Help me pick an operating system

[stephen]

Hi,
I am primarilly a Mac user, but I have a dual 750mhz Intel box that I used to run Linux on sitting around doing nothing.

I also have a copy of XP Home Edition that I can install on it.

My question is, Should I install the latest Linux on it and run Moho on that, or should I install XP and run Moho on that?

I am interested strictly in Moho issues. I do not need to know why one OS is better than the other. Just, does Moho run better on one over the other?

Thanks
Stephen

[jorgy]

Okay, here we go......

I have been using UNIX for nearly 20 years, and Linux for almost 10. I do not like Microsoft, and I bought my first PC (vs. a mac) to run Linux. I am very pro-linux, and run linux on my desktop even at work (a MS shop) with VMware for outlook, etc.

Having said that, I would recommend that you go with XP on your box. Please ignore the screams of the linux penguin avatar. But yes, for one reason: you are going to run moho. The linux version of moho is excellent, and comes with all the great support you expect from Lost Marble. However, the lack of quicktime is a serious problem. You cannot export to quicktime, or avi, you cannot use the new F5 preview function, you cannot load a soundtrack. Your only choice for exporting video is to flash, but then you don't have any shading or other nice things that moho gives you. These are serious limitations, not of moho, but of the linux multimedia platform as it is now.

My workflow now consists of linux and XP. I do most of my drawing and animating in linux, and then to generate any output I run moho inside of VMware.

I do, however, have a way to generate mpeg from stills exported from moho. Let me know if you're interested. It takes a lot of disk space, but works quite well.

Feel free to ask any more questions. I have been using both linux and XP versions of moho for several months now.

[stephen]

Thanks. I definitely need to be able to generate quicktime or .avi. Right now I am generating quicktime on my Mac, and could use the XP version to generate .avi.

In some cases though, I would probably not want to re-render just to get .avi files. Does anybody know if there are Mac Quicktime to .avi converters out there? Does Quicktime Pro do this?

Thanks
Stephen

[Lost Marble]

You don't have to use AVI just because you're using Windows. The Windows version of Moho can export QuickTime as well, and most video editors will work with both formats.

[stephen]

You don't have to use AVI just because you're using Windows. The Windows version of Moho can export QuickTime as well, and most video editors will work with both formats.

Great. I did not know that since I have not tried the XP version yet. Why does the Mac version not output AVI then?

Right now I have a Mac and can only make Quicktime (Flash is not an option for me). But I have someone who wants to see my work who can only view AVI. They refuse to install Quicktime So I guess I'll be installing XP on my Intel box and buying Moho for XP, unless someone can come up with a way to convert Quicktime to AVI on a Mac for me.

Stephen

[Lost Marble]

QuickTime Pro on Windows can convert QuickTime to AVI, but I'm not sure about QuickTime Pro on Mac.

As far as exporting AVI on the Mac, QuickTime is just The Way on a Mac. QuickTime is supported on Windows because it requires no effort - the QuickTime support on Windows is just as complete as it is on the Mac. Creating AVI files on a Mac is just more of a contorted process.

[Yooperville]

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/products ... tions.html

Save $30 by investigating:

http://handbrake.m0k.org/

Can't vouch for that, but it was on MacUpdate. Might be other options out there. If you end up considering QT Pro, consider waiting. Doesn't look like QT Pro 6 licenses will work with QT Pro 7 (10.4).

http://apple.weblogsinc.com/entry/1234000567033549/

Best of luck -- Greg.