Question for you Apple crazies

On Jun 18, 2018, Bill W wrote
(in ):

On Mon, 18 Jun 2018 21:39:23 -0700, Savageduck
wrote:

With the cellular option you can buy LTE cellular on a monthly basis, as you
need it from a variety of providers, for both North America, and overseas.

I wasn't aware of that, but I can also tether to my phone.

Yup! That is always an option. With my old iPad2 I always used my iPhone
Hotspot option. Just be wary of the AT&T offering as that can lock you up.
For North America the T-Mobile option seems to be the best way to go. They
have an introductory offer which is not too bad, but after that their rate
climbs, but is still useful when it is needed. We have had a couple of power
outages out here, and having LTE access at those times has been useful.

--

Regards,
Savageduck

On 6/19/2018 12:32 AM, Savageduck wrote:
On Jun 18, 2018, Bill W wrote
(in ):

On Sat, 16 Jun 2018 21:27:41 -0400, PeterN
wrote:

On 6/15/2018 12:14 AM, Bill W wrote:
On Thu, 14 Jun 2018 00:05:25 -0400, PeterN
wrote:

On 6/13/2018 10:08 PM, Bill W wrote:
My home is paid for, and I'm moving to a place where housing is about
half what it is here, so if I buy something about the same size, I
might have enough left over to buy an Apple product... So some
questions:

Most important, is there any point in shopping around for the best
price on a Macbook Pro, or is the pricing pretty much fixed?

I see that there a lot of listings with years mentioned. How far back
can I go to be able to dual boot into Windows? How far back to get a
great retina display? And how far back to get great performance,
something that is more than adequate for LR & PS, video and audio
editing? How far back where I can still easily add a second high
quality display?

That is a fine machine. Whether you are getting one depends upon what
you plan to use it for. One of my reasons for not getting one, is that I
do not like a glossy screen. I find that I do not get the tonality in
the darker areas with a glossy screen, that I get with a matte screen.
If you plan to use it just for family type, or event pictures, it will
be fine. Based on my experience with the iPhone, and iPad, Apple service
has been satisfactory. The techies seem to know what they are doing. I
can't say about dual boot on the portable, but I'm sure that you will
get an honest and knowledgeable answer from Apple. As for price, some of
the big box stores sell either reconditioned, or out of the box
machines. I don't know about Apple. However, based upon my on experience
I would only purchase an Apple product directly from Apple. But that's
the conservative purchaser in me.

Like I told Duck, I haven't so much as touched any Apple computer
since the Lisa(?) many years ago. And when I shop, I don't even glance
at the Apple section, so it's pretty important for me to stop in
somewhere and actually look at one of these things...

As I stated above, while i personally do not like the Apple notebooks,
for the reasons stated, assuming similar specs, i don't think there is
any substantial usability or performance difference between them, when
using Photoshop.

Well I finally went to a store and looked at the Apple products. I was
surprised that the reflective screen did not bother me at all, so
that's not an issue. Another thing that surprised me was that there
appeared to be about a zero learning curve for getting around in MacOS
for a strict Windows user, so that's another issue out of the way.

I also looked at the iPad Pros, and now I'm seriously considering
starting out with one of those.

My original purpose was to get something for travel that would do
everything I can do at home. The Macbook fits that bill perfectly, and
it can also replace my utility computer at home, and do a lot more
than that. But after a lot of research, it appears that the iPad can
do just about everything I would want for travel, along with being
more portable. My current tablet is used mostly as a reader, and the
iPad will be a perfect replacement since it can do so much more. It
also appears that you can easily do a lot of photo editing on that
thing. On top of everything else, the current processor in the iPad
Pro is one of the fastest you can get, tablet or desktop.

Best Buy has a 10.5"/256 version for about $670. That's got my
interest.

Check on whether that iPad Pro is WiFi only, or WiFi+Cellular. If you are
going to use it for travel it is best to have all options available. As
ubiquitous as WiFi hotspots are these days, inevitably you will find yourself
someplace without WiFi. Also, consider getting the 512GB edition, it is good
to have the extra room.

Also, get the Lightning Camera Kit which will give you an SD card reader, and
a USB connection for your camera. As useful as WiFi syncing from many cameras
to iPad can be, with the iPad, using the SD card reader from the Camera Kit
is quicker.

Also buy the Apple Pencil. It is a great input, and editing device.

Then if I remember correctly you already subscribe to Adobe CC Photography
plan to give you Lightroom CCC + Photoshop CC. Lightroom CC (mobile) which as
a stand-alone on the iPad is free, but the full sync power is included with
the Adobe CC package, that way everything you load on the iPad is synced back
to your desktop/laptop.

With $9.99/month Adobe CC Photography plan you get 20GB of CC storage. I
opted to upgrade my storage, so for $14.99/month I get Adobe CC + 1TB of
Creative Cloud storage. That more than covers my needs for any trip.

So make sure that on your iPad Pro you install the free Adobe Photoshop
Express, Photoshop Mix, Photoshop Mix, and Lightroom CC. Also, if you want a
truly powerful photo editor on the iPad, buy Affinity Photo. All of those
apps are available via the Apple iOS AppStore.

The iPad Pro is a great tool, and makes a fair replacement for a laptop when
on-the-road. I have not missed my laptop when away from home.

Then you have to get a new home Mac.


The best answer is it depends. When I travel my workflow is to download
the contents of the camera card to a portable HDD, and then back up the
HDD. i then do rough edits on my notebook. I can't say if this is
important to you, but I would check in an Apple store. Your alternative
would be to walk around with a lot of cards from your camera.

--
PeterN

On 6/19/2018 2:08 AM, Savageduck wrote:
On Jun 18, 2018, Bill W wrote
(in ):

On Mon, 18 Jun 2018 21:39:23 -0700, Savageduck
wrote:

With the cellular option you can buy LTE cellular on a monthly basis, as you
need it from a variety of providers, for both North America, and overseas.

I wasn't aware of that, but I can also tether to my phone.

Yup! That is always an option. With my old iPad2 I always used my iPhone
Hotspot option. Just be wary of the AT&T offering as that can lock you up.
For North America the T-Mobile option seems to be the best way to go. They
have an introductory offer which is not too bad, but after that their rate
climbs, but is still useful when it is needed. We have had a couple of power
outages out here, and having LTE access at those times has been useful.


I have a T-Mobile plan. The senior rate is fifty bucks a month,
(including taxes and fees,) for unlimited service. I will most likely be
getting rid of it, as their coverage sucks. Walmart sell a plan that
will cost me a few bucks mor per month, and they claim to use Verizon
towers. I am looking into that. Otherwise I will probably go back to
Verizon.

--
PeterN

On 6/19/2018 2:01 AM, Savageduck wrote:


snip


Tennessee? I have some good friends in the Nashville area including an old
school pal I have known for 60 years. Then further South I have family in the
Chattanooga area.


The last time I was in Nashville I made the mistake of saying I liked
dry rub, over wet run. IIRC Nashville is one of the few cities where the
preference is about equal. Let's just say a passionate discussion broke
out, and I packed up my ribs and left.


--
PeterN

On Jun 19, 2018, PeterN wrote
(in article ):

On 6/19/2018 12:32 AM, Savageduck wrote:
On Jun 18, 2018, Bill W wrote
(in ):

On Sat, 16 Jun 2018 21:27:41 -0400, PeterN
wrote:

On 6/15/2018 12:14 AM, Bill W wrote:
On Thu, 14 Jun 2018 00:05:25 -0400, PeterN
wrote:

On 6/13/2018 10:08 PM, Bill W wrote:
My home is paid for, and I'm moving to a place where housing is about
half what it is here, so if I buy something about the same size, I
might have enough left over to buy an Apple product... So some
questions:

Most important, is there any point in shopping around for the best
price on a Macbook Pro, or is the pricing pretty much fixed?

I see that there a lot of listings with years mentioned. How far back
can I go to be able to dual boot into Windows? How far back to get a
great retina display? And how far back to get great performance,
something that is more than adequate for LR & PS, video and audio
editing? How far back where I can still easily add a second high
quality display?

That is a fine machine. Whether you are getting one depends upon what
you plan to use it for. One of my reasons for not getting one, is that I
do not like a glossy screen. I find that I do not get the tonality in
the darker areas with a glossy screen, that I get with a matte screen.
If you plan to use it just for family type, or event pictures, it will
be fine. Based on my experience with the iPhone, and iPad, Apple service
has been satisfactory. The techies seem to know what they are doing. I
can't say about dual boot on the portable, but I'm sure that you will
get an honest and knowledgeable answer from Apple. As for price, some of
the big box stores sell either reconditioned, or out of the box
machines. I don't know about Apple. However, based upon my on experience
I would only purchase an Apple product directly from Apple. But that's
the conservative purchaser in me.

Like I told Duck, I haven't so much as touched any Apple computer
since the Lisa(?) many years ago. And when I shop, I don't even glance
at the Apple section, so it's pretty important for me to stop in
somewhere and actually look at one of these things...

As I stated above, while i personally do not like the Apple notebooks,
for the reasons stated, assuming similar specs, i don't think there is
any substantial usability or performance difference between them, when
using Photoshop.

Well I finally went to a store and looked at the Apple products. I was
surprised that the reflective screen did not bother me at all, so
that's not an issue. Another thing that surprised me was that there
appeared to be about a zero learning curve for getting around in MacOS
for a strict Windows user, so that's another issue out of the way.

I also looked at the iPad Pros, and now I'm seriously considering
starting out with one of those.

My original purpose was to get something for travel that would do
everything I can do at home. The Macbook fits that bill perfectly, and
it can also replace my utility computer at home, and do a lot more
than that. But after a lot of research, it appears that the iPad can
do just about everything I would want for travel, along with being
more portable. My current tablet is used mostly as a reader, and the
iPad will be a perfect replacement since it can do so much more. It
also appears that you can easily do a lot of photo editing on that
thing. On top of everything else, the current processor in the iPad
Pro is one of the fastest you can get, tablet or desktop.

Best Buy has a 10.5"/256 version for about $670. That's got my
interest.

Check on whether that iPad Pro is WiFi only, or WiFi+Cellular. If you are
going to use it for travel it is best to have all options available. As
ubiquitous as WiFi hotspots are these days, inevitably you will find
yourself
someplace without WiFi. Also, consider getting the 512GB edition, it is good
to have the extra room.

Also, get the Lightning Camera Kit which will give you an SD card reader,
and
a USB connection for your camera. As useful as WiFi syncing from many
cameras
to iPad can be, with the iPad, using the SD card reader from the Camera Kit
is quicker.

Also buy the Apple Pencil. It is a great input, and editing device.

Then if I remember correctly you already subscribe to Adobe CC Photography
plan to give you Lightroom CCC + Photoshop CC. Lightroom CC (mobile) which
as
a stand-alone on the iPad is free, but the full sync power is included with
the Adobe CC package, that way everything you load on the iPad is synced
back
to your desktop/laptop.

With $9.99/month Adobe CC Photography plan you get 20GB of CC storage. I
opted to upgrade my storage, so for $14.99/month I get Adobe CC + 1TB of
Creative Cloud storage. That more than covers my needs for any trip.

So make sure that on your iPad Pro you install the free Adobe Photoshop
Express, Photoshop Mix, Photoshop Mix, and Lightroom CC. Also, if you want a
truly powerful photo editor on the iPad, buy Affinity Photo. All of those
apps are available via the Apple iOS AppStore.

The iPad Pro is a great tool, and makes a fair replacement for a laptop when
on-the-road. I have not missed my laptop when away from home.

Then you have to get a new home Mac.

The best answer is it depends. When I travel my workflow is to download
the contents of the camera card to a portable HDD, and then back up the
HDD. i then do rough edits on my notebook. I can't say if this is
important to you, but I would check in an Apple store. Your alternative
would be to walk around with a lot of cards from your camera.

When on-the-road in the past I had a triple redundant backup; 1: To my
Colorspace UDMA. 2: To my laptop. 3: To a portable HDD.

https://www.hypershop.com/products/hyperdrive-colorspace-udma3

Now I still have a backup to the Colorspace UDMA, but instead of the laptop
and portable HDD I download RAW files to the iPad Pro and Lightroom CC. LR CC
uses Adobe Smart Previews for editing, and rating on the iPad Pro, and syncs
to Adobe CC storage, which for an extra $5/month is now 1TB, that makes the
RAW files immediately available to my desktop where I have my home backup
setup.

--

Regards,
Savageduck

On Jun 19, 2018, PeterN wrote
(in article ):

On 6/19/2018 2:08 AM, Savageduck wrote:
On Jun 18, 2018, Bill W wrote
(in ):

On Mon, 18 Jun 2018 21:39:23 -0700, Savageduck
wrote:

With the cellular option you can buy LTE cellular on a monthly basis, as
you need it from a variety of providers, for both North America, and overseas.

I wasn't aware of that, but I can also tether to my phone.

Yup! That is always an option. With my old iPad2 I always used my iPhone
Hotspot option. Just be wary of the AT&T offering as that can lock you up.
For North America the T-Mobile option seems to be the best way to go. They
have an introductory offer which is not too bad, but after that their rate
climbs, but is still useful when it is needed. We have had a couple of power
outages out here, and having LTE access at those times has been useful.

I have a T-Mobile plan. The senior rate is fifty bucks a month,
(including taxes and fees,) for unlimited service. I will most likely be
getting rid of it, as their coverage sucks. Walmart sell a plan that
will cost me a few bucks mor per month, and they claim to use Verizon
towers. I am looking into that. Otherwise I will probably go back to
Verizon.

For my iPhone I use Verizon, and have done since the days they were GTE, but
for the iPad Pro I buy a block of T-Mobile LTE broadband as I need it, or I
use my iPhone Hotspot. Otherwise both of the iOS devices connect via my home
WiFi, or hotspots at hotels, or airports.

--

Regards,
Savageduck

On Jun 19, 2018, PeterN wrote
(in article ):

On 6/19/2018 2:01 AM, Savageduck wrote:

snip


Tennessee? I have some good friends in the Nashville area including an old
school pal I have known for 60 years. Then further South I have family in
the Chattanooga area.

The last time I was in Nashville I made the mistake of saying I liked
dry rub, over wet run. IIRC Nashville is one of the few cities where the
preference is about equal. Let's just say a passionate discussion broke
out, and I packed up my ribs and left.

Barbeque is like religion, and it is decidedly regional. Out here on the
Central Coast we have Santa Maria style BBQ. In San Luis Obispo, and Paso
Robles we have a few places which specialize in Santa Maria style BBQ, and it
is a regular at the SLO Farmers Market on Thursday evenings where the cooking
is done out on the street.

https://www.sunset.com/travel/california/santa-maria-bbq

--

Regards,
Savageduck

In article , Bill W
wrote:

Also buy the Apple Pencil. It is a great input, and editing device.

Also on my list, but maybe not right away. There are many options for
keyboards, so that will probably be automatic.

any bluetooth keyboard will work.

In article , PeterN
wrote:

With the cellular option you can buy LTE cellular on a monthly basis, as
you
need it from a variety of providers, for both North America, and overseas.

I wasn't aware of that, but I can also tether to my phone.

Yup! That is always an option. With my old iPad2 I always used my iPhone
Hotspot option. Just be wary of the AT&T offering as that can lock you up.
For North America the T-Mobile option seems to be the best way to go. They
have an introductory offer which is not too bad, but after that their rate
climbs, but is still useful when it is needed. We have had a couple of power
outages out here, and having LTE access at those times has been useful.


I have a T-Mobile plan. The senior rate is fifty bucks a month,
(including taxes and fees,) for unlimited service. I will most likely be
getting rid of it, as their coverage sucks. Walmart sell a plan that
will cost me a few bucks mor per month, and they claim to use Verizon
towers. I am looking into that. Otherwise I will probably go back to
Verizon.

that's for a phone, not a tablet, and therefore irrelevant.

tablet plans are data-only and therefore priced much less than a phone
plan.

they're normally month to month but some may have daily or even hourly
rates.

there used to be a free option from t-mobile but it's no longer
available, however, those who have it can keep it.

however, for phone, you're overpaying.

walmart sells a t-mobile plan for $30/mo plan that's unlimited
text/data and 100 voice minutes, which is also available via t-mobile
if you look (it's well hidden). if you need more voice minutes, you can
use voip or facetime, which use data instead of voice.

t-mobile's coverage has also greatly improved over the years. only in
rural areas is it weaker.

there are also numerous other options.

In article , Bill W
wrote:


With the cellular option you can buy LTE cellular on a monthly basis, as you
need it from a variety of providers, for both North America, and overseas.

I wasn't aware of that, but I can also tether to my phone.

keep in mind that the cellular version also includes a gps, which may
be useful.

also keep in mind that ios devices can obtain location without a gps
via wifi geolocation, but that obviously will not work well while
traveling, although it will update whenever it sees wifi (no need to
actually join it).