Re: Photoshop CS Performance
From: John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh] (john_at_mcghie.name)
Date: 02/17/05
- Next message: John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]: "Re: Problem installing USB driver from Garmin navigator"
- Previous message: John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]: "Re: Mounting VPC disks for backup"
- In reply to: Mike: "Re: Photoshop CS Performance"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ]
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 00:36:26 +1100
Mike:
That's really difficult to work out. Let's divide your Windows programmes
into three classes:
1) Heavyweight Professional Tools that sling a lot of data around (e.g.
PhotoShop)
2) Light Duty professional tools that do not use much CPU, memory, or hard
disk.
3) Add-ins, nick-naks and nice-to-haves. E.g. Games and browser helpers.
Now, decide whether or not you are going to keep the Windows box or bequeath
it to the family like you are expected to do :-) I think you will find that
it is quite beneficial to keep it.
Right:
Everything in Division 1 you either have to replace, or keep a physical
Windows Box to run. You simply won't get enough performance out of Virtual
PC to run it.
For professional software, you have to read the fine print VERY carefully
before buying a cross-platform version. Applications that were built from
the ground up for Windows often come to the Mac with bits missing.
Microsoft Office is a case in point: it has all of the best features of PC
Office, and it has added some Mac-only features that are very nice to have.
But it IS a cut-down, and there are bits missing. Depending on what you
require of Office, it may not have all the functions you need. VBA is one
feature that is very cut-back in Office 2004.
However, Office 2004 is a stronger, nicer and more rugged product than its
PC counterpart, and part of the reason is that they left out some of the
bells and whistles that can contribute to unreliability :-)
Applications such as PhotoShop that were designed originally for the Mac,
often go to Windows as a cut-down with some bits missing.
In Division 2, most of the software you have will run useably on Virtual PC.
Be careful of anything that talks to hardware: anything that needs to access
hardware may not work properly. Nothing that requires three-D graphics or
high CPU speed will work properly in VPC. That basically means games,
sound, and video applications must either be run on a physical PC or
purchased in a Mac version. Many of the professional sound and video tools
either have Mac versions or there are Mac equivalents.
Division 3 is a bit of a lottery. Many of the things I have on the PC have
no Mac equivalents. Some are not needed (Disk utilities, anti-spyware
products etc). Many of the things I would consider "tools" or "utilities"
will run acceptably in VPC. I have no games, on either the Mac or the PC,
so I am not in that argument. There isn't an argument, really: VPC won't
play games, end of story.
Now: If you decide to keep the PC, you have no problem. You can continue
to run your PC stuff until it reaches the end of its useful life, and take
your time finding Mac equivalents.
Microsoft offers a free piece of software named Remote Desktop for Mac OS X.
That enables you to connect to your PC across your network and have all of
its programs and resources appear on your Mac, with copy/paste between them.
Assuming you have an Ethernet or 802.11g network (I use wireless) your PC
applications will appear to run on your Mac slightly faster than they do on
your PC (because your PC has less work to do generating the user
interface!). That's what I do.
When I am away from home, I run everything on VPC. With my professional
applications, "patience is very much a virtue". PhotoPaint runs well enough
for me to touch up small images. CorelDRAW keeps going well enough to do
light graphics editing. Word 2003 runs well enough to write books with.
Hope this helps
On 16/2/05 15:09, in article
1108526959.178585.324560@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com, "Mike"
<mikenjan@bigfoot.com> wrote:
> Thank all of you for your recommendations. I haven't purchased the G5
> yet and was wondering how much of my Windows software I would want to
> replace when I get the Mac. It looks like I need to budget for a new
> Photoshop, too.
>
> Thanks again,
> Mike
>
-- Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email me unless I ask you to. John McGhie <john@mcghie.name> Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer Sydney, Australia +61 4 1209 1410
- Next message: John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]: "Re: Problem installing USB driver from Garmin navigator"
- Previous message: John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]: "Re: Mounting VPC disks for backup"
- In reply to: Mike: "Re: Photoshop CS Performance"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ]
Relevant Pages
|
