Best Technic for Architectural Workshop? On which OS?

[Anonymous]

Dear Colleagues,
We want to organize new Architectural Workshop and buy new powerful technique and have some questions to people they work in large firm where they have/had enough experience and knowledge in CAD/CAM Management.

I wish to hear from you on which newest computers you work and lease bring short list of problems that you experience with them?
Last time I'm hearing more and more: "Mac computers are the best" + "We experience more problems with ArchiCAD 9 on Mac's, than on Windows". And the problems are so much different.

I have never used Mac's before and I'm not sure that this will be easier or practical as just continue work on Windows platform, because of possible problems during share process with PC's of my colleagues.

What's logical to organize new office under Mac as main system and some PC's/Workstations as secondary or on the contrary?

Are there some specific mac+ACTeamWork9 problems, rather to using of Servers?

Note: "I'm asking about quality, power and practice and not about prices."

Thank's in advance.

[Anonymous]

I have been using Mac and Windows about equally since I bought my first PC in 1996. I have also worked as a consultant with firms of all sizes on both platforms since 1992.

In my experience both platforms work quite well and the productivity with ArchiCAD is about the same. The PCs had a significant performance advantage in 3D operations for a while (from about 2001 until the G5 was introduced). With Apple's switch to Intel chips any remaining difference should disappear.

The interoperability of ArchiCAD in mixed platform environments is very good. I have often used both my PC and Mac side by side on the same project with very little trouble. I have also worked with some firms (though this is rather rare) that have both platforms for general staff running ArchiCAD. This has proven somewhat problematic at times and I don't recommend it unless there is good reason. This is mostly a matter of workflow, staff training and support issues.

Of course some Mac based firms have one PC to run their single copy of AutoCAD and others that have PCs for their accounting staff. Some all Mac run AutoCAD in VirtualPC with no problems There are also some PC based firms where one or more people insist on having a Mac (I am working with one right now.)

All that said, I strongly prefer Macs for my own work and have found that Mac based firms are typically more productive and experience fewer problems and lower maintenance costs. It is not a huge difference, but is significant. This is an overall average of course. I have known some very productive and efficient PC based firms and some on Macs that are less so, but this has to do with practice management and not differences in the computers.

[Anonymous]

Hello Matthew Lohden,
Thank you very much for feedback and detailed answers.
I will try to integrate mac (as main) into our new workshop. However all our users (me too) must be traied to work in MacOS environment after MsWindows. Don't think that it is hard job, but it requirs some time.

[TomWaltz]

Z.Bauer wrote:
Dear Colleagues,
We want to organize new Architectural Workshop and buy new powerful technique and have some questions to people they work in large firm where they have/had enough experience and knowledge in CAD/CAM Management.

I wish to hear from you on which newest computers you work and lease bring short list of problems that you experience with them?
Last time I'm hearing more and more: "Mac computers are the best" + "We experience more problems with ArchiCAD 9 on Mac's, than on Windows". And the problems are so much different.

I have never used Mac's before and I'm not sure that this will be easier or practical as just continue work on Windows platform, because of possible problems during share process with PC's of my colleagues.

What's logical to organize new office under Mac as main system and some PC's/Workstations as secondary or on the contrary?

Are there some specific mac+ACTeamWork9 problems, rather to using of Servers?

Note: "I'm asking about quality, power and practice and not about prices."

Thank's in advance.

K&A is 100% Apple workstations. All the architects have G5's (of varying specs, from single 1.5 GHz to Dual 2.5 GHz, depending on their role) and most of the admins have roll-down machines (ranging from Dual G4s to single G5s).

There are two Windows machines on open stations that have AutoCAD on them. No one sits at them, and they are used about 25% of the time. Otherwise they sit idle.

Our accounting staff runs the accounting software off a Citrix server in the IT closet, but we may be getting ArchiOffice soon and removing that.

I cannot say that there have been any major problems with Teamwork or other Archicad functions that seem unique to the Mac platform. If anything, we enjoy better use of multiple open windows (like having 10 detail windows open) from the Expose functions (enabling you to see all open windows at once and pick from them).

The systems are running gigabit ethernet. The file server is running Linux Kernel 2.6.12, plus a machine with OS X server for Remote Desktop and User Permission/Control functions.

I was actually a big Windows guy for the longest time, but Apple really won me over once I started using it.

[Anonymous]

I have been working in an all MAC office for several months - having worked in offices that were all PC or MAC and my own office of mixed PC and MAC. The few difficulties of a mixed office have more to do with the network than the OS. Mixing has it's own problems of library and path situations that have to be dealt with, but generally they are relativbely few. The office is looking into some of the network issues in an effort to speed up some of the save/send/transfer difficulties. It is great to hear of the other office conditions -

Lew Bishop
G4 Laptop
G5 dual 2.0 4.5GB Ram Nvidia 6800
Archicad 9 US latest

[Anonymous]

Z.Bauer wrote:
Hello Matthew Lohden,
Thank you very much for feedback and detailed answers.
I will try to integrate mac (as main) into our new workshop. However all our users (me too) must be traied to work in MacOS environment after MsWindows. Don't think that it is hard job, but it requirs some time.

You're welcome, of course.

Switching to the Mac requires very little adjustment in my experience. Everyone I have known who's done it has found it fairly effortless and very rewarding. It is startling sometimes how things just work without any fuss and bother. Sometimes I do have difficulty figuring something out just because it turns out to be easier than I expect.

The biggest hurdle is just getting your e-mail, contact info, etc. transferred. There is software made for this purpose (PCtoMac I think it's called) and I highly recommend it if you need to do this. The time saved compared to figuring it out and doing it manually makes it well worth the price.

[stefan]

If the whole office is Windows based and ArchiCAD is your main tool, there is no direct need to switch. Stay where you are and use the cross-grade time to improve and optimize the current workflow.

If you want to switch, and you are backed up by everyone else, then continue, but if you require Windows-only applications, or if you have to be compatible with every hardware, then Windows will do fine. You won't start working faster or more efficient, just because of the Mac. That's marketing.

I was a PC-only guy but have added a Powerbook last september. I still prefer to work on my PC for Visual Studio, AutoCAD, VIZ and even ArchiCAD, but I like the Mac to take with me and it works very fine, although the G4 is too slow. I'm writing my PhD now and this is done on both (C++, Photoshop, LaTeX, Office etc... work fine on both).

[Anonymous]

Zohrab:
I have to add my negative comments relating to working in a MAC environment particularly if you've been used to a PC. We also have a mixed environment in that our admin section is PC-based.

The restriction of only being able to open one copy of Archicad at a time, makes it tedious to a) copy and paste between files, and b) amend a module while working on the the main model. Someone recently suggested having 2 computers as a work-around!

The other continual annoyance is this - Open the last document saved - save it as a new document: where would you expect it to be? On a PC, in the same folder as your original document. But on a MAC it saves to the last folder you last "saved to", so if you're not careful to re-write the path, it can take a bit of finding! Someone recommended 'Default Folder X' to me as an add-on, and this does help partly - but not in the particular scenario I've just outlined.

Thirdly, it makes sense to share the office admin facilities. If you keep all your project data on a database, say in 'Access' , how will you access the information from your Macs? We resort to the rather clumsy solution of Word outline documents, which can be read on any machine, but are still not full compatible.

[archislave]

You can run multiple sessions of Archicad with a little trick. Just go to the Graphisoft folder in the Mac Applications folder - right click on the Archicad program icon and choose duplicate as many times as you want - I have three copies.

Now, when you already have a file open in Archicad browse in the Finder to the other file you want to open - right click - and choose Archicad 2 or what ever you named it. Voila! you have another archicad open with it's own icon in the dock.

I will admit that windows and pallettes in Archicad OSX do not snap as neatly as in Windows. This is Graphisofts fault since I have not encountered such sloppiness in other Mac programs. Hopefully, the porting to Intel will force them to focus on getting the old code out of Mac OSX version of Archicad. It's like they just did the minimum that the had to without fine tuning Archicad 9.

I use an all Mac workflow and I it works great. Apple mail is great. I also work with another architect in another city that uses Archicad on Windows and we have no problems.

[TomWaltz]

Keith wrote:
The other continual annoyance is this - Open the last document saved - save it as a new document: where would you expect it to be? On a PC, in the same folder as your original document. But on a MAC it saves to the last folder you last "saved to", so if you're not careful to re-write the path, it can take a bit of finding!

I don't think it's too much to ask users to be aware of where they are saving their data. (who did you sent that UPS package to? where did you park your car this morning?)

Any Save/Open window stores your recently used folders. As long as you are aware of it, you can always recall where you want to save the file, not completely re-browse to it.

Just click on the drop-down that has the current folder name in it. The Recent Folder list is at the bottom.

All that said, I have to agree that if the rest of your office is all on MS-based software, there will be places where they are not compatible and you might have a lot of file & document format headaches.