Re: non-xywrite question about ram on an apple.

["Michael Edwards" mje@xxxxxxxx]

[Avrom Fischer:]

>My synagogue is buying an Apple iBookG4, model M9418LL/A laptop for our cantor
>at a cost of $1299. One of the programs he is getting is something called
>Sibelius which I understand is a music program. he may also do some recording
>on it.

   I can't directly answer your questions myself; but if anyone is going to be
using Sibelius seriously, they should join the Sibelius mailing list on Yahoo
Groups, which can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sibelius-list. From
what I've seen, many of the hundreds of members of the group are very
knowledgeable about the software, and about the technical computer issues
related to it. It does not officially represent Sibelius Music, nor is it run
by them, but a representative from the company does post there sometimes, and
answers people's questions.
   I suggest that your cantor join this mailing list, and that he ask
questions about RAM there, before committing expenditure this way or that.

   If the choice of music software is not already irreversibly decided, it's
also worth remembering that there are a few other music programs worth
considering using, and, depending on the type of musical use you want of a
program, one or another of these may be most suitable.
   Probably Sibelius's main competitor is Finale, and there is a mailing list
for that, too, at http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale. The people
there are very knowledgeable about their program, too, and if you read through
previous archives for this list, you will find detailed comparisons between
Sibelius and Finale.
   The choice of music notation software is a very complex decision, and not
to be made in a hurry or without lots of research.

   Of course your cantor may have good reasons for choosing Sibelius; but,
knowing from personal investigation how difficult it can be to decide upon music
software, I thought it worth mentioning Finale as a possible choice.
   I can't really go into lots of detail here, but, in short, it appears that
Finale is probably far more powerful and versatile than Sibelius - but it also
(perhaps inevitably) has a steeper learning curve. Some Sibelius supporters
would disagree with the first of these two points, though.
   Sibelius's user interface is commonly thought to be easier and more
intuitive than Finale's - but, again, some may disagree with that.

             Regards,
             Michael Edwards.