CompuServe Messages

Martin, If a newbie may be allowed to jump in here, I'd like to comment on your advise about not building your own systems. It's right on the mark. I am a very good example of what value this and the other GU forums hold for people like myself. When I decided to make this move, the first place I began researching was magazine articles and ads. Ads are……well…..ads, nuf said. After reading and reading reviews, and seeing the same conclusions, that everything is great, that got a little suspicious too. My original intent was to buy all the components and assemble a complete NLE suite with animation capabilities built in. So, I joined 14 different forums covering this type of hardware and software. Being brand new to all these forums was a great advantage, because I had no counter set. I downloaded over 10,000 threads and spent a week going over them. The first thing the forums did for me was to keep me from spending over $10K on useless equipment. Trying to assemble and set it all up myself, I would have probably spent years trying to figure out if it was me or the equipment that was faulty. Reading all those threads, I think gave me a really good idea, what would or would not get the job done. It also put me in touch with people like Cameron and Murphy. Once I had decided on the workstation and softwares I wanted to start with, they were invaluable in helping fine tune the total package. I might also add, that they had both put in a bid for the total package. And, both were gracious enough to let me split the deal between them. This allowed me to get the best of both worlds, and prices. Keeping in constant contact through out the setup, I learned of surprises and stumbling blocks that they stepped over with little effort. I would have been helpless, not to mention the frustration involved. So, if anyone out there is like me, just starting up. I highly recommend you follow Martin's advice. The very modest (and I mean very modest) fees you are charged for these services are worth it ten times over. Besides, you'll make that up and more with the savings on the gear, the time, and the hair pulling. Had I not went this route, I would have spent around $6-7000 more on the equipment and would now be having little chats with a criminal psychologist. Instead, I'm waiting on a monster, state of the art animation workstation. Thanks, Terry