建立數碼黑房。 Build a digital darkroom.

建立數碼黑房的第一步，當然是購買電腦；而選購前最重要的決定，是採用 Windows 還是 Mac 的作業系統。以往我用 Windows，但自從幾年前買了部 MacBook 和 iPod Touch 後，便不能自拔，雖然沒有用作數碼黑房，但也有用作簡單的影片剪輯。不錯，過去 Apple 的優點經常給人跨大了，但不能否認，如僅用作數碼黑房，Mac OS 天生始終優於 Windows，硬件價格與 Windows 的差異也不斷收窄。是時候轉用 Apple 了。

決定了是 Mac 後，緊接的問題是，iMac 或 MacPro？ 我同意 Lloyd Chambers 說 iMac 不能擴充，但我不是專業攝影師，操作數碼黑房時，不會追求頂級的速度，我可以接受外置硬碟作備份的速度，所以還是選外表較漂亮的 iMac。

Apple 今天 (7月27日) 剛公布 新一代的 iMacs，有雙核 dual-core Core i3 和 i5，也有四核 quad-core Core i5 和 i7. 雙核處理器的速度達 3.6GHz，四核是 2.93GHz。所有 iMac 都有獨立 ATI Radeon HD GPUs，由 256MB 4670 至是高的 1GB 5750。RAM 起碼有 4GB。可選擇 256GB SSD 作為第一或第二硬碟。

You must buy a computer before you can build a digital darkroom. An obvious question is: Windows or Mac OS? I have been using Windows for years, but I think I am converting to Mac. I have been using a MacBook and iPad Touch for a few years for editing video clips and other things not relating to photography. It's time for me to start afresh with a new system to manage my collection of millions of images. It's the time to switch wholly to Mac.

The next question is: iMac or Mac Pro? I fully agree with Lloyd Chambers that iMac is a dead-end machine, but speed is not my main concern as I am not a professional photographer. I don't have customers' deadline to meet. MacPro accepts 4 internal drives, but external drives are perfectly acceptable to me. Hence, I'll buy the eye-appealing iMac.

Apple today (27 July) announced an updated line of iMacs. The new series offer dual-core Core i3, i5, quad-core Core i5 or i7. Dual-core CPUs are now rated up to 3.6GHz, whereas quad-core speeds to 2.93GHz. All systems now use dedicated ATI Radeon HD GPUs, from 256MB 4670 to 1GB 5750 at the peak. RAM on each system is 4GB by default. New is the option of a 256GB SSD as a primary or secondary drive.