Saturday, November 14, 2009
AutoCAD 2010 on my MacBook Pro
Between the Lines: "The new version of Parallels Desktop 5 for the Mac OSX has a new crystal view mode. This crystal view mode blurs the lines between Windows and Mac on your desktop as it shows none of the Windows OS UI. Parallels 5 also feels much faster than previous versions in my unscientific testing. Apple Bootcamp is still faster performance overall because it is running Windows natively, but you also must boot to Windows on your Mac with Bootcamp."
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14 comments:
The advancement of Parallels is really nice, considering you don't have to restart your computer everytime you want to run AutoCAD, but I really just don't understand why they haven't come out with some sort of version for Macs. Considering how many designers and theater people are inclined to using Mac computers, I am surprised that there isn't a bigger push for autocad for macs.
Being able to run AutoCAD on a Mac is crucial. Our generation really is shying away from Windows, with most of our class owning a Mac. AutoCAD is a wonderful program, but I question why they don't bring out a version for Mac users. I feel like by doing that they really could open up their sales. Yeah, you can run Windows on a Mac, but it takes up so much memory...It really would just be so much more convenient if there was a Mac compatible version of CAD. What I wonder is if there is something in the software that prevents it from being Mac compatible.
This is great. I am a big parallels fan. The fact that parallels 5 runs faster and better brings me hope that CAD could take better advantage of the mac computing power to create a CAD environment of equal power to the native windows environment. With the growing popularity of Mac, it is becoming more and more important to run programs on either system. Because the un-native version of CAD released for Mac a few years ago was so bad and because writing a native version would not be economical, I figured I would never see this day. However, the parallels approach is clever, and I hope will work well.
It is good to see that the development of parallels has come along enough to allow CAD and other intensive programs to run...but if I am working on a large 3d file with lots of detail, I would prefer to either be on a PC or be running bootcamp into windows. Nothing against parallels, but you aren't going to be getting the full potential of the computer if you are running in the virtual machine.
This is great news for all of us Mac users who still want to use AutoCAD on their bright and flashy computers.
Since I'm cheap, I got a piece of free software called "VirtualBox" by Sun Microsystems which gets the job done. It's not great, and the processing speed is a little slow, but, like parallels, it allows you to be on Mac and Windows worlds at the same time.
I may be more inclined to splurge now and get Parallels now that it looks like CAD runs better. Up til now, the difference between VirtualBox and Parallels has been so minuscule.
The fact that autodesk now supports parallels is something that will greatly benefit the entire industry. Most people who use autocad are probably some of the people that are most likely to choose macs for the sake of their fields. doing this will now help to bridge that transition so that you won't need to switch platforms completely just to run autodesk.
I have been running AutoCAD on my MBpro for a year or so now in this same manner (though, with XP and an older version of parallels). It works fine, as long as I'm drawing something with less than 10 lines...
The truth of the matter is, it's time for the good people at AutoDesk to realize that Mac is where the majority of the creative industry is moving in terms of home computing. Autodesk is a great company with some of the best programs out there, but the fact that there are people out there who us Mac, and then buy a whole extra computer to run AutoCAD is completely ridiculous.
I really like this idea that Parallels has come up with. I am personally a VMWare Fusion user and, while I appreciate that it has allowed me to use Windows programs on OSX, I don't love the window interface. This seems like a much more elegant solution to the problem. Is it still running windows on your mac, sadly. But it is going to be a long time coming until the world is truly universal access for computers.
I think the reasoning that AutoCAD has yet to make the leap to the OSX platform is because of the nature of the program versus the nature of the operating system. Predominately AutoCAD is used by technical people, who more often than not, use PC's. When AutoCAD becomes a more artistic minded program and more Mac users demand it, I think we will see a native AutoCAD for OSX....
If we keep in mind that very little of the autocad market share is in our field (and for the record even some of us who are in theatre use windows) it makes plenty of sense that they haven't returned to keeping two versions in development - it is quite expensive to do so. This sort of model - working closely with emulators and the folks who make them - is becoming more popular, and may be a better answer. After all, it's not only in autodesk's, but also apple's best interest for mac users to be able to run it. Why shouldn't the burden be shared between the two? I'd argue that our generation isn't shying away from windows very much (and those who are are going more quickly to FOSS alternatives, not Mac) but in our terribly skewed sample of affluent artistic folk, macs are more common.
I am extremely hesitant in using such a processor heavy program like Parallels to run another graphical and processor heavy program like CAD. At one point I was using Parallels to run a N64 emulator that had only a PC version to play a game; running an emulator to run an emulator is absolutely ridiculous. Most macs have reasonably capable hardware, but then you're doubly limited by software efficiency. You have to go through TWO layers of memory management as opposed to just one. Maybe I'm just inherently suspicious from past experiences...but why wouldn't you just Bootcamp a Mac? They're Intel machines and student versions of Windows are dirt cheap. It just seems a much better solution. Most computers aren't capable of running AutoCAD at the same time as other heavy programs, why would you need AutoCAD at the same time as Mac OS X Finder?
I just don't think it's the best idea, nor the best use of resources.
I was saddened this year to have to partition my MacBook Pro in order to install Windows XP. Luckily, I was able to find a copy of XP, but that was just about the only good thing. The only reason I had to do such a thing was in order to run AutoCAD. While I appreciate that Parallels is able to now run AutoCAD more smoothly, it will never give you the speed that a native environment would. Autodesk needs to come out with a native Mac compatible program or I believe, whoever will will get the upper hand.
It's great to see the advancement of Parallels, and have been following it more recently as I'm considering getting it for my Mac. While it would be really nice if there was simply an AutoCAD version for Macs, but at this point, it looks like these pieces of emulation software are getting pretty good, and if they continue to improve, I don't think I'll have any problem with simply using them to run many of my Windows-based programs
I have a mac (which I LOVE) and opening up autoCAD to makes makes life much easier. I can't wait to start running bootcamp and getting this done. The only question I have is whether or not bootcamp is free. I wish the article would answer that. I don't know if I have to buy more software for this, in which case the convenience is completely negated. Either way, this is a clever move on the part of autoCad to open themselves up to more business. As more and more people are using Macs, this will bring in more business.
this kinda makes me happy. i didn't know you could put auto cad on a mac. its inconvenient not to be able to use my mac to do auto cad assignments. i agree completely with liz in the fact that our generation is becoming more apple oriented. it would be smart for companies to make their programs mac friendly. that open up a new market for them.
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