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tws · Sep 3, 2006, 05:16 PM

folks,

i'm thinking of buying my first mac. the 15" macbook pro.

aside from internet access my main software usage would be photoshop CS2

I've never owned a mac before my home desktop system is an asus P4 - flawless performance.

here is an issue that i don't fully understand:

"there is a lingering issue with third-party software written for the Mac, which will have to be rewritten so that it is optimized for Intel. Apple has included a Rosetta translator in Mac OS X to run Mac software on Intel hardware. Most native OS X applications are already labeled as universal binary applications. Crucial third-party programs such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop CS2 are not yet universal, and Microsoft's Virtual PC does not work with the MacBook Pro. Media production software, such as Final Cut Pro (universal at the end of this month), Motion, Soundtrack Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Aperture, Shake, and Final Cut Express, are currently not supported by Rosetta. Apple expects to have full support or "crossgrades" for these applications in the upcoming months."

am i to understand that the $2500 macbookpro will not run CS2?

thanks for any insight.

tws

stuppy · Sep 3, 2006, 05:24 PM

Illustrator CS2 runs fine on Intel Mac's. It doesn't run as fast as it would if it were coded for Intel, but it runs pretty smoothly.

tws · Sep 3, 2006, 05:51 PM

thanks stuppy.

that eases my mind...

now if i could just find a faq that explains the technoloy and merits of the built-in airport extreme and bluetooth thingy...

i guess bluetooth allows you to buy yet more extras like mice and headsets... is there anything else it's important for?

where i'll be working this winter is remote... no internet, however i hope to be able to visit the nearest large town and access the internet wirelessly if i can figure out how?

will airport extreme do this? or is it the ExpressCard/34 slot

thanks,

tws

kylemacr · Sep 3, 2006, 06:13 PM

Originally Posted by tws

thanks stuppy.

that eases my mind...

now if i could just find a faq that explains the technoloy and merits of the built-in airport extreme and bluetooth thingy...

i guess bluetooth allows you to buy yet more extras like mice and headsets... is there anything else it's important for?

where i'll be working this winter is remote... no internet, however i hope to be able to visit the nearest large town and access the internet wirelessly if i can figure out how?

will airport extreme do this? or is it the ExpressCard/34 slot

thanks,

tws

The airport extreme will allow you to connect to the internet wirelessly when you're in town, provided they have that service.

Bluetooth allows you to use wireless devices, such as printers, keyboards, mice, headsets, etc. The MBP has both.

The ExpressCard/34 slot will allow you to expand the system, similar to the way in which a PCI slot would. Theoretically you could add ports, mini hard drives, etc to the port. Realistically, it's a new technology and there aren't many products out that support it yet. There will be though. Eventually.

chipchen · Sep 3, 2006, 06:13 PM

tws, the AirPort Extreme is built in and compatible with 802.11b and 802.11g networks. The ExpressCard slot is for expansion cards.

One such card, that is to be released soon if not already, is the Verizon or Sprint EVDO card. You might be able to get internet access through Verizon Wireless or Sprint Nextel using that (if they have cell towers there).

This must be a REALLY remote place to not have internet access. I'm assuming there's a phone line... you can always get dial up and buy the Apple USB modem to connect.

kylemacr · Sep 3, 2006, 06:14 PM

By the way, if I were you, I'd hold off buying Photoshop CS2 (until the new version comes out next year (if you can). That version will run natively and beautifully on the Intel Macs, including the MBP.

mduell · Sep 3, 2006, 06:18 PM

You can run the entire Adobe Creative Suite either on OSX (and take the performance penalty due to Rosetta translation) or on Windows (and get full native performance) on a MacBook Pro. Switching between the two requires a reboot.

Airport Extreme is Apple's name for 802.11g technology, commonly called wifi. It's for connecting your computer to a network wirelessly.
Bluetooth is a lower-speed, lower-range standard for connecting various devices (mice, phones, headsets, etc) to your computer.

If the local town has any place with free or subscription wifi (like T-mobile hotspots at Starbucks and Borders, or other similar services), then you will be fine with just Airport. If they don't, then you'd need a cellular modem (which goes in the EC/34 slot or plugs into a USB port or uses Bluetooth) to connect to one of the wireless phone companies networks (Verizon, T-mobile, etc).

tws · Sep 3, 2006, 06:37 PM

Thanks everyone for your helpful replies.

there are modem connections in battlemountain and i suspect winnemucca may have wireless, i hope so.

that's pretty cool about the advent of Verizon or Sprint EVDO card, i'll bet it's expensive.

it's a pretty fancy laptop the macbookpro...

i'll probably wait until november to commit... maybe get a better deal and more bugs ironed out.

cheers!

tws

kylemacr · Sep 3, 2006, 07:26 PM

The Verizon EVDO is $60/month for an unlimited data plan

.

SierraDragon · 07:58 PM

Originally Posted by tws

"there is a lingering issue with third-party software written for the Mac..."

That "lingering issue" is pretty much a non-issue in reality. Non Universal Binary applications like CS2 have been running on MBPs under the built-in "Rosetta emulation" just fine for 8 months now. There is a significant but very tolerable performance hit that will disappear when CS3 is released Q2 2007.

Laptops, even the MBPs, are generally limited (as compared to fully configured pro towers) for heavy graphics apps like CS and Aperture, so when you get a MBP equip it as fully as you can, especially maximum RAM.

And plan on getting a FireWire 800 or Express Card/34 external hard drive for use as a Photoshop scratch disk; it makes a big difference in PS performance. Note that only the 17" version of the existing MBPs has FW 800, but hopefully with the Merom MBPs FW 800 will be available in the 15" models too. USB and FW 400 are poor for hard drive connecting, so for apps that need external disk access either FireWire 800 or Express Card/34 is IMO important. FW 800 external drives are ubiquitous, but Express/34 drives are rare (if there even are any yet).

New "Merom" based MBPs will be announced this month, so it makes sense to wait for that announcement before selecting a box. In any event do not succumb to the lure of the MacBook's lower price if you intend to run Adobe's CS apps.

-Allen Wicks

P.S. I will be buying one of the first Merom MBPs available, and am way ready...

tws · Sep 3, 2006, 11:58 PM

plan on getting a FireWire 800 or Express Card/34 external hard drive for use as a Photoshop scratch disk;

WoW... thanks SierraDragon!

that was a question i wanted answered... on my desktop asus P4 i have two 180 HD's and of course creating a scratch disk is effortless by utilizing the secondary disk...

i don't dig PARTITIONING at all on any system... so you've answered my unasked question.

i had no idea you could use the express card/34 for an external disk... now of course i'll do it...

i'm way ready too.

cheers!

tws

k squared · Sep 4, 2006, 01:13 PM

Originally Posted by tws

...i had no idea you could use the express card/34 for an external disk... now of course i'll do it...

Not sure if I need to clarify this, but: the express card slot wouldn't be use for an external disk, per se, but you would buy and FW 800 card for the slot and then plug the external disk into it. Of course, I'm not entirely sure there are not external disks with an express card interface out there, as I used to have an external case with a PC-Card interface for a PowerBook 3400.

mduell · Sep 4, 2006, 02:21 PM

If you're going to put any card in the ExpressCard slot for external storage, I think eSATA is a better idea than FW800: it's faster and cheaper.

tws · Sep 4, 2006, 05:23 PM

well this just occured to me...

is it possible to use one of those usb pockent external hard drives in the usb port to perform the fuction of a photoshop CS2 scratch disk? can one of those be formated in apple? does it have to be?

didn't know i could run a dual OS... apple OS tiger and windows XPpro

thanks,

tws

mduell · Sep 4, 2006, 06:22 PM

Originally Posted by tws

well this just occured to me...

is it possible to use one of those usb pockent external hard drives in the usb port to perform the fuction of a photoshop CS2 scratch disk? can one of those be formated in apple? does it have to be?

didn't know i could run a dual OS... apple OS tiger and windows XPpro

Yes, but if it's just a 2.5" drive on USB it's going to be slower than the built-in drive.

silver · Sep 4, 2006, 06:27 PM

@tws
Too answer your last question those pocket drives that you see advertised while nice that there small, they ultimately are 2.5in notebook drives placed into an enclosure which means slower performance. USB is really slow if used as a scratch disc. I use an external 3.5in HD placed into a firewire 8 enclosure, much faster than USB. I might give esata enclosures when I find the time. This is ofcourse just my opinion, so give the firewire 8 or eSATA a try and yes since I suggest a 3.5in HD the enclosures are bigger than the pocket drives.

silver

tws · 07:08 PM

someone else suggested a virtual ram drive for scratch disk

see here:

Memory allocation and usage (Photoshop CS2) - Support Knowledgebase

however, i don't think the 15" macbook pro is 64bit hardware. and i doubt that it would mount 4 gigs of ram - as i loosely understand the virtual solution would require...

i can't believe apple would be so lame about dealing with prehaps the single most important software to run on it - photoshop in any version. isn't apple supposed to be the best graphics system on the market?

thanks again for your prompt feedback.

i'll sus out this firewire 8 enclosure?

oh... i just had a look at the specs on the 15" macbook pro it has a single firewire 400 port...

cheers,

tws

mduell · Sep 4, 2006, 07:09 PM

RAM as a scratch disk would be screaming fast, but only sensible if you have substantially more than 4GB.

Apple can't do anything about Photoshop; it's all up to Adobe.

You want a 3.5" disk on FW or even better eSATA (requires a SATA ExpressCard) for scratch.

tws · Sep 4, 2006, 07:41 PM

even better eSATA (requires a SATA ExpressCard) for scratch.

so i wonder how that works?

the 15" comes with an expresscard/34 slot whatever that is? (sata expresscard?)

funny how on the apple specs they don't link to an explaination of what the slot is for, capable of and the hardware options it supports.

thanks,

tws

mduell · Sep 5, 2006, 08:10 PM

Originally Posted by tws

even better eSATA (requires a SATA ExpressCard) for scratch.

so i wonder how that works?

the 15" comes with an expresscard/34 slot whatever that is? (sata expresscard?)

funny how on the apple specs they don't link to an explaination of what the slot is for, capable of and the hardware options it supports.

thanks,

tws

Yes, the 15" and 17" MacBook Pros have an ExpressCard/34 slot.

The slot is for whatever you want it to be. I've seen USB ports, Firewire ports, SATA ports, cellular modems, etc. I wouldn't be surprised to see an ExpressCard video card soon, but it will probably be the larger /54 size.