColorLJ Printer, LaCie 600Gig External & LaCie DVDRW/CDRW Drives

Similar Messages

  • THinking about the switch from PC to Mac Pro

    I'm looking at a configuration of two 2.8 quad-core with 2 gb ram from Apple, 6 gb ram from 3rd party, a single 750 SATA drive and Final Cut 2 Studio, and running VMWare Fusion for running Windows apps, and software development tools (Windows world). I have been doing a fair amount of video editing/processing, and see that growing - between this increase, and Windows Vista, I think the Mac world may be my best choice - I would run the Windows apps under Windows XP.
    The Apple Store recommended going with 2 x ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB cards - I will be running with dual monitors, and the biggest demand will come from Final Cut 2. Is there a better choice to be made for the money?
    Anybody see any flags raised by what I say I want to do, and the hardware I'm thinking about?
    I debated the value in the second Quad core - whether the Final Cut 2 Studio software was written to take adavantage of multiple cores. I'm leaning toward the second quad core since the studio is most likely separate apps, and there might be some benefit provided the second quad core via the OS. Any thoughts on this?
    The Ram and hard drives are too pricey from Apple - any suggestions on good third party supplier for the ram chips - I know they need to meet the Apple specs, but assume some mfgs have had a better production/quality history than others.
    Any input on this is appreaciated.
    Michael

    Hatter,
    The configuration is close - I like both of your suggestions on the graphics card and the boot drive - Apple won't add the Radeon 3870 card, nor the Velocity Raptor drive. So, if I buy the 3870 and Velocity Raptor from OWC, there is a decision I would have to make with regard to what I buy from Apple.
    I'd like to continue the process, listing my thoughts, hoping to get more good feedback.
    I'm leaning towards buying Apple's standard graphics card (Radeon 2600), and use it for lower demand activities - I figure I can always upgrade it at a later date if the performance is frustrating - I'll have a good comparison with the 3870, so the contrast should be apparent. I'm thinking about the standard 320 g drive, since the extra cost ($50 for 500g, or $150 for 750g) doesn't make sense with the Caviar Black priced at ~$150.
    So, I would be getting a machine with the OS sitting on the 320g drive. *Is there a good strategy for adding the Velocity Raptor, making it my boot drive?*
    I'm assuming I will get the OS on disc - is this true?
    Lastly, I'm looking at the timing of purchasing. I debated on waiting to buy until after MacWorld 2009, but plan on buying prior to the event. My thought was to avoid any issues that come with new releases - adding another layer of issues without knowing what is "normal behavior" isn't worth the increased functionality. In the PC world, sales abound at the end of quarter, and prior to new release. *Is it worth waiting a little while hoping Apple will discount the Mac Pro? Or is this unlikely??*
    Again, thanks for all of the great suggestions.
    Michael

  • Since switch from pc to mac epson R800 producing lousy photos.

    Recently switched from pc to mac pro. Using Epson R800 printer. Cinema Display is calibrated using spyder pro. Mac driver downloaded from Epson seems to work okay altho setup is quite different from PC. Really not very good, actually. Prints are really very poor, not acceptable by any standard.
    Have rechecked with Epson and apparently I have the newest driver for mac os x.
    Anyone got any ideas???

    Yep, know all that. The problem that seems to exist is the inability in the mac to control all of the usual features that were previously controllable when this printer was setup on the pc.
    I downloaded the mac driver for this printer from Epson but peculiarly in CS3 it does not allow for all functions. Why? Wish I knew.
    So, downloaded it again, just in case a file or whatever went missing on the first download. Same thing happens. Not all printer controls are usable.
    Oh and nope I do not have the gutenprint or whatever it's called listed so that's not the problem.

  • My macbook pro out of screen when i switch from windows to mac

    my macbook pro out of screen when i switch from windows to mac , mac is running but out of screen , what should i do??

    my macbook pro out of screen when i switch from windows to mac , mac is running but out of screen , what should i do??

  • Painless switch from PC to MAC

    As many people do so, i will be making the switch from PC to MAC in 2009.
    Since i want to do this as painless as possible, i want to be prepared as good as possible. I already found some information about licensing but i'm also much concerned about the technical issues.
    - Creative Suite CS2 / Photoshop CS3 : can i take all my actions, custom settings, brushes etc to the other side? All compatible. Concerning third-party plugins i know i will have to contact them seperately
    Working a lot in Indesign and Illustrator, i expect to have many Font issues. Any advice on this?
    - Lightroom: i have 5 collections and some 100,000 photos in DNG, JPEG and PSD format on 3 different (internal and external) drives. I backup on another external drive. I'm concerned making the switch, Lightroom's database will either not be compatible or will not take along all settings (presets, keywords, sets, etc).
    - color consistency / calibration. I know the colors displayed on my current monitor are correct. Can I expect differences when displaying my photos on a mac?
    Anything else I have to think about? I don't want to lose years of work neither spend weeks switching from one platform to the other. Any advice is really welcome.

    Mr. Isaacs,
    Please note this definition of the word misinformation:
    "False or inaccurate information, esp. that which is deliberately intended to deceive..."
    I am not a lawyer, and you might not be either: but when I am repeatedly given misinformation by representatives of a corporation, I must consider the possibility of fraudulent behavior. Whether or not the persons giving out the misinformation are employees or outsourced contractors is immaterial to me; the ultimate responsibility lies with Adobe's management.
    Here's another example for you of misinformation. I discovered yesterday (after quite a bit of searching) that Adobe Acrobat Pro for Mac does not include the application LiveCycle Designer. However, when I looked at the product description on the Store page, I saw no mention that this is a Windows-only feature:
    From http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatpro/features/:
    "Create dynamic forms
    Use Adobe LiveCycle Designer, a professional form design tool included with Acrobat 9 Pro, to further customize and automate dynamic XML forms."
    I have several forms that I have created for clients using LiveCycle Designer. However, now that I have a Mac, I will be unable to edit those forms in Acrobat Pro, which I purchased as part of Creative Suite. From Help files http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Acrobat/8.0/Professional/help.html?content=WS58a04a822e3e50102 bd615109794195ff-7dfd.html:
    In Windows, you can use LiveCycle Designer to edit forms that were created in Acrobat, but Acrobat can’t edit form fields that have been opened and saved in LiveCycle Designer.
    So now I will need to purchase a full copy of Acrobat Pro for Windows ($449.00 USD) in order to continue to use the forms that I have created for my paying clients.
    Just out of curiosity, I decided to ask a sales representative about whether or not LiveCycle Designer is included in the Mac version. I clicked the Chat button on the Acrobat Pro product page, and initiated a chat with "Randy." Here's the important bit of our conversation:
    "Adrienne: Just to clarify, the Mac version of Acrobat Pro 9 does have LiveCycle designer included?
    Randy: Yes."
    "Randy" was only too eager to take my money then and there. Of course, if I had purchased Acrobat Pro 9, and once I opened, installed, and ran the software, I would have discovered that I did not in fact have LiveCycle Designer. I could then initiate a return, which would hopefully be completed within the three-week time frame specified.
    I repeatedly requested that I be given an ID for the chat, either the representative's ID or a reference number for the chat. "Randy" told me he couldn't give me any "personal information," (I did not ask for his last name, just a way to identify him) but said I could email myself a copy of the chat. I entered my email address as instructed but never received a transcript of the chat.
    I can only conclude two things from this experience:
    One: Adobe's management of its Customer Service and Sales departments is incompetent;
    OR
    Two: Adobe is deliberately trying to deceive me, the customer, with "bait and switch" tactics.
    If it's the first case, then I am only too eager to stop buying products from a company that cannot manage its Support and Sales teams. If it's the second case, I must consider filing a complaint with the FTC.
    Mr. Isaacs, if you were in my position, what do you think you would do?

  • Recently switched from powermac to mac pro5 2x2.66GHz 6 -core xeon   running FCP 7 on OS 10.6.8  exporting qt files and rendering project files now takes longer than my old machine   looking at activity mon and % of user is aroun 6 and % of idle around 42

    recently switched from powermac to mac pro5 2x2.66GHz 6 -core xeon   running FCP 7 on OS 10.6.8  exporting qt files and rendering project files now takes longer than my old machine   looking at activity mon and % of user is aroun 6 and % of idle around 42  are all the cores being used with FCP7?

    johnnyapplesod wrote:
    exporting qt files and rendering project files now takes longer than my old machine
    It's because the PowerMac G5 had HUGE bandwidth with a fat BUS on each processsor so they could run hard, hot and heavy.
    It's not so with the Intel processors which are multi-core and share a common bus thus bottleneck.
    The newer Intel processors can do more work on the CPU, but when it comes to in/out they are s-l-o-w.
    I've had a wickedly fast dual processor (not dual core) G5, RAID 0 pair of 10,000 RPM drives as boot and a fast video card, I could do a lot very very fast.
    You'll likely have to upgrade to Final Cut X to get more cores utilized, prepare to cry a little bit, Apple is working on the features they stripped out of it to make amends to pro users who complained loudly. (all over TV too)
    http://www.loopinsight.com/2011/09/20/apple-releases-major-update-to-final-cut-p ro-x-release-demo-version/

  • Ipod Switch from Windows to Mac:  Possible?

    Hi, I'm new here. If this has been asked, I couldn't find it.
    I just bought a Macbook Pro; first Apple computer I've owned.
    My iTunes library is on my IBM. Is it possible to get my songs into my Apple and then reformat the iPod and reload them?
    thanks.
    Regards,
    Mark

    You can use your iPod which will work on your Mac, there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the files and playlists from your iPod, this is just a selection. Have a look at the web pages and documentation for these, they are generally quite straightforward. I use Senuti but have a look at the others and go with whichever you prefer.
    Senuti Mac Only
    iPodRip Mac Only
    PodWorks Mac Only
    iPod.iTunes Mac Only
    iPod Access Mac and Windows Versions
    YamiPod Mac and Windows Versions
    PodUtil Mac and Windows Versions
    iPodCopy Mac and Windows Versions
    Another way of course would be to network the two computers and copy over your iTunes folder. There is a good general guide to switching from Windows to Mac at the following link that touches on moving music as well How to Move to a Mac - Get your stuff from your PC to your new Mac
    There are also these guides:
    How to move music between authorised computers
    Moving your iTunes Music Folder This is written around moving to another drive on your computer but should adaptable for moving to another computer ok and also Networking with a Windows PC
    Don't forget by the way if you have purchased any tracks from the iTunes Music Store to deauthorise your old PC if you are disposing of it so you don't use up your 5 allowances How to move music between authorised computers

  • Building a NAS while switching from PC to Mac

    I am getting ready to make the switch from PC to MAC.  I currently have my primary desktop PC functioning as a shared media storage center, with USB external drive as backup.   All media is funnelled through iTunes and synced with two Apple TVs in the house that are CAT-6 connected to network switch.   I use Apple TV (cut the cord) to browse my iTunes library over LAN and stream recorded TV/ripped movies quite a bit. 
    My plan is to purchase a MacBook Pro and eventually get a Thunderbold Monitor, Keyboard, and Mouse to act as docking station. 
    I would like to transition my media files to a NAS, but I'm struggling to find a good guide for making my own NAS.  My understanding is that it would be pretty easy to use the parts I have on my home built PC to function as a NAS in an area separate from the MacBook.
    A few specific questions:
    1)  Will I need to specially format my NAS drives to be Mac-friendly?
         1a)  Will any special formatting limit flexibility of sharing that data with non-Mac laptops/PCs?
    2)  Will the Apple TV be able to "see" the music/movie iTunes library on the NAS or, like it is now, will it require the PC/NAS to be running iTunes in order for the libary to be viewable on Apple TV?
    I really don't want to drop several hundred bucks on a Time Capsule.  I already have an airport extreme with express x 2 (working great, love them). 
    Any advice here would be appreciated.  I look forward to your responses.
    Thanks and take care.

    I am getting ready to make the switch from PC to MAC.  I currently have my primary desktop PC functioning as a shared media storage center, with USB external drive as backup.   All media is funnelled through iTunes and synced with two Apple TVs in the house that are CAT-6 connected to network switch.   I use Apple TV (cut the cord) to browse my iTunes library over LAN and stream recorded TV/ripped movies quite a bit. 
    My plan is to purchase a MacBook Pro and eventually get a Thunderbold Monitor, Keyboard, and Mouse to act as docking station. 
    I would like to transition my media files to a NAS, but I'm struggling to find a good guide for making my own NAS.  My understanding is that it would be pretty easy to use the parts I have on my home built PC to function as a NAS in an area separate from the MacBook.
    A few specific questions:
    1)  Will I need to specially format my NAS drives to be Mac-friendly?
         1a)  Will any special formatting limit flexibility of sharing that data with non-Mac laptops/PCs?
    2)  Will the Apple TV be able to "see" the music/movie iTunes library on the NAS or, like it is now, will it require the PC/NAS to be running iTunes in order for the libary to be viewable on Apple TV?
    I really don't want to drop several hundred bucks on a Time Capsule.  I already have an airport extreme with express x 2 (working great, love them). 
    Any advice here would be appreciated.  I look forward to your responses.
    Thanks and take care.

  • I have switched from PC to Mac how do i use my windows version  of adobe photoshop CS3 on my MAC?

    i have switched from PC to Mac how do i use my windows version  of adobe photoshop CS3 on my MAC?

    rebel1568,
    All Photoshop versions through CS6 came with platform-specific licenses, either Windows or PC.  You could get a cross-grade of platform swap at a nominal cost but not for older versions, only for whatever Photoshop versions was current at the time.
    CS3 is totally out of the upgrade or cross-grade loop.  You'd have to buy a new license for CS6 Mac or subscribe to Photoshop CC, as Trevor points out.
    Curt Y is correct in that CS2 will not run on current Mac-Intel machines.  You would need a used Mac G5 or G4 with a PowerPC (IBM) CPU, which have been obsolete since mid 2006.
    Of course, you could run your Windows  on your Mac if you installed and ran BootCamp or Parallells.

  • I am writing to this forum to ask for help in determining whether Aperture will satisfy my needs when I switch from Windows to MAC in the near future.

     I am writing to this forum to ask for help in determining whether Aperture will satisfy my needs when I switch from Windows to MAC in the near future.  
    I am currently using Photoshop Elements 8 on Windows 7.  After several years of use, I am self taught and adequately proficient for an amateur.  What I didn't realize (until I started researching my upcoming migration on the Internet) is that I actually use PE8 for two functions: digital asset management and digital editing. 
    Regarding Digital Asset Management: My research leads me to understand that PE on MAC does not provide the same level of organizational capability that I am used to having on Windows, instead providing Adobe's Bridge which does not look very robust.  Furthermore, iPhoto, which come on MAC will not support the hierarchical keyword tagging that I require to organize my library of photos. The two SW applications which I am thinking of switching to are either Aperture or Adobe's Lightroom.  Frankly, I'm thinking that it would be smoother to stay within the Apple product line. 
    So the remaining question is whether Aperture will support my digital editing needs. The tweaks that I do to my photos are not very complex (no, I do not want to put people's heads on other animal bodies).  But could someone who uses Aperture tell me whether It will allow me to do the following kinds of edits?:
    - If I have a photo where someone's face is too shadowed, can I lighten just that person's face, and leave the rest of the photo as-is?  
    - if I have a photo where the background is cluttered (eg, 2 people in front of the Parthenon which is undergoing renovation), can I remove just the construction cranes?  
    - Can it splice together several separate photos to give a panoramic?  
    If, once I get Aperture, I find that it cannot enable the kinds of editing that I do, I would probably get PE11 in the future. However, if people in this forum tell me that Aperture will definitely not  support the kinds of editing which I've described in the previous paragraph, I would prefer to get PE11 with my initial configuration (since someone will be helping me with my migration).  
    Thanks in advance for your consideration and help! 

    I am concerned, however,  about using a non-Apple Digital Asset Manager in OSX. I would really like to avoid integration problems. Is using PE11 to import and catalog my digital photos likely to cause conflicts?
    Thanks for any insight on this
    Amy,
    Not so much conflicts as maybe a little less seamless integration with Apple software and perhaps some third-party software providers in the Mac App Store where some programs build in direct access to iPhoto and Aperture libraries for getting images into those programs easily. Typically, there is a manual command to go to Finder (think Windows Explorer) to browse folders.
    One caution to mention however, is that the organization you set-up in PE Organizer is unlikely to transfer over to either iPhoto or Aperture if you decide to change at some point.
    The only real stumbling block that I see in your opening comment is that you want hierarchical keywording (Kirby or Léonie can go into the details on keywording limitations as I stay at one level). If you can work with the keywording schemes of either iPhoto or Aperture, then using PE for your external editor (either program supports setting an external editor) would probably be ideal since you know PE well. This is the idea with the Mac App Store version of PE (editor with no organizer).
    Note - I use Photoshop CS6 (full version) with Aperture and it works really well. The only downside is that Aperture has to make either a TIFF or PSD file to send to an external editor so that the original file is protected by not sending it to the pixel editor. While TIFF or PSD files protect the integrity of the image information without degrading it, they are typically much larger file sizes on disk than either RAW or JPEG files. Therefore, your library size (iPhoto or Aperture) will balloon quite a bit if you send a lot of files to external editors.
    One other possibility for an external editor would be a program called Pixelmator. It is pretty similar to early versions of Photoshop, but built for Mac. Other than the panoramics you want, it will do most pixel editing that PE can do. It is not an organizer, so it is built to go with either iPhoto or Aperture. It does have differences in how you complete certain procedures, so there is bit of a learning curve when you are used to doing it the Adobe way.

  • I have CC for work and my PC to do work at home. At home I switched from PC to Mac this weekend. I want to redownload my apps for the iMac but it's telling my I'm using a 30 day free trial. I need to discontinue the PC apps and download to the new compute

    I have CC for work and my PC to do work at home. At home I switched from PC to Mac this weekend. I want to redownload my apps for the iMac but it's telling my I'm using a 30 day free trial. I need to discontinue the PC apps and download to the new computer.

    YOu need to sign out of the PC thru the CC manager and then sign in on the Mac.

  • I am trying to do a migration transfer from an older Mac Pro, running Leopard, to a newer Mac Pro, running Lion.  There is a step that asks for a "passcode" to proceed.  I have no idea what that passcode is.  It seems to want a numeric code.

    I am trying to do a migration transfer from an older Mac Pro, running Leopard, to a newer Mac Pro, running Lion.  There is a step that asks for a "passcode" to proceed.  I have no idea what that passcode is.  It seems to want a numeric code.  Has anyone had this experience?

    This general-purpose article gives detailed step-by-step instructions for using Migration assistant, Setup Assistant, and other mehtods, and discusses the Pros and cons of each mtheod. It is very approachable and easy to understand. Wriiten by Pondini, the resident Time Machine guru.
    Setting-up a new Mac from an old one, its backups, or a PC

  • When watching my Apple TV (3rd gen) the picture jumps a few frame every few seconds, this happens when I rent a film or play back from my new Mac Pro, my Wifi is the Airport Express.

    When watching my Apple TV (3rd gen) the picture jumps a few frames every few seconds, this happens when I rent a film or play back from my new Mac Pro, my Wifi is the Airport Express.

    These may be different issues, but lets look at rentals first.
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  • I have CS6 Design & Web Premium, would like to switch from PC to Mac. Can I do this for free?

    I have CS6 Design & Web Premium, would like to switch from PC to Mac. Does anyone know if it's possible to do this for free? I have no interest in upgrading to CC.

    Order an Adobe product platform swap or language swap
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  • I'm switching from PC to Mac. I'm using my one time switch for Lightroom. I have elements 7. Can I upgrade or do I née to just buy outright?

    I'm switching from PC to Mac. I'm using my one time switch for Lightroom. I have elements 7. Can I upgrade or do I née to just buy outright?

    If you use the organizer, you need to buy the boxed version of PSE 12. You can usually find it at big box stores and online retailers for less than adobe's upgrade price, if you shop around. You need the boxed version because you get a serial  number that works on both platforms, and you will need to install PSE 12 in windows first, upgrade your catalog, then make a full backup to a removable drive and restore from that to the mac, after installing PSE 12 there.
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