Mac Version April 1st?

[outpostarc]

I remember last year that some rumors were floating around that a Mac/Revit version was coming. There were even some screen shots. What ever happened to that?

[PeterJ]

Doubtless the hoaxers will have a screen shot showing Revit running on an i-pod with which to whet your appetite this year. Useful for taking your designs out into the field.

[Wes Macaulay]

I dunno - I believe it was a test build of Revit on OSX... printing didn't work at all, and there were some other things that didn't work either. From all reports it was a "let's just run the code through the Mac compiler and see what happens" sort of a thing.

If it was done, I imagine it was nothing like official. Autodesk would not post something like that since the world would go ballistic on such news.

[Scott D Davis]

C'mon guys! It came out on April Fool's Day last year! I was told at AU last year, it was completely Photo-chopped.

[hand471037]

Which again I must state that I think it's a terribly stupid idea that Autodesk doesn't make a Revit build for OS X. Why? Because right now I can buy a Mac that is both faster & has way more usable memory (along with a better operating system) for the same, if not less, money as a Dell. Imagine Revit on something faster than an Intel, and with 8 gigs of Ram. :shock:

I know this will never happen, and everyone will chime in about the supposed 'lesser market share' of Mac (and a million reasons why it's not a viable idea to port Revit to Mac); however by the time Microsoft and AMD/Intel get a workable commercial 64-bit system to market, the G5's will probably be hitting 3 Ghz or more, and still be cheaper, way faster, and use less power. As someone who does a lot of rendering, and as someone that uses a rendering software that can run on a Mac, I have to admit that I'm frustrated as hell that I can't get as big a 'bang-for-my-buck' with a Windows system as I could with a Mac. I'm almost thinking that I buy a G5 for my wife to use for her photography/graphic design and that I can use for Rendering, and only use my laptop and Revit for modeling, because even my P4 3ghz with 1 gig of ram can take a while with a complex Radiance rendering.

[PeterJ]

There was a piece n one of the weekly journals here last week comparing the Power Mac G5 with a Fujitsu Siemens Celsius v810. Both were dual processor machines with 1Gb of DDR SDRAM and they had similar specs all around though the Apple has a 512Mb cache as opposed to 1024Mb with the Fujitsu machine.

Overall the Apple was given a higher score, but not in fact on speed. In many of the speed comparisons, some of which of course bear no comparison to architectural work the Celsius was significantly faster, and in situations where the original software was first coded for the Mac, thus two Filemaker Pro scripts ran at 43s/17s and 45/29s on the Apple/Celsius respectively. Perhaps more tellingly, however, was the fact that to run and wite to disk a 15 second, 30fps quick time movie from Vector Works 10.5 took 2m9s and 1m21s for the Apple and the Celsius respectively. In 11 from 12 tests the Celsius ran quicker, even where the Mac software was stamped 'Built for Mac OS X'

It rather seems to me based on the above that different software will optimise the different set-ups differently - which is old news - so it is difficult to have much of an argument about performance until such time as there is a Revit version to run on the Mac. When you can benchmark the two systems together you can then decide which machine would be the better all around choice for your living room or your office.

[Andre Baros]

I've been using PC's at work and Mac's at home since I left school many years ago and each year I tell myself that there is less reason to be loyal to Macs and each year my stupid Wintel machine convinces me otherwise.

It's not that I can't fix the problems with my PC's, its that I have to.

I've had the same Mac for 6 years without a problem (though it doesn't run AutoCAD, MAX, or Revit) and have burned through 6 pc's in that time (both home and work). I spend at least an hour everyday fixing quirky PC problems at work and sometimes on laptops I take home with me to fix there. These problems I take home with me just give my wife a chance to laugh at me while she works on her Mac which also hasn't had a problem in 4 years (younger machine).

Admittedly the apps I run on my PC push the machine more than the ones I run on my Mac and I will never convice my office to switch but I remain a reluctant windows user who dreams of being able to switch.

[Wes Macaulay]

What I hate about Windoze:

- idiotic interface compared to OSX
- brutally insecure (viruses and hackers and such - all of which can be prevented, but arggh)
- leaves temp files all over the place (blame should be shared between the creators of the OS and the creators of the software for it)
- complicated
- goes out of date too quickly

But it runs the software of choice at the moment.

A good Wintel box doesn't need a lot of maintenance - deleting temp files, a defrag now and then, a check for driver updates, etc.

[arnie1811]

Is not Linux the real issue?

I think Apple is good for limited use or you will always need a PC on the side.

I am not confident that Autodesk has no ties with Microsoft that will stand in the way of going Linux. But that is what I think would lead to a better world for all.

[hand471037]

Arnie, I use Linux. What I'm getting on about is that, for the kind of work I do- modeling & rendering, a G5 would rock- it would run faster and cost less than anything else out there.

I'm pragmatic. I use whatever is best for the job. Revit + a Windows box - well, that's the best thing right now that I know of for the modeling side. Radiance (on any system) is the best I know of for the kind of Rendering work I want to do.

The 'weak' link here, for me, is Windows. Windows sucks, takes time, and costs me money- and only seems to be getting worse. I look at my wife's Mac, and I see a computer that (now) costs less for the same (if not better) speed, and that doesn't break, and is much easyer to deal with. I look at my home Linux server, and I see a computer that is made from spare parts (i.e. free), NEVER breaks, but is a pain to deal with (high learning curve). On both the Mac and on the Linux box I can run Radiance.

I look at Windows and I see something that costs too much and causes too many problems.

It's not about a G5 being the 'fastest' out there (but for what I do, it very well could be, and would certainly give me the ability to make much bigger models with it's vastly increased memory). It's all about value, and as someone who wants to start his own firm soon, you better beleve that I'm looking hard at where my limited funds need to go, and if Windows could be cut out of my life, I would.

If I was starting a Pizza delivery business, I'd be looking at a Toyoda, even though it costs more then a Chevy. It just sucks that they only make decent pizza ovens for Chevys, and I can't modify one to fit in a Toyoda. The only one they make for Toyoda sucks, and this is an important part of my business, so I guess, for now, I'll buy a new Chevy, and just plan on having to buy a lot more Chevys in the future, until they make a decent pizza oven for the Toyoda. :)

[beegee]

Recent benchmark tests show that a Chevy running dual carbs, on premium fuel will deliver a pizza to your place in 22 min 45 sec compared with a Toyoda, automatic, 4WD, with low profile Michelins and LSD, taking 24 min 50sec. However that test was out of peak times so may not apply to your own eating habits.


... Sorry, ... I'm alright now. :oops:

[Steve_Stafford]

Keep in mind that the pizza's were supposed to be delivered in 20 minutes or less, so you should have recieved a three dollar discount!

[Jason]

The only application I use on my Dell is Revit. I use my Mac for everything else. Revit for the MAC please!

Jason