I
have been using the Mac long enough to have some informed opinions about the
operating system. Not that I lacked opinions before. I had quite strong
opinions. I thought that that Mac users were a cult, and I wouldn't be caught
dead associating with that gang. I have softened that stance slightly.
Here
is what I think now. The hardware is better. Things run easier. But I am
frustrated by how much is hidden from my view. And how it thinks about how a
task ought to be done, without asking me whether it's the way I really want
it to happen. Windows errs in the opposite extreme at time, requiring a bunch of seemingly redundant decisions on an apparently simple task.
In
particular, I'm frustrated with how the Mac deals with flash memory devices, such as compact flash cards. This is going to
be a real headache in my workflow. Mac is really cranky about what you plug
into it, and how you disconnect it. Sometimes it takes more than one try to
plug in a CF card and have the Mac recognize it. This has never been an issue
on a Windows machine. But disconnecting it is the real problem. I sometimes
have a large stack of cards I need to download. Macs are quite cranky about how you
disconnect a card. You have to manually eject it, and wait for the process to
complete. This will really slow me down. Windows is smart enough to know it's a
flash memory device, and it lets you just pull the thing out and slam the next one in. Reading a stack
of cards is a lot faster with Windows. You can set protocols on how it treats
different kinds of storage devices. You can unplug a USB drive without Windows
blinking. I don't know whether this customizing is possible with Mac.
The
other thing that still frustrates me is knowing where I am. An errant mouse
click and you end up in another application, and it's not immediately obvious.
The signal strength for where you are at any given time is a lot weaker on a
Mac. I'm sure there must be a keyboard shortcut for this, but I would love to
have just my active application visible, with nothing beneath except my
neutral gray empty desktop. When something loads into Photoshop, whatever array
of open junk I have open is visually distracting me. I want it gone. I want it
in its own Window.
I
guess I'm still having some separation issues.
Determining which application is front-most IS frustrating at times, especially if you haven't been working with the OS for a while. As for hiding other applications, you can do this by choosing Hide Others from the application menu (so in Photoshop, for example, it's in the bold Photoshop menu in the upper-left corner). Or, press Apple-Shift-H in most programs.
As for the USB drives, I didn't know you could just yank one out under Windows. The Mac I think is making extra sure you're not going to lose any data by not properly ejecting the card.
I'm not sure what your workflow is; do you offload images to a folder and then run them through Photoshop? You may be able to automate the steps a little using Automator, creating an action that copies the contents of a removable drive then ejects it automatically. However, Automator and scripting really aren't my areas, so I'm just guessing here.
Posted by: Jeff Carlson | July 18, 2007 at 10:42 PM
USB: you can just whip out the card, you just have to put up with the (annoying) error message. (mind you I don't make a living from the photos I have on my cards!;) )
With Windows you _should_ use the "Safely Remove Hardware" doohickey that sits in the tray, when you do it also takes a (short) while to eject the card. most people don't though.
Perhaps windows is slightly more clever about what/whether it caches on its reads/writes to the card.
It's always stuck me as strange that Windows, which molly coddles sooo much, doesn't show a message (although i'm sure it did in the distant past.) And OS X which appears to hide everything technical from the user does.
Windowing wise you could use one of the virtual screen managers around (names escape me) or wait for leopard which will have the facility built in. These will allow you to have different desktops/workspaces for any particular apps want to keep seperate from everything else.
http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/features/spaces.html
Posted by: bg | July 19, 2007 at 03:27 AM
What card reader are you using? I have never had a CF card fail to come up when plugged in. I am currently using a Sandisk Extreme USB reader.
Also you should be aware that using a USB device, recognition and transfer rates will slow down if you have something using the CPU. If that is your problem, you really want a FireWire reader. You can buy just a CF reader and then use an adapter to read other flash formats.
Posted by: Kendall Helmstetter Gelner | July 19, 2007 at 12:46 PM
The objection I have is that I have to manually eject each and every card (I might have 8 or 9 of them from a full day of shooting) before inserting the next one. Also, I'm using the Delkin reader that goes in the express slot, and it's real easy to accidentally pop it out and then have the Mac yell at you. It's also problematic about getting the card to insert completely, and I often get error messages from the Mac saying the card is unreadable.
With flash devices, CF cards and pocket flash drives, Windows could care less about how you detach them. You don't need to use the "Remove Hardware" dialog.
Posted by: Doug Plummer | July 19, 2007 at 05:42 PM
Boy, I wonder if the Delkin reader is at fault. Not for requiring that the drive is ejected, but for claiming cards are unreadable. I have a SIIG ExpressCard that sits snug and has given me no problems.
Posted by: | July 19, 2007 at 10:16 PM
You ARE supposed to use the Safely Remove Hardware feature, as it'll flush the cache if there were writes pending. Ejecting the flash icon on the Mac is the same process.
That all said--if you are dumping images from the cards, just yank them out. You won't lose any writes to the card because you aren't making any.
Don't blame all Macs for card reading problems. I have used many crappy cards and readers on Macs and never had a problem.
Posted by: Matt S. | July 20, 2007 at 12:18 AM
among the many things i detest about windows (which my workplace forces me to use) is its handling of flash drives. when you plug one in there is absolutely no feedback (unless perhaps the first time when you get the 'found hardware' message) that a drive has been mounted. windows forces you to go looking for the drive in the 'my computer' icon. if someone hasn't moved that icon, that is.
contrast to the mac where the drive is immediately mounted on the desktop. if a drive fails to mount on the mac you need to suspect your card reader or a conflicting device on your usb bus--that is not common behavior.
as others have said, on windows you actually need to eject the drive manually to be safe.
but my final question is: what's the big deal about ejecting them on the mac? pin the trash to the bottom or side of the dock and just drag the icons to the trash. or simply right click and select 'eject'. it takes much less time than hunting for the tiny 'eject hardware' icon in the windows desktop tray.
of all the things to pick on the mac for, this seems insubstantial unless you have performed your previous workflow so many times you are having trouble re-adjusting.
good luck,
/guy
Posted by: Guy Teague | July 20, 2007 at 04:27 PM
among the many things i detest about windows (which my workplace forces me to use) is its handling of flash drives. when you plug one in there is absolutely no feedback (unless perhaps the first time when you get the 'found hardware' message) that a drive has been mounted. windows forces you to go looking for the drive in the 'my computer' icon. if someone hasn't moved that icon, that is.
contrast to the mac where the drive is immediately mounted on the desktop. if a drive fails to mount on the mac you need to suspect your card reader or a conflicting device on your usb bus--that is not common behavior.
as others have said, on windows you actually need to eject the drive manually to be safe.
but my final question is: what's the big deal about ejecting them on the mac? pin the trash to the bottom or side of the dock and just drag the icons to the trash. or simply right click and select 'eject'. it takes much less time than hunting for the tiny 'eject hardware' icon in the windows desktop tray.
of all the things to pick on the mac for, this seems insubstantial unless you have performed your previous workflow so many times you are having trouble re-adjusting.
good luck,
/guy
Posted by: Guy Teague | July 20, 2007 at 04:30 PM
There is a place to set these preferences in Windows, which I don't recall right now, where you can decide precisely what you Want Windows to do everytime you plug in a flash drive. It can open up an Explorer window, it can start a program, whatever you want. Your computer is set to do nothing, but that's an administrative issue, not a computer issue. You can also set Windows to permit pulling out flash devices without requiring you go through the dismount hardware dialog.
My bigger issue with the Mac (though the eject thing annoys me, and it yells at me even when I've closed the computer and reopen it with a card in. Come on!) has to do with the hardware design by Delkin for their card reader. The action to insert or change a card is the same action that removes the reader from the computer. It takes two hands to carefully seat a card. I've ordered a Firewire reader, but I miss the convenience of a PC slot reader.
Posted by: Doug Plummer | July 21, 2007 at 08:11 AM
I have experienced the exact opposite ...on a mac, I simply click on the arrow right next to the drive icon in the finder window. On a PC, I have to locate the "safe eject" icon on the taskbar, then figure out which USB device it really is ...I often eject an incorrect one and have to do it over again. The delay on a mac is a second or two at most ...on the PC, I have to wait for 3-10 seconds depending on how long the stupid thing takes to return a message that it is now O.K.. It isn't horrific on either, but the mac handles drive mounting and un-mounting much more intuitively, IMHO!
Posted by: CWM | July 25, 2007 at 12:34 PM
You're totally right about the Safe Eject function in Windows--it gives way too little information about which drive to eject. I always end up opening an Explorer window, remembering which letter it is (I'm up to Drive P: often) and hoping the computer has let go of damn thing so it will eject. It sucks. Macs do it better, but they do it to too many kinds of devices, like flash devices, which shouldn't need it.
Posted by: Doug Plummer | July 25, 2007 at 09:56 PM
Hello there,
I use ingest with Photo Mechanic on a Mac and have it set up to unmount the card after the photos are copied. I also have it apply the IPTC info with a prewritten caption template. Included in the IPTC info it also has lots of other nifty functions like placing the day/date in the caption fields with codes based on the exif info from the camera. For me it's the only way to copy a stack of cards. I have multi readers attached sometimes so you can load however may cards as you have readers to copy at once and have them all unmounted for you after the copy. If you tag photos on the camera it loads those first so they can be quickly worked on while copying in the background.
Posted by: John | July 28, 2007 at 05:52 PM