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Well.. I have almost talked myself into a Mac but I still have a few questions and you folks will probably have the answers..I have absolutely no experience using a Mac.
1/ Can you run a windows program like Corel on a Mac?
2/ Does a Mac have "drivers" that run a plotter(Roland PNC-950)? I hear you just plug your peripherals in and they "just work". I can't seem to find any plotter drivers to download for Mac.
3/ If I can run Corel, can I cut directly from it or do I need a bridge program?
4/ If I can't run Corel can you cut directly from Illustrator?
5/ What are "parallels". I have heard that term used with Mac but have no idea.
I will probably have more questions but this is all I can think of right now. I am getting tired of fighting with Windows. I bought XP 64 bit and there is no support for it.
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1. There aren't any current versions of Corel for the Mac.
2. "just works" is a marketing term. Macs are computers, and computers don't always "just work".
3. You will need a program. There are vinyl cutting programs for the Mac.
4. You can't cut directly from Illustrator.
5. Parallels is a program which allows you to run Windows on an Intel-based Mac.
If you are getting a Mac because you are tired of fighting viruses and spyware, it's a good reason. If you're tired of fighting software compatibility issues, you might as well stay with what you have. The Mac is not utopia. It's just a computer, and it will have problems - guaranteed. As a case in point, I have an Epson printer that is supposed to print directly onto CDs. With my PC it works flawlessly. With my Mac it will print to paper, but even after upwards of 4 hours trying to get it to print to CDs, no dice. You know the cute Mac commercial where a person talks about how one Christmas someone was struggling with drivers on a PC and they set up some peripheral device instantly on a Mac? Well, my experience was exactly the opposite.
My mind wanders. And that's not a good thing, 'cause it's too small to be out there alone. Posts: 3129 | From: Tooele, UT | Registered: Mar 2005
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Graphtec's come with Illustrator and Corel "plug in's that allow you to cut right from those applications. It's too bad that some of the other manufacturers don't follow their lead as I think it's responsible for quite a bit of sales for Graphtec.
I'm running Parallels on my MacPro because of my RIP for my HP9000s is still Windows. Even using this setup I set registration marks in Illy on a print and cut file. I save it as a PDF, jump over to windowsXP, (which is always running), and print the job in PosterJet. Once printed, I load the print into my Graphtec FC7000-100 and re-open the file in Illustrator, and contour cut via Graphtec's Cutting Master plug in. It works pretty much flawlessly. The good new is the Mac version of PosterJet should be available very soon and hopefully I can close XP forever.
And Russ it right, everything doesn't "just work" on the Mac either. I have an Epson 1280 that is driving me nuts. It will not print a full page from any application on my Mac.
-------------------- Bill Modzel Mod-Zel screen Printing Traverse city, MI modzel@sbcglobal.net Posts: 1357 | From: Traverse City, MI | Registered: Nov 1998
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Corel stopped supporting Mac users for some reason!? I have Corel 11 for Mac and it works very well... on a G__ anything Mac! I haven't tried it on an Intel Mac for two reasons, it's not "Universal" and i don't use Corel anymore. in a mac world you get more support from Adobe.
As for the Roland, you can get versions of Flexi for Mac, it works great on both Intel and G processor Macs. There are other cheaper Cut programs for cutting only on Macs from Illustrator. If you don't have the Roland yet, you might want to look into Summa, they ship their cutters with a Mac Cut program!
If you must slip into your windows programs, an Intel Mac with Boot Camp or something like that will run your old Windows programs, but this won't help you with bugs n' such.
plus, I will agree with Russ, you are going to run into problems with ANY computer. The Key trick with Mac is to understand it, with time you'll figure out what runs best with it. I will say, don't get rid of your Windows stuff, you may need it down the road.
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The short answer- Yes! the new Macs especially the Intel based processors are very versatile, much more than in the past and can do a lot of amazing things that would be hard to do on other systems. But, with what you want to do, the short answer probably won't help you.
Parallels is an add-on program (about $79) that will allow you to install an OS like windows XP and it will run inside of the MacOS- so basically you can install all the windows based programs there. It allows you have the best of both worlds, so to speak. I have Corel X3 loaded there and it works great. The downside is, you have to have a legitimate copy of a Windows OS to load into Parallels- so that might cost a little extra if you don't have one handy.
Another problem- most of the older cutters use a serial or parallel cable connection- both of my new Macs only have USB ports and firewire ports- so connectability may be an issue.
The only issues I have had with my Macs are directly related to the Windows stuff that I have installed in Parallels- because it is still the same (p)OS, just on a fancier machine. The Mac OS works great. It is great for networks and newer hardware, but trying to retro-fit it to older hardware will give you an ulcer.
When i first made the switch, I used BootCamp and the macine could boot as a Mac or a PC - which was great at first, then it became a pain in the butt, so I switched to Parallels- but now I only turn it on maybe once a week.
-------------------- Michael Clanton Clanton Graphics/ Blackberry 19 Studio 1933 Blackberry Conway AR 72034 501-505-6794 clantongraphics@yahoo.com Posts: 1736 | From: Conway Arkansas | Registered: Oct 2001
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Listen to russ. He is on the money. Know what to do when your imac locks up? Hit reset? CTRL ALT DEL perchance? Nope. You unplug and start over. Maybe mac has changed this by now, I dunno, but I think russ' point is this: there is no magic bullet. Just ask yourself what it is you hope to gain by switching and see if the final answer truly justifies going thru with it.
and for the record, my imac's OS was outdated within a year of purchase. Some of the peripheral upgrades I tried to make wouldn't "just work" until I had the stupid thing updated to the newest version of the OS. So ya see, even mac pulls those same sneaky incompatibility issues on ya, just like windows.
-------------------- Michael Gene Adkins The Fontry 1576 S Hwy 59 Watts OK 74964 Posts: 845 | From: Watts, OK USA | Registered: Jun 1999
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Yeah, Macs upgrade their system every month or so, just like the rest of the computer world, but this mainly effects the apps.. like iTunes, Quicktime, iPhoto.. etc. This is not what Darryl needs to worry about. At home I use OSX 10.3. on a G4... it's fine for designing, Illy 10 and Photoshop CS1 run perfect. Plus I can find most print drivers for 10.3 or less. On the Intel Macs 10.4 is great. there really is no need to upgrade every second, just because "the market" tells you your computer is out of date one month after you buy it, does not make it so. A computer is "out of date" when it can't work for you anymore.
Also, if there are problems with a program "Alt-Command-Esc" will, for the most part, quit that program only. However, there are programs out there that will cause you to restart during a problem. I find RAM helps out with this. Set up your programs, use what you need, add RAM if you have to, once the programs run smooth, leave it alone! Shut your computer down at the end of the day. This really helps. Mostly with the Intel Mac that run a program that's not Universal.. it uses "Rosetta" (a built in program.. or something) to run a non-intel based program. 2 gigs or more and you don't even notice.
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