I'm about to purchase my first Mac, and I have a million questions. I have read through the forum, but it seems very conflicting, or maybe I'm just not comprehending everything. I am still running on 4.3.0.10 -- waiting for the DVD of 4.5. I am also currently working on XP, so with the new computer, I will have to make the upgrade to Windows 7. The main questions I have are:
Which of Boot Camp, Fusion or Parallel is the best option?
I am getting the 15-inch MacBook Pro because I've seen that some have had audioSync issues with the smaller Macs that couldn't support an external mic. Does anyone have any advice for running audio through the MacBook Pro with Windows 7? A specific external mic, or whether the internal mic is sufficient?
Are there any key installation issues that I can expect and hopefully avoid?
I have many more issues, but these three are my biggest concerns. I'm hoping to learn from the wisdom of others that have trailblazed the Mac course.
Thanks in advance!
Jamie
I'm a voicewriting student just wrapping up my schooling, and I SO want to take the leap and buy a mac. I'm so sick of my pc for a hundred or more reasons. I'm reading everything I can find in this forum on compatibility issues, parallels versus bootcamp, etc., but I'm wondering how much difference I'll find being a vox user. Are there any vox users out there that have made the switch successfully? Does the smartmik work? Does the andrea adapter pod work?
Thank you!
Kim
I'm a voicewriting student just wrapping up my schooling, and I SO want to take the leap and buy a mac. I'm so sick of my pc for a hundred or more reasons. I'm reading everything I can find in this forum on compatibility issues, parallels versus bootcamp, etc., but I'm wondering how much difference I'll find being a vox user. Are there any vox users out there that have made the switch successfully? Does the smartmik work? Does the andrea adapter pod work?
Thank you!
Kim
Hi, Kim.
Can't say much about the voice writing software, but probably the best thing to do would be to take all of your software and hardwar to the Apple Store and ask one of the folks there if you could see how your hardware and software work with the Mac and Parallels.
You will probably have to make an apointment though, as this would be quite an extensive install to accomplish -- assuming they'll let you do it when you say the "Windows" word! :o)
Probably not much help, but that's about all I have!
Good luck with this one.
--gdw
I'm scoping, not reporting, but I am former computer engeineer and am running Parallels and can tell you: max out your memory. Running another operating system in virtualization (which is what Parallels allows you to do) is potentially an incredible memory hog. If you don't use too much of the native Mac functionality while you're also in Windows, you'll probably be okay, but maxing out memory is your best insurance against running into troubles.
If you do discover that things start getting a bit sluggish, here are two points:
- First, on Windows machines when you close the last window of any application, typically that application shuts down and thus stops using resources. That isn't always the case on a Macintosh. If you use the little red circle in the upper left to close a window, the application that created that window usually won't exit. You can exit those by hitting Command-Q (⌘-Q), or look for "Quit" under the menubar with the application's name. Before starting realtime or anything major, look at your Dock — any icon with a white dot next to it is still open and consuming resources. (You can also right-click or control-click on that Dock icon and selection "Quit" to exit it).
- Second, be wary of running a modern web browser. Sophisiticated web pages (especially very interactive stuff like Gmail or Google Docs) are very demanding applications in their own right, on top of what the browser itself is costing you. Consider closing any such web pages you don't strictly need. And stay away from too many browser extensions. Weather updates popping up on your screen might be fun, but stuff like that could slow your system down at an inopportune moment.
--
Richard
Also, since only 2 USB ports on 15", has anyone had success/failure using a hub. 2 USB ports is sufficient for writer and key, but third port is necessary four outputting realtime to attorneys. 17'' offers 3 USBs and the express card slot, which is tempting, but just is too big for hauling on jobs.
Cathy,
I have the new MacBook Pro 13" with the two USB ports. At first I was using the cheap Targus 4 USB hub that doesn't use power. My Mira would only work half the time. That wasn't good at all. So I purchased the Belkin 7 port hub that plugs in, and it works all the time. I really like it. So now I have the software key plugged into the Mac and the hub USB in the other port. But in the Belkin 7-port hub I have my Mira, my HP laser printer, my realtime cord to the judge, my PCTV antenna, and my Ipad 2. So far everything is working great.
I just downloaded the iSteno app to my iPad and loaded my dictionary onto it. It is so weird using the iPad as a steno machine. It works pretty nice. My nails make a lot of noise. I just converted my dictionary to an RTF file and uploaded it through iTunes. I just can't believe how far technology has come. I don't plan on using it as a steno machine. I just thought I would try it since it was a free app.
Angie
Jamie,
Last night I was playing with all the different settings. I found out they all work very good except for Microsft ADPCM. So now I've switched to the SPEEX setting. It seems to be louder than the GSM 6.10 setting I had. I was trying to view Bride on my iPad last night. I haven't gotten it to work yet. I was watching Breck Record's video on how to set it up. So I downloaded a free app. I need to get my tax stuff ready so that I can have my taxes filed by the 15th. So I am going to experience with getting realtime to run on my iPad and iPhone after April 15th. I know what you mean when you say, "I will never go back to a PC again!" I finally to the plunge. I have an iMac desktop at home and a MacBook Pro at work. I just got the new iPad 2. I got the iPhone maybe a year after it was first released. My daughter just loves Apple. So I switched. It's a lot cheaper with the family plan. So I have been using MobileMe for a few years. I upload my Eclipse files while at work and just download them when I get home. I have everything in sync. Good luck with your Mac.
Angie
Jamie,
Now is a good time to run Eclipse on a MacBook Pro. The new MacBook Pros now come equipped with everything you need to run Eclipse efficiently. They now come with the SD card reader and the mic in/out port. I have the new 13" MacBook Pro. This model has the mic in/out port as one, meaning it's just one port for plugging in either a mic or the earphones. So you can either record with an external mic or listen with earphones, but you can't do both at the same time. The 15" and 17" MacBook Pros have two ports. I tried using an external mic. The sound was good. Then I started testing the different audio settings and found the perfect one for using the internal mic. I use the GSM 6.10 setting. It sounds very good at 8.000 kHz mono, 1kb. It comes out crystal clear. Absolutely no background noise.
When I tried the PCM setting, I got static in the background. PCM is the setting I've always used with Eclipse with my PCs. I would use PCM 11.025 kHz, 8 bit mono, 10 kb/sec. So with the GSM setting, I am getting much smaller WAV files, 1/10 to be exact.
I am running Eclipse through Windows 7 using Parallels Desktop 6, the latest version of Parallels. This is much nicer than using Bootcamp because I don't have to reboot my computer to go from Windows to the Apple OS. So I just boot up in Leopard. Eclipse is an icon on my desktop. I click on the Eclipse icon, and it automatically opens Parallels, Windows 7, and then Eclipse. It's very fast. You can boot up every morning, or you can put your computer in suspend and just click on Eclipse and Windows 7 will already be open.
Angie
Angie. - what type of external mic were you using? I just purchased a MacBookAir, 13 with 4gb mem and running Eclipse through BootCamp but the sound on the internal mic isn't that great. Any suggestions?
Thanks, Adam
Andrea Sound Pod. It's a USB mic (external sound card). Anytime a microphone is a USB connection that means it's an external sound card (that's my understanding). If you just do depos and everyone sits close, the internal should be loud enough. If you need more amplification but you don't want to use a USB mic, you can always edit using Bose earphones. They are amazing.
I love Macs and used them for years with Eclipse, but for me it simply boiled down to I didn't have enough USB ports (two on the 15-inch) to run Eclipse the way I wanted to run it. I didn't want to plug in a powered USB hub. I'm back to using a little Sony Vaio for court reporting and Mac for the rest of my world.
Elizabeth
Elizabeth
Jamie,
I had that error message saying "no memory" when I was using my Sony this past summer. I was using the dev version, which was the new version 5. So I went back to version 4. I have been using version 5 since January. I first started using it on the Sony. In March I started using it on the MacBook Pro. I have one bug right now that is really bugging me. When I go to put in the speakers names, I get the error message "not responding" and then the hour glass and finally it puts in the speaker's name. I really need to find out what that issue is. I posted on the Eclipse Dev section last week, but I haven't gotten any responses.
Right now I am working on getting my 2010 paperwork ready for my accountant to do my taxes. I am now doing everything on my Mac. So I have to learn all new software programs. I bought the Fujitsu ScanSnap Mac version to scan all my receipts, and I am using Mariner Paperless to extract the information from the receipts - date of purchase, amount, vendor. I am going totally paperless. Then I am going to import the information into QuickBooks for Mac.
I just bought a Belkin Desktop USB 7 Hub. That's the one thing that the Mac is lacking - USB ports. I plugged my Mira into a USB hub. It only works half the time. So I am thinking I need a Hub that supplies power. So I am going to try this one.
Angie
Thanks for the advice. I wound up getting the 15-inch on boot camp. I really love it. I am using the internal mic with PCM now, but I'm going to try the GSM setting you suggested. I bought an external mic just in case. I've been running into some bug issues, like quotation marks not working and now I keep getting an error message saying no memory that ties up Eclipse. I hope to have all the bugs out soon. I can't believe how fast it runs. I will never go back to a PC again!