TheOldBear

Don't want to start a flame war [plenty of them over on dpreview], but PM seems both less capable and more expensive than Aperture.

[And for that matter, without knowing the original poster's needs, I would hesitate to recommend software at this time. iPhoto is a decent organizer/asset manager and sets the minimum standard fairly high]

I was hoping I would get more input on this.

 

Keith

It would help if you mentioned what features / capabilities you would like to have.

iPhoto is a fairly powerful organizer, supporting a 'non destructive' editing workflow. It currently only supports basic image adjustments [but these are useful for the majority of editing tasks].

If this is not sufficient, an external editor can be configured for use with iPhoto, with iPhoto handling the organization and the editor handing layer based or pixel level edits.

If you need better organization, the pro level 'Digital Asset Managers' like Aperture offer extended photo organization features - and also offer more sophisticated versions of iPhoto's adjustments. Adding either an external editor or plugins further extend the editing actions available.

You may want to look over at dpreview.com - they have forum sections for 'Mac Talk' and 'digital darkroom' topics.

You may want/need a pixel level editor that can be used as an 'external editor' in iPhoto. Some suggestions here are either Pixelmator or Adobe Photoshop Elements. [both in the OSX App store]. The free GIMP software may also be used as an external editor.

If you have lots and lots of photos [over 10,000] you may want to look at the iPhoto Library Manager [ http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ ] as an aid to organizing your libraries.

You may want to look at a pro level photo organizer, with the obvious choice Apple's Aperture. The current versions of iPhoto and Aperture share the same library / database information and can open each other's libraries.

Looks like there may be some satellite problems

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/10/06/1533200/satellite-glitch-leaves-northern-canada-in-the-internet-dark

I always wondered why we don't just say front, back, left, and right for ships. We do for road vehicles and bikes. Sometimes people slip up and say front or back anyway, even though they know the nautical lexicon, out of habit.

Another curiosity: Why is left called port if we don't always get off that side of the ship? Why is right called starboard if there is no board with a star on it?

<useless trivia>

Starboard was derived from the 'steer board' side [the steering oar of a ship designed without a conventional rudder [good Scrabble rudder related words are 'pintle' and 'gudgeon' :) ]]

The other side of the ship was originally 'larboard' [i guess this was because it rhymed]. Some time ago, it was noticed that the two words sounded identical in a noisy environment [like during a battle], so the word 'port' was introduced.

A possible derivation was from the red color of the port running light [pour a glass of port, hold it up to the light and what color is it?]

In naval usage [don't know about civilian usage] engine orders are port and starboard, rudder orders are left and right - "starboard engine back one third, left full rudder"

</useless trivia>

I'm going on my first cruise in a month as a solo traveler - VERY excited about the trip. I just read through the entire thread (!) and have a bunch of questions:

 

1. What do you use highlighters for? I saw someone mention using them to circle things, but can't you just use a pen or make a list in a notebook? Am I missing something?

They're for marking events of interest in the daily schedule - If you're not traveling solo each person could have a different color.

2. When people are talking about baggage vs carryon, can your carryon be a small rollerboard (like a carryon for a plane)? I never check bags when I travel and would prefer to keep all of my things with me.

A carryon is anything that you can schlep unassisted. If everything you want to bring fits - that simplifies things.

3. Is there anything different about a cruise ship room than a typical hotel room, other than size? I stay in hotels 3-4 nights/week for business, so I'm pretty used to how to pack and not duplicate what they will provide for me, but all this about duct tape and binder clips and highlighters and extra hairdryers is making me wonder if this is going to be very different than my usual travels...

Well, first of all the room is going somewhere.

Most of the suggestions seem going a trifle overboard - but they work for the poster [e.g. Duct tape is good for quick repairs to luggage]

4. My cruise line (Celebrity) says that that the earliest I can book my flight home is 12pm. Is that true? I am heading back to work for a half day so if it's possible to take an earlier flight, I'd love to do that. I have security clearance at the airport thanks to my job, so it only takes me 5 mins or so to go through, and I typically don't arrive more than 35 minutes before takeoff for domestic flights.

You may want to check if they have a early self departure, for folks willing to depart unassisted.

5. Everyone keeps saying to bring tons of money. I'm looking at the cruise as a quick long weekend getaway and am NOT looking to spend a ton of money, as I'm not really considering it a big vacation. I just want to relax, read, work out, and eat whatever food is provided at the buffet. Probably won't be drinking much and I definitely don't intend to shop. Is the cost really going to be that much more than just the price of the cruise? I was picking a cruise just as an alternative to booking an all inclusive resort, but was planning to just use it as a traveling hotel...

Just factor the 'auto tip' or 'suggested daily service' amount into you expenses. On Cunard, that's $11 a day. For our shore excursions, we're just planning on getting off and walking around.

6. Is water onboard not potable? I keep reading to bring as much water as you can carry... is that just if you are fussy about your bottled water?

The wanter the ship makes [distills, de-mineralizes, filters..] is purer H20 than the bottled water.

7. I'm in my mid-20s and would love to meet some people around my age... any suggestions on how to do that? I'm pretty friendly/sociable :)

The same way you would do that anywhere - just talking with folks is a major recreation.

VERY excited - thank you all for the great advice so far!