RE: choosing the right laptop for live looping , real time DSP processing and running Video

["Goddard, Duncan" <goddard.duncan@mtvne.com>]

>>Based on my experience, I would NOT recommend running Windows XP in
Parallels on the MacBookPro.<<

based on /my/ experience, I would not waste my time with XP. but then
that's my experience. :-)

I have a macbook pro (early version intel duo 1.8, 2 gigs of ram, 80 gig
HD) with parallels & w2k sp4 on it. it's the longest running build of
windows I have used on any machine, principally because it's
relationship with the hardware is abstracted. it has crashed a couple of
times, but way way fewer than would've been the case doing the same jobs
on a "regular" PC. I also have got the same apps on a dual 2GHz dell box
& have used them on any number of dell, HP & toshiba portables....

I think the bottom line is that each of us has so many variables
involved with our computer use & experiences, that it's not easy to give
a reliable answer. also, what you start off with as your list of
requirements is likely to change as you discover things about y'r new
toy. for instance, I thought I was going to be using all mac apps on my
macbook, & give up using the PC altogether. but after a few days of
trying to get anything worthwhile & accurate done in bias-peak or
photoshop, I have returned to using vegas & corel photopaint on the
mac's PC-side, under parallels. I've lived with parallels since april
last year- signed up as a beta tester & I have nothing to complain
about. but then, that's my experience again.

& I'd still rather do this than use the same apps on a decent PC laptop,
because occasionally I need to start or finish a project in final cut &
I can't be arsed carrying two computers around. the memory sharing thing
doesn't bother me. the macbook looks better than any PC I've ever seen,
even though the build-quality of these new machines is a faint shadow of
the old titanium powerbook. 

if you get a macbook-pro, get some speck polycarbonate shells for it, or
the outside will start to look tatty really quick.

if looks aren't important & you'd rather run windows apps, get a
high-end PC laptop, with a decent warranty on the hardware. once you've
got a stable build on there, ghost the thing onto a replacement drive.
if a PC of any sort is allowed on a public network, it will catch all
sorts of diseases. macs tend to be a bit safer when it comes to this
sort of thing.

d.