04-27-2008, 10:22 AM

Hi, people. This is my first post on this forum.

I'm engineering student, and I work in a company where I have to use diverse software tools for engineering... My tasks, both at the university and at the company, are related with mechatronics: some topics with mechanical design 3D, and others with programmable logic controllers (PLCs), robotics, communication, sensors... So, have to use the laptop with varied software (LabView, Solid Edge, AutoCAD,...), even in the future maybe I will need to use more specific programs, special drivers for devices and machines, etc., not so well-know like previous mentioned.

I'm thinking about buying a laptop, and the idea of acquire a MAC attracts me, due to its robustness and its very high graphic proccesing performance, I think ideal for those programs for 3D mechanical design. But, of course, the idea of leave Windows, have compatibility problems and begin learning a new OS frightens me. I don't know if I will find all this software I need (varied engineering software). And, if I don't find it, I don't know if my MAC will run slowly when I had to execute Windows parallely in it. Furthermore, I don't know if I can download these software from internet (both these programs I already use, but in MAC version; and those analogous to these I use but own of MAC), or if I will have to buy them...

On the other hand, I don't if I will need many time to get used to this new OS, or maybe, I will use it with normally in few days.

So, is here anybody in a similar situation to me?; in general, what do you recommend me in my situation?, should I buy a MAC?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Francisco

04-27-2008, 12:04 PM

Engineering software is a mixed bag on the Mac. AutoCad for example, is not available, to the frustration of many, while LabView is. SolidEdge isn't, but its big brother NX is.

You can always run non-Mac software in a virtual machine, or dual-boot with Windows, but whether that is practical or not depends on how you expect to use it. (If you anticipate spending, say, three-quarters of your time in AutoCad, you'd be better off with a straight-Windows machine.)

04-29-2008, 11:24 AM

I don't know about the software side of your issue, but I'm a longtime windows user and I've had my macbook since the 24th - I've adjusted fine, and so will you :-)

I use to work at IBM - and some of the engineering guys had Macs. They only used the PC's for the programs that would not run on mac.