OS X can read NTFS disks, but can't write to them.

OS X can read and write to FAT32 disks though, so if you make the Windows partition FAT32 you can access it seamlessly from OS X.

Still, the notebook harddisks aren't that big, so an outside media drive makes more sense in most cases.

The big downside is the 4gb file size limit when using FAT32... Wish there was a workaround.

Macdrive from mediafour also seems promising... it lets you read and write Mac formatted disks in Windows. Haven't tested it yet to see what the performance is like but it will be good if I can read/write/capture to a Mac formatted external drive from both OS'.

They make a version specifically for PC AVID users to be able to access AVID files on Mac disks so I'm expecting it will perform fairly well.

Yes, MacDrive works great. Highly recommended.

Thanks Y'all

Your fast and smart responses pretty much tell exactly what I want to know:

Go buy the Apple laptop, another $50 for MacDrive, some disc partitioning and installs & viola several longstanding issues solved!

Now if I can just stop spilling wine...

Thanks again!

Can someone explain to me the advantages of buying a Mac laptop over a regular one.
Given that with Macdrive one can mount a HFS+ volume on any PC and with appropriate tools transfer FCP projects into Vegas.

Bob.

Bob, I can't think of an advantage of owning a mac computer. Maybe some advantages to the software, but not the overpriced Mac computer. I used them throughout school b/c that is what every "professional" is using and our instructor made sure that we knew that. I could go back to the dorm, plop down on my pc and get the graphic done in a fraction of the time it would take me on the mac and I payed a fraction of the cost for the pc.
I think they look nice, but I don't really know what else they have going for them. Some say stability and lack of viruses. I haven't had a single blue screen in over 4 years and I have not had a virus in 3. Just an overpriced piece of technology if you ask me... but then again, maybe you didn't :) I think the author of "The inmates are running the asylum" pegged apple rightly in one of the chapters where he dealt with them. (good read, I would recommend it). Okay, I am off my high horse now.

j razz

1. Lighter weight.
2. Significantly better battery life
3. Runs cooler (in Apple mode, but hotter in XP mode)
4. Some of us need dual boot so we don't walk funny due to carrying two laptops. FCP, Motion, Logic all make a Mac necessary for some folks. But not many, I admit.
5. Sweet look. Face it...Mac's look sexy compared to the clunkiness of most PC laptops. Ironically, Sony built most of the early Powerbooks, and still makes parts for them. Why can't Sony build a Powerbook?
6. Powersupply is significantly smaller, cooler, and easier to deal with.
7. built in 6pin firewire instead of puny 4 pin.
8. Smarter sleep mode
9. Smarter Network tools
10. Just because we can now run XP and thumb our noses at the fact that Vegas on a Mac runs circles around FCS 5 on a Mac. Makes for great converation.

Well the price point of the Sony TX Laptop and the Apple are pretty much neck and neck ~$3grand. I am platform agnostic. Whatever works for what I need to do.
And at this time, 2006, I need both platforms.

Apple's service is walk-in easy and good.
Sony? Pretty much baloney, although its been a while.

So the main advantage is backward compatibilty into both platforms.
With Mac bootcamp it appears I can live comfortably in both worlds.
Can't say that about a PC laptop.
There's a lot more apps and projects in my life than just Vegas & FCP.

And because I was raised in the Mac environment, it just feels more like home.
After 5 years on a PC I miss it!

Now there's even a different kind of "volume control" on the MacBook Pro remote (comes with the notebook, originally meant for media players):

To select your Mac boot drive with the Apple Remote simply press the remote's “Menu” button just after you hear the startup chime of your Mac. Then when the startup drive selections appear use the “forward/backward” buttons to select the corresponding volume (Mac/Win) and then press “play” to boot from that volume.

Apple also released new MacBooks today starting at $1099. Specs look very similar to the Pro models, including the Intel Core Duo, but the screen resolution is only 1280x800 vs. 1680x1050 on the Pro.

You can easily get around the 4gb limitation. I too am using a MacBook Pro and Vegas. I find the dual computer to work great. I used Garage Bandto create some music for a recent project. My video project turned out great and my client is super pleased. The final project was a 34 minute video that was shot in HDV format. I kept the video files in the original *.m2t format in Vegas until the final render to SD. Since there were many clips that were rearranged and edited a bit I did a new render to *.m2t so that I would have a master in one file to easily place on a DV tape to archive. Anyways the render to a single *.m2t file took approximately 2 hours and the render to SD took slightly over 4 hours (I set it up to do a dual pass). I was very pleased with those times. In the past my render times were ridiculous on my 3-4 year old P4. Some recent projects took 13 to 14 hours.

Back to FAT32 and 4gb limitation. I think you will be using an external hard drive for most projects so all you have to do is use the Mac side of the computer through disk utilities and format the drive or set up partitions in MS-DOS format. This is essentially FAT32 but since its formatted on the Mac it doesn’t have the 4gb limitation. When you are running in Windows you can save files greater than 4gb and these can be read on both sides of computer. I have a 250gb external drive and have one partition formatted in NTFS format for use on the Windows side and one partition in MS-DOS format for sharing. It works great. I initially formatted the drive on the Mac side with two partitions and then on the Windows side I reformatted one of the two partitions to NTFS.

If you don’t use an external HD then you can just format the Windows partition in NTFS format and use the mentioned software Macdrive so you can read and write files to either side of the computer. I had some problems with Macdrive installed but I am not sure if Macdrive was the culprit. I really don’t need it so I removed the software.

Why go to Mac?

I have two Macs – so take no offence, mac people.
Also I think there is one word or two that might be offensive to some.

http://cache.gizmodo.com/gadgets/images/iProduct.gif

Not bad, there is something to it.

But the price difference is much smaller these days.

An analyst at Piper Jaffray pegs it at 13% for desktops and only 10% for notebooks.

Nice design is worth something, and you don't have to buy a virus checker unless you are particularly paranoid.

I am curious as to how you guys who own the Macbook Pro work.. Do you set it on your lap?? I have been to the apple store several times to look at these, and I would like to buy one, but they seem really, really, really hot!!!!

How do you stay cool?

Well, we're just cool guys!

:O)

Seriously, the latest firmware update from Apple (released last week) reduces the heat significantly. It was just that the fan was run too little. (Mine was never too hot, but I heard many others feeling cooked.)

The regular Mac OS X update (in the Apple menu) will pick it up.

I don't know why everyone seems to think Powerbooks look so damn "sexy." They're boring little grey rectangles. Something which would be right at home in "THX-1138."

I dunno...I kinda like my sexy gray rectangle. It's significantly lighter than any laptop I've ever owned, has a longer battery life than any other laptop I've ever owned, and packs easier than any other laptop I've ever owned. Addtionally, they last longer. Given that I'm well past 20 laptops... Plus now that I can have my Motion and Vegas on the same machine, I'm lovin' it.

Hey, I'm all for utlitarian reasons. I just don't buy the "look." Small matter.

Plus now that I can have my Motion and Vegas on the same machine, I'm lovin' it.

And now there is even a plug-in that allows you to do realtime nodal compositing in Motion.

Once you try nodal compositing, it's hard to go back to regular hidden effect and filter stacks. It's just so much easier to see what you're doing, especially while working in realtime.

It's basically building and modifying a flowchart live, very intuitive to use.

I just bought it, love it!

Have you upgraded the firmware? and did that make a difference in the heat? I really would like to get the Mac Book Pro, but I'm concerned about setting it on my lap.

Mine was warm during load but never too hot.

Other users on macnn.com have reported that the firmware update fixed the problem.

DSE, i finally saw how motion works. it's practically the same as particle illusion. better controls tho. the peeps at particle illusion help make motion?