The MacBook Pro comes in 13", 15" or 17". The 13" MacBook Pro has the Intel Core 2 Duo processor while the 15" and 17" have the newer Intel Core i5 or i7 processors.

For a photographer who uses Lightroom or Photoshop to process photos, probably the minimum you would consider is a 15" with an i5. The cheapest in this category is CHF2,299.- which comes with 4 GB of RAM, 320 GB hard disk, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256 MB graphics card which should be enough for photo editing. Admittedly, 320 GB of hard disk space will not cut it. You will probably need to invest in an external (or two) hard disk to store your photos while keep those precious hard disk space on your Mac for applications.

Note that being in Switzerland you can only get the weird QWERTZ keyboard from the Apple store which will make zou tzpe like this. But luckily you don't have to go to US to buy a proper keyboard. You just need to order online from the Swiss Apple Store! Delivery is completely free! What you have to do is after selecting the MacBook Pro of your choice, in the configuration section just select "Clavier rétro-éclairé (US) & Guide de l'utilisateur (Anglais)".

For the sake of comparison, let's look at how much a Dell would cost. For almost an equivalent configuration Dell costs CHF989.- and on top of that you will get an i7 processor and an ATI Mobility Radeon HD5470 with 1 GB graphics card! The MacBook Pro costs more than double with a lesser specs. But we always have to remind ourselves that we pay a premium for sleek design and usability.

So should you buy the new MacBook Pro?

Update: For those who are using PC with external drives formatted in NTFS, you can still access the files through a Mac. However, you won't be able to modify and save the files directly onto the external hard drive. This is where Paragon NTFS software comes in. Once installed on your Mac, you can share the external drive (including both read and write) between your Mac and PC.

Update 2: In comparison with the Apple Store in US, the prices there are about 20% more expensive in Switzerland. Interestingly enough prices of MacBook Pros in Malaysia are about the same as in the US with today's exchange rate. So basically, you pay more in Switzerland!

The new Aperture 3 comes with non-destructive brushes with automatic edge detection, adjustment presets, full screen browser mode, slideshows with still photos and videos and 200 more new features!

Here are some quick links to the Apple website:

What's new

Aperture in action - Cool videos by professional photographers

Buy for $199

As a mac user, which would you choose? Adobe Lightroom or Aperture 3?