Should I change? should I stay?

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Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Hello everybody





I'm in front of a great dillema.

I wish to buy a new computer, and I'm playing with the idea of buying a power mac, for a time...

Until now I have used x86, mainly Intel, platform computers, with windows and linux.

My big worry is about the softwares.

I am an engineer and I use several programs for which I didn't find any equivalent under MacOs. For example Autodesk Inventor Series 9, Protel Dxp...etc.

Could anybody help with some advices or links?

Also if there is any possibility of getting "grey" softwares? (try before buy)

File sharing programs?

Is it difficult to migrate from windows to MacOs?



thank you in advance, best wishes,



eRic

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    tednditedndi Posts: 1,921member
    just jump in.



    You won't be disappointed. yes there are less programs out there for the mac but for the most part they work better.



    You can also run Windows on the power mac and thus have your cake and eat it too. The program is called virtual PC and it is made by microsoft for the mac.



    just do it!
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  • Reply 2 of 17
    wow, i didn't know that!!

    it's great then, I could have several OS on the workstation.

    Is this emulator affecting the performance of the machine?

    It will become slower?
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  • Reply 3 of 17
    rickagrickag Posts: 1,626member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by eRicBorg

    Hello everybody





    I'm in front of a great dillema.

    I wish to buy a new computer, and I'm playing with the idea of buying a power mac, for a time...

    Until now I have used x86, mainly Intel, platform computers, with windows and linux.

    My big worry is about the softwares.

    I am an engineer and I use several programs for which I didn't find any equivalent under MacOs. For example Autodesk Inventor Series 9, Protel Dxp...etc.

    Could anybody help with some advices or links?

    Also if there is any possibility of getting "grey" softwares? (try before buy)

    File sharing programs?

    Is it difficult to migrate from windows to MacOs?



    thank you in advance, best wishes,



    eRic




    Wish I could be of more help, but Apple has instructions on how to switch.



    Go to http://www.apple.com/



    Under the Apple file folder select the "Switch" menu item(http://www.apple.com/switch/).



    Just under the Swither's pictures in the grayed out area is a selection you'll see the "How to Switch" link(http://www.apple.com/switch/howto/).



    There Apple has some pretty detailed instructions on switching.



    sorry I couldn't be more helpful, good luck.

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  • Reply 4 of 17
    pbg4 dudepbg4 dude Posts: 1,611member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by eRicBorg

    wow, i didn't know that!!

    it's great then, I could have several OS on the workstation.

    Is this emulator affecting the performance of the machine?

    It will become slower?




    Anything run under emulation will be slower than running the program on its intended platform. I'm not sure Autodesk's Inventor does (is it CAD?) so I couldn't provide any links, although you might be able to find more information on useable programs for the Mac at http://www.architosh.com/ .



    Non-emulated (read OS X) programs will still run at the same speed, only programs run through the emulator (in this case Virtual PC) will be slower.



    I would seriously research the software aspect before you buy because you don't want to end up with a laptop that doesn't do what you need it to do.



    That being said, I'd take an Apple laptop over PC laptop anyday. In fact, I'm on my second Apple laptop now and I love its ease of use, simplicity and functionality.
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  • Reply 5 of 17
    yes, I thought about that

    I do have under Linux an emulator, and saw the performance decrease, thats why I was asking

    Yes, it's a CAD program, mostly mechanics.

    Thanks for the help
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  • Reply 6 of 17
    jcgjcg Posts: 777member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by eRicBorg

    yes, I thought about that

    I do have under Linux an emulator, and saw the performance decrease, thats why I was asking

    Yes, it's a CAD program, mostly mechanics.

    Thanks for the help




    Other options are for you to find a CAD program that can open and save compatible files, or you might be able to buy a Unix version of the program and run it under X11 or another Xwindows "emulator" (not exactly sure how this works, but there has been some write ups on how to do this.), there might even be an open source Unix CAD program that you could use via X11 that reads and writes the Autodesk formatted files which would save you the cost of buying any new software for this purpose.



    http://www.nemetschek.net/mechanical/index.html



    Vector Works is a pro CAD program for OS X.
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  • Reply 7 of 17
    mikefmikef Posts: 698member
    I am a recent Mac convert, however I still have and use PCs on a regular basis.



    If the primary apps you need are on Windows, then I'd recommend a Windows notebook. Emulation is an option, but you'd want to try it first because it'll be significantly slower than running natively.



    Mac notebooks are fantastic, but if they don't run the apps you want, they're not much good to you.
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  • Reply 8 of 17
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    WHen it comes to software on the mac, I find that there is less BUT what is missing is riff-raff, there are not many choices on the mac but what is there is the best, for example, there are like 10-20 photo orginizers on the Windows side, but Mac has iPhoto and maybe one other one but that is all you need. there are examples of this all over the place, from photos, to enginering, to high end math, to video to 3D and so on.
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  • Reply 9 of 17
    first of all I would like to correct an isue, I'm not looking for a powerbook, I'm considering a PowerMac G5.

    Yesterday I made a deep search on the net, for softwares.

    These are the softwares wich I use for work:

    -Macromedia series for web graphics

    -Adobe Photoshop

    -Corel Draw

    -Protel DXP for electronic circuit design

    -Autodesk Inventor Series 9 for mechanical and integration



    I have found the first three isues on MacOs too, I think there would be no problem.

    I have found an application which looks like Protel, Berkeley's Spice i think.

    I have found CAD programs, however none as Inventor, which is good not only in mechanics, but also in integrating devices, electric panels, etc.

    So, in conclusion only Inventor would be a question.
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  • Reply 10 of 17
    resres Posts: 711member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by a_greer

    WHen it comes to software on the mac, I find that there is less BUT what is missing is riff-raff, there are not many choices on the mac but what is there is the best, for example, there are like 10-20 photo orginizers on the Windows side, but Mac has iPhoto and maybe one other one but that is all you need. there are examples of this all over the place, from photos, to enginering, to high end math, to video to 3D and so on.



    I agree with you for the most part, but there are some programs, like Framemaker which has no peer and is no longer available on the Mac side of things.



    eRicBorg, there are some very good CAD programs out for the mac, like VectorWorks 11, ArchiCAD for architecture only), and formZ (a general purpose solid and surface modeler) -- just to name a few. Unfortunaltly, I don't thank that there is a Mac program that will give you the same exact feature set that you get with the Autodesk Inventor Series
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  • Reply 11 of 17
    xoolxool Posts: 2,460member
    Once I get my hands on VPC 7 I'll tell you how it runs on my Dual 2 GHz G5. I'm a software engineer and I love my macs to death!
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  • Reply 12 of 17
    run linux on a mac?
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  • Reply 13 of 17
    yes, I have founded a distribution, called Yellow Dog Linux, which is for Mac platform. Also as far as I know, Debian also has a Mac version. YDL has a 64bit version also.
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  • Reply 14 of 17
    I think the right word is finded not founded, sorry
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  • Reply 15 of 17
    Quote:

    Originally posted by eRicBorg

    I think the right word is finded not founded, sorry



    No, founded is correct, if you are the founder of the company.



    If you meant you found a copy of Linux for Macs, that has a different meaning altogether.
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  • Reply 16 of 17
    I've run Yellowdog and Debian on my powerbook with very few issues. Mandrake is testing a new PPC version as well I haven't had a chance to try it yet though. I love Linux on Apple hardware myself it is great.
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  • Reply 17 of 17
    jbljbl Posts: 555member
    I am under the impression that most programs that are available for linux are also available for OS X's X11. Is that correct?
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