As most nerds and geeks I have a need to buy a computer at least once every 2 years.
I bought my desktop computer in January 2007 and I am quite satisfied with it still. My Powerbook on the other hand was bought in January 2005 and I am on the verge of a tech breakdown. It is 3 years old and that´s an old computer. The problem is though that it just will not break down, I have had Zero issues with it. The battery still goes for 3 hours when doing light work and the screen is flawless, nothing is loose – no problemos. That is the problem though, I want a new Powerbook, so in my head I am reasoning with my inner practical guy. He´s not very strong, my whimsical inner guy is much stronger and in the end he always wins, just takes time.
Now that is just the first hurdle in a very long race to the finish line, the biggest hurdle is my wife. She does not need tech, she would be happy with anything that runs a word processor and goes on the Internet without a fuzz. She is so undemanding that she uses a 4 years old PC. Yes it is that bad. So to say the least she does not understand my cravings for beautiful, shiny, slim things that can leave other similar things in the dust in benchmark testing. I always tell her that she should consider herself lucky, I have no need for a 50 inch plasma TV, I don´t need a Harley Davidson or a quadruple 16 piece surround system. That reasoning falls on deaf ears. But persistence is the key, young master.

I have been using Aperture from Apple Inc for 1 ½ years now and I have to say that I am hooked. My Apple fetish probably has something to do with it, but I also have an Adobe fetish and Adobe Lightroom is the alternative to Aperture. So my unhealthy adoration of Apple products is not really a factor.
I used Lightroom for a year, was a part of their beta testing and I generally liked it. When I upgraded my computer and got some real muscle and a two-screen system, Lightroom did at the time not have what I needed.


©Apple Inc.

What Aperture has and I need, is a real support to a two-screen system, it also uses the Graphic Cards memory, when at the time Lightroom did not. Those are factors not everyone would think a big deal, but if you have the horsepower and two screens they are paramount to the decision.
Now this week Aperture 2.0 saw the light of day with even more options for Professional photographers. Tethered shooting, a big one. I have never liked the Canon programs, not surprisingly as they are a Camera manufacturer and it shows in the GUI of their software.
Aperture 2.0 has a clone brush that works this time, more reasons not to go into Photoshop. More speed, enhanced RAW processing and other not so useful stuff.
Lately I have even been printing from Aperture. I always used to print from Photoshop but had some problems with the program not saving my settings and etc. In Aperture it´s just easier, something that becomes more and more important in a fast workflow.
So this is my little love song to Aperture. I still like the name Lightroom better though, but although whimsical by nature, I am not that whimsical.

Just have to comment about this new MacBook Air. Thats one fine piece of gadgetry! Drool, damn my old PowerBook has to find a resting place. Now where was that hammer…