This is often a hot topic on the Revit AUGI forums and it some times gets very heated! Whats better, Mac or PC? Well, I've been a long term Mac user as well as a Windows PC user. My first computer was a Macintosh LCII, if anybody can remember one of those? I've worked for companies which have used both platforms. I personally love the Mac environment, but I have learned to get on with PC's and the Windows platform. These days I don’t got too bothered about the platform wars, because to me its just an interface to your hardware, Revit as a BIM platform excites me more.
I meet a lot of architects and designers in my role and I have lost count how many have asked whether Revit runs on the Mac. A lot of architects still use Mac's, its just one of those design things. I live near Winchester, Hampshire,UK and this is a strong hold for architectural firms. I'd go as far as to say that over half of these are Mac users running Vectorworks. I'd love to see Autodesk port Revit to the Mac, but commercially I don’t think its viable, well that’s what Autodesk insiders have told me in the past.
However, the landscape has now changed and it all comes down to the fact that all current Apple hardware are based on Intel processors rather than the aging PowerPC. If anybody attended AU last year they will have noticed that Phil Read of Autodesk Consulting fame presented his Advanced Revit session on a Macbook Pro using Bootcamp, which allows him to boot between Mac OS X and Windows, so that he can run Revit on his Macbook.
Also, a company called Parallels Inc introduced virtualization software last year which allows you to run Mac OS X and Windows side by side. What is interesting is that the latest version of Parrallels has DirectX and OpenGL support, even going as far as saying on their website that Revit Architecture 2008 has been tested and works. I haven’t tried it myself, but I know a number of architects as well as Engineers who are working with Parrallels on a Mac and are more than happy with the performance.
http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/features/3d/
If you need to know more, its worth reading this article on Aecbytes from Scott Onstott as he has recently migrated from Windows to using Parrallels on a Mac Book Pro.
http://www.aecbytes.com/tipsandtricks/2007/issue22-WinonMac.html
So in summary, Revit will work on a Mac!! With that in mind, I know my next laptop will be a Macbook Pro. :-)
