Ch…ch…ch…Changes! The journey from PC to Mac.
Somehow, I expected this to be easier. I expected that if I could understand the complications of the world of Microsoft Windows reasonably well, the transition to a Mac should be a snap.
It wasn’t. And this is a short tale of the process of the transition for me.
The first question is “why?” – and the answer is simple. I was *really* honked off at Adobe – who just 14 months after my purchase of Photoshop CS3, released Photoshop CS4. In the meantime, I had replaced my Canon 40D with a 7D, and because CS3 was no longer the latest and greatest, Adobe refused to update the CS3 RAW processor to enable it to read the 7D’s RAW files.
Adobe’s response is essentially “You bought a new camera? Tough luck. Upgrade to CS4″. And looking backward, it appears that this is Adobe’s modus operandi – an upgrade every 18 months or so.
Sure, I could have processed my RAW files with Adobe’s DNG converter and saved them in that format and then worked on them in CS3, but that forces a whole new layer into my workflow – and it’s completely unnecessary. Unless you want to force your customers into an expensive upgrade.
So that brought me to the door of the Apple store, where I was greeted by a bright and shiny salesperson (though I’m sure they have a more low-key name for them), who let me talk myself away from Adobe’s abuses into the gentle arms of Apple and their Aperture program – one with a long track record of free updates to support new cameras. And I have to admit that the 24″ iMac was awfully nice to look at!
If Apple is a master of anything, it’s marketing, No pressure sales. Plenty of people to answer questions. And the hardware is drop-dead gorgeous. (Though I am definitely not sold on the iPad – a solution in search of a problem.)
Now I’ve used Macs – though it was back around 1985. But as I recalled, they were pretty simple. Funny how age and recollection combine to make a toxic stew of memory errors…
Let’s just say that the transition wasn’t all that I expected. You’re not really supposed to go looking for your documents and then using them to launch the application. You’re supposed to find documents from inside the application. And of course, closing the last open document doesn’t close an application as you would naturally expect. You have to take the extra step of closing the application too.
After importing my images into Aperture, I discovered that it hadn’t been working on the images stored on my external hard drive – it had copied everything onto the iMac’s internal hard drive, quickly filling it to levels that had the computer announcing it’s impending demise!
After a few speedbumps like these, I was really thinking about crawling back to Adobe with my tail between my legs. Perhaps they would forgive my infidelity – my brief fling with Apple. I even upgraded my PC to prepare for the transition back. But I decided to give Apple just one more shot before I walked away.
I’m glad I did. After making an investment of time in watching more of the Apple tutorials and some cash watching Aperture tutorials at www.lynda.com, I’ve made peace with Apple and the iMac.
I’ve now moved my entire digital workflow to Aperture 3 and have been so happy with it that I picked up a nice new 17″ MacBook Pro to go along with it. And by storing my digital library on an external FireWire 800 drive, I can work on my images on either computer – wherever I am. (I’m sure you noticed that this validates *my* way of storing files!)
So I finally get to wave a hearty farewell (and a “get lost!”) to Adobe and their forced-upgrade antics. It’s a lousy way to treat a customer and I’m just one of those guys who likes to vote with my feet.
Sure, CS5 has been announced, and it boasts a lot of new features that sound tempting. But since I’m not big into compositing my images, I’ll sit back and process my work in Aperture 3, secure in the knowledge that another camera upgrade won’t force me into CS6.
So hello Apple. And Adobe – see ya later. Maybe I’ll be back again someday. If you behave yourselves.
