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Oops, correct.  Thanks for the catch ida

I’d stick with a Windows machine.  You will need Windows if you want to work with ArcGIS or Rhino (the mac version of rhino isn’t ready for primetime yet, and addons like grasshopper won’t work in windows).  The mac version of AutoCAD is also missing some really useful commands.
If you go with a mac, you end up paying a premium for the design, a…[Read more]

The best option for you is to use a vpn (virtual private network) that workers will log in to.  The vpn will allow remote users to access a networked storage device as if they were in the office, xrefs and file management practices don’t have to change, AutoCAD lock files are respected by machines on the vpn, and landf/x license management will…[Read more]

A thesis done by a student at Virginia Polytechnic Institute might have some valuable insights, or at the very least a bibliography worth raiding: A Study of Landscape Architecture Design Methods by Christopher James Lidy

If you’re looking to have Photoshop, Illustrator, and AutoCAD all running simultaneously, RAM is probably going to be your biggest limiting factor.  Get as much as you can, and use 64-bit versions of the programs — Photoshop and AutoCAD are available as 64-bit (I’m sure the rest of the Adobe CS will transition to 64-bit in time as well).  If t…[Read more]

Processor speed, as much memory as possible, and a good graphics card are obviously the most important aspects of computer hardware for any design profession. Desktop machines have the benefit of being able to upgraded over time to make use of newer hardware, whereas laptops can not be upgraded beyond more (but usually not better) RAM, and a…[Read more]

This doesn’t relate directly to the Zinco system you’re talking about, but some of the best research on the energy/heat conservation aspect of green roofs has come out of the Canadian National Research Council.
These two articles in particular might be…[Read more]

Totally straightforward. Once the software shows up you go through a website where you shoot info to adobe proving you’re a student and they send back a serial number for the software. I was up and running within half a day once I got the package.

I’m in the same boat as you Jason, and I just picked up CS4 Design Pro and it’s great. Was 395 with shipping from studica.com . Haven’t looked back, it’s been very useful.

I came across a video a week or two ago that talks about seasonality. It’s an interview with two of the landscape architects who were working on the design for Chicago’s Millennium Park: http://www.thefutureschannel.com/dockets/hands-on_math/landscape_architects/

What about someone with just a bachelor’s of arts degree in, say, architectural studies and anthropology? Would it be difficult to get a job in landscape architecture without a BLA and make more sense to continue on right away to get an MLA?

The Language of Landscape by Anne Whiston Spirn is a great book worth looking into as well.

@Induct: have you found any good CAD software to run under Ubuntu or using wine?