Finale 2008 for MAC look "prettier" than Windows?

[BlueMax]

I know I may sound lame for even asking, but I tried out the trial version of Finale for Windows 2008 and the notes on the page are still the same pixelated crudely-drawn notes from 10 years ago.

Does the Mac version have nice, smooth, anti-aliased edges yet?

I'm on the verge of abandoning PC for Mac anyways, so I'm hoping Finale will look better in the process. ;)


...anyone? 0-||

[Michael_uk]

I know I may sound lame for even asking, but I tried out the trial version of Finale for Windows 2008 and the notes on the page are still the same pixelated crudely-drawn notes from 10 years ago.

Does the Mac version have nice, smooth, anti-aliased edges yet?

I'm on the verge of abandoning PC for Mac anyways, so I'm hoping Finale will look better in the process. ;)


...anyone? 0-||
Hello BlueMax

I have Finale 2008 for Windows and the notes look fine to me.

It would be interesting to know if any of our other Finale user members find the same problem.

[darrob]

Hi

I'm using Fin2k8 as well.

I have no problems with the note display. They look crisp with nice smooth edges.

BlueMax, what resolution are you running at?

[BlueMax]

1280x1024

The notes in all views were blocky-looking, the way fonts do without "ClearType" enabled. Maybe it's a demo thing, or maybe it's me expecting too much....

Kellysmusicandcomputers.com says this:

Macintosh Enhancements

State-of-the-Art Enhancements – Finale runs natively on both Intel- and PowerPC- based Macintosh computers. Finale was the first notation software to take full advantage of today’s most powerful computing programs.

Mac Momentum – Both Mac Intel and PowerPC users will experience speed and redraw enhancements in Finale.

Mighty Mouse Support – Mac-friendly support for horizontal and vertical scrolling makes viewing your score easier and faster.

Embedded Fonts in Mac EPS files – Finale embeds TrueType and OpenType fonts as well as Postscript fonts. This ensures that your files look and print the same for others as they do for you. (available with Macintosh OS 10.4 and higher)

Roll-Over Tool Tips – Just mouse-over an icon to view a tool tip.

Smoother On-Screen Graphics (anti-aliasing) – Slurs, beams and other graphics have the same smooth appearance on-screen as they do when printed.

Well why on earth wouldn't the Windows version have it too? :( Good reason to switch at least. :)

[BlueMax]

Yep. It's official.

http://www.finalemusic.com/Finale/features/notation/macintosh.aspx

http://www.finalemusic.com/images/Mac2k5black2.gifbefore

http://www.finalemusic.com/images/Mac2k6black2.gifafter Finale 2007, 2008 MAC ONLY

[qccowboy]

I think the "enhancements" you are looking at are improvmenets in how Mac handles the graphics and have nothing to do with any comparison with the results on a PC.

Mac users had been complaing for years that the graphics were not as good on Mac as under Windows. MM did something about it. This isn't a "one up" of the Mac version over the Windows version.

In reality, on my Windows PC, Finale looks considerably BETTER than either of those two images taken from a Mac.

However, the important thing is the end result: the printed page.

My PC cost me $900. It's a duel core, 3.4 Mghz machine, has 2 gig of RAM, a HUGE hard drive, and it runs Finale like I'm playing solitaire (in other words: very smoothly)! Oh, and that included my 20" flatscreen wide-screen monitor.

An equivalent Mac would have cost me over $3000.

My suggestion is: sure go ahead, spend three times as much money for a perceived difference in on screen resolution. Oh, and read the Mac side of the Finale forums a bit. You'll see that things are NOT running quite as smoothly there.

[qccowboy]

1280x1024
Roll-Over Tool Tips – Just mouse-over an icon to view a tool tip.




By the way... the Windows version has had this since version 2006 :p

[BlueMax]

I think the "enhancements" you are looking at are improvmenets in how Mac handles the graphics and have nothing to do with any comparison with the results on a PC.

Mac users had been complaing for years that the graphics were not as good on Mac as under Windows. MM did something about it. This isn't a "one up" of the Mac version over the Windows version.

In reality, on my Windows PC, Finale looks considerably BETTER than either of those two images taken from a Mac.

However, the important thing is the end result: the printed page.

My PC cost me $900. It's a duel core, 3.4 Mghz machine, has 2 gig of RAM, a HUGE hard drive, and it runs Finale like I'm playing solitaire (in other words: very smoothly)! Oh, and that included my 20" flatscreen wide-screen monitor.

An equivalent Mac would have cost me over $3000.

My suggestion is: sure go ahead, spend three times as much money for a perceived difference in on screen resolution. Oh, and read the Mac side of the Finale forums a bit. You'll see that things are NOT running quite as smoothly there.

Your vehement reply seems to skip over my intention completely. I was hoping the Windows version would be anti-aliased and smooth and pretty-looking on the SCREEN as well as the printed page. I (unlike you) am not as concerned about the print, since I need Finale for composing to a nice audio format, and won't be printing anything for anybody.

In this day and age, anti-aliased screen fonts are in just about every other program, so why not Finale?

BTW - it's impossible for your system to look better than one of those two examples - especially since it's equal to the first image. That's just the way the software is. Period. You want visual enhancements while you go, it's Mac or bust.

Oh... and my iMac would have only cost me a lousy $600. a 20" iMac of near-equivalent specs of your PC would have cost around $1500.

It's good to know that the Windows version of Finale is apparently running smoothly... it's odd that Mac would be having trouble - especially since mac owners often tout their platform runs much smoother overall...

[qccowboy]

I'm sorry, you are of course right.
I couldn't care less what it looks like on screen, I print my music. And I don't need to look at it while it plays back.
I don't find the screen result particularly offensive, however. And it certainly would not be enough to make me change platforms, particularly to one that seems to be having so many identity-crisis linked ones these days.

As for my price comparison between a PC and a Mac, well, that's based on shopping last year. A Mac equivalent to the one I have would cost me three times as much as my PC did.

[BlueMax]

If you went Mac Pro instead of iMac, you're right on price.


Moot point, since I've just discovered Sibelius does look pretty in Windows. )(~

Well, that settles it for me. It's still gonna' work great with GPO and look nice too - without having to switch platforms, which is a good thing since cash is always tight.

[raweber]

I had to open Finale and look because I couldn't remember. Sure enough, the beams &tc. are not anti-aliased. I guess it didn't make too much of an impression on me.

There are plenty of good reasons to go Mac, but for me this wouldn't be one of them...

[darrob]

I would also prefer to stay with Finale.
Sibelius may look better on screen, but frankly the printed output is nowhere near the quality of Finale. Audio output is streets ahead of Sib. HP leaves the Sib equivalent for dead.

Cheers...

Daz :0)

[Skysaw]

Sibelius may look better on screen, but frankly the printed output is nowhere near the quality of Finale.
Can you go into more detail of what the differences in printed output may be? I use Sibelius 5, and I think the output is fantastic (and I'm pretty darned picky). I don't care so much about the playback, since I use a sequencer for that.

[Jeff Turner]

I believe that both programs can only produce output based on the level of the individual using it. Both can produce extremely bad out as well as extremely professional.

One specific area that I prefer Finale's output is slurs. In Finale you have much more control over the look of a slur. That might not be important to everyone, but it's essential to me.

The Sibelius approach of making things as simple for the user as possible, takes away some choices, leaving the user to accept Sib's way of doing things.

Finale's approach has been to give more choices to the users, resulting in a program that has been criticized for being too difficult to learn.

However in recent versions, it appears to me that both programs are taking ideas from each other, and the competition is good for the user.

Jeff

FWIW, I'm on a Mac, and I turn off the anti-aliasing in Finale. I like the screen display without it.