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Too bad Macs don't have good enough graphics cards to run AutoCAD. Used it in Windows when I was in high school. Pretty cool. I don't use it any more, but I liked that class.

AutoCAD does not need a good GPU. And the ones available to the Mac Pro and even on the Mac mini are more than sufficient.
 
AutoCAD does not need a good GPU. And the ones available to the Mac Pro and even on the Mac mini are more than sufficient.

The majority of AutoDesk products require a really good graphics DRIVER to run properly. This is where Apple seems to be lacking, lock down on the graphics driver. I cannot manipulate any of the settings on a Pro machines, seems strange for a UNIX based computer.
 
Actually, according to Consumer Reports, Honda and Toyota usually top their charts. I know, because I've been doing a ton of research lately on used cars since my wife's Volvo 850 Turbo is falling apart. I'm still in college and she recently graduated, so we don't have buckets of cash for cars. That's the reason the economy is in the shape it is today...people spending way more then they can afford. Could I afford to spend a few hundred more dollars for a Mac? You bet, especially since I'm a graphic design student. Can I afford to spend $30,000 more for a BMW or Merc? Hell no. I'd rather spend $10,000 on a used '05 Civic, run it into the ground over the next 15 years, and put the money I saved on car payments during that time into savings. Then I can go buy two BMW's with cash, one for me and one for the wife, and have money left over to tour Europe.

Honestly, people any more can't deal with delayed gratification. I'm only 24 and understand it. Why can't anyone else who is younger than 50?

As for Autodesk, their only product that I use is the $3 Sketchbook Mobile for iPhone, and I absolutely love it. On the other hand, my grandpa hates the newest version of Autocad. He still loves 2000, lol. I think that's also what my dad's work uses, but that's mainly because they're cheap.

I can tell you that my 18 year old Toyota Celica, which is in beautiful condition, has cost me so little to maintain. It's transmission has 230k miles on it and it is still going. Burns a little oil in the summer if I have a light weight oil. Best car I have ever owned.

Somehow, with all of that, I also own a Mac!

I'm thrilled Smoke is finally here, this is EXACTLY what I thought Maya was missing when AutoDesk bought Alias. Full production workflow to compete with Apple.
 
This program is suitable for FCP and Avid and also supports recent things like RED and 4K.

For the price, and the fact it does not require a hardware piece, is interesting indeed.

The market that needs this does not have a problem with a $15k nut, because the labor, training, and value received well exceeds it.

Rocketman
 
15k

You could buy a pretty damn nice car for that price!

I'd get a 993, but now I'm hijacking the thread...

Hardly. This is a big deal. It's an investment in the platform by a creative company with a lot of clout. Now if only they brought 3ds max to the Mac... That would be so awesome.

You think we'll be getting 3d studio max anytime soon?


For me, Blender is a decent option in the meantime...
 
Too bad Macs don't have good enough graphics cards to run AutoCAD. Used it in Windows when I was in high school. Pretty cool. I don't use it any more, but I liked that class.

I run AutoCAD 2004 on a Virtualized XP Machine thru Virtualbox, works just fine. Now if I could only get the damn mouse to work properly.

I used AutoCAD in school r12. When the machine booted you could choose to have it boot into windows or boot into Autocad. Essentially every command was typed in, to this day I still prefer to type everything in rather than using menus. Sorry, just babbling.
 
I'd appreciate AutoCAD for Mac more than this.

...What they really need to do is get Revit out for the mac... I don't see autocad developing much more; it's pretty much a dead product line IMO.

And 3ds max would be nice too. At least we have maya :p
 
Well with Shake development being dead and Phenomenon still being vaporware, I think it was a good move for Autodesk.

The price is way to freaking high for anyone who want's to just learn how to use it though, I hope they make a educational version or at least give us the watered down Combustion program.

Or am I thinking of Flame, Fire, or Inferno?

I'm confused.
 
er... no mac fan would buy any car that cheap. Mac fans care about quality and prestige. BMW and Mercs are the way to go and no way you will be able to get one for as cheap as 15k. All the cars at 15k are cheap junk.

Look, not to get off topic or anything but seeing how you have a mac you probably bought it for the service options bc you may not know how to fix it if something goes wrong and seeing how you say BMW or Mercedes are the way to go; also point out your need for maintenance as well. BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Jaquar, etc are known for the service on the vehicles. But to say anything around 15k is junk is just dumb. You know Toyota, Honda, Nissan, etc. They all make cars around or below that price point. All those cars can be driven into the ground bc they are exceptionally well built machines by some of the best in the business. I personally like American made cars bc I believe in Made in the USA! So keep your personal feeling towards something completely different than what is the point of conversation is and we can all have a healthy debate to software that cost $15,000.

Keith
 
It's clear that people who care about quality will buy a mac an and expensive car. No cheap junk like Honda or Kia. Of course they are connected.

I've used macs since OS7. I've been a professional video editor for 13 years. I drive a KIA. Take your head out of your ass and look look at the world around you.

On topic, I won't be using Smoke but I'm sure there are some high-end studios that are very excited about this.
 
Smoke, Ignite, Avid, Shake...

All the high-end video production suites in the world can't make you a good editor.

Once FCP came out at $1k a decade or so ago...I thought Avid turning tail and running was the death knell of similar software for exorbitant amounts of money.

If you can cut something for $1k and have it turn out just like you spent $15k, why do it?

Smoke has clout, among the "real pros" youve never heard of or care about, just not clout I care about.
 
You think we'll be getting 3d studio max anytime soon?

I seriously doubt it. I don't think they even know how half of the core Max code works anymore, it's a right bloody mess; they'd have to write it from scratch (and they probably should anyway).

Autodesk just tick me off with every new release, I've really gone right off them. But this is good news, and may well be the start of a bigger push to get their pro high-end facilities onto OS X.

I'll probably not use any of them, but it's good to have the right people showing support for the mac. Sod Adobe too.
 
Too bad Macs don't have good enough graphics cards to run AutoCAD. Used it in Windows when I was in high school. Pretty cool. I don't use it any more, but I liked that class.

Umm AutoCAD will run just fine on any current Mac. Just as long as you use Boot Camp. The hardware is more than capable.
 
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?siteID=123112&id=12694141


Buy yourself a MacPro with these requirements and Smoke for OS X...

Compare this with other simular software!

Djeezes, that's like the most expensive creative & professional investment I know...

With the proper hardware, smoke for mac will cost around 40K. This is REALLY cheap for a high-end editing and compositing solution. Autodesk's finishing products like Smoke, Flint, Flame or Inferno are all hardware+software solutions that costs 200K to 900K. These softwares do not run on Windows! They are complete packages with specific distributions of Linux on specific hardware. (They used to run on SGIs) You need at least a 12 disc RAID with fibre channel, RAID card, VIDEO card (not only graphics card) and the graphics card needs to be a quadro! These are not comparable with Final Cut or Avid... These are high-end solutions for real-time playback of 2K/4K uncompressed material. Something that is way beyond what FC is about...
 
These are high-end solutions for real-time playback of 2K/4K uncompressed material. Something that is way beyond what FC is about...
This is what I don't get. 4K is within the theoretical bandwidth of striped PCI-e on a Mac Pro so the fact you cannot do 4K raw is a software and peripheral limit not a bus limit. In fact, non-real-time 4K is done from RED cameras on FCP on a Mac (even a 'Book).

I want to capture 4 channels of 4K on rocket tests and composite it to 4 cropped views on a HD DVD or file 1080p. Are we there yet?

Rocketman
 
And that's why they reguluarly come on top of customer sat surveys. NOT.

Just like Mac, brands like BMW and MERC top these surveys. Always. The extra premium is worth it, but I am sure mac owners know this already.

You might want to check some facts. My family owns three luxury cars. Here's a fun one: they require tons of maintenance and often have serious problems which leave you without a car for days at a time. BMW and Mercedes are plagued by electrical problems, among other things. Even though you pay the premium for the car and all the stupid features, the dealership usually can't figure out what's wrong. I've read alot of customer satisfaction surveys regarding this type of stuff; last time I checked, Lexus was the only luxury car that people were even remotely satisfied with in terms of maintenance. The reason? Probably because there cars are toyota's with leather seats, and most people are too dumb to notice.

P.S. - unless your BMW is an ///M or your merc is an AMG, it's a chick car. Enjoy the heated seats ;)
 
You might want to check some facts. My family owns three luxury cars. Here's a fun one: they require tons of maintenance and often have serious problems which leave you without a car for days at a time. BMW and Mercedes are plagued by electrical problems, among other things. Even though you pay the premium for the car and all the stupid features, the dealership usually can't figure out what's wrong. I've read alot of customer satisfaction surveys regarding this type of stuff; last time I checked, Lexus was the only luxury car that people were even remotely satisfied with in terms of maintenance. The reason? Probably because there cars are toyota's with leather seats, and most people are too dumb to notice.

P.S. - unless your BMW is an ///M or your merc is an AMG, it's a chick car. Enjoy the heated seats ;)

I'm very happy with my brand new 300hp BMW 135i inline 6 twin turbo, and I bought it knowing that it's subject to high pressure fuel pump problems. I'm willing to trade sheer joy of driving for reliability, to a degree, and I do not think its a chick car, whatever you might think. :rolleyes:
 
One of my clients bought a Smoke within the past year or so, and I wanna say spent a few hundred K on JUST THAT ONE WORKSTATION.

The fact that I can put together a burly Mac Pro with lots of RAM, high-end gfx card, and some nice storage, and throw on a $15K piece of software, and now have a Smoke setup that can also run Final Cut Studio, Adobe Production Premium, and dozens of other useful audio, video, compositing, titling, fx, and transcoding tools?

This is a _very_ _big_ _deal_ in the post industry. You don't have to understand WHY that's the case, but it IS the case.

I can't exactly fault Autodesk and Adobe for not supporting 64-bit apps on Mac yet, either -- the software infrastructure has only been there in the OS for a VERY short time, and if memory serves, pretty much requires them to go full-cocoa for the apps. This does NOT happen quickly!!!
 
I'm very happy with my brand new 300hp BMW 135i inline 6 twin turbo, and I bought it knowing that it's subject to high pressure fuel pump problems. I'm willing to trade sheer joy of driving for reliability, to a degree, and I do not think its a chick car, whatever you might think. :rolleyes:

I was more referring to the idiot who posted that comment...his knowledge of cars and driving clearly goes only as far as the badge on the hood. I don't think he would be the type to roll in a turbo'ed 135i :)

If you bought new I'm sure you will be fine w/ the fuel pump issues. warranty coverage is pretty good - just watch out when it's over :eek:
 
This is what I don't get. 4K is within the theoretical bandwidth of striped PCI-e on a Mac Pro so the fact you cannot do 4K raw is a software and peripheral limit not a bus limit. In fact, non-real-time 4K is done from RED cameras on FCP on a Mac (even a 'Book).

I want to capture 4 channels of 4K on rocket tests and composite it to 4 cropped views on a HD DVD or file 1080p. Are we there yet?

Rocketman

I think you may need something like 2 of these for that: http://store.apple.com/us/product/TV271VC/A

but I'm just guessing... I did'nt calculate the real bandwith...
 
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