New Laptop

[Rose]

I have one of those... in purple... if you need it [/quote]
Thanks for the offer, Rose, but I don't think I have anything in my wardrobe to match that particular shade of lilac. If only it were a bit darker .... [/quote]

You're in luck then, because it is... dark purple !

[davidc]

I've been living with international keyboards for over a year now - indeed my new laptop has one - and it's not a problem, you should adjust quickly and even when I flip between different keyboards you soon develop enough muscle memory that keyboard layouts are the least of your issues.

The problem with Apple is you will pay for the brand. You can get better machines for lower prices but the problem is once you set your sights on a mac it can be hard to ignore it.

Curious why a 15" laptop is too large though? 13" seems too small a compromise for me, with much of the screen real estate taken up by the UI of Photoshop and especially lightroom. You'll forever be zooming in and out to check minor details across a frame!

Still, to each their own

[Mike Farley]

You're in luck then, because it is... dark purple !

Ooh, lovely. I am looking through my wardrobe right now in a tizzy of excitement.

[Mike Farley]

I've been living with international keyboards for over a year now - indeed my new laptop has one - and it's not a problem, you should adjust quickly and even when I flip between different keyboards you soon develop enough muscle memory that keyboard layouts are the least of your issues.

It's only a few keys in the wrong place, although the £ symbol might be an irritant, so I agree it is not that big an issue. That said, it does not look as though it is a compromise I need to make.

The problem with Apple is you will pay for the brand. You can get better machines for lower prices but the problem is once you set your sights on a mac it can be hard to ignore it.

Once the main criterion becomes the quality of the screen to process photographs, Apple quickly goes to the top of the list. Checking the reviews, everything else just falls away and I have never been that happy with the screen of any Windows based machine I have used. I would be buying Apple in spite of it being Apple, as I have no particular use for form over function.

Playing extensively with a MacBook in the store-formerly-known-as-Dixons was cathartic; it's just a computer with a different OS and some of the mystique was dispersed. A quick look at the eBay listings for new machines proves that, however much Apple wants to dress it up, they are flogging a commodity just like anyone else in the industry.

Then there was this timely post from Ming Thein about an Apple fail, the relevant bits being at the beginning and end of the post. I am not sure why he meandered onto something else in the middle.

http://blog.mingthein.com/2015/08/03/of ... e-of-mind/

Curious why a 15" laptop is too large though? 13" seems too small a compromise for me, with much of the screen real estate taken up by the UI of Photoshop and especially lightroom. You'll forever be zooming in and out to check minor details across a frame!

Still, to each their own

The 13" Apple screen with its relatively high resolution does not seem that small when I have used it and compactness when travelling is the other principle consideration. I am always zooming in and out to check things on my full sized screen and this is not going to be my main machine, so a bit of incovenience is not a big issue.

[davidc]

Have you tried a windows laptop with a high resolution screen? Mine is at least as good as an Apple, if not better, and it's not even the top of the line screen.

It's also considerably cheaper.

Though it sounds like you have already set your heart on one

Good luck learning to stop your right-click reflex too

[Mike Farley]

Have you tried a windows laptop with a high resolution screen? Mine is at least as good as an Apple, if not better, and it's not even the top of the line screen.

It's also considerably cheaper.)

Which brand is yours? And is it a 13" screen?

Though it sounds like you have already set your heart on one

I appreciate that you are trying to save me from the scourge of Apple, but I like to think I shall be making a reasoned buying decision based on what is currently available; every comparison review I have read puts the Macbook Pro first. If you can point me in the direction of an alternative Windows machine which is compact, has a high quality screen with a minimum of HD resolution and suffiicient power for Lightroom and Photoshop, I'll look at it. There is nothing special about the Apple other than it seems to come closest to meeting my requirements.

Good luck learning to stop your right-click reflex too

OS X supports right click, either on the mouse or via a two fingered gesture. Oops,that last bit did not come out right. It should have read as a double fingered tap on the trackpad.

[Mike Farley]

Investigations continue, aided by the Croydon branch of the store-formerly-known-as-Dixons where I have been able use try out different laptops almost completely untroubled by anyone attempting actually to make a sale. In fact, someone did approach me unsolicited the other day, but I was about to leave as I had started to feel a little off colour and was not really up to posing questions or making a purchasing decision. Not being disturbed has been useful as I have now become very familiar with OS X. Of the displays I have seen, Apple's Retina screen remains just about the best. Unfortunately the store-formerly-known-as-Dixons does not stock a full range of Windows laptops and I have been unable to make a proper comparison with the Asus Zenbook UX305, the only Windows machine I have so far come across which could be a contender.

Another possibility was the Dell XPS 13, but Dell does not seem to be serious about selling to anyone who wants to know if their machines will meet their needs. All transactions are solely via mail order and the only way to find out if the XPS 13 is suitable is to buy one. Based on an online chat, I believe that within the first 14 days Dell might* take back a machine that has been used, but would probably charge me £24 to return it. The only way to avoid that is if the machine is faulty or the incorrect model. I would describe a display which does not fulfil my requirements as a fault, although Dell would probably say that it was performing to specification. The person on the online chat was unwilling to commit and advised phoning Dell, which has a truly awful automated phone menu system. I got stuck in a dead end the first time, but on the second go I eventually found an option to get further information. Any optimism at that point was unfounded as rather than put me through to a human, the recorded voice advised me to look at the website and the call was then disconnected.

A 13" MacBook Pro is still looking like the best option, but I have a query about the screen resolution when using it with a digital projector. My current projector is XGA (1024 x 768), but that is a bit cramped for doing application demos and it is possible that I will go to a 1080p (1920 x 1080) model at some point. Theorectically, that should be OK as the Macbook's native resolution is 2560x1600, so I ought be able to run a mirrored display with what is being projected being shown simultaneously on the laptop's screen. I have been unable to determine if the screen ever runs at that high a resolution as the default is much lower, so I phoned Apple who use a voice recognition system** to direct queries to the right place. It put me through to Applecare and after a lengthy conversation with someone who did not understand the query, I eventually spoke to someone else who said it would work, but the laptop display would be subject to distortion. It seems that another visit to an Apple store might be needed to sort this one out, as it will undoubtedly be beyond what I can achieve at the store-formerly-known-as-Dixons.

* When I attempted to clarify, things got rather ambiguous and the Dell rep made conflicting statements which they refused to address, advising me to speak to Dell directly.

** I was not ovely impressed by that, either, but at least it is better than Dell's.

[Rose]

Mike If you want to try it out further, I do have a VGA adaptor with my MacBook Pro...

[Mike Farley]

Mike If you want to try it out further, I do have a VGA adaptor with my MacBook Pro...

Thanks, Rose, that would be useful to see how the MacBook and projector interact as the people at Apple do not really give the impression of being confident of what will happen. My projector has a DVI connector as well as VGA, so I invariably run it from a HDMI socket using a cable which has a connector of each type at either end. It works as the HDMI and DVI video signals are identical, the only difference being that HDMI carries sound as well. If it is possible to hook up the MacBook to a TV with a 1080p screen, that would also answer the question about the potential projector upgrade.

I'll be in touch separately to get something arranged.

[davidc]

Do not buy Dell. They are the worst machines, support & service I've ever encountered.

I'm still surprised you haven't seen a retina-quality Windows machine. Perhaps look for gaming laptops in the first instance, they give the greatest flexibility in choosing your components rather than the essentially locked-down Macs.