So, I went Mac last year with a MacBook Pro. I'm finding that it's not fast enough for me when I'm editing, and I thought maybe if I went with an iMac (is that fast enough?), I could have my files on that and work on my laptop. I'm just not sure what I need to "network" them ... is the airport express all I need, or is there more to keep the files on one computer and work on the other? Will it be slow to work on files this way?

As far as what computer to get, what is the most important as far as speed goes? I feel like I'm waiting a long time for my images to process in CS2, and it's frustrating to sit there and wait! LOL!

Thanks so much for your advice!

Anita, if your new iMac is the primary system connected to the internet in your home/office, the laptop should find the network without the need for any other hardware. All you need is built into the laptop.

There are a few ways to go about this. Easiest and cheapest is you can create an adhoc network through your imac. It will be a network consisting of your imac and Powerbook only. Go into settings/network ( I can't remember exactly as I'm at work and on windoze) but you can also look it up on the net..create mac adhoc network. The only problem with this is that if you want to use this network, your internet network will be down while you are using it. When you are done, you can go back to whatever network you were using for your internet.


IF you already have a wireless router in your house, all you have to do is turn on file sharing on each machine and you should be able to transfer files back and forth easily.

if you have an existing network in your house.. you only need 2 things

1. a Mac

2. another Mac

Thank you guys so much for the help! I guess I just need to buy another mac and go from there! Any advice on what mac to get? Is the iMac fast enough, or should I go bigger? I have a need for speed!!

I have a 24" white imac 2.33Ghz 3GB RAM 500GB HD. IT runs plenty fast for me. I run CS3, Lightroom, Final Cut, and some music production tools. They all run fine on it. I like the non-glare screen but man is it bright! The newer imacs are even faster..but I hate the glossy glass window screen on them. There's glare no matter what you do...unless you sequester yourself in a dark room with no lights. But they are fast! I'm looking at a new powerbook but not the air as it's just not practical...yet. And I'd LOVE a Power Mac 8 Core..but at this point, it's really overkill and unneccesary. I'd like one because it's upgradeable and my imac is at it's limit of upgradeability. I think a Power MAc would be a better long term investment...if there is such a thing with computers.

Still hoping for Apple to upgrade all their studio monitors though...they are wayy overdue on this.

Thanks, Scott ... that gives me an idea of where to start. I really like the look of iMacs and how little space they take up, but I feel like I'm upgrading computers every year, so maybe I should check into the Power Mac. I feel like I'm always waiting for images to load, process, etc., and it drives me crazy

Thanks again! I really appreciate it!

You get your first mac and you put it next to the other one.

Leave them awhile to become familiar with each other (this time can vary based on what gender they are) Remember try to be subtle and not make it look like its a blind date. - (insert your creativity here)

thats all there is to it... no cables, no wireless crap - 'they just work'.

LOL! So true, if it was a Windows machine, you would need an IT dept. to sort of make it work, sometimes!

Why isn't your macbook pro fast enough? How much memory do you have?