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MAC to win transition


vick2014

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Hi all:

 

I am an autocad (windows) MEP user for several years now. Recently, I have been contacted by a company who is using MAC based cad to do a transition to autocad windows. I am not sure why they want to do this though.

I am interested to work for them but the hitch is that I dont have any idea about MAC based.

My question to all gurus here is:

What is the first step required if I am asked to do this transition.?? Its get going kind of job from day one and no learning curve or time given.

What should I be knowing on day one about MAC and what preparation is needed to do this transition. What kind of knowledge, books, doumentation, equipment is needed. I have 2-3 days to read and familiarize about this new opportunity which I dont want to miss.

 

Please list your experiences. Thanks in advance.

 

PS Its Urgent......

 

You can email me: awardeecad@gmail.com directly also.

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First thing is they are going to have to replace every computer that uses CAD, or buy some sort of shell program to force Windows AutoCad to run on a Mac. I have only heard about the existence of such software in passing, so I know nothing more about them. I Would even doubt if AutoDesk would support such an installation.

 

Start with this link to AutoDesk's own comparison of features. You'll get some idea of why they might want to switch over once you see the empty check boxes by the Mac features that most of us expect and can't get by without, like no layer manager, express tools, quick select, table style editing...

 

The Mac version does have a few special touchscreen tools. That's nice.;)

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Welcome to CADTutor!

 

Firstly, if you need to hit the ground running, and they're still willing to hire you without any AutoCAD for Mac experience, then start reading up unless you plan to respectfully decline the work.

 

If you choose to take this on, consider that you're still dealing with AutoCAD-based product(s), so you *should* be able to setup a test environment with Windows OS and Windows-based AutoCAD, mapped to the same servers, etc. and validate your (their) setup before deploying to all users.

 

 

 

Some questions that come to mind....

 

 

 

What hardware will they be using (i.e., new PC/Laptops, or running Windows OS on Mac)?

 

What version of Mac OSX are they migrating from?

 

What Windows OS are they migrating to?

 

What version of AutoCAD for Windows are they planning to have you implement?

 

Are you adept at that version of AutoCAD?

 

If they don't already have new hardware, who is configuring those specifications?

 

Who is procuring any new hardware, and what is the ETA for that new hardware to be available on-site?

 

Does the hardware exceed the system requirements for versions of same, or will supplementary hardware upgrades be needed (particularly with regard to processors, memory, and video cards)?

 

What training are they going to be expecting you to deliver as part of this contract (AutoCAD for Windows is far more capable, and has many more features than the Mac version)?

 

What is the anticipated scale and scope of the contract (i.e., how many users, machines/servers, and also how many profiles within same environment are you expected to migrate)?

 

Who is setting up the new Windows environment?

 

What server software are they running?

 

Will the new Windows machines need to be added to domain(s), or do they have in-house IT support? Or worse, do they have 3rd party IT support?

 

Do they use any related 3rd party products, such as AutoTURN? Do they need to be migrated to work with Windows environment?

 

What customizations do they already have (not many given Mac APIs), or do they want for you to develop?

 

What APIs are you adept at, in order to offer to streamline their new workflow so they can be even more productive?

 

What term will you offer continued support beyond the contract's end date (if at all)?

 

What are your follow on consulting fees (i.e., additional services after this contract)?

 

Can you perform initial setup on-site and continue to work remotely for ongoing configuration?

 

Do they have backups of their entire environment, including user machines before migration begins?

 

Have they tested their backups (i.e., will they actually work during planned disaster recovery)?

 

What additional hardware do you require to perform the migration (i.e., USB drives, materials, etc), and who's providing same?

 

What company standards are you implementing; the same/similar as their current Mac deployment, or are you also now making changes to their internal standards?

 

Do they have any external, 3rd party/client standards that need to be either migrated, or implemented as new with this contract?

 

Are their internal, and/or client standards documented for you to use during this contract?

 

What are their goals for this contract that are critical, optional, or just nice to have?

 

How long is this contract supposed to take, and does that leave you enough time (based on your proficiencies) to backwards plan, and actually implement?

 

If not, have you identified that concern with client?

 

 

 

... As you can see, more information is needed. :beer:

 

Cheers

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Welcome to CADTutor!

 

 

.... or running Windows OS on Mac)?

How is that done? Obviously I am not going to apply for this job, and will just go stand in the corner and listen. :lol:
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To run Windows on a Mac requires additional software such as Apple's Boot Camp or third-party programs such as Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion or VirtualBox.

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How is that done? Obviously I am not going to apply for this job, and will just go stand in the corner and listen. :lol:

 

Mac hardware can run Windows OS virtually, or via dual-boot partition, whereas non-Mac hardware (and now Windows hardware, such as Surface Pro, etc.) cannot run Mac OSX.

 

I only thought to pose the question, as I use Mac + Windows at home, and d@mn well know that business class Mac hardware is anything but cheap. :thumbsup:

Edited by BlackBox
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It is not clear to me if the company plans to run AutoCAD Windows on their MACs or use the Mac version of AutoCAD. If the former then you should be all set if you know the standard AutoCAD/Windows. There may be some differences for printing. I found that when using the Mac version of AutoCAD it was best to print to a pdf file the send that file to a printer. To run Windows on a Mac you would use either Bootcamp (which is included with a Mac) or buy Parallels or VMWare Fusion. Bootcamp requires the Mac user to start their Mac's running the Mac OS or Windows. To switch to the other OS you must reboot the Mac. The data base for the two OS's are separate so say you are running OS-X and save a file from an email, you cannot access that file when you boot to Windows. Parallels and Fusion let you run Windows effectively in a window. The Mac version of AutoCAD has a bunch of missing features and some surprises. Running AutoCAD on a Mac using Windows is OK but there will be some hassles.

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Seems pretty clear to me.

 

The Company currently uses MAC and a native MAC CAD program and they are Transitioning to Windows on PC and AutoCAD on Windows.

 

Most important, what is the CAD program they are using now?

 

Looks like BlackBox has covered all of the questions.

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Seems pretty clear to me.

 

The Company currently uses MAC and a native MAC CAD program and they are Transitioning to Windows on PC and AutoCAD on Windows.

 

Most important, what is the CAD program they are using now?

 

Looks like BlackBox has covered all of the questions.

 

I agree with SLW, these are the important ones. In my experience with MAC CAD programs, such as VectorWorks and PowerCADD, each will have it's own issues. VW should be the easier of the 2 I have listed as it is the most similar to ACAD in that items are usually drawn at full scale. Now with PowerCADD this is not generally the case. They use an antiquated drawing to scale method. Objects do not generally translate very well either or they didn't when I last worked with them (several years ago). Good luck and keep us updated.

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How is that done? Obviously I am not going to apply for this job, and will just go stand in the corner and listen. :lol:

 

Well Macs are all Intel based PCs now and can easily run OSX, Windows or Linux. Other than a few custom items they are pretty much part for part the same as PCs on the inside. One can even buy a mac and wipe it clean and install windows and never use the Mac OS at all (not sure why but you can).

 

Apple's OSX is now a full X86 based OS that can also be run on standard PC hardware. Yes it can and I have done it. On my old Dell I had a dual boot of WinXP and OSX 10.4 Tiger. The trick is that the OS is supposed to look for "genuine" Apple hardware when it installs. This is the part that has to be "replicated". Not hard to do and getting easier all the time. Many mac users have started to build their own box as Apple refuses to build a upgradable consumer tower (no money in it I suppose). So know we have the term "hackintosh".

 

http://lifehacker.com/the-always-up-to-date-guide-to-building-a-hackintosh-o-5841604

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/

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Mac hardware can run Windows OS virtually, or via dual-boot partition, whereas non-Mac hardware (and now Windows hardware, such as Surface Pro, etc.) cannot run Mac OSX.

 

I only thought to pose the question, as I use Mac + Windows at home, and d@mn well know that business class Mac hardware is anything but cheap. :thumbsup:

The clarification is appreciated. Like I said, I will stand by and listen to the experts. I too have had offers to work with Mac AutoCad as a drafter only as a subcontractor, and have been taking a pass because of no prior exposure, and the "hit the ground running" requirements. At least, for the moment I have plenty to do otherwise.
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Well Macs are all Intel based PCs now and can easily run OSX, Windows or Linux. Other than a few custom items they are pretty much part for part the same as PCs on the inside. One can even buy a mac and wipe it clean and install windows and never use the Mac OS at all (not sure why but you can).

 

Apple's OSX is now a full X86 based OS that can also be run on standard PC hardware. Yes it can and I have done it. On my old Dell I had a dual boot of WinXP and OSX 10.4 Tiger. The trick is that the OS is supposed to look for "genuine" Apple hardware when it installs. This is the part that has to be "replicated". Not hard to do and getting easier all the time. Many mac users have started to build their own box as Apple refuses to build a upgradable consumer tower (no money in it I suppose). So know we have the term "hackintosh".

 

http://lifehacker.com/the-always-up-to-date-guide-to-building-a-hackintosh-o-5841604

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/

 

Then, assuming the company has newer Apple hardware, the issue count, and financial hit should be reduced considerably.

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Then, assuming the company has newer Apple hardware, the issue count, and financial hit should be reduced considerably.

 

Well sure, even with a 2 year old or so mac, it should run Win7 with no issues. The only problem I could see is that some Macs do not have the graphics power needed for Acad. Most low end Macs (lol still close to $1,000) come with on-board, shared Intel graphics. Look at the current entry level iMac 21.5". $1,099 and you get a dual-core i5 1.4GHz, 8gb ram, 500 gb hdd and an Intel HD5000 video. Acad and shared on board graphics never work well together.

All they need to do is buy a copy of Win7 or 8. They can either use it with BootCamp or a VM app like Parallels.

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Boy, and I complain about the Dell I5 2.7 Ghz quad core I have. I do only have an Intel HD on board video card though. Speccy doesn't mention a 5000 anywhere. 2015 will occasionally hang up for a couple seconds on a dense hatch or something. I can't imagine what it would do having to suck in some virtual memory to finish, at half my CPU speed.

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Well if you have a normal desktop you can just add in a dedicated video card. Not so for the iMac and the Mac Mini. In fact with the new trashcan Mac Pro they don't have a single model that can be upgradable, in anyway other than hard drive replacement.

I have an older Mac Pro at home and everything is replaceable.

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Well if you have a normal desktop you can just add in a dedicated video card.
Ha, with no tower there's no place to put anything in mine. I basically have a 18x24 tablet on a stand. I only have one open slot, a PCI slot. Dell does have a card that they say will fit, but It's been a year since I looked and I don't remember anything about it other that the specs were underwhelming for 250 bucks. With the software I run for a living it's no big deal.
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What model do you have?
Who, me? A Dell XPS ONE 2710 all in one desktop touch screen. Like I said, a giant 30 lb tablet.:lol: I was going to go shopping on Dell this morning but the internet is full of molasses. They don't even list Nvidia on the site for any computer at the moment. I gave up looking at the "Waiting for..." tag, and clicked off for now.
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Check out the Dell Precision T1700 (search the Dell site under workstations). There are a bunch of graphic card options from NVIDIA and AMD Firepro. I have a T1700 with the NVIDIA Quadro K600 and find it a good trade-off between price and performance.

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