Another Mac question.

mikesand · Post by **mikesand** » Mon, Jun 11 2007, 1:06PM

Hello all,

I know that this question has been kick around before, but the old threads are....old. I wonder if any of you has ran Ecabs using bootcamp on a high end Mac. I am thinking about getting a Macbook pro. It would be maxed out. I use a maxed out Dell M90 now and have no problems. I am thinking about switching to Macs and I would like to not have to carry around two computers.

I would like to hear from those that have either done it, tried it, or know first hand of someone else doing it.

I think I can talk one of the Apple store reps into loading and running Ecabs on a training machine, but I really do not want to have to go through the trouble if it will be futile.

Thanks for yall's attention.

Mike

Todd Miller · Post by **Todd Miller** » Mon, Jun 11 2007, 3:48PM

Mike,
I would think your standard windows emulator would work just fine. I am unfamiliar with \"Bootcamp\". I can't give you a good answer on this, since we have probably not tested it. I will forward this thread to some of our programmers, and maybe we can get someone on it.

Brent Brown · Post by **Brent Brown** » Tue, Jun 12 2007, 11:50AM

Mike,
I tried it with a Mac Book Pro 15\" w/o any upgrades (256M video, 1GB RAM). I used Parallels and it was slow, but worked. I bet you will get fantastic performance using BootCamp. The Mac I was using it my wifes and it works flawlessly for what she needs it to do, so I didn't want to risk problems by installing Boot Camp. Now she wants to put a windows app on it and asked me to put Boot Camp on there. I will do so shortly, but have been putting it off--why run a flawed OS on such a great machine! If you decided to get the Mac, check macmall.com. They pre-install Boot Camp and the OS of your choice plus they may have a rebate, free printer or some other promotion that gets you more for your money than buying at the Apple store or web site.

BTW, Windows did run better on the Mac than any of my PCs.

Brent

mikesand · Post by **mikesand** » Wed, Jun 13 2007, 10:10AM

Thanks guys,

I don't have a Mac, but reciently started checking them out. The Mac Gurus at the Apple store were very helpfull. They said that running heavy CAD on Parallels would be a problem, but that using Bootcamp will make it as good as any native Bill machine. I grilled them for a hour about the exact difference between XP on Bootcamp and XP on a PC. Sounds like the only difference is that because Macs do not use a BIOS on the motherboard the machine has to be started using the Mac ... whater-it-is, but then it runs normally. I looked at the hardware profile and all the drivers were normal Windows or OEM drivers. No odd looking stuff.

As an interesting side note. I started looking into this when a friend asked me to help her buy a new laptop. She liked the Macs but wanted to make sure that she could run her old Powerpoint files on the Mac. So, armed with a thumb drive full of .ppt files we tried running a presentation on a Macbook using the Microsoft office for Mac suite. The files were a little glitchy, some of the animation was off and there were missing bullets, etc.. Not too bad. Really about par for course when using older microsoft files (Powerpoint XP 2000) on newer program versions (the Mac had powerpoint 2004 Mac verison). Then, just for grins we ran her presentions on Keynote, which is Macs presentation software. They ran flawlessly. In fact she said the text and animation was sharper and cleaner than it was on her XP machine at home. So Mac's soft ware ran MS files better than the MS software. That was one of the things that sold me.

Thanks for the link. One problem with the Mac is that they are never on sale or availible for a good deal. I look forward to what the Thermwood team comes up with as well.

Thanks,
Mike

Post by **Dean Fehribach** » Wed, Jun 13 2007, 11:04AM

Clearly, Boot Camp with Windows XP will give the best performance on a Macintosh. I've got four Macs, but they're all PowerPC-based, so I haven't been able to test it. Maybe Thermwood'll let me get one.

Parallels 3.0, which was just announced, supposedly offers hardware-accelerated 3D Graphics now, offering \"strong support for OpenGL\". Read the press release.

Jon Reichert · Post by **Jon Reichert** » Wed, Jun 13 2007, 1:15PM

Hi!

i use ecabinet systems on a mac - a mac mini - with the intel core duo. Works beautifully! Opening window is as easy as opening any other program. No speed issues either - fast as h... anything. I have been using VM ware to run windows - never used bootcamp or parallels. My wife is a Mac junkie and she recommended VM Ware. Might be free??? not sure though. Macs are great machines. you won't regret it. No need to worry about running ecabinet systems. Besides wait till you see all the unbelievable stuff a mac can do now adays - friggin magic - mindblowing! No to mention the fact that it doesn't crash or get viruses. Happy shopping!

Jon

Brent Brown · Post by **Brent Brown** » Sun, Jun 17 2007, 1:59PM

Mike,
I tried to load Windows XP on my wifes laptop yesterday. It wouldn't work because I didn't have a post service pack 2 version. You can't install the first generation Windows XP and then update it, it has to be an install disk with SP2 incorporated. I am going to try vmware as suggested here and elsewhere.

Brent

Post by **Dean Fehribach** » Sun, Jun 17 2007, 8:27PM

VMWare's virtualized graphics adapter is a special 16MB VMWare SVGA driver. Virtual PC 2007's emulated graphics adapter is a 2MB or 4MB S3 Trio 32/64 adapter. Neither of which provides decent functionality for eCabinet Systems. I know, I've run both systems on my computer; my specs are in my signature below. But, your mileage may vary, depending on how you use the software.

Post by **Dean Fehribach** » Sun, Jun 17 2007, 8:31PM

Brent Brown wrote:Mike,
I tried to load Windows XP on my wifes laptop yesterday. It wouldn't work because I didn't have a post service pack 2 version. You can't install the first generation Windows XP and then update it, it has to be an install disk with SP2 incorporated. I am going to try vmware as suggested here and elsewhere.

Brent

Brent,
You can create a "slipstreamed" Windows XP with SP2 CD from any Windows XP disc and an SP2 download or disc. Many links on Google can be found here.

mikesand · Post by **mikesand** » Tue, Jun 19 2007, 10:53AM

Brent,

The Mac Guru at the Apple Store told me that it only works with a retail copy of Windows. For some reason it will not load software that was OEM on another machine. He could be wrong, but he seamed pretty knowlageable on the subject.

Mike

Brent Brown · Post by **Brent Brown** » Fri, Aug 17 2007, 6:20PM

Any Mac users up and running?

I am holding out for the October release of the new OS version to get min iMac. It is supposed to come with a version of Boot Camp that is very quick.

With Apple gaining such a large market share, e-cabs should get compiled for a Mac. Aren't Mac's the computer of choice for designers, 3-d modeling, and those creative things people do--like us?

Brent Brown

Rick Palechuk · Post by **Rick Palechuk** » Fri, Aug 17 2007, 6:52PM

I can't wait for that day to come. Someday we won't all be handcuffed to Mr. Gates.

Philip Lengden · Post by **Philip Lengden** » Sat, Oct 06 2007, 4:56PM

I know this thread is a few months old but...

I've been running eCabinets on my Macbook (not a MacBook Pro) 1.83GHz Intel core2 Duo w/2GB of RAM, using Parallels 3.0. All I can sya is that it seems to run quite well considering. I've laid out a full bedroom with wall to wall / floor to ceiling closets and it seems to render quite well. I've had to dial down the detail levels in the preferences and turn on wire framing while rotating and panning, but it seems to run fine. However, I do have to be careful when running other apps in OSX, so I try to run Parallels by itself whenever I can. Just thought I'd add my 2 cents to the MAC issue.

PS. I prefer Parallels over Bootcamp since I don't have to leave OSX. In fact I can switch between Windows and OSX seamlessly! Its just like running another application.

Phil

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