Posted by
Jeff Brandenburg on
URL: http://imagej.273.s1.nabble.com/Question-about-hardware-tp3699843p3699844.html
On Apr 1, 2007, at 2:32 PM, Kathie A Berghorn wrote:
> Dear Listers,
>
> My Mac G4 has died a slow and painful death. I am now searching for a
> replacement. Can anyone tell me whether the Macbook (the one without
> separate graphics video ram) is adequate for running ImageJ and its
> macros
> or do I need the Macbook Pro?? I image blood vessels and recreate 3D
> representations of specific areas of placental angiogenesis.
>
> Any recommendations would be appreciated, keeping in mind that price
> is an
> issue.
I faced the same decision last fall, and went for the MacBook Amateur.
I ran quite a few Java benchmarks, and there was very little difference
for most operations. If you're using applications that take advantage
of native 3D libraries, the MBPro would do better, but I'm not aware of
any ImageJ tools that do so. (As OS X Java implementations continue to
improve, this may change.)
My biggest regret from choosing the MacBook is the LCD display itself.
I really miss the added screen space of the Pro, and I'm not happy with
the viewing angle of the MacBook screen -- moving my head up and down a
few inches *radically* changes the display's apparent gamma. (This can
actually be a feature when reviewing images, as it's much quicker than
adjusting brightness and contrast from ImageJ!) Of course, you can,
and probably should, connect an external display for critical work,
whichever laptop you choose.
--
-jeffB (Jeff Brandenburg, Duke Center for In-Vivo Microscopy)