I have an order for an iBook in, and expect it delivered in a few weeks. I am wondering how much different it will feel/work compared to on my Windows laptop?
It’s a 12" iBook with 512MB ram and 1,33ghz cpu. I am not too familiar with the diefferences of mac and os x, but will this setup perform better then my laptop with 1,4Ghz AMD CPU and 256MB Ram?
Are there are major differences in working with Renoise in OS X than in Windows?
Well, because you have more RAM it will perform better, that’s for sure.
Windows interface “feels” faster and cheaper. If you have no experience with OS X you might find it sluggish compared to windows, but it performs well once you get use to it.
There are way more VSTs on Windows, the windows version Renoise version is (sometimes) faster if you have good PC peripherals but other than that, there isn’t much difference.
It’s a learning curve. I am writing this from an OS X machine. I used to use windows, I don’t anymore. I prefer OS X now.
Good luck.
i was also thinking about getting an used powerbook (pismo). mainly because with osx i wouldn’t need an extra audio interface because of core audio (as far is i understood it, core audio is capable of pretty low latency.)
but i also read that the new windows vista (release in 2006) will have “audio stack”, which as far as i got this right is a similar approach. no more need fore directx and stuff, but i could be wrong.
so i’ll wait a little more, read a little more, and see what the people who are testing the betas of vista have to say about it. (hopefully some who also run music-producing related software. 
)
i have an ibook also with similar specs, if i was you i would upgrade the ram off the flip, asap.
the osx window manager is very nice and clean, it gives me the idea of a perfect marriage of what windows an linux could be. if youve ever used linux for sound then you would know what i mean.
renoise on osx has only one main problem spanning 1.5-1.5.1
if you run out of battery and/or you go into sleep mode your f****ed. (so dont close the lid while renoise is running)
as long as you keep to that rule until whenever its fixed then you wont be regretting not continually saving your work.
i have ran into some strange problems with 1.5.1 it might be due to using 10.3.9 or not, no one seems to know, so i continue to use 1.5.
other then that, osx renoise is whikkid.
Well, I have (as low as) 5ms latency on my WinXP laptop, with the onboard souncard (Directsound). In Renoise.
But there might be some other advantages on OSX as far as sound is concerned.
I have an ibook for 4 years. So I can tell you a few tips about OSX.
I think OS X allready looks great 
I have external USB mouse which I’ve been using on my current laptop, so I will probably be using it with the iBook as well 
As for VST’s i’ve noticed that there aren’t too many available, at least not for free. I can probably survive well enough though, perhaps even consider buying a softsynth or two if I come across some really really great ones
About beeing organized, that’s no problem either, since my main operating system for the past five years has been Linux
Thanks for all your feedback people.
i started using renoise on a new powerbook about 6 months ago. i’m really happy with it as a portable tracking machine. also i’ve had no problems suspending the computer while renoise is running. the machine sleeps and wakes up in about 2 seconds each way, and due to the efficiency of the active memory dumps, i can usually pick right up where i left off in renoise after a sleep (ie: closing the lid) and a second or two. i don’t have an iBook, i have Powerbook (1.5ghz, 512mb RAM, and 64meg video Ram). one thing that just about all apple laptops will give you that most pc ones don’t is dedicated video memory. many pc laptops still use shared video memory which is not as fast (it actually kind of sucks). for this and the coreaudio component i’d say that in my experience, an apple laptop is a better portable renoise host than the PC. unless it’s like an Acer Ferrari or something…
what version are you running? i’m using 10.3.9 an i dont have a dvd drive so i’ll be using it for quite sometime.
tho i’m curious, if there is any difference between 10.4 & the other with renoise.
both my 500mhz an my 1ghz ibooks both display the same probelm with the sleep thing, but they also are both running 10.3.9.
wuZup guys. 
I had a lot of Mac VSTs, but they were for OS9. A buddy gave me a pira8ted copy of Cubase (which I never use that lame program! but I took the VSTs). The OS9 VSTs don’t work on OSX. (didn’t think they would, it crashed player pro when I tried it)
There are a lot of nice shapeshifter appearance themes (if you own a mac, I recommend that program), but I also found objectdock and object desktop for my windows computer at work, and it’s tight. (Windows Vista looks good too)
Lol, Guest, I guess you don’t have to be THAT organized with mac (especially if you use tiger), but so much is set up in ‘favorites’ folders and when you usually open a file, it defaults to those folders.
I run renoise on a mac mini with a gig of ram and it blows my windows laptop out of the water. You’ll get the same satisfaction from renoise on a mac as a pc, except for the lack of vst/i (free ones in particular are few and far between), but it’s not a huge problem, arm yourself with a few good softsynths and effects and it’s all you need really.
Sh.t, does anyone know about the comparable or replacement VSTi on MAC to these favorites I have on PC???
Are there any good ones out there for MAC?