I do love my Macbook, I have to say, and it gets an awful lot more use than my Vista laptop, which you can see just in shot, shut as usual. Mine is a 2.2 GHz model – the middle range one. I need to get some stuff sorted out for it, and could do with a bit of help.
- I want to upgrade my memory to the maximum 4gb. How come it costs £240 from Apple but only £63.44 from Crucial? I mean, I know Apple probably charge a premium but that’s a huge difference!
- Photo editing software. I currently have Pixelmator, but it does my head in a lot. Now I have a DSLR I reckon I need something a little better for photo editing. I was thinking Photoshop Elements?
- I have a little Sony Handycam that records straight to hard disk. It lacks an external mic capability, which is a pain, but it makes up for that in cuteness. Anyway, it being a Sony, I can’t currently edit the .mpgs that the Handycam exports on the Mac, they just don’t like each other. I found this solution on the web, suggesting using Quicktime Pro (which I don’t yet have) and something called ‘MPEG_Streamclip_1.8.dmg’ to sort this out. Assuming this means I can edit the video on the Mac, should I stick with iMovie or is it worth investing in something like Final Cut Express? Does Adobe Premiere exist on the Mac? I can’t see it anywhere.
- Storage. As well as the MacBook and the Vista laptop, I can possibly see myself investing in an iMac at some point in the future. I’d like to have one drive which they all share, or through which they all sync up with. Is this what a Time Capsule could do? For instance, I’d like all my photos to be in one place, rather than spread over 3 different machines, or at least have the same photos on every computer.
- 5. How do I hook my MacBook up to an external monitor? It doesn’t seem to have the right shaped hole anywhere on it.
If anyone can help me out on any of these things, I’d be most grateful!
2. Yep, PS Elements 6 for Mac has recently come out (priced about £60) and seems like a good bet. You can also process RAW files from your DSLR if you start shooting in this format.
3. I’m no expert in this area but have heard good things about Perian (http://www.perian.org/#detail)
5. You should have a Mini-DVI port, and may need to buy an adapter to be able to hook up to projectors with a DVI input. Looks a like this: http://store.apple.com/Catalog/fi/Images/M9321_screen.jpg
Enjoy the MacBook!
for the monitor you need a mini-dvi to vga adapter – i got one from amazon for about 15 quid..
i just use imovie but i do seem to remember having to download a couple of things to make life easier when i set things up but cant remember what!
Photoshop elements is a good, sturdy programme. Not as impressive as Photoshop full version, but it has all the basics and more. Plus there’s loads you can do on it to prep stuff for editing, creating graphics etc. For the price, well worth it, and leads you into using the full photoshop.
1. Its always been a maddening problem. Maddening to everyone but Apple. Don’t humour them by buying it from them.
2. Never tried it, iphoto is enough for me – though you can still use that for managing managing your library but get it to talk to photoshop for image editing.
3. Perian only lets you play certain file types in Quicktime. Try isquint for easy and free file conversion, or the Apple support forums might have other options.
4. Time Machine only backs up machines, doesn’t do syncing of files. You could try dot mac, not sure how good that is, or look up Doug’s Applescripts for itunes – sure he has some thoughts on syncing iphoto libraries (or at least sharing them on a network). Another option would be to use a NAS hard drive and store all the image and preference files there and create aliases locally on each machine. Probably more trouble than its worth. Why not just share the libaries across your network, a la itunes?
5. Like they said.
3. Er, Apple support forums recommend MPEG Streamclip. Its free too.
Thanks chaps, will get one of those dvi to vga wotsits. Also downloading the trial of PS Elements as I type, though at 1.3gb it’s going to take a while!
Jeremy – so the Apple memory is no better the the Crucial? I just don’t want to think I am getting a cheap deal, then buying something duff…
I got Streamclip last night, and it’s sorted out my Sony clip problem. Ta!
Dave – its the same.
Thanks Jeremy. How annoying! Will get the Crucial.