I enjoyed an easy 1\/2 mile swim and a nice nap. This blog post, the 342nd in a row, took about two 1\/2 hours to write: it was published from my home at Indian Lake Estates just before 6:30am. <\/p>\n
Please Help Support My Work on the BAA Blog<\/strong> <\/h3>\nThanks a Stack! October was a Great Month. <\/strong><\/h2>\nOctober was a very rewarding month. Thanks a stack to all who used our B&H links for purchases large and small. <\/p>\n
To show your appreciation for my efforts here, we ask, as always, that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. B&H Is recommended for you major photography gear purchases, Amazon for your household, entertainment, and general purpose stuff. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store<\/a>, especially Gitzo tripods, Wimberley tripod heads, and the like. We sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail<\/a>.<\/p>\nYou can find the following items in the store: Gitzo tripods<\/a>, Mongoose M3.6<\/a> and Wimberley<\/a> heads, plates, low feet, and accessories<\/a>, flash brackets<\/a>, <\/a>, Delkin e-film Pro Compact Flash Cards<\/a>, LensCoat<\/a> products, and our unique line-up of educational materials<\/a> including ABP I & II<\/a>, Digital Basics<\/a>, Site and Set-up e-Guides<\/a>, Canon and Nikon Camera Users and AF e-Guides<\/a>, and MP-4 Photoshop video tutorials<\/a> among others. <\/p>\nI would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, meaning BAA,<\/strong><\/font> would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and visiting the BAA Online<\/a> store as well.<\/p>\nWhy Mac? <\/h3>\n
As pretty much everyone here knows, I have been working hard recently transitioning from I’m not sure of how many decades of using PCs to my new Apple 15.4″ MacBook Pro Notebook Computer with Retina Display <\/a>.<\/p>\nMore than a few folks have written asking why I made the change. <\/p>\n
The answer, as if often the case as we get older, is a very simple one: weight. <\/p>\n
Here is the tale of the tape:<\/p>\n
My old HP, the rugged, reliable, industrial strength Elite Book 8740W, served me well for more than five years. It functions as well today as it did the day I took it out of the box. As I recall, it failed after a day or two–it needed a new mother board. Since then it has a perfect record. IAC, it weighs 8 pounds, 2.5 ounces. The AC adapter, in this case appropriately called “the brick” by many, weighs 2 pounds, 2 ounces. The total weight of this machine is a hefty 10 pounds, 4.5 ounces. <\/p>\n
Ny newer ASUS tips the scales at 8 pounds, 13 ounces. The AC adapter weighs 1 pound, 7.4 ounces for a grand total of 10 pounds, 4.4 ounces. <\/p>\n
The Mac weighs 4 pounds, 7.5 ounces. The adapter only 15.6 ounces. The total here is 5 pounds, 7.1 ounces. <\/p>\n
There were a few surprises when I put this stuff on a scale this morning:<\/p>\n
1- I was surprised that the ASUS was actually a bit heavier than the HP.
\n2- I was surprised at how much the Mac weighed. Why? In comparison to the other two behemoths, it seems light as a feather. <\/p>\n
Consider that the AC adapter for my HP weighs nearly half as much at the Macbook Pro…. And let’s not forget about size. The Mac is tiny, slim, and svelte. The PCs that I have been using can only be described as huge. <\/p>\n
Do understand that if I never left my home I would pretty much be fine with a PC. But alas, that is not the case. <\/p>\n
Mac Myths <\/h3>\nMacs are faster…<\/strong><\/h2>\nThis state of the art Mac is supposed to be far faster than any PC. While it may be a bit faster across the board for most applications, I would not describe it as blazingly fast as compared to the two PCs. And as far as NIK is concerned, applying my 50-50 recipe still seems to take forever. I had hoped for instant. <\/p>\n
Macs never get viruses…<\/strong><\/h2>\nTwo days ago, my brilliant older daughter Jennifer, the Executive Director of BAA since 1998, downloaded and ran a Mac OS virus protection program. It found and deleted two malwares.<\/p>\n
Editing Speed: the Biggest Hurdle…<\/strong><\/h2>\nI am always in a hurry. Folks watching me edit a morning’s worth of images were always amazed by how quickly I worked. In BrBr you are actually viewing the embedded JPEGs. I do not have time in my life to wait for each image to render…. <\/p>\n
My original plan was to install Parallels on the Mac and to run BreezeBrowser on a Windows platform on the Mac. Thanks to Jennifer, we were able to do that. But….<\/p>\n
Martin Plant was Right, but only 100%<\/h3>\n
About two weeks ago, old UK friend Martin Plant left this comment: “Good luck with your Mac though I think you\u2019ll probably end up frustrated with BreezeBrowser and Parallels. Photo Mechanic is a good alternative.” <\/p>\n
Responding to a question from Denis Glennon about running BrBr on a Mac via Parallels, Martin wrote, “The frustration is that you are effectively running two operating systems with shared files, so Windows see the OSX drives as network shares. It just gets a bit tiresome after a while. And Windows sucks compared to OSX so you want to stay in the OSX space. But you may be prepared to work with the drawbacks if you are wedded to BreezeBrowser.” <\/p>\n
You can read his additional comments in context by scrolling down to the bottom here<\/a>.<\/p>\nIAC, Martin was was right on all counts. I quickly became frustrated with running BreezeBrowser via Parallels on my Mac. As he predicted, there were many problems with having Windows on the Mac. So Jennifer deleted Parallels from the Mac. I decided, sight unseen, to place all of my faith in Photo Mechanic. If PM did not work for me, I would likely have been forced to sell my new Mac…. <\/p>\n
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\n![\"photomechanic\"](\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/photomechanic.jpg\" "\\"photomechanic\\"")
<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\nPhoto Mechanic Saves the Day<\/h3>\n
October was a very rewarding month. Thanks a stack to all who used our B&H links for purchases large and small. <\/p>\n
To show your appreciation for my efforts here, we ask, as always, that you use our the B&H and Amazon affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your purchases. B&H Is recommended for you major photography gear purchases, Amazon for your household, entertainment, and general purpose stuff. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the BIRDS AS ART Online Store<\/a>, especially Gitzo tripods, Wimberley tripod heads, and the like. We sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And we are always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail<\/a>.<\/p>\n You can find the following items in the store: Gitzo tripods<\/a>, Mongoose M3.6<\/a> and Wimberley<\/a> heads, plates, low feet, and accessories<\/a>, flash brackets<\/a>, <\/a>, Delkin e-film Pro Compact Flash Cards<\/a>, LensCoat<\/a> products, and our unique line-up of educational materials<\/a> including ABP I & II<\/a>, Digital Basics<\/a>, Site and Set-up e-Guides<\/a>, Canon and Nikon Camera Users and AF e-Guides<\/a>, and MP-4 Photoshop video tutorials<\/a> among others. <\/p>\n I would of course appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, meaning BAA,<\/strong><\/font> would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and visiting the BAA Online<\/a> store as well.<\/p>\n As pretty much everyone here knows, I have been working hard recently transitioning from I’m not sure of how many decades of using PCs to my new Apple 15.4″ MacBook Pro Notebook Computer with Retina Display <\/a>.<\/p>\n More than a few folks have written asking why I made the change. <\/p>\n The answer, as if often the case as we get older, is a very simple one: weight. <\/p>\n Here is the tale of the tape:<\/p>\n My old HP, the rugged, reliable, industrial strength Elite Book 8740W, served me well for more than five years. It functions as well today as it did the day I took it out of the box. As I recall, it failed after a day or two–it needed a new mother board. Since then it has a perfect record. IAC, it weighs 8 pounds, 2.5 ounces. The AC adapter, in this case appropriately called “the brick” by many, weighs 2 pounds, 2 ounces. The total weight of this machine is a hefty 10 pounds, 4.5 ounces. <\/p>\n Ny newer ASUS tips the scales at 8 pounds, 13 ounces. The AC adapter weighs 1 pound, 7.4 ounces for a grand total of 10 pounds, 4.4 ounces. <\/p>\n The Mac weighs 4 pounds, 7.5 ounces. The adapter only 15.6 ounces. The total here is 5 pounds, 7.1 ounces. <\/p>\n There were a few surprises when I put this stuff on a scale this morning:<\/p>\n 1- I was surprised that the ASUS was actually a bit heavier than the HP. Consider that the AC adapter for my HP weighs nearly half as much at the Macbook Pro…. And let’s not forget about size. The Mac is tiny, slim, and svelte. The PCs that I have been using can only be described as huge. <\/p>\n Do understand that if I never left my home I would pretty much be fine with a PC. But alas, that is not the case. <\/p>\n This state of the art Mac is supposed to be far faster than any PC. While it may be a bit faster across the board for most applications, I would not describe it as blazingly fast as compared to the two PCs. And as far as NIK is concerned, applying my 50-50 recipe still seems to take forever. I had hoped for instant. <\/p>\n Two days ago, my brilliant older daughter Jennifer, the Executive Director of BAA since 1998, downloaded and ran a Mac OS virus protection program. It found and deleted two malwares.<\/p>\n I am always in a hurry. Folks watching me edit a morning’s worth of images were always amazed by how quickly I worked. In BrBr you are actually viewing the embedded JPEGs. I do not have time in my life to wait for each image to render…. <\/p>\n My original plan was to install Parallels on the Mac and to run BreezeBrowser on a Windows platform on the Mac. Thanks to Jennifer, we were able to do that. But….<\/p>\n About two weeks ago, old UK friend Martin Plant left this comment: “Good luck with your Mac though I think you\u2019ll probably end up frustrated with BreezeBrowser and Parallels. Photo Mechanic is a good alternative.” <\/p>\n Responding to a question from Denis Glennon about running BrBr on a Mac via Parallels, Martin wrote, “The frustration is that you are effectively running two operating systems with shared files, so Windows see the OSX drives as network shares. It just gets a bit tiresome after a while. And Windows sucks compared to OSX so you want to stay in the OSX space. But you may be prepared to work with the drawbacks if you are wedded to BreezeBrowser.” <\/p>\n You can read his additional comments in context by scrolling down to the bottom here<\/a>.<\/p>\n IAC, Martin was was right on all counts. I quickly became frustrated with running BreezeBrowser via Parallels on my Mac. As he predicted, there were many problems with having Windows on the Mac. So Jennifer deleted Parallels from the Mac. I decided, sight unseen, to place all of my faith in Photo Mechanic. If PM did not work for me, I would likely have been forced to sell my new Mac…. <\/p>\nWhy Mac? <\/h3>\n
\n2- I was surprised at how much the Mac weighed. Why? In comparison to the other two behemoths, it seems light as a feather. <\/p>\nMac Myths <\/h3>\n
Macs are faster…<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Macs never get viruses…<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Editing Speed: the Biggest Hurdle…<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Martin Plant was Right, but only 100%<\/h3>\n
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\n<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n \n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n Photo Mechanic Saves the Day<\/h3>\n