VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Tom Test]

Hello,

I just had the misfortune of having to reformat my PC this week, and was forced to scramble to do it overnight as I had a project I needed to crank out. Pretty tortuous. My self-built 2 year-old PC has been bullet-proof until then, and seems to be working better than ever now.

However.... Whenever I do replace this computer, perhaps sometime later this year, I'm thinking of a Mac. My biggest issue is that I'm pretty wedded to Sound Forge (which is PC-only) and do not wish to learn new audio software. So to continue using SF, if I buy a Mac, I'd need to have it set up for dual-booting.

Does anyone here have advice about how well dual-booting works? Especially dual-booting using Sound Forge?
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Best regards,
Tom Test
"The Voice You Trust"
www.tomtest.com

[Deirdre]

Can't tell you about Sound Forge, but the Dual-boot bidness if pretty sweet. I have used it for school stuff that is Windows-only and I always test all my sites on it.
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DBCooperVO.com
IMDB

[Bish]

A couple of years ago I switched to Mac after decades of PC use. I approached the switch with some trepidation as I was heavily invested in PC technology and expertise from both a work and home perspective. The switch was as straightforward and as easy as it could have been, with the immediate feeling that I'd done the right thing. After a couple of years, all I can say is that I wish I'd done it sooner.

I was invested in a couple of applications that were Windows only and chose the option to run Parallels instead of the (to me) "clunky" approach of dual-booting. Although not using Sound Forge, I've had no problems with any Windows programs I tested... including Cakewalk (midi sequencer), Goldwave (audio file editor) and the usual Office and productivity software. Allocation of memory, drives and ports to the virtual PC has always proved reliable.

I used to run three monitors, with the third constantly set as the display for the Windows XP virtual machine. I've since cut back to two (I was feeling too much like a day-trader with that much screen real-estate) and run the Mac OS program "Spaces". This allows the user to hot-key between multiple desktops. My usual set-up is for three spaces... one for general use with mail, browser, WP etc., one for audio software, and the third running Windows under Parallels. I find it fast and easy without having to open & close program windows all the time, just hot-keying between the three set-ups as I need to.

I recently had to set up my step-daughter's 13" MacBook with Parallels. Her college needed here to build and run databases under MS Access and it worked like a charm. It showed me that although I have everything on my set-up running on a fairly beefy MacPro, the little MacBook (with only 2Gb mem) was quite capable. I don't know which Mac level you're looking at, but the iMac or Mac Mini options look pretty sweet without breaking the bank.

Let me know if you have any "switcher" questions.
Cheers
Peter
(Self-confessed Mac Fan-Boy)
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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

[Tom Test]

Thanks Deidre and Peter!

I don't need to pull the trigger anytime soon (I hope), but when I do replace my current PC, I am leaning heavily towards a Mac solution. Probably a Mini of some sort. I'll still have a PC in my office for gaming, photo editing, etc.
_________________
Best regards,
Tom Test
"The Voice You Trust"
www.tomtest.com