View ImageI’m a long time MacUser going back to Wednesday December 11th 1991 @ 10:18pm. Yeah, I know the date and time because I saved the very first document I ever created and still have it today. (Just a note, the ‘Pete’ in that little pict referred to my brother Peter and not our beloved Pete Draganic!)
Well anyway I’m trying to collect and build profiles of MacUsers and what kinds of software they are using to get things done for a blog I have going called Mac4Construction.com so there would be a good reference on the web for Macintosh Contractors to get ideas on what they can use to meet their needs and requirements coming from other Macintosh contractors.
While I’m obviously interested in hear about what you are using in the way of software for the big things like Estimating, Accounting, Contact Management, and Project Management I’m also really interested in hearing about the little tips and tricks and utility programs you use to improve your productivty and see what kinds of things make up the Macintosh experience for you.
For example to get the ball rolling on this in another forum I brought up Galerie.
Galerie is an absolutely great fast and easy tool for creating web page albums with pictures and QuickTime media files.
It will build index pages with thumbnails linked to the respective page in the gallery and you can use it working with collections from iPhoto and you don’t need to know any HTML to use it. Launch Galerie and it will in turn launch iPhoto (or another image browser that you can select in the preferences such as GrahicCoverter, iView Media, or Extensis Portfolio) and you can assemble the collection you want to use.
If you do know HTML you can build your own templates and have Galerie work building pages from them. If your a Macromedia Dreamweaver user like me and you’ve discovered the Create web Photo Album function doesn’t work on an IntelMac (still waiting for the Universal Binary) then this is the replacement solution you’ve been looking for and in some respects I think is ever better than the DW extension.
And to make a good program great it’s entirely free.
So tell me what ya got and how are you using it?
Replies
I'll go first.
New to Mac this year
got a 17" iMac
New to running my own show last year
So far all I have is First Edge from MYOB.
tried to load Hoyle Board Games but it wouldn't take...
I don't Know what I am doing
But
I am VERY good at it!!
Well T it sounds like you've got 159GB of space to fill.What else are you planning on putting on there? What's next?_
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I'll be following this thread - thanks for starting it.I've been Mac since 99 and I'd never buy another PC ever. There's so many reasons to have amac that it's easy to pick a few and stay with those, such as: no virus worries, ability to run latest os with older machines, etc.The main reason I like using them is a little harder to describe, but it's got to do with the ease in which you can whip your files around. Organizing, copying, finding, viewing - there's a sence of effortlessness to the daily process of interacting with your computer that's priceless.That said,I use: (not necessarily contractor purposes...)-Photoshop CS2 - Great for anythiing photo related - use to layout promo materials-Iview Media Pro - the single most amazing program I own. It's a FAST image cataloger that has no limit or uses, and unlike most catalog programs is super fast so that it can be used for editing.-Pages - It's like Word without the annoyances. It has it's limits, but allows for easy simple word docs with pictures included.-Keynote - Exact interface as Pages and super nice presentations easy.-Rapid Weaver - Starting to play around with this as iWeb has a low ceiling of features. Seems very powerful yet super easy.-Quicken Pro - Honestly haven't touched it since I bought it due to social strife in my life...-Transmit - Great interface FTP program - much cooler than Fetch-Sketchup - Need I say more?-Entourage - Mail is nice but SLOW. Entourage is powerful and fast, just not as pretty.-Preview - Easy to overlook how nice it is to open jpegs and pdfs fast without the overhead of PS or other editing program.When I first started looking for a computer for high end retouching - everyone was telling me to get a Mac. I'm thinking, why not just build a pwrful PC? Then I heard, "Once you go Mac, you never go back.." And I thought "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.." But it's true.JT
JulianTracy - " -Iview Media Pro - the single most amazing program I own. It's a FAST image cataloger that has no limit or uses, and unlike most catalog programs is super fast so that it can be used for editing."
I've had a couple of people mention Iview Media Pro but I think yours is the biggest rave I've heard so far. On reading about it I like that it stores a path to where the media is rather than storing the media itself which most likely explains how you can describe it as being FAST. I will have to check it out. I use iPhoto (free) for keeping track of all my photos along with iPhotoBuddy (donationware) but I do think I can do with and even need something better than that. I used to use Extensis Portfolio years ago. Would you say that Iview Media Pro is along those lines?
Love Transmit too for those times when I don't want to deal with the hassle and wait for Dreamweaver to open just to do some simple FTP.
Running DW which isn't a universal binary on an IntelMac is driving me crazy. It slow and a lot of feature I need and extensions I used to use don't work. Thank God just the other day Adobe announced that Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Contribute have been updated and will be Universal Binaries (meaning they're now designed to run on IntelMacs (Hallelujah!) and will be out this spring (Tidbits.com/article/8930). Don't know how much this Adobe upgrade is going to soak me for the whole works but it is important to me. My brother and I do all our web site production in Dreamweaver and I have seven sites of my own to maintain in addition to my client sites and next to FileMaker DW is my most commonly used program. And another reason that might be so is that I us DW to compose all my posts here on BreakTime too!
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I have an Iview catalog of 17,000 images. Most are 8mp jpegs and raw files - the rest are 6MP jpegs.On my 1.25 G4 powerbook, I can scroll through all 17K images in about 6 seconds.Images can be labled and/or rated, can be sorted any way you can think of. Can be sorted into subset catalogs. You can run slideshows, save as quicktime movies, convert image files, convert movie files, create web galleries, etc.When I last tried Portfolio - it was a cataloging program that was absolutely useless for editing. Even when flipping through full screen previews - it's quite speedy.Iview is a multi-media cataloging program that excels at editing.You can catalog jpegs, quicktimes, word docs, pdf files, wmv files...It's got very low overhead - a catalog file that is cataloging 47GB of files will only be 382MB in size.It can be used to catalog offline images, such as CD's and hardrives.It's like iphoto without the warma and fuzzy stuff, but very fast and unlimited stuff you can do.When I first tried it - we had the Fuji S2 camera, and the only option to edit a shoot was to run the raw files through Fuji's converter - On a G4 400 - that took 3.5minutes per file. Iview allowed us to import the Fuji Raw files and view them at high res without converting them and then create low-res jpegs for giving to others for editing - all without conversion of the original raw files. At the time, that was amazing - no other program existed that would do that.We now have plenty of options with Aperature, Lightroom, Bridge, etc., but Iview is still the fastest and has the least amount of overhead requirements.Rapidweaver is the program I meant to say - it's a more powerful version of iweb. Never tried Dreamweaver.Julian
i'm still trying to get used to everything being upside down and backwardsya think crown molding wolud have gotten me ready for this...gotta break 14 years of doing it the windoze way habits..I may get estimating software some day...right now i just need to motivate myself to keep up on the accounting...I don't Know what I am doing
But
I am VERY good at it!!
MisterT - "right now i just need to motivate myself to keep up on the accounting..."
Well MYOB's First Edge is a great place to start. Some people get overwhelmed when they first see a program like MYOB Account Edge or Quickbooks and end up never taking the steps they need to get their business affairs in order.
Do you have the book Where Did The Money Go?- Easy Accounting Basics for the Business Owner Who Hates Numbers? Ellen Rohr who authored that book also has a audio blog (podcast) on small business finances that the folks at MYOB have sponsored.
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I have both ellen's books
plus defensive estimating and running a successfull const co.it is just a motivation thing...I don't Know what I am doing
But
I am VERY good at it!!
Jerrald you are one very busy guy!
always impressed by your output.Using OSX 10.4.9 on my Dual 2 GHz GC
..for the business, in order of most use:Excel
Mail
Firefox
iPhoto
Sketchup
Quickbooks Pro
Google Earth
SkypeThe bookeeper uses the other g5 imac in the office..the QP PRO but also maintains a straight excel ledger for me. I cannot satisfactorily use the Mac versions of QB Pro. I have been back and forth on that one for years. Either one cannot keep a part time bookeeper long enough, and or find one that can use the Mac QB Pro version. . even less likely to find a part time person who can run MYOB.. or Turtle, goldenseal..etc.. I would happily use one of them if I had the time to learn it properly. I do al my final invoices and estimating in excel.arthurhttp://www.thesmallbuildingcompany.com
QuickBooks Pro question: is there a way to mask the prices for line items in estimates sent to potential clients? I'd like to use QBP for all the figuring, but let the client only see the scope without numbers attached, and then the bottom line. Outside of the gates the trucks were unloadin',
The weather was hot, a-nearly 90 degrees.
The man standin' next to me, his head was exploding,
Well, I was prayin' the pieces wouldn't fall on me.
Yes there is.Click on File. Then look for (your company name) settings
then click on the top bar which should bring up many different settings, choose estimate settings.you can choose which item will appear on the screen and which items you wish to print or not print.Good luck Ray;)
Thanks Ray, I've been using QB Pro 8 or 9 years, and have only now needed that feature...I'm so transparent. Outside of the gates the trucks were unloadin',
The weather was hot, a-nearly 90 degrees.
The man standin' next to me, his head was exploding,
Well, I was prayin' the pieces wouldn't fall on me.
Glad to be of help I may not be a power user of the program but if I can work with the program anyone can.;)BestRay :)
hey dude i just bought a mac and loving it. I been using primarily excel spread sheet but i just checked that site kewl added it to my favs.
One ting I have been doing is going to their pro care services. For 99 bucks you can go with a mac specialist to learn different programs or the computer in general 1 on 1 at a apple store. Im just getting used to iphoto and Im now starting to learn imovie. slowly but surely...it akes time but ill get there
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            Â
    "We fight not to enslave ,but to set free"
Thomas Paine
Edited 3/28/2007 8:50 pm by Sancho
Sancho "....One ting I have been doing is going to their pro care services. For 99 bucks you can go with a mac specialist to learn different programs or the computer in general 1 on 1 at a apple store. Im just getting used to iphoto and Im now starting to learn imovie. slowly but surely...it akes time but ill get there"
Yeah Apple ProCare is an awesome deal. In my extended family which is all Mac we have a sister-in-law who just joined the computer world and we put her on ProCare to help her get started. And beyond that for the advanced user when on those rare occasions where you have a problem with something you are doing on you Mac the Geniuses there are so well trained that they are great at running down the problems. I have a real old G-3 Pismo laptop that was giving me fits with the wireless card I had for it and one of the Genius there made short work of finding me a better driver for the card and me fixed in minutes. The only trouble was I had to wait like 40 minutes to meet with him. With Procare you get preferred service and can prescheduled an appointment and cut out any waiting so I joined after that.
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What kind of question is that, everybody knows there's hardly any programs that work on a mac, ha, ha, ha!Nonetheless, I use Disk Inventory X, MacJanitor, & Mac HelpMate for tune-ups.Roxio Toast for burning pics and music.Acrobat Pro for making pdfs.Photoshop resizing pics for BT.Quickbooks Pro links to my accountant.Aatrix for payroll. I don't like them, but whatcha gonna do?VectorWorks 11 and SketchUp for drawings...although, I still have a bunch of stuff in Claris CAD in OS9 that I still use.Starry Night in OS9 for keeping an eye out for eclipses, and generally impressing the chicksFission gets records and tapes from analog to digital.I am the original poster child for Apple Care...I can screw up anything with RAM in it, even a mac...tweaks me off that I had to pay an extra 99 bucks for pro care, just to get to the head of the line...they should be paying me guinea pig chow<G>LimeWire for music and program checkin' out.and last, but not least, .mac account for the iDisk public folder. Greatest way to pass lots of info to client Outside of the gates the trucks were unloadin',
The weather was hot, a-nearly 90 degrees.
The man standin' next to me, his head was exploding,
Well, I was prayin' the pieces wouldn't fall on me.
10.4.3
on an old g3 wife has a mini at the office
Since I use my mac for media....tell me more about that IPhoto buddy do you use it? I like the idea of setting up seperate libraries but I want to make sure it isnt gonna goober up my computer if there is a software up grade.I lso recommend to everyone to get a external hard drive. I got one and set it up so that when I down load pictures or DV movies they so straight to the external. I edit the movies directly from the hard drive. I dont like to keep the media on my computer
View Image "We fight not to enslave ,but to set free"
Thomas Paine
Sancho - "
Since I use my mac for media....tell me more about that IPhoto buddy do you use it? I like the idea of setting up seperate libraries but I want to make sure it isnt gonna goober up my computer if there is a software up grade."
That kind of trouble is really more typical of programs in a Windows environment. On rare occasions when an upgrade happens a feature or two in a program may not work but it just doesn't screw up the computer. One of the big problems in a Windows environment DLL conflicts never happens in the Mac world since there are no DLLs.
"I lso recommend to everyone to get a external hard drive. I got one and set it up so that when I down load pictures or DV movies they so straight to the external. I edit the movies directly from the hard drive. I dont like to keep the media on my computer"
You got an external Firewire drive I'm assuming and not just an external USB connected drive? USB 2.0 is very fast but Firewire is faster and with video editing since the file sizes can be so huge you really want the fastest connection you can get.
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I was in charge of computer support of both PCs and Macs from about 1984 to 1999. Since then I have been primarily working with databases which are supported only on the PC side (yeah, they have some Mac databases, but almost no commercial use of them). So for the last eight years, my Mac experience has only been my own personal machine. I have also used my own PCs during this time. I just sold my PowerBook G4 wide screen. It was nice to use for viewing DVDs, but just too bulky to carry around. Also after a couple of months of use, the Combo Drive went south and it took Apple over two months to fix it. During that time, I bought a cheap HP laptop to tide me over but have been using it every since and haven't gone back to the PowerBook. You say: "That kind of trouble is really more typical of programs in a Windows environment. On rare occasions when an upgrade happens a feature or two in a program may not work but it just doesn't screw up the computer. One of the big problems in a Windows environment DLL conflicts never happens in the Mac world since there are no DLLs."DDL conflicts used to be a real problem, but I haven't had any such problems for several years. And I was always able to solve them after a bit of head scratching. When things go wrong on the Mac, it was like a black box, we could seldom solve a serious problem. So as an old "techie", I find the PC preferable in that I can fix (almost) any problem but I cannot with a Mac. I had planned to go into serious graphics work and got a dual processor G5 along with Photoshop, Flash, Illustrator, and a variety of other programs which I also had for the PC platform. Since I am now turning to CAD and CNC, I will probably sell the Mac and just stay with the PC as the cost of maintaining two sets of software is more than I want to pay. The Mac gained its fame as something easier to use than Windows, but Windows has gotten a lot better (by stealing from Mac, granted, but then the Mac interface was originally stolen from Xerox...). And since the PCs are very slightly more error prone but much easier to fix (by me) I call that a wash but with the advantage of much lower cost going to the PC (for hardware) plus more CAD and CNC programs and "industrial strength" data base programs.
"(by stealing from Mac, granted, but then the Mac interface was originally stolen from Xerox...)". Apple paid for this interface!
Having followed the development of the various personal computers since the mid 1970s, I had always heard that Jobs toured Xerox PARC and incorporated some of the ideas into the original Mac. However, Wikipedia does seem to indicate that there might have been some compensation:"In January 1981, Steve Jobs completely took over the Macintosh project. Jobs and a number of Apple engineers visited Xerox PARC in December 1979, three months after the Lisa and Macintosh projects had begun. After hearing about the pioneering GUI technology being developed at Xerox PARC from former Xerox employees like Raskin, Jobs negotiated a visit to see the Xerox Alto computer and Smalltalk development tools in exchange for Apple stock options. The final Lisa and Macintosh operating systems mostly used concepts from the Xerox Alto, but many elements of the graphical user interface were created by Apple including the menubar and pop-up menus. The click-and-drag concept was developed by Jef Raskin."
Heres a site with some good mac stuff free and shareware
View Image "We fight not to enslave ,but to set free"
Thomas Paine
It look like maybe you forgot to add the link to you post????
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I've not posted on BT for a while. I dont post much anyways but read a LOT. Been very busy. Glad to be back.Got my first mac in 01/02?? when the G4 15" Flatpanel iMac / OSX first came out. G4, 800MHz 512mb RAM, 60 G hard drive, Superdrive. Recently upgraded to a G5 20" iMac OSX 10.4.9 , 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo, 1GB RAM, 200G hard drive.I run...Alongside all the great apps (itunes, iphoto etc etc etc) that ship with the imac...Dashboard - for checking the weather before work every morning.
iSync - for syncing my address book and calendar from my mac to my cell phone.SketchUp Pro 6 - for design / conveying design ideas.
Safari - for most of my web browsing!
Firefox - for some web stuff that safari doesnt do well.Turbotax Deluxe - Taxes....Microsoft office - Pfff
Dreamweaver - for web publishing.
Adobe - Photoshop CS...
Adobe - Illustrator CS....K Studio Resize - for batch resixing images for publshing to web.
Fetch - for FTP when I dont use the Dreamweaver built in FTP. Toast Titanium - for all sorts of burning stuff...Final Cut Pro - Video editing.Flip4Mac - plays windows media stuff etc through your web browser.
VLC player- is a great video player that plays divx abd avi encoded stuff.ichat - for keeping in touch with family and friends back home.Little Snitch - Tells you when a program tries to send info to the internet so you can see what's going on in the background! - Really cool.Photobooth - for endless comedy that just doesnt get old!I take full advantage of the iMac built in bluetooth for connecting my phone and camera etc...I'm sure theres some nifty little apps I've forgotten.
Pardon me for not reading all (44) posts, but I'll add my recomendation Graphic Converter (shareware) for a very complete and inexpensive Image processing tool.
I hate it when that happens ll try to find it again
View Image "We fight not to enslave ,but to set free"
Thomas Paine
When things go wrong on the Mac, it was like a black box, we could seldom solve a serious problem.
The MAC OS is now Unix based, so it's even easier, if one is inclined, to plumb the depths of the OS and fix things. Unix is a lot more power-user friendly than Windows.
Edited 5/2/2007 11:21 pm by DavidAndersen
I have a 2004 G4 Powerbook running OS X 10.3.9. I also have a Power PC circa 1996 running System 7.
My main business apps (on the Powerbook) are Excel, Word, and Goldenseal (accounting and estimating) along with Sketchup (what a great program!) I also use iView for my photos and love it.
Macs are the best, and with the new Intel processor you can have the best of both worlds.
TN
View ImageAny of you folks using Acid Search? One of my favorite Safari hacks or add ons is free piece of software from Pozytron called Acid Search. Acid Search is a little enhancement that when installed it takes the Google search field in Safari and gives it more search options and search channels.
Through a pull down menu that appears in the Google field you can specify if you want to Google to search the whole web, just the site you are googling from, or it can Google for images. And if you not too nuts about Google you can even change the default search channel from Google to any one of a number of other search channels too.
In addition to all that is also allows you to choose what type of search you want to conduct with key board shortcuts and through Safari’s contextual menu when you in the body of a web page.
One word of caution though. Keep the uninstaller around because I recall when Apple’s Safari went from 1.0 to 2.0 all of a sudden a bunch of things started to go wrong for me an it was related to Acid Search which hadn’t been updated for that version change yet. That kind of thing can be expected from something that’s being offered out of the sheer generosity of the developer as freeware. But I also recall I hated being without it and couldn’t wait for the fix to happen so I could get back to using Acid Searches tools.
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What a goldmine of information this thread is for Macusers. My first Mac was a 512K Plus, bought in Jan 1987, and with the exception of a short-term help-out PC, I've used Macs since that day.
Fed up with inaccurate office services provided by the host company for my consultancy, I turned to producing my own project correspondence and cyclic project accounting using Apple software. The results not only saved me time, but enhanced and extended the range of consultations enorously.
Since then I have steadily followed the development of the Apple technology, though generally a step behind.I still have a stockpile of used macs in various stages of health, with several periferals gathering dust, wafted out of the woodwork shop.
I used the usual standards for text and financial data, but got the most mileage from Claris Impact. While it is no CAD programme, it was invaluable in generating preliminary client layouts, and formed the basis for several international design briefs.
Now retired, I use a G5 iMac. I only wish I had had it, with iPhoto when I was in the project situation, the compilation of cyclic reporting, and the preparation of correctional orders would have been a snap (lousy pun). I must have a look at iView.
Brisbane is not a 'Mac' town, so news of what other Macusers on BT are doing is most welcome. Maybe you should start a MUG! I'd join for sure.
Lapun Whitegrass.
Edited 3/30/2007 7:49 am ET by Lapun
I started useing the summerizer...it changed my life :>)
View Image "We fight not to enslave ,but to set free"
Thomas Paine
Interesting web page...hat's off to you.
Surprised not to see TurboCad family of products listed-or sketchup for that matter...
Shoot, I'll make a donation if you'll walk me through posting photos in the body of a message....I've tried a few times & just can't seem to get it right.
jrnbj - "Interesting web page...hat's off to you.
Surprised not to see TurboCad family of products listed-or sketchup for that matter..."
I've got a bunch of things that I plan to write about but I'm pacing myself right now. I've got it in the plan to write about Sketchup but wasn't planning on it soon since there is so much good Sketch-up talk going on all over the place. I figure I'd write on the other stuff for a while first.
As for the "TurboCad family of products" I can't really say to much other than to just mention them since I'm not too familiar with them. Being unfamiliar with them I had forgotten about them but I did just add them to the Mac CAD and Visualization Software list now.
I plan to write my review of VectorWorks and Sketchup since they are what we use and are familiar with but I'd love to recruit others to write reviews too and while I allude to that in the About Mac4Construction page I plan to write another page that's a little bit more specific about my search for other Mac reviewers and profiles of Mac Contractors.
"Shoot, I'll make a donation if you'll walk me through posting photos in the body of a message....I've tried a few times & just can't seem to get it right."
What method do you want to know about? The standard BT method that most guys here use or my method?
Most folks here upload to the BT server the photos they want to appear in their post and then go back and edit the post to call the URL of the photo they just uploaded. There are a couple of posts here that can provide better directions than I can but I'll have to search for them.
What I do is if an image isn't already on one of my web sites somewhere I upload the image I want to a folder I have set up just for my 'Taunton' uploads. I then write my post with Dreamweaver calling the URLs of the stuff I've uploaded.
Comparing the two methods: their way is free whereas my way is sort of expensive. It just since I'm paying the hosting fees for my web sites anyway I can stick he photos there and I use Dreamweaver & Fireworks as tools to produce those sites and sites for clients so since I've got them I use them.
Do you happen to have an HTML editor already? I have an article I'm working on Mac HTML editors from the basic WYSWYG one like Apples iWeb all the way up to the big name ones like Dreamweaver but I haven't even looked at the demos of all of them yet and there around ten I need to look at. Might be another week or two before I get to that.
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I'm actually in the market for a new computer, and I think it's going to be a mac. I learned how to use a computer on a mac. I developed all the comp skills I have on a PC. I'm a designer, and have been using AutoCad since the Fall on 1992. I have no intention of switching software becasue AutoCad is capapable of doing jsut about anything, and I know the ins and outs like the back of my hand. I've been through approximately 6 PC's since 1992, and The Mac was never an option for me since it couldn't support AutoCad (also until recently they were pretty worthless in my opinion). Now that they have the Dual Core processor and can run an operating system that will support AutoCad, I'm more inclined to purchase a Mac. I jsut have to decide if it'll be a Imac or a Macbook.
I doubt you'll be a happy camper running autocad on an imac.Imacs are "web surfing/email" machines. If you need real power, you get a MacBook Pro or a tower. rawr!!! :D-------------------------------------
-=Northeast Radiant Technology=-
Radiant Design, Consultation, Parts Supply
http://www.NRTradiant.com
I doubt you'll be a happy camper running autocad on an imac.Imacs are "web surfing/email" machines.Don't ever tell my design clients that<G> Outside of the gates the trucks were unloadin',
The weather was hot, a-nearly 90 degrees.
The man standin' next to me, his head was exploding,
Well, I was prayin' the pieces wouldn't fall on me.
SNRTRob "I doubt you'll be a happy camper running autocad on an imac.
Imacs are "web surfing/email" machines."
Whaaaat? What are you talking about? An iMac is plenty of machine for running AutoCAD and it's really a question of what size display the user wants. I know a guy who works with AutoCad on 20" but I would think the 24" is better suited.
"If you need real power, you get a MacBook Pro or a tower. rawr!!! :D"
That same guy runs AutoCAD on a 17" Mac Book Pro too but I think what you might have been really referring to was running AutoCAD on a Mac Pro with one of the Big Screen Cinema Displays like the 23" or 30". That would be a really killer kool setup.
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there is a difference between running, and running well.I'm sorry.. I used to get bottom level macs all the time, figuring I didn't need the extra horsepower.I have started getting the midrange mac tower offerrings (haven't switched to intel yet, so maybe things have changed there, just a caveat) and I have to say... I'm never going back.So maybe ignorance is bliss ;) But using a higher power mac is sweet, sweet deliciousness. I never really realized how much of a drag waiting for rendering was, even when it's quick, if there is a hesitation it interrupts the smooth flow of working. When the machine is really up to par.. well, it's just much, much more enjoyable.Just my two cents!-------------------------------------
-=Northeast Radiant Technology=-
Radiant Design, Consultation, Parts Supply
http://www.NRTradiant.com
Well of course for $8496.00 you could get one of the new Mac Pros with Two 3.0GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors and 16 GB of memory and that would be a killer but a 24" iMac with 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors and 3GB of DDR2 SDRAM for $2999.00 and it will do the job. Yeah one does it better than the other but in some ways it's kind of like us looking at the comparrison of building stair parts with shapers and templated routers vs. a 5 axis CNC machine.
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Edited 4/5/2007 1:23 pm ET by JerraldHayes
These days we are is a super sweet spot in terms of power for the money.I'm pretty damn happy with my Powerbook running at 1.25GHZ and with 2Gb ram and a fast 5400rpm HD.Just about any of the newest consumer macs would blow it away power-wise, even considering the loss of speed related to non-intel calibrated apps.Think of Digital cameras - two years ago - 2Gb memory cards were $300+, now they can be had for $20 - but our current crop of cameras don't need anymore than 1Gb cards and 2GB cards are still an extra bonus in capacity. We are in the sweet spot of digital cameras as well where even old equipment is perfectly usable quality and speed wise.It used to be that technologie's inovations would require us to upgrade to keep up with the times and to just be able to achieve decent quality and performance.Now - we hit the quality and performance levels a while back and upgrades are now for merely keeping on the cutting edge or for those who haven't upgraded for many years.That's one of the main benefits of Mac use - I can run OSX 10.4.9 with a 7 year old Apple computer - anyone ever check the requirements for running Vista on older computers?..To suggest to anyone that they should only buy higher-end is not good advice unless you know their needs. These days a well outfitted iMac is more powerful than a high-end G5 tower from a little over a year ago.In the Mac world - the main reason for moving to the Pro lineup is the options it'll give you in terms of new technology and upgraded componants path.The Main reason to get a MacBook Pro for instance is for the Express card slot - that'll allow you to take advantage of newer technologies we know of now - like External Serial ATA ports and those that we don't even know about yet.Also - the consumer mac line often has shared video memory - but again, unless you are dealing with a video or gaming guru - that is of little importance to the average user.For those buying, don't overloook Apple's refurb sales section - most times the machines look as brand new and they come with a full Apple warranty and are eligible for AppleCare coverage.The best mac for some is still a 15" 600MHZ G3 Imac with 512MB ram and a 40GB harddrive - available all the time from Craigslist for $80-100.Regards,Julian
my bad, imacs have improved quite a bit since I last looked into them, apparently.curse my two year old impressions ;)-------------------------------------
-=Northeast Radiant Technology=-
Radiant Design, Consultation, Parts Supply
http://www.NRTradiant.com
I think I had sworn (out of my own conceit) that I would never own a consumer Mac but here I am today working on a 20" iMac and loving it.While for my next machine I plan to get an Xserve and remotely co-locate it to both serve my FileMaker applications and websites but after that I going to get a Mac Pro. What I do miss that an iMac wont give me is the "expandability" you get in a tower.
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The Google Mac Blog & Google Desktop for Mac
View ImageI’ve been following what goes on at Google in the way of new products and services that they offer by reading The Offical Google Blog for quite a while now. It was in reading that blog last October that I caught the announcement that Google had created a new blog specifically for Mac Users called The Google Mac Blog.
Well today as I was reading The Google Mac Blog I found out that Google has released a ‘beta’ Google Desktop for Mac. It’s not just a port of the Google Desktop for Windows product in that the two file systems are fundementally different but it does carry over some features such as the capability to index Gmail and web history but it is very much a Mac program in look and feel.
If you’re at all familiar with QuickSilver you’ll see similarities in the way the interface is designed, where it appears on the screen, and where they are triggered on the keyboard (QuickSilver is Control-Space whereas Google Desktop is Command-Command) it is not the “launcher” utility that QuickSilver is. It comes off functionally to me as an enhanced Spotlight.
Certainly it is very much worth the look.
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Edited 4/5/2007 9:34 pm ET by JerraldHayes
PowerCADD is one great program, IMHO. Weak on 3-D, perhaps. But for 2-D work, we love it. DWG translation is pretty good too.-------------------------------------
-=Northeast Radiant Technology=-
Radiant Design, Consultation, Parts Supply
http://www.NRTradiant.com
Been using a MAC since 89' I think.. well anyway
Using a used G4 tower
1gig Ram
2 hard drives
Mac OS 10.2.8
Quickbooks pro for accounting
Microsoft Word for writing contracts
Photoshop 7.0 for pics
Quark xpress for my letterhead and logo
Firefox for surfin the web
Epson pinter for printing photos
Laser printer for all other printing
Itunes for well.....TUNES and the I-pod
Toast for burning CDs
Great to see others out there using macs... Viva le MAC
Ray;)
I just bought a Ipod and I ound out you can add your iCal and Iphotos and Contacts from your comp'a on it. Great little tool. kinda like a partial PDA you can add your appointments et...
Plus play music :>)
View Image "We fight not to enslave ,but to set free"
Thomas Paine
Sancho - "I just bought a Ipod and I ound out you can add your iCal and Iphotos and Contacts from your comp'a on it. Great little tool. kinda like a partial PDA you can add your appointments et...
Plus play music :>)"
I think that's one of the reasons a lot of people are looking forward to the iPhone. It's an iPod and a phone with super PDA powers.
Did ya ever find that link you forgot to post the other day?
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Default Folder X.
View ImageI can remember from way back in my pre-OS X days (Systems 7, 8, & 9) how perhaps the most important utility and add-on to my system was a program from Now software that was part of the Now Utilities group called Boomerang and eventually Super Boomerang.
When I moved on to OSX it was one thing I really did miss however after a few months without it I found a replacement in a program from St. Clair Software called Default Folder X.
What was I missing and what do I get from DFX? DFX is an application that takes the OS X save and open dialogs and adds features to them that improves and enhance your navigation through all the places your computer has access to for file storage. The first or primary thing that the program does is it installs a toolbar to the open and save dialogs that puts the folders you commonly use or want to specify within easy one click access.
The Utility button, the first of 5 buttons on the toolbar, allows you to assign a default 'save' folder for any applications you have and also rename, move, archive, and delete files from within the save and open dialogs.
The Computer button allows you to navigate through your mounted volumes via hierarchical menus.
The Favorites button allows the user to create and navigate through a list of favorite places on their Mac to save and/or open files from.
The Recents button, probably my favorite and most commonly used button, just as the name implies can contain up to 100 of your recent folder locations organized by date or name.
And the Finder button will give you a list of all the open Finder windows you may have at any one time.
One that I don't use much but that I know a lot of other do is the program can be set in the Preferences to show you how much available disk space you have in your open volumes too.
You can also assign shortcuts to actions and save/open locations you commonly use and create different sets of Favorites for different projects and task that you do. And there is still much more that the application can do that I haven't mentioned here.
In short and in conclusion it a very easy to learn 'enhanced productivity tool' and well worth the $34.95 shareware fee.
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Edited 4/15/2007 1:34 pm ET by JerraldHayes
I went to one of the sites at your site which is great BTW and found a bunch of podcast that I can download specifically for themac such as mac daily. I just downloaded a couple to listen to tomorow in the office before I go out on the road. Hopeing I can learn somethings...I really do love this Mac. its kinda the computer Ive been waiting for.ive bought books and go to the procare appts to learn as much as I can.this is great stuff, I wish taunton would have a sub folder for tech stuff since we all use it so much in our jobs and lives.1 for Mac and 1 for windows...
View Image "We fight not to enslave ,but to set free"
Thomas Paine
Just got a ,mac accnt. The back up alone is worth the cost. but it can do lots of cool stuff.
View Image "We fight not to enslave ,but to set free"
Thomas Paine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkrn6ecxthM
That's absolutely great. I emailed that to my Mac nut brother and I'll bet ya he actually buys the song off of iTunes.
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