New Mac Computer! :-)

[neil poulsen]

Quite a while ago, I began a thread on what would be the best Windows 10 computer for digital imaging. There were many thoughtful responses. Clearly, a Windows 10 based system would have been a viable option.

But this week, I chose the path less travelled by. I brought home a Mac. It's a Studio, and I'm told that this should be a killer computer for Photoshop. I purchased it with one upgrade, a terabyte SSD, versus a 1/2 terabyte SSD, which comes standard in the base model. But more to the point, this new computer will have the most recent OS. So finally, I will be able to run the most recent version of Photoshop.

I've been using CS4 on my old Mac Pro. It's dated, and it has a copy of CS4 installed on it. This has worked fine for most of my needs. But, High Sierra is the most recent OSX that this computer will accept, and of course, Adobe no longer supports that OS.

I will still use my Mac Pro for a bunch of legacy software that I have: PM5 color management software, and an old copy of ColorBurst that I like as a true RIP. Loaded with CS4 for routine editing, it will be useful for advanced printing.

But, my new Studio will be excellent for editing new images. It also has features and software that will be useful for my wife. Gosh. I think the last time that I purchased a new computer was in about 2009. I think that we were finally due for a new computer.

[bdkphoto]

Quite a while ago, I began a thread on what would be the best Windows 10 computer for digital imaging. There were many thoughtful responses. Clearly, a Windows 10 based system would have been a viable option.

But this week, I chose the path less travelled by. I brought home a Mac. It's a Studio, and I'm told that this should be a killer computer for Photoshop. I purchased it with one upgrade, a terabyte SSD, versus a 1/2 terabyte SSD, which comes standard in the base model. But more to the point, this new computer will have the most recent OS. So finally, I will be able to run the most recent version of Photoshop.

I've been using CS4 on my old Mac Pro. It's dated, and it has a copy of CS4 installed on it. This has worked fine for most of my needs. But, High Sierra is the most recent OSX that this computer will accept, and of course, Adobe no longer supports that OS.

I will still use my Mac Pro for a bunch of legacy software that I have: PM5 color management software, and an old copy of ColorBurst that I like as a true RIP. Loaded with CS4 for routine editing, it will be useful for advanced printing.

But, my new Studio will be excellent for editing new images. It also has features and software that will be useful for my wife. Gosh. I think the last time that I purchased a new computer was in about 2009. I think that we were finally due for a new computer.

I think you will find a tremendous difference from the the Mac Pro in every way. The current versions of PS and LR are light years ahead CS4, and you may find that you will be able to run your legacy software seamlessly on the Studio as well under Rosetta, part of the new OS. I moved from the Mac pro to m1 mini 2 years back and haven't looked back.

[Michael R]

Congrats! That should be a great setup indeed.


Quite a while ago, I began a thread on what would be the best Windows 10 computer for digital imaging. There were many thoughtful responses. Clearly, a Windows 10 based system would have been a viable option.

But this week, I chose the path less travelled by. I brought home a Mac. It's a Studio, and I'm told that this should be a killer computer for Photoshop. I purchased it with one upgrade, a terabyte SSD, versus a 1/2 terabyte SSD, which comes standard in the base model. But more to the point, this new computer will have the most recent OS. So finally, I will be able to run the most recent version of Photoshop.

I've been using CS4 on my old Mac Pro. It's dated, and it has a copy of CS4 installed on it. This has worked fine for most of my needs. But, High Sierra is the most recent OSX that this computer will accept, and of course, Adobe no longer supports that OS.

I will still use my Mac Pro for a bunch of legacy software that I have: PM5 color management software, and an old copy of ColorBurst that I like as a true RIP. Loaded with CS4 for routine editing, it will be useful for advanced printing.

But, my new Studio will be excellent for editing new images. It also has features and software that will be useful for my wife. Gosh. I think the last time that I purchased a new computer was in about 2009. I think that we were finally due for a new computer.

[neil poulsen]

So it arrived, but setup was a little tricky. A couple of gripes . . .

There's something about Apples windows that doesn't outline some fields. When it came to setup, somewhere during the process, it was necessary to create an account and then specify a password. As one might expect, there was a verification field for the password. But, it wasn't visible on the screen, nor was there any indication that verification was necessary or existed.

Consequently, following the directions as I did, it was not possible to complete the setup procedure. I called technical support, and their first line of defense support person wasn't able to figure out the problem. He transferred me to Studio tech support, and after about ten minutes, she suggested that I enter the password, and then tab.

Sure enough, I was tabbed to the invisible field, and I was able to complete the setup process.

As to my second gripe, ordering this computer online was a non-trivial process. It was not intuitive, and links were improperly named. To check out, I had to access the shopping cart. I spoke with four different Apple employees in sales and a couple of other departments. But, to no avail. There was no obvious way to access the shopping cart.

FINALLY, I spoke to a person at Merrill-Lynch, and she was able to help me through the entire process. Speaking with Apple from her end, she was also able to answer a technical question that I had. Hurray for Merrill-Lynch!

So, what's happened the Apples mantra of keeping it simple and intuitive. How could they miss the obvious problem of an invisible, password verification field? And, one would think that Apple would want an intuitive, easy ordering process. Nyet!

Fortunately, after having dealt with those traumas, it appears the computer is working well. So, onward and forward.

[h2oman]

I just got an Apple (after PCs only) in December. Took a simpler route and ordered a "stock" model from Best Buy, which went totally smoothly. I had to watch some videos about a few things, "Finder" in particular. Things worked pretty well up until...

The computer came with the operating system Monterey and then, at some point, I was asked if I wanted to upgrade to Ventura. I did, and then discovered that the Print Tool software by Roy Harrington doesn't work with that OS. It was a real pain to get Monterey back, and then I had to reload everything from a backup disk. Fortunately I had one - last summer I lost almost all of my digital photo files when my not-backed-up hard drive crashed! I'm sticking with Monterey until something doesn't work.

[domaz]

I just got an Apple (after PCs only) in December. Took a simpler route and ordered a "stock" model from Best Buy, which went totally smoothly. I had to watch some videos about a few things, "Finder" in particular. Things worked pretty well up until...

The computer came with the operating system Monterey and then, at some point, I was asked if I wanted to upgrade to Ventura. I did, and then discovered that the Print Tool software by Roy Harrington doesn't work with that OS. It was a real pain to get Monterey back, and then I had to reload everything from a backup disk. Fortunately I had one - last summer I lost almost all of my digital photo files when my not-backed-up hard drive crashed! I'm sticking with Monterey until something doesn't work.

Is Print Tool really necessary anymore? I hear conflicting reports and I've never used it. Just use Photoshop with "Printer Manages Color".

[h2oman]

As I understand it, Print Tool is necessary when using QTR (needed for Piezography) with a Mac.

[domaz]

As I understand it, Print Tool is necessary when using QTR (needed for Piezography) with a Mac.

Currently I'm using the Inkjet Mall Piezography beta driver, but I have used QTR in the past and never really saw a difference between Photoshop and Print-Tool.

[Peter Lewin]

A question for those of you who have migrated from an older Mac to a new one. My new Mac arrives in about a week. If you used Migration Assistant to move files and apps to the new Mac, did you copy from your existing Mac, Time Machine, or the Cloud (the 3 options provided)? Any suggestions? Must admit I’m apprehensive.

[drew.saunders]

A question for those of you who have migrated from an older Mac to a new one. My new Mac arrives in about a week. If you used Migration Assistant to move files and apps to the new Mac, did you copy from your existing Mac, Time Machine, or the Cloud (the 3 options provided)? Any suggestions? Must admit I’m apprehensive.

The last few times I’ve done this, both at home (2009 intel iMac to 2019 intel iMac) and at work (2108 intel iMac that died 4 days after the extended warranty that my employer paid for! To a 2021 M1 MacBook Pro), I did so via Time Machine backup. In the 2nd case, it was because the iMac was dead, but it’s just easier to find space for the external HD once I’ve set up the new computer.

If moving from intel to Apple silicon, don’t migrate any apps, just note the ones you want to keep and reinstall them. Move all your data and preferences.

Drew


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[PatrickMarq]

[QUOTE=drew.saunders
If moving from intel to Apple silicon, don’t migrate any apps, just note the ones you want to keep and reinstall them. Move all your data and preferences.[/QUOTE]

Yes Peter reinstall all your software from scratch, a lot of work but you will benefit from it. I have also done this when going from am MicMini 2012 to a MacMini Studio.
This way you have all the optimised software for the new processor, not quite sure for the preferences.

[Willie]

Know many who like PC Gaming computers for image work. No bloatware, good performance. Designed for fast response and with Photoshop and image programs they work well.

[domaz]

Know many who like PC Gaming computers for image work. No bloatware, good performance. Designed for fast response and with Photoshop and image programs they work well.

PC Gaming rigs are a solid choice, but if power consumption is a concern a Mac Silicon machine is many many times more efficient on a performance per watt basis.

[Tin Can]

I want both

Just today ordered a tiny mini computer as my 10 year old PC is on it's last legs, I will strip out good parts and recycle

and I have a Mac

[Peter Lewin]

A quick follow-up on my migration from my 2013 Intel Mac to my 24" Apple M1 Mac. First, thank you to everyone who responded to my concerns about the migration. In the end I looked for the simplest approach (i.e. the one Apple Support posted on the web) and used Migration Assistant from the old Mac to the new one. (I could have migrated from Time Machine, but Apple suggested directly migrating from one Mac to the other). While this migrated everything, including apps, when I opened the apps they all automatically required me to do new downloads (Adobe Elements, Vuescan, Microsoft Office) so rather than reinstalling myself from scratch, I merely followed the on-screen prompts. It all worked smoothly and fast. I configured my Mac with the optional 1TB of SSD, which probably accounts for some of the speed increase, and also will allow me to go from Elements to full Photoshop if I feel the urge. At the moment I use Elements to make digital contact sheets, and occasionally digital work prints, but anything serious still happens in my darkroom.