Mac Advice

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stevenp
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Mac Advice

Post by stevenp » Fri Feb 16, 2007 3:59 am

I haven't used a Mac since the Mac II SE when I did desktop publishing (which I loved them at the time.) However, these new Mac's look really good and with Vista coming out I am becoming more sold on OS X.

So, I am looking at buying a Mac Mini since I don't have much money right now. I had a few questions which I hope you Mac people could answer. My primary reason is to eventually move into the Mac shareware market.

Is the entry level Mac Mini ($599) good enough to start with or would you consider it a waste of money?
In your opinion, does the shareware market for the Mac offer more opportunity then the PC? (my assumption is yes because it's not so crowded.)
Would Parallels on the entry level Mac Mini run Windows XP and Linux (say, Ubuntu) fast enough? Or would it be too underpowered?

Thanks,
Steven
Last edited by stevenp on Fri Feb 16, 2007 11:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Bill
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Post by Bill » Fri Feb 16, 2007 4:42 am

What are your graphics needs is the only question, if you intend to run any AAA title 3D video games the Mini's on chip graphics stink.

But if you aren't going to do that, $599 is a great deal for doing everything else. Just get it packed full of RAM.

My daughter uses my 1GHz Mac Mini with 19 inch monitor, never a dull moment for her.

Parrellels runs pretty good on an Intel iMac 1.8ghz, except for 3D stuff, I get about 7FPS...meanwhile on a 600mhz PC I get 2fps...sometimes decimals of a frame per second.

With bootcamp on a macbook pro, 200fps. Wicked fast.

Oh check versiontracker.com for the products you intend to release to determine your market competition. everything there is usually mirrored at macupdate.com, be sure to check user reviews since that will hilite what others are doing wrong or right and guide your development.

How good is the market, I know a kid who maybe just turned 19, and raked in $28,000 on a OpenGL golf game.

stevenp
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Post by stevenp » Fri Feb 16, 2007 5:17 am

Thanks for the response.

Is the graphics card and RAM user upgradeable? I am worried about the 512MB limit and the poor 3D graphics performance. If I can upgrade it later maybe it wouldn't be that bad.

xApple
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Post by xApple » Fri Feb 16, 2007 9:20 am

Ask your self how often do you use a 3D instensive application ?
For me that's not often, a Mac mini would be fine. You can still open them, they just won't be as fast as, say, on a Mac Pro. They are, however, quite potent machines and will easily support multiple OSes, though go for at least 1GB of RAM.

And yes the RAM is upgradable, not the graphics card however.
OS X r00x, get one :wink:

malte
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Re: Mac Advise

Post by malte » Fri Feb 16, 2007 11:44 am

stevenp wrote: In your opinion, does the shareware market for the Mac offer more opportunity then the PC?
Hi steven,

I see more Mac sales than PC sales. Also it is a lot easier to get listed in the big Download pools. My experience when releasing Drops was that it got listed immediately for the Mac side, where PC pools like to be paid a fortune for instant listing. So I am still waiting for it to be listed in the most important download pools. On the mac side it also got coverage on many relevant news sites. It is easier to make sales on the Mac it seems.

Just my 2 cent.

Malte

stevenp
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Post by stevenp » Fri Feb 16, 2007 1:53 pm

Thanks! I really appreciate everyone's input.

Garrett
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Post by Garrett » Fri Feb 16, 2007 8:23 pm

Mac shareware market good since Mac sales increasing.

I don't have the an Intel Mac Mini, but still running a PPC Mac Mini here, so
I can't offer too much info on the Mac Mini anymore. I eventually plan to
get an Intel Mac Mini.

I do my gaming on my PC since there aren't a lot of big title games for the
Mac world.

For everyday use, work, programming, the Mini is just fine. And I use
GuestPC on my PPC Mini to run Windows ME, and it runs smoothly enough
and can handle most of the older games through that.

For software sites, I'd also like to point out the following:

http://www.softwarearchives.com/macintosh/
http://mac.softpedia.com/
http://www.freesmug.org/review/
http://osx.hyperjeff.net/Apps/

stevenp
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Post by stevenp » Fri Feb 16, 2007 8:40 pm

Thanks, Garret.

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Post by FourthWorld » Fri Feb 16, 2007 9:04 pm

For Mac software sites, don't forget one of the most comprehensive and arguably most up-to-date:

http://www.versiontracker.com

They're amazingly timely. On many occasions I'll update my site when I post a new version, and then log on to Version Tracker less than an hour later to update my listings there only to find that they've already done it for me. I don't know how they stay on top of so many releases, but it's hard to find a more current listing of what's out there.

stevenp
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Post by stevenp » Fri Feb 16, 2007 10:16 pm

I really appreciate everyone's input.

I'm going to CompUSA today after work with my wife. It looks like (with the help of my dad) I may have convinced her to get a better quality Mac rather than settling for the Mac Mini (which is not necessarily a bad computer.) We are trying to get out of debt (which we are in so badly) but with the hope of me writing shareware she is much more open. I was talking with the Mac guy at lunch today at the store and he said he'd give my wife the old "dog and pony show" to help convince her. We'll see about financing options and hopefully the monthly payments are doable. Basically, I am hoping to work with 3D and efficiently run Parallels (the new version looks good). Plus, if I am going to invest the money it might as well become my main computer that I'll be using for a couple years.

Of course I have the thought in the back of my mind to replace my other PC's at home with Mac's when I start making money. I'm pretty sick of have to get my kid's computer working every week. I just want them to be able to get on the computer and use it (life's to short to be fixing Window's every week!)

Anyways, that's my goal. I'll let you guys know what I end up doing. Unfortunately, I got the Window's version of Rev but that'll have to do for now.

Also, my wife knows I still plan on getting the Animation Engine as well. On top of Rev I'll be looking for a good C\C++ IDE and compiler for Mac (hopefully free at this point) for externals.

malte
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Post by malte » Fri Feb 16, 2007 11:14 pm

stevenp wrote:On top of Rev I'll be looking for a good C\C++ IDE and compiler for Mac (hopefully free at this point) for externals.
Hi Steven,

the developer tools come bundled with your Mac AFAIK.
Do you speak C already?

All the best,

Malte

stevenp
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Post by stevenp » Fri Feb 16, 2007 11:20 pm

Malte, I do program in C\C++\C# (.NET)\Visual Basic, etc. Revolution is a definitely a higher level language than I am use to. :wink:

Obleo
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Post by Obleo » Sat Feb 17, 2007 1:09 am

If you plan on developing for the mac heavily It Might be more worth your while to get an ADC student (if your a student ) or Select membership. Specially considering you program C\C++\C#

You get pre seeded releases to test with all the newest tools, (X code 3.0 etc.) pre-release of Leopard, Access to all WWDC session videos. Direct one on one support. Discount's on Mac hardware. Access to to ADC labs with direct assistants. Discounts for marketing pretty much you name it. It worth it considering the CPU discount. and it cost only $100.00 more to what Rev studio costs. If you need to port to the mac there help for that.

One could get away with not joining . For years I wonder why anyone would join, because the tools and info is available from there web site for free.

Then I joined and wonder why People did not join. It is worth it just for the direct assistants. and the Hardware Discounts, then add all the rest.

We also have got help with real basic and Revolution form apple but they keep pushing Cocoa at you, over and over.

It is something to think about, even if It is a year down the line.

Just check out the developer site, for info.

stevenp
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Post by stevenp » Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:53 am

Thanks, Obleo, it is something I will look into.

I got the iMac today. I was set to get the $599 Mac Mini and finish off my credit card limit with it but to my surprise my dad gave my wife some money to help me get an iMac (1 gig RAM, 20" monitor.) I was overwhelmed and surprised. I also had enough to get Parallels. He's trying to help my get set up for writing shareware.

I hope as I get up to speed fully on Mac's and Runtime Rev that I can be a beneficial member of this community.

-- And it's really nice to finally have a Mac!! 8)

Garrett
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Post by Garrett » Sat Feb 17, 2007 9:38 am

:-)

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