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Oops, correct.  Thanks for the catch ida

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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, and then there’s additional hidden costs with buying a windows license to run bootcamp (rebooting into windows) or purchasing a windows license and parallels to run windows and os x side by side.  That’s a couple extra hundred bucks right there to get windows running on the mac.

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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 work seamlessly.  I deployed a small scale vpn at an office I worked at so that the principals could log in and do work from home or on the road.

If you want a seamless office network for remote and “hub” workers, the VPN is far and away your best option.  Cloud sync/storage utilities like Dropbox do not support the AutoCAD lock files, and you can quickly find yourself in file management and xref hell.  The one caveat for the VPN solution is that everyone will need a speedy internet connection, especially for uploading files back to the hub.

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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

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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 the program is not 64-bit, then it will not be able to fully take advantage of all the ram.

As for the processor, any i7 will run these apps simultaneously like a champ.  If you’re really looking for performance out of this rig, look for a combination of high clock speed and large L2 and L3 cache sizes.  Cache sizes can seriously improve a processor’s performance.

 

Also, don’t skimp on the video card.  Whatever you do, do not settle for an Intel graphics chip.  Get either an AMD/ATI or NVIDIA card….I personally prefer NVIDIA, but either will get the job done.  There are a lot of cards out there with 1gb of memory, and I tend to look at the number of stream processors as the main deciding factor for video card purchases.

 

It all depends how much money you have to drop on this machine, and if you really want to have the highest performance components out there.  Let me know if you’ve got more questions.

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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 larger harddrive.

Macs have good hardware across the board…I believe they all use nvidia graphics chips across the board now, which are very powerful chips. Maxing out the ram in these machines can get super pricey, but with a little know-how it usually isn’t too hard to get additional ram from newegg.com or the like and save a ton of money. Apple jacks the price way up for ram bought through them. As has already been mentioned, Macs will not run ArcGIS or AutoCAD, and running them under virtualizers and the like is far from ideal, as Sousake mentioned You can dual-boot with windows and just switch between OSes when you need the different apps — again, far from ideal, especially from a data sharing standpoint. As always you will pay a premium for the “design” of a Mac.

A Windows machine will run all the applications…I don’t know of any Mac-only landscape architecture-related apps. And Windows 7 is a huge improvement over all the earlier versions of Windows. You can also build out a comparable Windows desktop or laptop for at least $1k less than a Mac, if not cheaper.

As far as the 64bit / memory issue goes….A 32bit OS is limited to only being able to recognize a little more than 3GB worth of memory, even if you have more installed. A 64bit OS can recognize more ram that you can even fit in any consumer computer. However, it is important to note that in order to use all that ram, the individual programs that you run must be built for 64bit. Otherwise, these programs themselves are similarly limited to about 3GB of memory. Adobe CS4, for instance, is all 32bit (with the exception of a 64bit version of photoshop), so each program is still limited to 3gb for itself. While those individual programs might not be able to take up more ram, you still benefit from having the additional ram and being able to multi-task easily with many programs open at once, which can be veeery helpful.

It’s hard to make a recommendation for what kind of computer you should get…It depends on the software you plan on using, and what kind of portability you want to get out of the machine, not to mention budget. If you’ll be using mostly Vectorworks, a mac is a safe bet because Adobe apps and sketchup will run just fine on a mac. If you’ll be mostly using AutoCAD, go with the Windows computer to save yourself time, money, and hassle. Hope this helps, I’d be more than happy to answer any other questions. (Sorry for the ridiculously long post, haha)

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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 helpful:

http://nparc.cisti-icist.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/npsi/ctrl?action=shwart&index=an&req=5751909&lang=en
http://nparc.cisti-icist.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/npsi/ctrl?action=shwart&index=an&req=5751909&lang=en

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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.

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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.

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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/

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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?

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

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

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