Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

theknowles

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 12, 2006
18
0
i am needing to get a new laptop for school/college in the next few months, i am definitely going to make the switch to mac and originally decided on a powerbook g4. i was wondering if it would be worth getting a macbook pro instead, but am worried as ive heard it will not run programe's such as final cut pro, and i was intending on borrowing my friends copy. they are both in my price range so what do you think would be better for me?

i will be using it for video and picture editing, using programs such as final cut pro and photoshop along with many others.

thanks for any help available
 

NtotheIzoo

macrumors regular
Jan 24, 2005
191
0
i have the powerbook g4 rev d, 12"...I love it...rev a tends to have problems and with the switch from powerpc to intel, they are likely to more issues...but i have to admit the dual core macbook pro would be simply sweet...
 

law guy

macrumors 6502a
Jan 17, 2003
999
-1
Western Massachusetts
theknowles said:
i am needing to get a new laptop for school/collage in the next few months, and origionley decided on a powerbook g4. i was wandering if it would be worth getting a macbook pro instead, but am worried as ive heard it will not run programes such as final cut pro, and i was intending on borrowing my friends copy. they are both in my price range so what do you think would be better for me?

i will be using it for video and picture editing, using programs such as final cut pro and photoshop along with many others.

thanks for any help available

Knowles -

FC Pro should work with rosetta for the near term, but as the whole line is transitioning this year, it's likely that we'll see a universal binary version of FCP in the next few months. If you purchase a macbook pro and FCP, the only downside is that I understand there's something like a $50 software "trade" fee to move from the PPC version to the universal binary version of the software. Steve Jobs mentioned it in his Keynote and Molly Wood noted it in her recent comments on the CNET page. She makes a point about it here: http://reviews.cnet.com/4531-10921_7-6416107.html?tag=blog. I think the macbook pro looks like a nice choice, esp. going forward, for the speed gain, and b/c FCP will likely be running native on it very soon. Good luck.
 

LethalWolfe

macrumors G3
Jan 11, 2002
9,370
124
Los Angeles
I would wait until the MacBooks start shipping and we start seeing first hand reviews of them. You might prefer a tried and true PB G4 as opposed to a possibly finicky Rev A MacBook.

And if you have enough money to buy a brand new laptop I'm sure you can scrape together a few more bucks and get the edu version of FCP. FCP will run on a MacBook but you'll need the universal binary version.

Glad to hear you are looking at a Mac. I really like the "spell check as you type" feature as spelling is not a strong point of mine.


Lethal
 

qzak

macrumors 6502
Jan 19, 2005
251
0
no question, go for the Macbook Pro. if your gonna be using it for image and video editing, why would you say no to 4-5x faster? yes, its a rev A... but you have warranty for a year, more than that if you get Applecare, which you should for a rev A product. just my opinion....

oh, btw... you may want to spell college correctly when you're there ;)
 

LethalWolfe

macrumors G3
Jan 11, 2002
9,370
124
Los Angeles
qzak said:
no question, go for the Macbook Pro. if your gonna be using it for image and video editing, why would you say no to 4-5x faster? yes, its a rev A... but you have warranty for a year, more than that if you get Applecare, which you should for a rev A product. just my opinion....

But what good is a laptop (especially for school work) if you keep having to send off to Apple to get repaired? Now, hopefully the Rev A MacBook Pro's won't have very many growing pains, but sometimes slow and steady is better than fast and flakey.

Like I said in my first post, if you can wait until the MacBooks start shipping so you can read reviews about them.


Lethal
 

theknowles

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 12, 2006
18
0
yer im dyslexic , ive had spelling problems all my life...

yer the macbook pro is 4x faster, but what use will that be when at the moment as ive heard it isnt going to be running professional editing programes untill the future. i would probley be able to pay for the programes, but ive recently just finished paying for the full adobe suite for pc, so getting it off my friend would be a great help
 

law guy

macrumors 6502a
Jan 17, 2003
999
-1
Western Massachusetts
theknowles said:
yer im dyslexic , ive had spelling problems all my life...

yer the macbook pro is 4x faster, but what use will that be when at the moment as ive heard it isnt going to be running professional editing programes untill the future. i would probley be able to pay for the programes, but ive recently just finished paying for the full adobe suite for pc, so getting it off my friend would be a great help

I had speculated on Rosetta, but that won't work. Here's what Apple says - Intel version by the end of March.

"Does Final Cut Studio run on the new Intel-based Mac computers?

The current version of Final Cut Studio is not supported on Intel-based Mac computers with Rosetta. A Universal version of Final Cut Studio will be available before the end of March 2006. Universal applications are designed to run flawlessly on both Intel- and PowerPC-based Mac computers"

From: http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/topquestions.html
 

bousozoku

Moderator emeritus
Jun 25, 2002
16,120
2,399
Lard
theknowles said:
yer im dyslexic , ive had spelling problems all my life...

yer the macbook pro is 4x faster, but what use will that be when at the moment as ive heard it isnt going to be running professional editing programes untill the future. i would probley be able to pay for the programes, but ive recently just finished paying for the full adobe suite for pc, so getting it off my friend would be a great help

You should be able to work with Adobe on your current licence to get a Mac version for almost no cost at all, rather than using software that doesn't belong to you. If you contact them, several companies are willing to work with cross-platform trades.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.