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tbdbitl
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri May 27, 2016 2:36 am
Operating System: Windows

Post by tbdbitl » Sun Jan 05, 2020 9:30 pm

Hello fellow forum members. I don't really have a Finale problem, but I am looking for your assistance/opinions. My current computer - a Lenovo Laptop, dies a quick and apparently painless death yesterday - details are not important. I am looking for a replacement, and the option to change platforms is being considered - I live with a number of Apple users, and am considering an Apple MacBook Pro as an option.

MY questions to you all are as follows:

1. What do you use?

1.a If you use an Apple product, what do you like about it. If you prefer a different platform (Intel) - tell me about that. Please note - I am only considering Apple and Intel PC/Laptop devices - no Unix or Linux.

2. How much hardware do you think is required? I currently have at least 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage available. I am not afraid to configure a machine that will meet my needs.

3. Are there problems to moving my work from the old machine to a new one - in other words - are fFinale files portable from one machine to another - In other words, can I read my PC Finale files on a MAC Finale system?

4. Lastly, I am an up to date license holder for V26 of Finale - is there a cost to move from one platform to another - do I have to pay for a new license, since I am running on a new OS? I am assuming that if I get another new PC, I can move the software to the new machine; is the same true if I move to a Mac from a PC.

Thanks in advance for your assistance - it is well appreciated.

Jerry


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michelp
Posts: 2045
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2003 3:35 pm
Finale Version: 27.4.1,26.3.1, Mont.
Operating System: Mac

Post by michelp » Sun Jan 05, 2020 11:54 pm

1. A matter of taste...
2. 16 Gb should be fine, unless you use tons of sound libraries. Storage : you should know what your needs are.
RAM : for Apple, you may have to decide when you buy which amount of RAM you want (no later upgrade possible in some models), depending on the computer you chose. Double check that.
3. No problem, files are compatible between Mac and PC.
4. You have 2 authorizations, Mac and/or PC. No extra payment. Don't forget to unauthorize on the computers you stop using.
Michel
MacOsX 12.7.4, Finale 27.4.1 & 26.3.1, Mac Mini Intel Dual Core i7 3Ghz, 16 Go Ram. Azerty kb. MOTU Midi Express XT USB, Roland Sound Canvas SC-88vl, MOTU Audio Express. 2 monitors (27"' pivot, 24'"), JW Lua, RGP Lua

tbdbitl
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri May 27, 2016 2:36 am
Operating System: Windows

Post by tbdbitl » Mon Jan 06, 2020 2:30 am

Michelp -

Thanks for the prompt reply. On the item about the license - it's too late to unauthorize the one license I have - the laptop seems to be very dead. No way to declare it so - maybe some proof?

Thanks again!

Jerry

Nick Mazuk
Posts: 181
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2018 12:29 am
Finale Version: Finale 26
Operating System: Mac

Post by Nick Mazuk » Mon Jan 06, 2020 4:38 am

Couple things:

1. You can unothorize copies of Finale from your Makemusic account. That way, you can still have two copies of Finale you can use.
2. macOS is Unix based. And all flavors of Linux are also based on Unix. If you don't want Unix, Windows computers are your only option. Maybe you just meant you don't want to configure Unix from scratch?

As for your questions:

1. I use a mid-2015 Macbook Pro. 16Gb ram, 1TB storage. Works well with Finale and a host of other programs simultaneously.

1a. I do use Apple. However, in the Laptop space, I'd personally only consider their new 16 inch Macbook pro. For anything else, your fingers will hurt after 15 minutes of use, no physical escape key (vital in Finale), lots of overheating issues. With that said, I can't live without macOS. Super easy to be a poweruser with Keyboard Maestro as well as many other system preferences. Also, it's often much faster than Windows from my experience (yours may very). macOS is very stable in my experience. I can't speak much to their desktops.

2. According to Finale, you need 4GB RAM and 9GB of storage for the program and Garritan sounds.

https://makemusic.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/ ... n-Products

16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage should be good. However, both RAM and storage are quite cheap nowadays. I'd personally get as much of both as you're willing to pay. But that's just me. If you use cloud storage, you could easily get less local storage.

I don't know your current computer uses, but Finale files are typically very small. However, audio files are very large. It's not uncomming to have 10-100 MB audio files, but rare to get a 1MB Finale file (usually, much smaller).

Michel answered your other questions.
Nick

BuonTempi
Posts: 1297
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2010 8:59 am
Finale Version: Finale 27
Operating System: Mac

Post by BuonTempi » Mon Jan 06, 2020 7:45 am

tbdbitl wrote:
Sun Jan 05, 2020 9:30 pm
1.a If you use an Apple product, what do you like about it. If you prefer a different platform (Intel) - tell me about that. Please note - I am only considering Apple and Intel PC/Laptop devices - no Unix or Linux.
Just to clarify the terminology: Intel makes chip hardware: Both Apple's MacOS and Microsoft's Windows run on Intel CPUs. You could buy an Apple laptop and run MacOS, Windows or Linux on it. Or all three! Furthermore, MacOS is certified Unix™ (underneath), whereas Linux is Unix-like. MacOS gives the advantages of having commercial software like Photoshop and Finale, as well as all the open source Unixy stuff for the geeks.

I've used Macs since the 80s, and I find Windows completely alien. The main selling point of Macs has always been ease of use. This include high levels of automation: you can easily get the computer to do stuff for you (which, after all, is the whole point of computers). Built-in, easy-to-use features, are everywhere, like Time Machine, the backup software, which is worth its weight in gold.

The hardware is (with the odd exception) broadly very reliable, there is excellent customer service, and the OS is designed to work with the hardware. No tedious messing about with drivers, or installation choices. Audio latency is consequently very low, which is why Macs are used in audio work a lot.

If you have an iPhone or iPad, syncing your files and data between Mac and device is also completely automatic.

While there are occasional lapses, Apple has long prided itself on stuff that 'just works', and I think that's broadly true.

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David Ward
Posts: 814
Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2016 4:48 pm
Finale Version: F 25.5 & 26.3
Operating System: Mac

Post by David Ward » Mon Jan 06, 2020 8:16 am

Nick Mazuk wrote:
Mon Jan 06, 2020 4:38 am
… … …

1a. I do use Apple. However, in the Laptop space, I'd personally only consider their new 16 inch Macbook pro. For anything else, your fingers will hurt after 15 minutes of use, no physical escape key (vital in Finale), lots of overheating issues. … … …
Doesn't the escape button appear automatically on the touch bar when Finale is in use?

Hurting fingers & overheating may not be everyone's experience. The 13 in MacBook Pro should be perfectly usable with Finale when travelling etc if easy compact packing &c is important, but might not be ideal for long term desk/studio work unless linked to a full-sized bluetooth keyboard and independent monitor (which are very easy to set up).
Finale 25.5 & 26.3
Mac 10.13.6 & 10.14.6

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ebiggs1
Posts: 1424
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 8:57 am
Finale Version: Finale 27.3
Operating System: Windows

Post by ebiggs1 » Mon Jan 06, 2020 5:22 pm

I was a beta tester for a large well known software company for 5 years and I can confidently say 80% of all problems come from the Mac side. This and the fact Mac's cost twice what a PC does eliminates them from my choice. IMHO, of course. Actually when the software, Finale, is running there isn't a great deal of difference between the two. So, that make that part of the choice a toss up.

My personal laptop is a Gateway 17". I had some laptops with smaller screens, 14" and 15", but they are so limiting I never liked them. A 13" would be miserable in my estimation. I guess the keyboard is better on the newest Mac but some of the previous ones were horrible.
Finale 27.4.1 - Perfect Layout Silver - Note Performer 4.4 - SmartScore Pro 64 - Windows 11
President, The Shawnee Concert Band, Composer/Arranger, retired Music Teacher.

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motet
Posts: 8225
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 8:33 pm
Finale Version: 2014.5,2011,2005,27
Operating System: Windows

Post by motet » Mon Jan 06, 2020 5:26 pm

One caveat about the Mac platform seems to be that from time to time Apple issues new versions of the Mac operating system such that older versions of Finale break, so you are forced to choose between not upgrading the OS or upgrading Finale to the latest version. Windows doesn't seem to have this problem (I still occasionally run Finale 2005 on old files on the latest version of Windows). If you like to keep up to date anyway, then this is probably not an issue, but it could mean the occasional forced Finale upgrade at $100+.

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MikeHalloran
Posts: 706
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Finale Version: 27
Operating System: Mac

Post by MikeHalloran » Mon Jan 06, 2020 6:01 pm

I worked a Windows support desk for years. I’m still fluent in it and help my clients but never again for my needs. Never ever ever ever...

A 16GB MBP with 512GB storage is more than enough for Finale — but is it enough for your other needs? Without knowing what they are, no one can answer. As for Finale, plugins and additional apps (especially browsers) like more RAM. Since you plan to keep it as long as possible, maxing out the RAM on a MBP is not a bad idea since it isn’t upgradable later.

As for storage, you want your system, apps and all active files on your System/Boot drive. Because of APFS Snapshots, if your Mac were to crash completely or you were to completely screw something up (I do a lot of beta testing), your complete system can be restored to any point within the previous 24 hours in a minute or two. You can store any VIs, streaming music, movies on external drives but why?

I have a 8GB RAM 500GB 2012 MBP running Catalina. It works with Finale ok but 8GB RAM and a half T storage is really not enough for me — even for a portable. As is, it’s my test machine. The real work is done on a 14 core iMac Pro with 2TB onboard and 128GB RAM with a pair of 27” 4K monitors on the side. Overkill for Finale? Uh yea... but adequate for my other needs.
Mike Halloran

Finale 27.3, SmartScore X2 Pro, GPO5 & World Instruments
MacOS Ventura 13.2.1; 2017 iMac Pro 18 Core, 128G RAM, 4TB; 2021 MBAir M1
NotePerformer3, Dorico 4, Overture, Notion 6, DP 11, Logic Pro

Paul Brainard
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2017 2:07 pm
Finale Version: 26.3.1.520(.642 Mac)
Operating System: Windows

Post by Paul Brainard » Tue Jan 21, 2020 3:18 pm

1. I have it installed on both Windows & Mac

1.a I find the workflow much better in general on the PC/Windows, it seems to me that there are lots of little time-saving differences - I mostly use Speedy Entry (and I prefer the more option-oriented nature of the PC environment vs. the more limited interface of the mac OS.) But, printing parts to PDFs is much better on the mac, since PDF support is built in to the OS (on PC you have to get a third-party add-on like Bullzip to batch-print parts, and then you end up with file naming anomalies. . .) So I often do most of my work on PC and then final formatting & pdf creation on the mac.

2. Other than a larger hard drive I would say you have plenty of horsepower, I don't find it to be a very CPU-demanding program

3. Files are very portable between OS versions, but the main issue I run into is with instrument payback assignments - often I have to go through and reassign this in the Aria player or Score Manager.

4. You are allowed to install it two places, so you can have it on your PC and Mac simultaneously. Or a laptop and desktop, etc. . .

In general of course I wish MM would bring the two platforms more into sync with each other - for instance the way you change a note to a rest, or delete an entry is needlessly different - but then I also recognize that they are trying to keep things in line with the way users from each camp are used to things working, which is often not the same. I'm not sure how many of us are truly cross-platform users.

Jetcopy
Posts: 91
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2017 8:40 pm
Finale Version: Finale 2012, 25, 26
Operating System: Mac

Post by Jetcopy » Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:21 pm

Also consider, do you collaborate with other Finale users? If so, staying on the same platform makes life easier if custom fonts are being used. I engrave for US publishers on learned early on that Mac was vital for doing this work. If this is all for your personal use, then use what you like. I switched to Mac 18 years ago and never looked back.

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Peter Thomsen
Posts: 6601
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2003 6:47 pm
Finale Version: Finale v27.4
Operating System: Mac

Post by Peter Thomsen » Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:47 pm

Paul Brainard wrote:
Tue Jan 21, 2020 3:18 pm
1. I have it installed on both Windows & Mac

1.a I find the workflow much better in general on the PC/Windows, it seems to me that there are lots of little time-saving differences - I mostly use Speedy Entry (and I prefer the more option-oriented nature of the PC environment vs. the more limited interface of the mac OS.) But, printing parts to PDFs is much better on the mac, since PDF support is built in to the OS (on PC you have to get a third-party add-on like Bullzip to batch-print parts, and then you end up with file naming anomalies. . .) …
Instead of printing to PDF (which indeed is built into the Mac OS), try exporting as PDF from Mac Finale’s Graphics Tool.
It is a little faster than printing to PDF.
And resulting PDF file is true Black-and-White (= smaller file size for the PDF file).
Mac OS X 12.6.9 (Monterey), Finale user since 1996

Paul Brainard
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2017 2:07 pm
Finale Version: 26.3.1.520(.642 Mac)
Operating System: Windows

Post by Paul Brainard » Wed Jan 22, 2020 4:00 pm

Yes but it will only export the current part or score, not the entire set. Also, it doesn't include the part name in the file name this way. And, it creates larger files than other methods.

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