Going Mac

Well, today I ordered a new computer and to everyone's supply it is a Mac! I never thought I would do that but I just did. It should be arriving next week and was wondering if anyone has any tips on making the change from PC to Mac. I think it is going to be a fabulous machine and I am really excited to get to start using it but know there will be a bit of a learning curve. My main piece of software that won't switch over is iMatch. I'm not a fan of Aperature so would be up for any suggestions on a good cataloging program. Thanks everybody!

Drew

Be aware that when starting up a new Mac there's a feature that allows you to attach it to your prior Mac for an automatic transfer of all files including many programs. I haven't a clue whether the latest Intel Mac's would allow you to do the same from a PC (maybe onto a partitioned drive?), but it would be really sweet if it did. A real time saver!

Hehe, that would be nice except that my systems drive in my PC is dead. It makes loud grating noises and therefore won't boot windows. Didn't have anything to do with the purchasing of a new system but it will make things a bit more tricky as I try to get images off all the other drives in the tower. Going to have to borrow a friends computer and put drives in one by one, copy to an external or over a network and then to the new mac. Sounds tedious to me!

Drew

When my Dell eventually dies, I will be joining you. There is a Mac Pro somewhere in my future.

Drew,

iMatch can follow you to the Mac. What you need is Parallels. You already have a Windows license you can transfer over to load on Parallels, so that's not a problem, since your Windows PC died. I run Parallels on my iMac and it runs pretty much at the same speed as it would on a native Windows machine. Have a look at:
http://www.parallels.com

I also run qimage for printing and quickbooks for invoicing on Parallels

Have fun

Andre

Thanks Andre,
The next version of OS X (10.5) that will be released in October will have native support for a dual boot. As of now, you can do it with the beta version of Boot Camp. I am going to give that a try but I am not looking forward to having to go back and forth between two OS's during image editing. In any case, the new Nikon ViewNX looks like it might work for a while. I still have an XP laptop too.

Thanks again,
Drew

Drew,

Try this for moving the data from your old drives:

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/U2NVSPATARH/

I've not used one, but I have an old usb external drive case that I opened up and switch drives out of if I need to transfer files.

Lightroom would be an alternative to Aperture. I'm trying it out now to bring my massive amount of images under control.

Drew -

Congrats on the switch. I did so a few months ago myself and like you, I thought I'd never give up IMatch. I ended up switching to Lightroom. It isnt as powerful a cataloging software as IMatch, but it is good enough and the improvements in my workflow are more than worth it.

Vandit

Drew,

in itself, dual booting is a nice thing to have if you spend a long time in Windows. If you need to switch back and forth, it is a proverbial pain in the posterieur. However, Parallels frees you from dual boot, from Windows on your Mac, you can drap/drop across your Windows and Mac desktops. Parallels is very nicely integrated in the Mac environment and you can set it up to almost not actually see Windows at all, it just happens in the background. You can download a fully running trial version to give it a go.

Cheers,

Andre
(PS: I don't work for Parallels, just a happy user )

You might find this helpful... http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/

I made the switch in April of '06 knowing that I could install Bootcamp and dual boot to the Windoze applications that I absolutely couldn't live without. Guess what? Never installed it. Never looked back. I now have the original iMac 20, a MacBook Pro and we have a Mac Pro in the studio.

I've used Aperture since day one and found that it was okay until the image count got up there (studio machine). It gets to be a frustrating pig of an application when the image database gets into 5 digits. We're trying out Lightroom right now, hoping that it will successfully replace Aperture.

A couple of things I learned through experience, Drew. Notify Adobe of the switch and they will make it easy for you to change formats on Photoshop at no cost.

I've tried Aperture as catalog system and found too many issues with metadata when trying to read it with other apps. It's just too unreliable. I also find that ACR 4 in PSCS3 is more consistent at conversions than Aperture. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice program for a lot of things. But, don't buy it if you don't need it.

Lightroom is also a clunker, in my opinion, when it comes to simple cataloging. I have found that iView Media Pro and PSCS3's Bridge 2.0 make a perfect match for a much lower cost.

As far as transferring your data from your open hard drives, follow Rob's advice and use the patch cord from Newer Tech or Cables Unlimited. You connect your drive to the cable and the cable to a USB port without having to mount or swap anything. Very easy process. I am using one for the same issue on an old drive.

I also agree that if you try to avoid using Windows on the Mac, you eventually realize you don't need it. Good bye Mr. Gates!!!

A couple of things I learned through experience, Drew. Notify Adobe of the switch and they will make it easy for you to change formats on Photoshop at no cost.

I've tried Aperture as catalog system and found too many issues with metadata when trying to read it with other apps. It's just too unreliable. I also find that ACR 4 in PSCS3 is more consistent at conversions than Aperture. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice program for a lot of things. But, don't buy it if you don't need it.

Lightroom is also a clunker, in my opinion, when it comes to simple cataloging. I have found that iView Media Pro and PSCS3's Bridge 2.0 make a perfect match for a much lower cost.

As far as transferring your data from your open hard drives, follow Rob's advice and use the patch cord from Newer Tech or Cables Unlimited. You connect your drive to the cable and the cable to a USB port without having to mount or swap anything. Very easy process. I am using one for the same issue on an old drive.

I also agree that if you try to avoid using Windows on the Mac, you eventually realize you don't need it. Good bye Mr. Gates!!!

I second the advice given above by Alfred. I've used Macs all along, but every time I make a major upgrade, I find I need to tune up my knowledge. At the Apple Store make good use of the Genius Bar (walk-in 15 min. sessions 1:1 with a mac guru). I also found it very useful to buy a year's worth of One-to-One, which allows you to meet for an hour 1:1 with a mac applications specialist in the store for customized training on all apps Mac that interest you. Sure beats fumbling around on your own when time is precious. I don't use any windows or microsoft apps and find I can get along just fine with all my pc friends who haven't yet seen the light. I hope you enjoy the new machine and the Mac adventure.

Thanks to everybody for the help! I have now ordered one of those great looking cables to transfer over to the new system with. I also would love to utilize the One-to-One stuff but not sure how well it will work in a month when I move to College STation, TX and the closest store is an hour and a half away! In any case, I may give it a try once I see how things are going. Thanks again for all the help!

Sometimes I wonder why so many folks still use windows, the headaches alone would have caused me to switch the first month I would have owned one. I have been using a mac for almost 16yrs now, and fluent on both platforms, but I would never ever own a windows operating machine, never, I even told my parents that I would by them a mac next year, since they are real tired of their dell. And even offered to buy them it, just so they would switch.

Have fun, you will be amazed at what you have been missing all along!