A few notes:

NT 4.0 is very solid once you get the system set up (which can be
tricky, especially with a lot of add-on devices). Plug & Play will not
be available 'till NT 5.0 comes out.   However, you can buy hundreds of
megabites of RAM for very little money, and run dual or quad processors
with an NT system.  Be sure you are using a "true" 32-bit processor
(either the Pent.-Pro or Pent.-II), and only use a motherboard that will
accept at least one gigabite of RAM memory!   Check out the Windows NT
page at "http://www.conitech.com" for up to the minute info on drivers
and bugs.

NANAO Monitors are the sharpest I've ever seen (the non-triniton
models), although not the brightest or most colorful. I have a 20" model
580iw that works wonderfully with both my Mac and my NT system.
(actually works a little better with the Mac)

For under $500, H-P sells a negative & slide scanner with 2,400 dpi
optical resoultion.  Could be just the ticket, but is too new to
recommend outright.
______________________________________________________________

Frank Ippolito wrote:

> Hi Christina,
>
> >Recently, uncertain of
> >Apple's fate, my supervisors have wanted to explore switching me from
> a Mac
> >to a Windows NT workstation environment. The current plan is to set
> up an
> >NT workstation side by side with my Mac, and purchase peripherals
> that will
> >function well with either platform. At least this way we will have an
>
> >opportunity to test if I can manage to do the same graphic tasks and
> >interface with print and other vendors without undo glitches on a
> Windows
> >platform BEFORE the switch is a done deal. (Note: I use Illustrator,
> >FreeHand, Photoshop, PageMaker, QuarkXPress, PowerPoint, Persuasion,
> and
> >DeltaGraph Pro to do my work.)
>
> While certain issues concerning graphics and NT took a little while to
> be
> resolved, you should find now NT to be a solid and productive O/S.
> With
> Adobe's new release of Illustrator 7 and Adobe Type Manager for NT,
> there
> are few reasons to not migrate. I am unfamiliar with the current
> Windows
> status of Freehand, Persuasion, and a couple of other packages you
> mentioned. I work with a Mac at work and an NT workstation at home. I
> hope
> to do as you are now planning and get an NT computer to work side by
> side
> this Mac over the next year. I don't anticipate retiring the Mac, as
> it
> serves us well.
>
> >The only given we have so far is that we're purchasing a HP laserjet
> (5M?)
> >printer, since my inhouse technical support finds that HPs function
> >reliably with both platforms.
>
> The current model you want would be the 5MP.
>
> >I remember a discussion some time back on the listserve comparing the
>
> >CoolScan with some other brand of slide scanner (which I believe
> either
> >Frank Ippolito or Britt Griswold liked better and/or said did a
> faster job
> >of scanning).
>
> Yes. I was remarking on the high quality/fast operation of the
> Polaroid
> Sprintscan 35 Plus for scanning slides. It has a 2700 DPI res and
> higher
> tonal depth than comparable models. You should be able to find one fro
>
> around $1500. As far as a flatbed is concerned, you can't go wrong
> with
> either the Argus or the the Microtek ScanMakerIII. In the latter case,
> we
> purchased the unit with a tranparency adapter (now standard) and
> Fractal
> Painter bundled for around $1700.
>
> >Last question: I need to purchase a good, crisp 20" (or so) monitor
> to go
> >with the Windows machine (but could also be paired with the Power Mac
>
> >8100). I'm MOST concerned about whether it really appears sharp to
> the user
> >across the whole screen. I currently have a Sony Trinitron that, in
> my
> >opinion, is better than the equivalent Apple monitor. However, I
> wonder if
> >anyone has experience with any other brand whose clarity and
> crispness they
> >would recommend?
>
> I was very happy with the Nanao trinitron monitor I purchased for
> home. It
> comes very highly rated. I belive you could drive it with a Mac- but
> am
> uncertain. Anyway, Nanao recently changed their name to Eizo and now
> if you
> search for Nanao banded monitors you can find some very good deals.
> About
> 25% price reducion over their Eizo models, but are essentially the
> same
> unit in a different box. Check out www.nanao.com
>
> I am very interested as to how your little cross O/S network behaves.
> Keep
> us appraised.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Frank
>
> Frank Ippolito    [log in to unmask]
> American Museum of Natural History
>
> "Wherever you go..., there you are."
>                                                 -Buckaroo Bonzai