New computer - desktop PC, laptop or Mac?

[Andy Razzle]

laptops use much less electricity if you dont need processing power!?

[Franck]

iphoto may be fine for many people , but will not work with RAW files, it converts them to jpegs and in doing so, throws away a lot of data, essential critical post production and high quality printing. For accurate post production, there are really only two choices, Lightroom or Aperture, Aperture is fine if you do your final tweaking in CS5 other wise, the only professional option is Lightroom

No disagreement from me, I'm not a pro photographer, though iPhoto supports raw images, the iPad version won't allow you to work on them, just a jpeg copy. It is however so much fun to use, that you might find it a great way to experiment with effects and image editing on the iPad before doing the more pro changes on your iMac.

[philsmove]

Frank, I dont have an iPad, yet, but will be getting one the 16th

I mainly want it for displaying photos that have have already been processed by the gobsmacking amazing LR4

try shooting RAW and down load a free 30 day trial of LR4

[Lynn]

My ideal setup, depending on funds would be an iMac (24' is great, but 27' is amazing), you can boost the ram cheaper by buying it from www.crucial.co.uk (instead of ordering it from Apple) and it's easy to fit in; and an iPad, the new one with the retina display has only just been announced, and looks very promising for graphic / photo editing. If you're concerned about the keyboard, for typing long documents, you can add a cheap bluetooth keyboard and turn your iPad into a small, powerful laptop!

Franck - that's exactly the set up I'm thinking of after another look at some tonight! (Though the iPad may have to wait for now.) Even down to the Crucial extra ram - just was looking at that earlier on. How much extra would you suggest getting?

Frank, I dont have an iPad, yet, but will be getting one the 16th

I mainly want it for displaying photos that have have already been processed by the gobsmacking amazing LR4

Oh, can't wait to get LR4! I love LR.

[Franck]

Franck - that's exactly the set up I'm thinking of after another look at some tonight! (Though the iPad may have to wait for now.) Even down to the Crucial extra ram - just was looking at that earlier on. How much extra would you suggest getting?

Looks like the 27' iMac comes with 4GB or ram as standard, but it has 4 slots for a maximum of 16GB. Crucial sell a kit for 8GB (2 x 4GB) for £35, so you could max out the memory for £70 (£400 cheaper than the option on the Apple Store) and seems like it would be worth it. Having said that, you could just get 8GB for £35 to get started, and see how you get on, as it should be plenty for most tasks.

[Lynn]

Thanks Franck. So I take the 4 GB that's in it out? (Ie I can't add the 8GB to the 4GB already in and have 12?)

[Franck]

Thanks Franck. So I take the 4 GB that's in it out? (Ie I can't add the 8GB to the 4GB already in and have 12?)

Yes, I think you could do that. I have read / heard that RAM can be temperamental, and it's best to have matching pairs, etc... but no harm in trying and see how it works, you can always replace the original RAM if you notice any issues!

[Lynn]

Thanks - something else I didn't know! I'll decide if 8/16 then and just go with that.

[philsmove]

Lynn if you are just running lightroom, 4 GB should be fine
but at those prices, go for 16 when you get CS5
or buy some more tea bags

[straycat]

Thanks Franck. So I take the 4 GB that's in it out? (Ie I can't add the 8GB to the 4GB already in and have 12?)

It entirely depends on the configuration it arrives with - if the machine comes with two 2GB sticks, you can do that without problems. It might well come with 4x 1GB sticks, in which case you'd have to remove two two put the new RAM in, giving you 10Mb, which is plenty for most purposes. As Franck says, it works best using matching pairs in the correct slots.

[Lynn]

Thanks. Will probably just get the 16GB, if its only going to be £70 in total.

Phil - I know LR3 and CS5 can run on a 1GB laptop (only had the 30 day trial of CS5 but it was ok) so I'm sure even the 4 GB will be ok.

Not getting it just yet - maybe in a month or so, so I could change my mind... but think the iMac is the tool I need for what I want to do.

[CheesyRobMan]

If you're concerned about the keyboard, for typing long documents, you can add a cheap bluetooth keyboard and turn your iPad into a small, powerful laptop!

Or you could buy a laptop which already has a keyboard for about 1/3 of the price...

[Franck]

Or you could buy a laptop which already has a keyboard for about 1/3 of the price...

No comparison, I'm afraid...

I regularly buy those cheap laptops, to use at Ceroc venues, and they are big, ugly, slow and typically unreliable... As a result, they're not really portable or usable, especially as the battery life is beyond poor...

On the other hand, the iPad is extremely portable, the battery life is mind-blowing, and it can do everything most people would want to do with a portable computer (those who would want a real computer on the road, would not use a £200/300 laptop anyway); and don't get me started on netbooks... They are just bad at everything

Anyone who has used an iPad for a few days, will understand the paradigm shift it represents.
Being able to touch the internet, photos, text directly and manipulate them with your fingers whilst relaxed on the couch, in bed, or at Starbucks, without having to worry about being plugged in, is truly amazing!

[cederic]

I greatly prefer the form factor of the Asus Transformer Prime - top end tablet, with proper keyboard when you need it, with the keyboard including additional connectivity ports and another 8 hours of battery life.

I suspect you could buy an equivalent keyboard/battery add-on for the iPad but the Asus has the advantage that you can install the software you want to run on it, not just the software Apple want you to buy.

The iPad has the advantage that you can actually buy it as Apple have the ability to meet demand, something Asus don't appear to be interested in.

[Franck]

I greatly prefer the form factor of the Asus Transformer Prime - top end tablet, with proper keyboard when you need it, with the keyboard including additional connectivity ports and another 8 hours of battery life.

I suspect you could buy an equivalent keyboard/battery add-on for the iPad but the Asus has the advantage that you can install the software you want to run on it, not just the software Apple want you to buy.

The iPad has the advantage that you can actually buy it as Apple have the ability to meet demand, something Asus don't appear to be interested in.

The problem with the Prime is, first the lack of apps, and those apps, then to assume that you will be using a keyboard (or they're just blown up phone apps).
The more I use my iPad, the more I resent the occasional app that hasn't been upgraded to iPad format. It makes such a difference!
All the apps for iOS have been designed to be used without a keyboard, a small difference, but significant in real life use.

The other differences are also important, the iPad is 'instant-on', no delay, all components just work, and are optimised for the user experience. The screen on the new iPad appears to be amazing (can't wait to get my hands on it).

As for 'installing the software you want', I find that puzzling, there are so many amazing apps for the iPad, I've never felt restricted, in fact there is too much choice! If you wanted to, you could always 'jailbreak' your iPad and install anything you want on it.

It looks like the Asus is having problems with wifi and gps, due to having a metallic shell, which might explain the delays in shipping, as they had to change the shell to plastic.

Ultimately, though, if you don't like Apple or iOS, then the Prime might be a good alternative for Android, but looking at reviews, I would definitely try both before buying either... Finally, if you have an iMac, or an iPhone, then it's a no-brainer, they integrate so well together that your life will be improved in subtle ways. Considering that the iPad 2 is now cheaper, I truly cannot see any worthy alternatives.

[cederic]

Lack of apps: Fair point, 250,000 isn't many.
Apps using screen: I already have a 1280 pixel screen on my phone. Apps look fine. Many Android apps resize to match the screen.
Apps designed for no keyboard: Android phone/tablet apps are also designed for no keyboard. For writing emails, updating documents, programming and other text entry tasks, keyboards are great.
Instant on: What, like android?
Screen: you've pointed out the iPad 2 is cheaper. It doesn't have a better screen. The "new iPad" does have a stunning screen, and that's genuinely not matched elsewhere. I'm jealous.
Installing software I want: How about tethering software. How about Flash. How about any application that Apple decide might give them some competition. How about emulators. How about a full blown programming environment (check AIDE for Android. Yep, program the device from on the device. Good luck writing iPad apps on the iPad).

Ultimately, though, if you're happy with the iOS restrictions and constraints, the hardware's good and it's a worthy competitor to Android. Personal choice.

[frodo]

My Windows laptop is over 5 years old and either needs a decent upgrade (its got 1GB RAM and Windows XP etc) or its time to just move to a new machine.

...

I'll be using it for photoediting, surfing, some word processing etc. Will be running LR4 and poss Photoshop (when I can afford it!). I have no clue about Macs at all so that plus price is a good reason to stay PC but maybe now is a good time to change...

Putting 8gb of RAM in a dual core 11.6 in notebook is something of sweet spot in the PC world.

It avoids the main limitations of netbooks for not much more money or weight.

Couple that with a low cost 24in LED HDMI monitor and you have a cheap and effective solution for most tasks.


Even if an iMac is bought later (I don't see any point in buying anything less than the 27in version), a lightweight notebook is useful in the long term.

As the replacement cost is a fraction of a Macbook it is far more suitable for carrying around, and spare power supplies, replacement screens etc. are cheap.

[philsmove]

. The "new iPad" does have a stunning screen, and that's genuinely not matched elsewhere. I'm jealous.
.

Which is why I shall be off to John Lewis on the 16th

An ipad is an output device for showing off your amazing photographs

A big workstation, with the lots of RAM, dual thingy what nots, plenty Tetra bites of Hard Drive and the biggest highest specification Monitor you can lay your hands on, is an input device, used for post production of your NEF files using LR4

... but as ever one man meat .......

[Dreadful Scathe]

The problem with the Prime is, first the lack of apps, and those apps, then to assume that you will be using a keyboard (or they're just blown up phone apps).

Not true in my experience. Although unlike iTunes it is hard to see in "market"/"play store" if an app doesn't scale to a tablet well, but the scale up button works fine (unlike earlier android versions). Honeycomb is perfect for a tablet and android has no shortage of apps in any areas i have been interested in. I've not noticed the keyboard assumption, if Asus's own apps do this, its elementary to use a different keyboard (i expect most people do, android has lots of quality on-screen keyboard replacements, that include cursor keys (a must) and arrangements for thumbs only, or slide writing or intelligent predicative etc...).

Also honeycomb will switch off all soft keyboards if a USB keyboard is plugged in. My tablet (a £200 advent vega from pcworld) has honeycomb on it (using a quality smaller £14 keyboard) and is effectively my laptop now as it does everything i need it to do. I was using a 3gs dongle (£12 from ebay) for internet access when there was no wi-fi but its much easier to tether to my phone now. I do prefer the iPad2's screen sensitivity (both capacitive but iPad is much better), quality (build and viewing angle) and screen ratio (magazine format is just better) but its lack of ports, inability to install anything you like, less customisable interface and doubling of the price make it hard to justify. Battery life on my Vega is about 8 hours so there's not much in that either.

And of course with android you get Amazon free apps of the day, the best music player ever in Google Music, and Google Books (both with automatic syncing). Personally I prefer honeycomb to iOS, but I prefer the Ipad2 screen over any other I have seen so if I WAS spending £400 or so all the little things that the iPad2 does better would probably clinch it for me over an Asus (or an Acer which has sucky windows and the stupidest lethal keyboard hinge thing ever). Though i note the 16gb iPad2 is £329 now (why would anyone pay £100 more for 3g ... unless they don't have a phone to tether to)

[Franck]

Which is why I shall be off to John Lewis on the 16th

An ipad is an output device for showing off your amazing photographs

A big workstation, with the lots of RAM, dual thingy what nots, plenty Tetra bites of Hard Drive and the biggest highest specification Monitor you can lay your hands on, is an input device, used for post production of your NEF files using LR4

... but as ever one man meat .......

Oooh, John Lewis, good idea, I was thinking of camping outside the Apple Store in Glasgow.
As for the workstation thing, definitely, I love my 27' iMac, and would definitely use that over an iPad when at home, but when on the road, the iPad wins every time, over the iPhone or my Macbook Air... The sheer convenience of an always on, light, fast, unplugged, touchy-feely computer cannot be beaten, whether in a café, pub or restaurant, or on the couch or in bed!

Not true in my experience. Although unlike iTunes it is hard to see in "market"/"play store" if an app doesn't scale to a tablet well, but the scale up button works fine (unlike earlier android versions). Honeycomb is perfect for a tablet and android has no shortage of apps in any areas i have been interested in. I've not noticed the keyboard assumption, if Asus's own apps do this, its elementary to use a different keyboard (i expect most people do, android has lots of quality on-screen keyboard replacements, that include cursor keys (a must) and arrangements for thumbs only, or slide writing or intelligent predicative etc...).

That's not what I meant, I'm sure the scaling works just fine (though it can be quite ugly), but for the iPad, the apps have been redesigned to use the extra screen space, so you don't get huge gaps, and a much better user interface for most apps. I have attached a couple of examples showing the difference with Twitter and Yelp, the differences in aesthetics and usability are huge. As I said earlier, iOS has so many apps, but not just in quantity, the quality of the apps is so much higher, with a broader and deeper range.

Also honeycomb will switch off all soft keyboards if a USB keyboard is plugged in. My tablet (a £200 advent vega from pcworld) has honeycomb on it (using a quality smaller £14 keyboard) and is effectively my laptop now as it does everything i need it to do. I was using a 3gs dongle (£12 from ebay) for internet access when there was no wi-fi but its much easier to tether to my phone now. I do prefer the iPad2's screen sensitivity (both capacitive but iPad is much better), quality (build and viewing angle) and screen ratio (magazine format is just better) but its lack of ports, inability to install anything you like, less customisable interface and doubling of the price make it hard to justify. Battery life on my Vega is about 8 hours so there's not much in that either.

I use a mifi (3G dongle) and yes, the iPad is a bit more expensive, though with the latest reduction, the extra £100 for the iPad is definitely worth it, for the reasons you list above. As for battery life, it's so good, that you don't notice it ever, I use mine over days, occasionally charging it, and have never run out. For an always on device, with no cables, great battery life is a big deal.