Six Ways to Soup Up Your Computer for Video Editing (page 3)
Sidebar Two: Making the Most out of Mac OS X
Does OS X really offer the stability and power of Unix with a friendly Mac interface? Many video editors applaud the OS X solution, especially now that Apple ships all of its Macintosh desktop computers with dual processors (that's "faster render times" in English). Even so, there are a few things every OS X user should know in order to get things running as smoothly as possible.
- Don't set up your system to dual-boot with OS 9.X. This is probably the hardest pill to swallow, because not every piece of hardware and software has caught up with OS X. We are confident, however, that all of the major players will soon be on board. Consider building a new, sleek system from the ground up, software and all, and make it 100 per cent OS X compliant.
- Turn off animations. Perhaps the most obvious of these is the Dock animation, which makes program icons appear larger as you move the mouse pointer over the Dock. Turn this and other animations off using the System Preferences application.
- Select programs that address dual processors. Apple's Final Cut Pro software will make use of both processors in a new desktop Macintosh, but not all software will. Check to make sure yours does before you make a purchase. This will make the extra money you pay for a dual-processor Mac worth the investment.
