I take forever to buy new things, even new things I need for work. My last computer was over ten years old, the video card had melted, and though I had put in a second hard drive, if anything else happened to it I basically found a way to MacGyver it to keep working, because I didn’t want to spend the dough on a new computer. My heart rests with photography and I’d rather save up for photography related things like lenses, so when I realize I need new glasses or a new computer, I whine and drag my feet and put it off for months and months. You might remember my computer crashed on me a few months ago? Well, I said right then, “That’s it, I’m getting a new computer.” Aaaannnndd, I waited some more.
Well, I did it! (Well, let’s be honest here, I needed a lot of pushing and nudging.) And here’s the kicker, this 15+ year Windows user is finally trying a Mac! And let me tell you, I’m having so much fun! Editing photos is about a hundred times faster, and that couldn’t have come at a better time because I had a busy shooting weekend. I’ve spent the last few days getting everything sorted, freaking out at how awful my photos look on a Windows computer vs the Mac screen after I edit them, tweaking the way I edit so that it looks good on both, and rearranging my desk (which is always my favorite thing to do.) I love changing things around! It makes me feel like I’m in a whole new office! (Our new-to-us filing cabinet helps with that!) If you’d like, you can see my old set up here. (Yes, Tom and I switched sides of the office!) For you Mac users out there, what are your favorite apps?
29 Comments
Alyssa
19 May 2012 at 11:14 amYay! I’m so happy!
I know you posted this a few weeks ago, but I keep coming back to the photos because your desk is just so beautiful! My iMac looks so lonely in comparison. You decorating always seems so seamless and so perfectly *you*
Sarah
10 May 2012 at 9:04 amI am so horrible when it comes to buying new things. This past year alone, however, I needed a new camera AND computer. I ended up getting in a terrible car accident right after all of these things were purchased, and then I had to replace a lens because it was ruined in the wreck. I just don’t like spending money! Haha but I’m glad you got a great computer. It’s the one I hope to have one day. I hear editing is so much better on them.
Jacqueline
10 May 2012 at 1:07 amcongrats on the new computer! i desperately need a new one (working off a 4-year-old mac laptop with specs so old the last few versions of PS and LR aren’t compatible with it!) but i also am dragging my feet, as per usual.
i also switched from a lifelong windows user to a mac for the first time 4 years ago (to this laptop). at first, it was hard to get used to but now i can’t live without it. plus, photos seem to look extra gorgeous on macs.
Marisa
10 May 2012 at 1:06 amOoh, look at that big, beautiful monitor! When my macbook gives up, that baby is next on my list. You lucky duck!
Jade Sheldon
9 May 2012 at 11:04 pmAhhh! LOVE your new set up! I am a big believer in MAC. It’s what I was trained in when I went to art school. I’m saving up for a desktop as we speak! Can’t wait for it to be a reality.
Diane
9 May 2012 at 9:53 pmI thought you always had one!! Welcome to the apple side, Sara! I think you’ll love it. 🙂
Roxanne
9 May 2012 at 6:37 pmI assumed you already used a Mac! (Funny because people tend to assume that about me as well, so I should know better!) I grew up using Macs, and I’ve had plenty of jobs with Macs, but I never felt as comfortable on them as I do on PCs. I will admit some jealousy over their beautiful displays, though! 🙂 In a previous job I had a two-screen Mac setup, which was pretty darn sweet for using Aperture.
miss alix
9 May 2012 at 1:26 pmhooray for new computers. i love how you’ve arranged your desk, it’s so pretty. hmm i should probably clean my desk…
oh and i like the wood background!
Sara
9 May 2012 at 3:51 pmThank you! I would love to see how your desk is arranged! Unfortunately I’m kind of a clutter machine, so I imagine the desk will only look this nice for about a week before it starts becoming filled with stuff I can’t seem to find any other place for. I’m going to try really hard not to though!
Krysta
9 May 2012 at 12:47 pmGlad to see you’ve finally came to the dark side (just kidding!) I grew up using a PC, and understand the reluctance of switching. With a PC, you can make it your own, while with a Mac you just have whatever is the current option. There is one big difference, Adobe programs work a lot better on Macs. At least, they don’t crash out nearly as much. The only other difference are the key-commands. You’ve probably gotten a bit jumbled at fist switching from ctrl to command option.
Sara
9 May 2012 at 3:54 pmI don’t think I recall Adobe Photoshop ever crashing on me, it was just super slow. (And that’s because I was using a 10+ year old computer obviously…) The one thing I did notice was that it’s really really sharp and the colors are outstanding. And it is a very intuitive interface! I’m sure I’ll discover a lot more but I sure am having a blast!
jaclyn
9 May 2012 at 12:01 pmWhile I am no Mac hater (I’m a recent PC user after 15 years of Macs) the fact that everything is faster has nothing to do with the fact that it’s a Mac. It’s just nice and new! Either way, I’m glad you’re really happy with your purchase. I unfortunately don’t think I could ever justify the money on a Mac again when I know I could build a more powerful computer for a fraction of the cost 🙁 They definitely are pretty though!
Sara
9 May 2012 at 12:06 pmOh I hear you, Jaclyn! I’ve been saying that for years (and so has Tom!). When I bought my laptop several years ago I completely beefed it out with all the new specs and then priced out a Macbook. I had better gear in my Vaio for about $1k cheaper price tag!
The kicker for me was I recently took on a unique project for a client but they required Aperture, a Mac only program, and since it’s such a strange project the computer came included with the deal. No complaints here!
jaclyn
9 May 2012 at 12:33 pmI totally understand! I will always love Macs, they’re so user friendly and awesome! But as long as I’m wasting part of my life on gaming, a PC user I will be! Haha.
Sara
9 May 2012 at 12:42 pmOmg, what games do you play?! I was really nervous about “losing gaming” (Um, Guild Wars 2 is coming out?!) – but it turns out it is still beefy enough for me to play them! I’m really excited!
jaclyn
9 May 2012 at 2:19 pmOmg I’m a huge game nerd! On my PC I play World of Warcraft, Star Wars The Old Republic, and I’m a beta tester for Diablo III. I can’t wait for it to come out! I also love Phantasy Star and online 2 is coming out soon. I was scared it wouldn’t be available for Mac. I was able to play WoW on my Mac, but Star Wars didn’t come out for Mac and neither did Skyrim. I don’t like playing on a Playstation or XBox so I needed to switch to PC to get them. I also play a lot of Pokemon on my DS… but thankfully my computer platform for that doesn’t matter!
Sara
9 May 2012 at 3:49 pmOh. my. GOSH. Tom will freak when I tell him you’re a beta for Diablo 3! He’s SO excited for that game! How is it?!
GW2 won’t be available for Mac either, but thank goodness for Bootcamp partitions! I have Windows 7 running on a second hard drive so I am SO there when these games become available! (Skyrim runs beautifully on it, so I’m excited for these other games too.) We’ll have to play Diablo 3 together!
(Also, thanks for your other comment about the wood background! I like to better too!)
jaclyn
9 May 2012 at 4:18 pmIt’s AMAZING!!! Steven and I had to stop playing it because we were getting to a point where we were getting too involved and new we’d lose our progress in launch. So now we’re just waiting 🙁 I’m glad you can dual boot, that is awesome! My brother in law has his PC set up to dual boot, and I’ve thought about trying it as well, but Mac OS does not run as smoothly in a “hackintosh” hahaha.
jaclyn
9 May 2012 at 12:34 pmAlso, I’m diggin’ the new wood grain look on your blog!
rhiannon
9 May 2012 at 4:24 pmjaclyn is lucky in that her husband is a computer tech guy and has computer tech guy friends. those of us who aren’t familiar with how computers work or how to fix them like macs because they’re basically a no brainer with maintenance. i mean, my super fancy pc laptop that i spent a ton of money on basically died after two years despite the fact that i didn’t do anything weird on it. my macbook, which is almost four years old, is still running like a dream. now i have an iMac (because i need more computer power for photo related things) and i don’t regret buying it because i won’t have to worry about it dying on me.
also, the interface is soooo much more aesthetically pleasing, haha.
Jennifer
9 May 2012 at 12:00 pmNice looking set up there! That almost makes me want an iMac now too, but I really don’t need one. Plus, I like working from bed :p
I’m not too much of a app person, but if I find anything I think you might use I’ll definitely let you know 🙂
Glad you are enjoying your computer so much!
Sara
9 May 2012 at 4:21 pmThanks, Jen. And I do love that laptops are portable! You can go the park or beach to work! =)
Aoife
9 May 2012 at 12:00 pmHeya, congrats on the new ‘puter! Once you ‘ve had Mac you’ll never go back! At least I haven’t after 6 years : )
A few things that I find very useful are more for how you work and also your wellbeing while working.
20 Cubed is great for preventing eyestrain while you are working. Its runs from Chrome and is a total life saver. Photoshop can be hard on your eyes and this make you take breaks. I can really feel a difference. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/geghmabifcdlkmpnkapfefbbfaonhcef
This is great for when you are working late at night. It changes the white balance of your screen to mimic tungsten so your eyes aren’t fooled into thinking they are looking at day light and thus that you should stay awake.
http://stereopsis.com/flux/
though you will need to turn it off to edit photos!! It really helps me to go to bed much sleepier after a hard evening at the keyboard!
You don’t seem like the kind of person who has problems with getting down to work, but this little app “Focus Booster” really helps me to keep my mind on the job
http://www.focusboosterapp.com/
I also use pages and keynote and numbers rather than microsoft office, they are clumsy on a mac and unless you need to send files over and back to PC users the whole time, there is no real need to bother with word and that. iWork documents look much better, with less work and also after you get used to the different layout are much simpler to use.
Also mpeg streamclip is great for getting your video files smaller and into a format that runs smoother in editing programmes.
Enjoy your New Machine!!
Aoife
Sara
9 May 2012 at 4:15 pmWow, Aoife, way to go above and beyond the call of duty! Thank you so so much. I will look into these. And believe it or not, I do have some trouble focusing some times when it comes to certain tasks and I LOVE the time boxing technique used in that app you shared, so I’ll definitely be looking into them!
Thank you!
Aoife
9 May 2012 at 6:37 pmGlad they are helpful 🙂
fair play on the new background as well, very nice and warm!
Shauna
9 May 2012 at 11:17 amWhat a gorgeous set up! I’m so happy you’re loving your Mac. I grew up on PCs and I got my first Mac two years ago, and just absolutely fell in love with it. Now I just need to suck it up and upgrade to Lion!
I don’t have any particularly special apps… Looking at my dock, I’ve just got the usual – Photoshop, Microsoft Office, Stickies, etc. Stickies is probably my favorite Mac app that I discovered! 🙂
Sara
9 May 2012 at 4:12 pmHaha, thanks so much! Funny story, I was on the phone with Apple support the other day trying to get some info for Tom’s dad (who has just purchased one himself) and said, “Oh, wait. I’m on a brand new iMac- how do I open a notepad or whatever so I can write this down?” She enthusiastically replied with, “Stickies!”
Haha.
Vee
9 May 2012 at 10:46 amHow exciting! Your desk looks super chic now. 😉
I especially like all of the little personal touches around the computer, such as the origami on top of the screen and the film camera next to it.
Sara
9 May 2012 at 11:08 amThank you! It certainly feels more chic. Haha. The little personal touches are actually quite special to me!
The origami is from an online friend in New Zealand
The little shiisaa was the first thing I bought with my own money (I was in Japan) and the crane was the first thing I bought here in Canada.
One of the vials of sand is from Okinawa Japan and the other is from Huntington Beach, California!
There’s much more, but I don’t want to babble TOO much!