Switching from PC to OS X

[jasonfarbman]

Finally getting rid of the crappy Dell I've been trying to record on now I've inherited an almost-new MacBook (2 ghx Intel Core Duo, 2GB RAM). I am still swimming around in the shallow end, trying to get up to speed on this OS. I do have some questions I was hoping folks might have answers to, as I have to get rid of my PC laptop soon:

I primarily use Ableton Live, but with some pretty big VSTs like Symphonic Instrument and Trilogy Bass. I don't know how/if I can move them to OS X, so I was thinking of using as a stopgap Boot Camp/Parallels/VMWare Fusion to run XP on my MacBook. I've read some reports that say Boot Camp is the fastest, followed fairly closely by VMWare fusion. I haven't seen anything regarding music, has anyone had experience trying to record/mix on one of these (esp. with VSTs)?

And also, I was very happy with the Echo Indigo I had... but this MacBook doesn't have a PC slot. BOO. Should I be looking for something firewire/usb2? I'm not that familiar with firewire at all..

THANKS,
Jason

[stratology]

Hi Jason,

- VSTs for Mac and PC are different - check your software install CDs to see if Mac versions are included. If Audio Unit versions are included, use those instead of VST.

- to get started on the Mac, get David Pogue's "Missing Manual for Mac OS X" - easy to read, and it will get you up to speed in no time

- for audio interfaces, go for FireWire rather than USB. USB is ok for printers, scanners,...

Enjoy your Mac....

Frank