Hey all,
So I'm finally up and running and getting some Finale work done on the
new Mac mini. I have the 1.42 GHz model, with 1 GB of Crucial/Micron
RAM, and so far, I am *extremely* impressed at how well Fin2005a runs
on this machine. It really is night and day compared to my old machine
(an upgraded beige G3 with a Sonnet 1 Ghz G4 ZIF, etc). While the
processor is only 0.42 GHz faster than the one in my old machine, the
mini's faster bus, faster memory, and faster video card make an
*immense* difference. I don't have to wait for dialog boxes to come up
anymore, redraws are vastly improved, and Finale *finally* feels as
responsive as it did back in the OS 9 days. Now, that doesn't mean
there isn't still room for more optimization in the OS X version,
because hoo-boy, is there ever. But Finale for OS X is no longer an
absolute bear the way it was on my old Mac.
Thanks to Steve Gibons, I've got iKey 1.0.7 back and again, the
difference vs. iKey 2.0 is phenomenal. The shortcuts all execute
instantaneously, and shortcuts that were broken in iKey 2.0 (like
double-clicking on the measure-number box) are working again. I will
probably still upgrade to QuicKeys 3.0 at some point, but right now, my
life is *much* better now that I've banished the monstrous iKey 2.0
from my HD.
I've also started using GPO for playback within Finale, including MIDI
thru playback during Speedy Entry. So far, it's working beautifully,
without a single pop or stutter. I preemptively turned off the reverb,
but I gave it a couple of tries with the verb on, and it seems okay
with that as well. Of course, right now I have only two instruments
loaded -- the keyswitching solo Strad, and the Steinway piano (non-lite
version). Those are both very large samples, though. Still, I'm able
to run Finale 2005a, GPO studio, iKey 1.0.7, DragThing, and Mail
without any issues. We'll see what happens when the time comes to add
more instruments -- but for the moment, everything's great. JT's
keyswitching expressions library is a godsend (now, if I could only
figure out how to turn *off* trills after turning them on... ).
My only real complaint with the GPO samples so far is that all of the
GPO ensemble flutes (not the KS solo flute) sound really terrible from
around E5 up to G5. It's an unfortunate blight on an otherwise
first-rate sample library.
So, finally -- two thumbs-up for the 1.42 GHz Mac mini. If you're
looking for a new Mac, and you've got $599 to spare, I very highly
recommend it. Especially if you're currently suffering with a sub-1
GHz Mac. I'm sure it would seem ridiculously pokey up against a dual
2.5 GHz G5, but for 1/5 the price, it's a terrific deal.
- Darcy
-
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Brooklyn, NY
___
Finale mailing list
Finale@shsu.edu
http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
