Eva Marita Chile Local time: 07:15 Member (2010) Dutch to Spanish + ...
Feb 7
Dear colleagues,
I'm about to buy a new notebook (4GM RAM, i5 processor) and I'm really doubting whether to buy a Mac or not.
What are your experiences, specially on the compatibility and support with Trados 2011 and the office package.
Many thanks for your replies!
Eva Marita
[Edited at 2012-02-08 13:39 GMT]
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Paula Hernández Spain Local time: 13:15 Member (2008) English to Spanish + ...
I'm love "macing"
Feb 7
I bought an iMac back in 2008 and I have to say I love it.
I use a few CAT tools on a parallel environment called VMWare Fusion and I have 0 problems of compatibility. Of course, you have to install Windows and assign RAM and HDD space, but it does not pose any problems at all when working.
Hope you find the computer that best suits you!
Paula
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To put it mildly, many famous companies like HP, IBM, DELL and Apple did provide some additional QA and extended guaranty (for additional costs). It was a win-win deal then, but now it's not the case, IMO, because one can buy a really good PC which meets the MAC requirements with no OS or with some *nix, buy MACOS DVD and install it thus saving a lump sum. No, it’s not about a hackingtosh, but a sensible approach
Just compare the two items:
1) C = price_A – price_B
2) what is C worth of as a hard/software or extra features?
For instance, if difference in price is $2300 then what exactly is this amount to be paid for?
So, choose wisely.
Cheers
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Hiromi HORIYA France Local time: 13:15 Member (2009) French to Japanese
I Love Mac
Feb 8
No bug, no virus…
But if you want to use Trados, you have to use others.
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Johanna Liljenzin Sweden Local time: 13:15 Member (2009) Swedish to English + ...
Mac works fine, but get more RAM
Feb 8
Eva Marita,
I work on a Mac laptop, and I use Trados 2011. Please note that you need to make a virtual installation of Windows on your computer to use Trados 2011, as Trados does not have a version that runs directly on the Mac. Personally, I run Windows 7 on Parallels, which works well for me. It is an almost seamless interface that lets you use both Mac and Windows on the same computer, at the same time, so you can use both Windows applications and Mac applications side by side.
Just one word of advice: Get as much RAM as possible. As you will be working in a virtual environment, your computer has to work harder. I started off with 4GB of RAM, but it works much better after I got 8 GB installed.
Also, if you need to use the older Trados workbench from time to time (I sometimes need Workbench to prepare bilingual word files before I translate them in Studio, as some clients still insist on receiving unclean word files), make sure you get Microsoft Office for Windows, as I don't think it's possible to use the Trados workbench macros in Word for Mac.
Kind regards,
Johanna
[Edited at 2012-02-08 09:56 GMT]
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Laura Navetta Italy Local time: 13:15 Member (2011) English to Italian + ...
Mac is fine
Feb 8
Hi Eva,
I bought my iMac last year and it works fine.
Obviously, I had to install all my SDL CAT Tools (Trados 2007 and Studio 2009) on a Windows environment with Bootcamp, but I am happy with this choice!
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Jerzy Czopik Germany Local time: 13:15 Member (2003) Polish to German + ...
What sense does it then make?
Feb 8
You need a Windows system, this is out of any question.
But you go and buy a very expensive Mac system, then need to buy additional stuff and Windows to run there. For the same price (observe the performance!) you may get as much as two good laptops with Windows.
Or you get a much more powerful laptop with Windows for less than the Mac will cost you.
And honestly, I doubt the Mac OS is any better than Windows 7.
We have here a Mac with OS X 10.4 and several Windows PCs.
It is true, that Mac simply works and you can do simple things very easy with it.
But if you need a little more than just standard, you run into problems, when you are not a Mac profi.
Try to add fonts in Mac and have them properly organized.
Find out how to connect a network drive permanently there...
Try to copy a path to insert it in an application in order not to be forced to browse there (observe, that not ALL applications support drag & drop and double clicking is not an option for adding configuration files). This are just some quick shots I remember from my last time I needed to use Mac for a customer, who works with Pagemaker on Mac. The font system is so bad, that my Mac has lost fonts I installed in the past. Last time I worked for this customer all fonts were there and creating PDFs worked properly. Now some fonts were missing. And although I have archived them and tried to reinstall, they do not work. Font suitcases and files are there, but they are not recognized by the system. Looking for help in that respect is useless, as no help on this exists. So you're left alone with Google
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neilmac Spain Local time: 13:15 Member (2007) Spanish to English + ...
Toy or tool?
Feb 8
Jerzy Czopik wrote:
You need a Windows system, this is out of any question.
But you go and buy a very expensive Mac system, then need to buy additional stuff and Windows to run there. For the same price (observe the performance!) you may get as much as two good laptops with Windows.
Or you get a much more powerful laptop with Windows for less than the Mac will cost you.
I totally agree. How anyone can be so smitten by the MAC as to blithely recommend them for translation work, saying "Of course, you have to install Windows and assign RAM and HDD space..." as if it were a mere minor detail never ceases to baffle me.
Having said that, it could also depend on your language pairs - most French translators (based in France) that I know tend to use Macs and sometimes have compatibility problems when working in/with Spain.
Macs are great, very pretty and user friendly, etc etc but they are better for graphic design than translation. Windows, like it or not, is still the standard and most softwares are geared to it. My advice is: if you want a translation tool - get a PC or laptop; if you want a pretty, slickly designed, polyfacetic toy, then get a Mac. (Or, if you can afford it, get both!)
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neilmac Spain Local time: 13:15 Member (2007) Spanish to English + ...
Ask yourself
Feb 8
Eva Marita wrote:
I'm about to buy a new notebook (4GM RAM, i5 processor) and I'm really doubting whether to buy a Mac or not.
I'd like to ask you a question: Why are you thinking about getting a MAC at all? Is it for ANY reason other than translation/work related? Do all/any of your friends have one/wish they had one?
Are you an iphone user? Do you buy into the Apple "ethos"?
First, you need to examine your own criteria. For example, there was someone asking a similar question the other day, who was a translator and graphic designer, and who was looking at translation as a way to earn money, but graphics and arty stuff was what they were really interested in, so a Mac would probably be the best option for them.
[Edited at 2012-02-08 10:38 GMT]
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Boris Matveev Russian Federation Local time: 15:15 Member (Mar 2012) English to Russian
I love my iMac
Feb 8
Mac is my main machine for everything, starting 2005.
Quiet, reliable, rock-solid stability of OS...
No crashes or viruses...
No endless security warnings and long many-megabyte updates...
Really, it's quality computer.
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Jerzy Czopik Germany Local time: 13:15 Member (2003) Polish to German + ...
No updates?
Feb 8
bmatveev wrote:
Mac is my main machine for everything, starting 2005.
Quiet, reliable, rock-solid stability of OS...
No crashes or viruses...
No endless security warnings and long many-megabyte updates...
Really, it's quality computer.
If no updates is a sign of quality, I can have this in Windows with one click.
No security warnings? Oh, but I would not trust everything is secure, even in the Mac world there will be thief and bad people, trying to enter you computer even if you do not want it. So no warning does not mean better security.
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Eva Marita Chile Local time: 07:15 Member (2010) Dutch to Spanish + ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you all for your views.
Feb 8
At the end I think the answer will be "Not to Mac".
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Jerzy, I agree with you about pricing and needs, but it's obvious you have not excelled at IT (yet).
First, 'updates' mostly are patches of some previous errs introducing some new ones.
I mean it--ask any MS certified specialist how and when he updates his PC networks.
In other words, every update (especially automatic) makes the system more unstable and thus--less controllable.
Although the absence of updates is not a sign of quality, it's easier to maintain a stable system (with no or with specific updates) with relatively known weaknesses than always expect manna from MS or other company hoping they did make it alright and soon will provide new patches for these new patches... ad infinitum! As a clever man you should see the biz trend)
As for security and warnings, I think that the main factor is the OS popularity, so most viruses and malware are not for MAC (atm), but there's a fancy for cross-platform baddies... I mentioned it before that I had seen quite many c-l-e-a-n PC's and MAC's with no updates and no anti-virus protection. The trick is to... configure the system, learn basic info about IT security and develop a sensible user skills and habits. For example, I don't use AV's at all, only HIPS (host intrusion prevention system), and it's really rare when I see an alert. Why, earlier I checked my PC's via CureIt (Drweb) or AVPTool (Kaspersky) to make sure the systems are not compromised, but after about a year I gave up that useless habit
So, 'better' security or alerts is not PC-vs-MAC related either.
Paraphrasing your final statement 'A lot of warning does not mean better security too!'
What really matters is hardware/OS/features and price, and there're always cons & pros.
Yet I'm aware about emotional component: for instance, once a friend of mine had her MAC not work and she was reluctant to use her husband's PC (Win XP), but when I installed MAC-skin (StarDock?) then she... thanked me for repairing it and started working.
In conclusion, nowadays extra charge doesn't guaranty anything, so one should be a smart buyer...
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Laurent KRAULAND France Local time: 13:15 Member (2007) French to German + ...
Jerzy... no personal offence, but...
Feb 8
your comments about Apple hardware and software remind me strongly of the complaints made by many users about SDL Trados software.
My overall experience with Apple since 2009 has been much more positive than my experience with Microsoft since 1996. Your mileage may vary and everybody is entitled to their opinion.
But when I personally see that Mac-to-Windows workflows are much smoother than Windows-to-Mac ones, I think that I also have objective reasons to work with a Mac platform.
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Jerzy Czopik Germany Local time: 13:15 Member (2003) Polish to German + ...
No offense taken
Feb 8
And no offense meant, but...
What are your experiences, specially on the compatibility and support with Trados 2011 and the office package.
this was the question here. And provided that Mac does not make sense.
You pay for Rolls Royce to put it in the garage and take out when nice weather is to be expected. But then for heavy daily work you buy a KIA or whatever, just because the RR is not capable to transport your washing machine. That's it.
As for my personal experience with Mac: again, what I dislike there is the top complicated way of doing easy things like font administration or changing the printer. OK, some of those are now much better in OS X, but I started with OS 9 and this way a nightmare.
Thinking back to the mid nineties, Mac was THE machine then. Supported Polish characters with a nicely working GUI, much better than Windows at that time. But then Windows evolved and Mac OS remained in the middle age. With OS X things changed, but it is now an equal situation, I do not see this big advantage pro Mac, as it was really in the past.
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