I know (or at least think I know) that MAC's won't run .exe files like a pc. What I am wondering is how poser files such as a general freebie would differ? Are there still pz3 & cr2 files, etc? 

After seeing what some of the higher end programs can do on a MAC ... I'm leaning towards converting just as long as all my poser goodies can come too!

What higher end programs on the mac are better then higher end programs on the pc?

Poser file format is identicakl on both systems, BTW.

To be perfectly honest, expect to pay more for MAC software than PC.  Many titles just don't exist for both platforms.  That's where the intel chip bridges the gap.

Price might not be an issue for her.

I know I can't afford twice the mount of money for the same horesepower here, so I stick with windows till something else offers me the best bang for the buck.

Plus I really NEED many poser utilities that are windows only.

The newer Mac s will dual boot to either the Mac OS or windows xp so you can have it all.   I believe freebies need a utility called MacConverter but I have never understood just what it does.

I have been told to use MAC from the very beginning. I'm just looking to go faster (and be able to do a really detailed scene without my programs crashing or locking up)...I have a 2.93ghz with 1 ghz RAM and XP Pro ... its just not fast enough for Poser and forget about gaming.

Plus - I don't want to have to buy another version of software I already own. So the dual boot sounds tempting ... just as long as you can use whatever processor/memory power the MAC comes with on the PC side of things.

Quote - The newer Mac s will dual boot to either the Mac OS or windows xp so you can have it all.   I believe freebies need a utility called MacConverter but I have never understood just what it does.

I'm not sure that it is relevant to the newer versions of Poser and OS X, but the MacConverter adds what is called a "resource fork" to the files so it has extended information. In older versions of the Macintosh operating systems, files had two parts. A data fork (which contains all of the "stuff' in the file) and a resource fork which contains the file type and other information including the file's icon. This is why copying files back and forth from Mac and PC would ruin the mac files, since the resource fork would be lost in the process. However, OS X has moved away from using the resource fork and files are more "windows like", using extensions (e.g. *.jpg) to determine the file type, etc. Poser now uses PNG files for the icons that are displayed in the library, rather than storing the icon in the resource fork (or RSR files for windows, Poser 4).

I haven't used Poser 6 or 7 on a Mac lately and I am not sure if the MacConverter is still relevant. Perhaps someone else can comment on that?

As for performance, etc. (and I hope that this doesn't may start a flame war), on the exact same computer, if you install Windows XP via Boot Camp and OS X, Windows programs will be significantly faster than their Mac counterparts. As for my own software, Blacksmith3D, 99% of the code for the Windows and the Mac version is absolutely identical, but the Windows version runs significantly faster (on the same hardware).  

Well, you'll be able to afford a MUCH faster system much cheaper as a PC rather then a Mac.. also there is a TON of software just not available on a mac.

Might also want to check in your area.. for parts or service on a mac system, I'd have to dricve 2 hours away highway.. the nearest PC store is 15 minutes away local driving.

Looks like you are running older or slow hardware.. that's not the platform's fault, it's the hardware you actually own.

I just got a quad core sstem with vista 64 and 6 gig of ram for under $700 Something similar speed wise in a Mac will run you $1500-$2500.

Either a Mac or a PC will get you what you want, but you do need to seriously upgrade your hardware.

Most people now are buying a quad core or a 8 core system when they want processor speed.. your system has only one processor. Also, most systems now come with 4 gig at least.. you only have one gig. (and memry is dirt cheap now as well.. you can buy 4 gb for $30 shipped for PC memory.

Yer just running severly underpowered and are resource starved for what you want to do, I think

Either a PC or Mac upgrade will get you up to snuff.

Good points, y'all. Yeah .. my PC is old .. like two years old. LOL I guess I'd better start price shopping for new innard for this ole workhorse. :)

I use RSR converter. Told Poser 7 with the latest updates converts  rsr files on the fly. Have not tried it yet.  Old habits die hard. Real old Daz installers will not work on OSX. If you buy an item that has the older installer Daz basically says tuff beans. I redown and use the windows installers. Has become a minor pain. Whereas before I had an intel mac it was a major pain.

I do dual boot all the time and run XP for Morphing Clothes, TC2, XD3, etc. There are some real old Phyton scripts that have problems also, New ones seem to be cross platform for the most part.

File paths to assets like runtime/geometries/yadada/obj will not work. They have to be : instead of /.

My Intel mac has an older Nvidia card. I do have openGL issues from time to time. Have a new card on order. PoserPro rendering crashes if you have the monitor set to millions vs thousands of color. Hope the new card solves that. Might be my machine as it is first gen intel MacPro.

Mac un unpacking zips over write files unlike windows. Granted I install 100 percent by hand into over 20 some odd runtimes.. PhilC has an installer helper that stops that. But since I install by hand, I have never tried it.

Been a Mac head since Apple II's Used to the interface, etc. Each OS has it's pluses and minuses.

the main advantage to using OS X, now that one no longer needs windows to run windows
apps on a mac, is approx. 1.2 millions of spyware, trojans, rootkits, worms, viruses et al.
for windows, vs. approx 2 dozen for OS X.  unless one enjoys dealing with spyware, trojans,
rootkits, worms, viruses all day.

Poser hasn't used rsr files since P5 I think.

And many great deals can be had on computers right now.. check newegg, tiger direct and even best buy online for price comparisons.. the deals are so good now, that it wwas actually better for me to buy the same system at best buy instead of newegg.

On top of the base system, I upped the mempry to 8gb, and increased the power supply so it could handle the current video cards. The cost of the psu and memory was about $100 together, and then if you drop a good decent current video card in, add another $170 or so.

Kathym, if you're currently using a PC with Windows there's little point in switching. Modern PCs are more powerful than Apples, are more flexible, can usually be upgraded one piece at a time, and use newer technology. In addition, since the market is much larger the software tends to be cheaper both because they're selling more and because there is more competition. Plus there is competition in the hardware arena.

If you're using a Mac, there's also little point in switching. Since Apple switched to Intel processors the horsepower gap has shrunk dramatically.

There’s really no arguing the price. I bought a 1st gen Mac Pro and love it, but at the time and for my needs it was actually a good deal, since Windows had no quad core box back then.

Since Macs are Intel based these days, there are no compatibility issues with Poser files. My main OS is Vista x64, and I easily share Poser files between Panther and Vista. It’s a simple matter to install a virtual XP machine on a Mac, but no virtual OS will be of much use for serious CGI. The obvious choice then is a Windows installation through Boot Camp, which then plays with your brain as to which you’ll most favor.

As much as I love the elegance of the Mac, and appreciate programs such as Modo, which offers a dual license and runs so well in the OS X environment, inevitably there is always some Windows-only bit of software found needed that Boot (camps) me back over to Vista.

Quad core, loads of memory, and a BIG screen for little bucks. Hey, it could happen...

 Couple points should be clarified: 

• mac software is not more expensive than PC software. It's the same price. Please show  me where, because I've not seen a single mac prog that was more expensive than its PC counterpart. There are, however,  fewer utility programs compiled for mac (Texture Converter for example). But as mentioned, in a dual boot and / or virtual environments such as VMware can solve that.

• While I admit that most newer macs aren't 64 bit, I don't agree with the claim that PCs are more flexible or more powerful than mac. I'm not sure what the basis of the claim was. As far as the "upgradable" comment , just keep in mind that you'll never have to deal with OS / driver incompatibility issues because it's pretty well integrated.

Just to give you an example, I'm using a 15-month old Intel Imac v5.1 running a 128MB ATI card. This is the best part: the Imac is the processor and SECONDARY monitor - the primary monitor is a 26 inch Sony LCD TV. No problems here, no need for upgrades. 

But to answer your original question, pz3 (et al) files are platform independent, so you will have no problems using your Runtime on a mac. I created mine on a PC over the course of eleven  years and I can use anything in it on a mac.

Oh yeah, underneath the mac GUI is UNIX, an extremely stable OS which has been under development for nearly 40 years. I've crashed the system maybe once since I switched. 

My mac is pretty nice-I've been using poser on it for 3 years now. I hope to upgrade the ram in the next month or so, but otherwise, it's been a breath of fresh air. No noisy cheap hardware. No blue screens. And no having to fix broken OS. I restart every 2 or 3 weeks, usually because of a security patch. I spend very little time "configuring" the computer or fixing problems. I would rather spend a little more money for freedom of having to fix windows every month or two.

As for poser stuff. Your old stuff will work, as long as it's not from DAZ...in which  case, you just have to redownload the Mac version (or download something to let you run windows stuff from your mac...i.e. darwine).

If you are using P6 or older, you will need something to convert the odd package that only sends .RSRs instead of png thumbnails. I used a freebie for that, until P7 SR 3 came out (which I only used for thumbnails, until recently! :P )

I don't care about all those windows only programs, but with darwine, they would probably run just as well on my mac, as long as they aren't using openGL or directX, which I doubt they do. Some of the middle end applications would probably not work that way, though, since they probably would require 3d acceleration.

If you're used to a PC, it's probably easier to stick to PC. When it comes to raw hardware horsepower, PCs are somewhat cheaper than Macs, but not all that much. Macs used to be heavily overpriced, but since a couple of years their prices are far more reasonable - at least,, when you live in the US. Like many US companies, Apple overcharges non-US citizens.

PCs give you far, far more choices in hardware configuration. That's both an advantage and a disadvantage. You can get a PC precisely to the specs you want, but you'll have to do quite a bit of research to find out what components go well together. With Macs, the choices are limited, which makes it easier to choose. And you don't have to worry about components not playing nice together.

When it comes to upgrades and repairs, you're probably better off with a PC - just swap components and you're back up and running within a couple of hours. WIth a Mac, you carry the machine in (just as with laptops, both PC and Mac), and will have to do without for several weeks.

Software: there's more for PC than for the Mac. Some companies charge more for a Mac version than for the PC version, most don't. When a new piece of software hits the market, the Mac release is usually several months later than the PC release.

Running Bootcamp on a Mac: don't forget that you'll need a Windows license! And since you're not getting the license together with a piece of hardware, you'll have to pay the retail price - over 2 times as expensive as an OEM license. Makes running Bootcamp less attractive IMO.