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MacBook for Travel?

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Adam14

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I would like to have a small laptop to take on our vacation to Europe to download photos onto (and edit) and also be able to access the internet from wifi sites. We have always used PC s but I went to the local Apple Store and was very, very impressed, plus my friends with Macs have been telling me for years to switch. I am ready to take the plunge. I have only been editing with Picasa and have not gotten into Photoshop type programs. Two questions...

Is a Macbook appropriate for what I want and will I be happy with iphoto as opposed to getting Aperture?
Thanks very much,
( Also if there is talk of a new MacBook coming out soon-not a Pro)
I would consider waiting.
 
I bought the older ibook G4 a couple of years back for portable photo storage. It's how I first got into Mac's. Once I owned one, there was no going back. The wireless networking worked great for travel. If you are using Picassa at present, I would guess that iphoto should be fine for basic organizing and editing - it has a nice interface and is easy to use. If you wanted a bit more control over the editing process, I might look at Elements 4.
--
Richard B.
http://www.pbase.com/richard_b
 
Although I use aperture extensively, when I travel I prefer to use iPhoto as a quick first look at my photos. iPhoto is fast, easy to use and is a great front end to creating books, websites, dvds and so. It is also good for simple but effective editing. In the future, you can always upgrade to aperture and transfer your entire iphoto library into aperture.

With regards to wireless, the macbook is easy to use and set up and has great wireless range. Overall a killer travel combo with iPhoto.
--
a small collection of photos at http://www.smallcrowd.com
 
I am a full time photojournalist and until recently traveled with a G4 12inch iBook (my employer just issued me a 15 inch MacBook Pro). I used Photoshop (I do this for a living) on the iBook and it worked great. The MacBook and iPhoto should be just about perfect for your needs. I am getting a MacBook this summer for use when I travel on my dime and not the paper's.

jack
--
A few of my photos:
http://web.mac.com/kurtzjack/iWeb/ or
http://www.sportsshooter.com/members.html?id=4177
 
Thank you all very much for your replies! I can see that I will be making a good decision buying this laptop.
Cheers, Adam
 
update info link

http://www.macrumors.com/2007/05/15/apple-releases-new-macbooks/

basically a jump in processor speed, CORE 2 DUO processors and hard drive size and 1gb memory

i still use a 5 year old 15 inch titanium power book to produce brochures and develop raw image files

your choice is good and your computer experience will become more enjoyable.

finally an OS upgrade to 10.5 and ilife 07 is expected but not till October (if you can wait that long else you will have to pay $150 or so)
 
I'm a recent switcher. I bought a Macbook and have been loving it. I found iPhoto to be inferior to Picasa, but Aperture is the best thing sinced sliced bread.
--

'The camera can photograph thought. It's better than a paragraph of sweet polemic.' Dirk Bogarde
-adrian charles-
barbados.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/guttaperk/
 
You're welcome, Adam.

You shouldn't be too put off by my comments on iPhoto, though; it's a good app that had the misfortune to be upstaged by a great app. Give it a try, and don't assume that something can't be done because it's not obvious; iPhoto is not as intuitive an app as Picasa is.

I'm using Aperture now.
--

'The camera can photograph thought. It's better than a paragraph of sweet polemic.' Dirk Bogarde
-adrian charles-
barbados.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/guttaperk/
 
I have a 13" MacBook I bought for exactly the same reasons you have stated. I also went to:

http://eshop.macsales.com/

and bought a 2 GIG memory upgrade and a 120 GIG 2.5" FireWire external drive. This drive is powered from the MacBook buss and does not need an external power supply. It is the perfect combination for traveling and you have plenty of room to download literally thousands of photos. I have loaded CS3 and LightRoom on it. I find that I prefer Bridge for all my photo management tasks.

Chet
 
One issue I haven't seen addressed is the weight of the Macbook. It's not that light, compared to what you can find on the PC side. I wish the Macbook had come out in a 12" or even smaller version.

That said, I'm a confirmed Mac user and my MacBook travels everywhere with me. I use it for work and for pleasure.

--

http://www.davewyman.com
 
is that the MacBook comes with a glossy screen. If you don't want that you can only go to a MacBook Pro or to 'the other side'... The older iBooks (on one of which I am writing this) have a matte screen. Wrong decision by Apple to give that up, if you ask me.

--
http://www.pbase.com/maurus_e/
 
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