I sold my soul ...

[stevevp]

After being a Windows user for 25 years - think Windows 3, an Intel 286 processor and using a 14.4kb modem to access pre-WWW bulletin boards plus Compuserve for newsgroups and email - I have just ordered a 13" rMBP, 3.3GHz i7, 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. Hopefully I will be blown away by the performance and may need eye protection when I first turn it on. The bad news is a 2 week delivery time so I will be lucky to receive it before a planned 2,500 mile road-trip to Slovenia and back early next month (I should've made my mind up earlier). Hopefully it will all work out. I will no doubt have plenty of questions ...

 

[oleleclos]

Welcome to the other side, and feel free to ask. I changed to Mac 27 years ago, frustrated with the PCs of the day (having started my IT career on 8080 and Z80 CP/M machines in the late 70s).

The delivery time for your new wonder machine may prove a blessing in disguise. Taking something that radically new and different on a major roadtrip could end in tears. You have a learning curve ahead of you, and you'll do yourself a favour if you give it time, not pile on the pressure.

 

[stevevp]

Thanks for the wise words. I am hoping the new machine will arrive early. If not it will sadly be staying at home this time. It is certainly going to be quite a learning curve.

 

[clee01l]

If your new machine arrives before your trip, I'd still hold off on taking it until you are quite comfortable with the new environment. If you have every used an iPad or iPhone, the transition will be quite easy. If you can, avoid Microsoft Office as the free Apple equivalents are every bit as good.

 

[Ian.B]

I would certainly agree with Cletus about not rushing into the change over just for the trip --- they both do the same thing but both use very different roads to get there . If there wasn't the additional price for the logo I would have started with a mac all those years ago

 

[stevevp]

Unfortunately I don't really have another usable laptop. My existing HP model is painfully slow since upgrading to W10 and I'm not sure I'm going to have time to get it back to W7 and tested before I go. It might be a more sensible option to try though. I had intended that this would be the first trip that I'd actually get some initial culling and key-wording done along the way but maybe it's not to be and I'll just enjoy the trip.

 

[oleleclos]

...but maybe it's not to be and I'll just enjoy the trip.

Chances are that with a brand new Mac in tow you'll spend most of your time on that instead of out and about making pictures ;-)

 

[johnbeardy]

If you can, avoid Microsoft Office as the free Apple equivalents are every bit as good.

Only if you're a real amateur with Office.

 

[clee01l]

Only if you're a real amateur with Office.

"the free Apple equivalents are every bit as good." has nothing to do with ones status as an amateur to professional. I happen to use both, but wouldn't have spent the money for an Office 365 subscription had it not been for a Windows user in the family.

 

[stevevp]

Thanks all for the further advice and comments. I shall certainly try the Apple products before deciding to purchase MS Office. I am overdue an upgrade as I am still on Office 2010 and the 1TB of included storage is tempting but provided I can do basic word processing and use my existing tabbed spreadsheets I will be happy. I will have a one week cut-off date before the trip after which I won't take the new Mac with me although my wife is a long-standing Mac fanatic so can help me out to a greater extent with any user issues.

 

[johnbeardy]

Sorry, but the Apple equivalents to Office are like comparing Photos to Photoshop. I mean amateur in a general sense - inexpert, limited requirements.

 

[Say Cheese]

Sorry, but the Apple equivalents to Office are like comparing Photos to Photoshop. I mean amateur in a general sense - inexpert, limited requirements.

Yes, I agree. They're good as far as they go - but they don't go very far.

 

[stevevp]

Well my laptop has now been shipped and so I hope to receive it later on this week. Is there anything it would be useful to be aware of before I attempt to set it up which would be a real nuisance to have to change later? As an example, am I right in thinking that I do not want my pictures imported automatically into Photos but just use LR to import them into a folder on the hard drive?
Many thanks.

 

[clee01l]

Well my laptop has now been shipped and so I hope to receive it later on this week. Is there anything it would be useful to be aware of before I attempt to set it up which would be a real nuisance to have to change later? As an example, am I right in thinking that I do not want my pictures imported automatically into Photos but just use LR to import them into a folder on the hard drive?
Many thanks.

I would use the Migration Assistant and migrate the Windows user to the Mac. Every thing (LR catalog, previews,presets and master images as well as all of your other critical user data gets copied over. Install the Mac Apps that you need (i.e. LR, Office etc.) and open these files on the Mac. When you open the LR catalog file, you may have your cataloged images reported as missing. This is because the path to the images in that catalog refers to a Windows drive letter. The Mac path is easily relinked.

As for the Photos app, it is IMO worthless. I would disable it from starting up automatically and change all file associations and the Image Capture app to point to Previews or LR import. The last thing you want is the Photos app in the middle between your images and your LR catalog.

 

[stevevp]

Many thanks for your advice. I should probably have mentioned that in the first instance, and given the time constraint (and the size of the SSD), I am only intending to use the rMBP for travel (questions will no doubt follow on syncing catalog files!) and keep the content minimal - email, browsing, LR & PS. I guess that the Migration Assistant is not suitable for a partial transfer? Assuming not, I will install LR and PS through the Creative Cloud interface but note that I would have to manually add my presets. The advice you have given on Photos I think is crucial.

If I take to the rMBP I might well consider using it as my main computer, connected to a monitor and keyboard, EHD as necessary. I don't know if I can use the Migration Assistant at that time ie when I have already been using the rMBP for a period as opposed to initial turn on.

I am hoping that I will enjoy the Mac experience sufficiently that when Apple eventually decide to release the new iMacs I will move everything over to Mac at which time the Migration Assistant seems ideal. Thank you again for your advice. Exactly what I needed to know.

 

[mcasan]

Watch for the new hardware releases at WWDC on June 5th. Very good chances Apple will update the CPUs in the MacBooks. They will also update the iPad Pro line.

 

[stevevp]

Just what I didn't want to hear, thanks for that!
Seriously/sadly, too late on the MacBook Pro (unless I don't take delivery) but am hoping for some news on the new iMac or rumoured iMac Pro. We'll see ...

 

[stevevp]

Well it looks like I've largely escaped the update/upgrade curse! I picked up my rMBP last Wednesday - and am still struggling with it! The newly announced model seems to have only minor tweaks to the processor speed (albeit with an upgraded processor), still maxed out at 16GB RAM, no SD slot and the same price. I've got the option of taking mine back but think I may as well keep it as I suspect I wouldn't notice the difference.

 

[Opa]

I've used both platforms since the inception of each. For routine daily use I don't think the Apple Universe can be beat and the integration of mac, phone, iPad, and watch are getting better. I switched from Win to Mac for routine daily use in 2012 and am quite happy I did.

When I can I prefer the mac version of apps. There are exceptions though. Quicken Mac really really sucks, including the latest attempt. Excel was much better on Win until this last upgrade so I'm happily and finally on it now (Numbers just doesn't work for me). For what I do Pages works quite well and no version of Word offers anything I need. I'm on Pages for about 3-4 hrs per day. Avid is surprisingly better on Win for us (and a giant Surface is really beneficial). This even when running in a VM. d3 and a variety of other media/video/audio/lighting apps are scattered on one platform or another. Most things seem to run fairly well in a VM though I'd never do that during a live show. A lot of live production apps will say that they can build a more robust and reliable app on Win than on Mac due to the much more protected macOS rings.

For me the biggest daily difference is Finder vs File Explorer. I prefer File Explorer for most tasks and miss some of how it functioned such as copying stuff that requires manually opening a new finder window for d&d vs being able to simply drag to a folder tree structure like FE does. Once you get use to it I think you'll be happy you made the switch.

 

[stevevp]

Many thanks for the advice. I had a telephone session with Apple Support today to sort out a few issues. I am also using the MPR plugged into a monitor which makes it much easier to see what's going on. I think it's a case of persevering for now (and stop trying to use it like a Windows machine) and later on in the year purchase a new iMac to replace my PC and just go for full integration.