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Graphic Design - Mac or PC?

I'd say get a mac, for CS3/CS4, I prefer my Mac over my PC, mainly because of the shortcuts on my mac (cmd instead of ctrl), exposé, and the mac menu-bar.

I like how on OS X when you click 'out' of a (lets say photoshop) document, it hides all the tools etc, and when you click into a flash document, it brings up all the tools for flash, and i can switch between apps really quickly.

Then again, I'm only 17, what do i know. I've only made £50 so far from my 'design' work since i got my MacBook (my first mac, which was last year in october).

So I'd suggest getting a mac, plus if your workplace is 'dominated' by Macs then you should get one just to be integrated into the system.

also, lets say you get a PC, can you run OS X on it without doing all this Hackintosh BS?

if you get a mac, and you DO need to use some windows software later on, you can, boot camp/VM's w/e.
 
ChicoWeb said:
How would you like to drive to New York from California? Would you rather drive a Ford Taurus or Cadillac? Both will get you there, but one will get you there in style, much more comfortably, and smoother.
Click to expand...

I would rather just fly, but I wouldn't go via the Windows airline because it's prone to crash...
 
definitive said:
So as a designer, which would you recommend going with for print graphic design?

For web design it's obvious that Windows would be a no-brainer, since over 70% of the computers used on the web (according to W3Schools) run some kind of version of Windows, and you have a wider range of browsers to test on.

This is where I'm a bit confused - What advantages does a Mac have over a PC when it comes to print design? Can't an Apple screen be connected to a Windows computer? What about fonts? Is there a way to load PostScript fonts on to a Windows machine? I've tried before, but they came out as 0byte files. All I was able to load were PFM, TTF and OTF on Windows XP.

Reason I'm asking all this is because I'm shopping around for a new computer, and will be working in a professional environment soon where Mac's are dominant, but I can't justify spending money on a $1-2k system where I could spend half that on a PC which would work just as fast.
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On a personal level, I am more comfortable with Macs. And ten years ago, it was a no-brainer...Macs or nothing.

But today, you can do it all on either OS, Windows XP/Vista or OS X, and it comes down to personal preference.

This is the beauty of technology right now, we have real choices as to what to use. The real key is learning how to use the acutal Abobe product, whether in OS X or Windows.
 
I disagree that PCs are better for web development. With Macs, you have access to not only Safari and Firefox for Mac, but IE6/IE7/Firefox/Chrome for Windows, all in one environment with VMWare/Parallels.

Also, you have access to the terminal with standard unix commands for accessing a web server, most of which run some variant of linux. Great for working on scripts, etc.

Finally, Coda ( http://www.panic.com/coda/ ), arbuably the best HTML editor, is available for Macs only.
 
OSX
Better memory management
Better multi-tasking
Lower cost of ownership

Open a hundred 5mb JPEG in windows and see what happens. Not the same.


LeeTom said:
I disagree that PCs are better for web development. With Macs, you have access to not only Safari and Firefox for Mac, but IE6/IE7/Firefox/Chrome for Windows, all in one environment with VMWare/Parallels.

Also, you have access to the terminal with standard unix commands for accessing a web server, most of which run some variant of linux. Great for working on scripts, etc.

Finally, Coda ( http://www.panic.com/coda/ ), arbuably the best HTML editor, is available for Macs only.
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Yup. Also Mac users are affluent, so not targeting mac users is a mistake.

FYI Apple iPhone app store is a billion dollar business.
 
For Graphic Design, a Mac is highly recommended, but if you said 3D modelling or Architecture then my answer would be different, just to show I'm not baised on this topic.

I actually have a really old 400MHz PowerMac G4 running Tiger and CS2. The performance is suprisingly good, only because that's all I'm running and has a lot of RAM. I also have an Intel Mac Mini that does the same job, but is more packed out. Best bit is, both these options, buying an old machine for one job or a relatively newer one as your main machine are cheap.
 
Consultant said:
OSX
Better memory management
Better multi-tasking
Lower cost of ownership

Open a hundred 5mb JPEG in windows and see what happens. Not the same.




Yup. Also Mac users are affluent, so not targeting mac users is a mistake.

FYI Apple iPhone app store is a billion dollar business.
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...and not having to faff about with Windows stupid drivers!
 
Try each for a bit...

You've come to the wrong place for an unbiased answer mate.


But my answer is drop both and pick up Linux and be badass :cool:
 
Simplesimon101 said:
I am a graphic designer and I can't think of a single graphic designer who uses a PC ;)
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what he said

I run a graphic design company and I wouldn't employ a designer who didn't use macs.

we used to have a lonely looking PC for testing websites - but since macs went intel/bootcamp even thats gone.

Re macs for web development - Q. how do PC users test their sites for mac browser compatibility? A. Buy a mac.
 
spiritlevel said:
what he said

I run a graphic design company and I wouldn't employ a designer who didn't use macs.

we used to have a lonely looking PC for testing websites - but since macs went intel/bootcamp even thats gone.

Re macs for web development - Q. how do PC users test their sites for mac browser compatibility? A. Buy a mac.
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We had the same problem. We are/were PC based. And we couldn't find a candidate who was willing to work on Windows.

(I sneak my Mac in so I can get actual work done. The 4 months I used Windows was hellish).
 
SwiftLives said:
We had the same problem. We are/were PC based. And we couldn't find a candidate who was willing to work on Windows.

(I sneak my Mac in so I can get actual work done. The 4 months I used Windows was hellish).
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If that wasn't so insane it might be funny.

A paid employee refusing to use Windows or saying so during an interview? LOL Bahahaha...

Sneaking your mac into a work-place?? LOL!! Bahahaaaaaa

Windows being almost exactly the same as OS X, is "hellish" to use??? Bahahahaaaaaa Tee Hee Hee...

Those are some good jokes mate.
 
LeeTom said:
I disagree that PCs are better for web development. With Macs, you have access to not only Safari and Firefox for Mac, but IE6/IE7/Firefox/Chrome for Windows, all in one environment with VMWare/Parallels.

Also, you have access to the terminal with standard unix commands for accessing a web server, most of which run some variant of linux. Great for working on scripts, etc.

Finally, Coda ( http://www.panic.com/coda/ ), arbuably the best HTML editor, is available for Macs only.
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I couldn't believe the OP assumes Windows is better for Web Design and Development.

On the Mac we have (* indicates exclusives)
Basic Development
Sandvox*
RapidWeaver*
iWeb '09*
Freeway*

Web Orientated Text Editors and IDEs
Coda*
Espresso*
TextMate (with plugins)*
Dreamweaver
NetBeans
Eclipse

File Transfer
Flow*
Transmit*

Database
SQL Grinder*
Querious*
SQLEditor*

Tools and Testing
CSSEdit
HTTP Client*
Silverback*
Little Snapper*
Paparazzi!* or Web Snapper*
Versions*
VirtualHostX*
XScope*
Xyle*
Highbrow*
Domain Brain*
Skitch*
Ecto or Blogo

Browsers
Cruz*
Fluid*
Camino*
OmniWeb*
Shiira*

Plus Mac OS X comes bundled with:
Apache
php
perl
SQLite
ruby on rails

Using VMWare, parallels or virtual box you can test any browser on the planet.
 
Tesselator said:
If that wasn't so insane it might be funny.

A paid employee refusing to use Windows or saying so during an interview? LOL Bahahaha...

Sneaking your mac into a work-place?? LOL!! Bahahaaaaaa

Windows being almost exactly the same as OS X, is "hellish" to use??? Bahahahaaaaaa Tee Hee Hee...

Those are some good jokes mate.
Click to expand...

I personally wouldn't take a job where I had to design on a PC. Are you kidding me? That's what I'm going to be using for 10 hours a day five days a week?

Would you take a job where the boss gets to come by every five minutes and flick you on the back of the ear?
 
decksnap said:
I personally wouldn't take a job where I had to design on a PC. Are you kidding me? That's what I'm going to be using for 10 hours a day five days a week?

Would you take a job where the boss gets to come by every five minutes and flick you on the back of the ear?
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LOL. Nope I would draw the line there. But there really isn't that much difference between designing web pages on a Mac vs. Wintel PC.

All the browsers are available in both of them. And it's not like you design much of anything in a program called "Windows". Once designing in the application we're fairly isolated from the OS. And what's not; has a tool and feature correlation of 1:1. For every OS feature, tool, or helpful utility you can name on one platform the equivalent can be named on the other.

The difference between OS X and Widows these days in terms of the user interface, is negligible. Windows is a less stable but OS X is more closed and restrictive - and that's about all we can honestly say. The rest is a personal problem or politically based.


EDIT: Cool post BTW, elppa!
 
Kwill said:
MMM=Macs Make Money
If you want to impress a date by taking her to a nice restaurant for lobster, are you put off by the fact that Filet-O-Fish is cheaper across the street?

(I keep forgetting most of the posters on these forums are still "kids" to whom that analogy won't make sense.) :eek:
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*Raises Glass.*
 
Tesselator said:
LOL. Nope I would draw the line there. But there really isn't that much difference between designing web pages on a Mac vs. Wintel PC.

All the browsers are available in both of them. And it's not like you design much of anything in a program called "Windows". Once designing in the application we're fairly isolated from the OS. And what's not; has a tool and feature correlation of 1:1. For every OS feature, tool, or helpful utility you can name on one platform the equivalent can be named on the other.

The difference between OS X and Widows these days in terms of the user interface, is negligible. Windows is a less stable but OS X is more closed and restrictive - and that's about all we can honestly say. The rest is a personal problem or politically based.
Click to expand...

For some reason I was expecting a less rational response. Thanks for that. However, As a bootcamper, I can't agree that the user experience is similar. For me trying to get anything done on Windows is just aggravating.

Edit: Elppa, you're missing my favorite app of all! CSS Edit by MacRabbit.
 
decksnap said:
For some reason I was expecting a less rational response. Thanks for that. However, As a bootcamper, I can't agree that the user experience is similar. For me trying to get anything done on Windows is just aggravating.
Click to expand...

Me? irrational? Heh! Never... LOL :D

Anyway I can understand your aggravation but if we really narrow that down it's probably mostly a personal-preference/personal-problem thing and based on what you're used to. Number of keystrokes, button clicks, and mouse travel to get Task X accomplished on either platform is going to average out to about the same across the board.

I hate and boycott MicroSoft products on a purely political rational! I know that whenever I spend my money on an MS product there is a percentage of it that goes directly to aborting the lives of black children in Africa and other economically troubled countries. The Gates Foundation is a nasty Nazi eugenics promoting organization I personally want no part of!
 
decksnap said:
For some reason I was expecting a less rational response. Thanks for that. However, As a bootcamper, I can't agree that the user experience is similar. For me trying to get anything done on Windows is just aggravating.

Edit: Elppa, you're missing my favorite app of all! CSS Edit by MacRabbit.
Click to expand...

And one of mine. It was going on the list. I will edit immediately.
 
My 2 cents worth. A few years back i did part of a degree in graphic design and multimedia technology. Although I have always been a PC user until recently I personally found the Macs at Uni to be far superior to the Pc's (which were no slouches) and especially as far as rendering video went. The stability of the Mac far outweighed the PC and i found myself gravitating towards the Mac every time i needed to use any kind of image or video processing software.

The PC will handle Photoshop just fine... the right click mouse is a necessity but if you can throw a PC mouse on the Mac and make the transition you'll be happier in the long run.

I'd love to run photoshop on my Mac but the CS2 i purchased for PC can't be installed on Leopard and I can't find a (dare i say it cracked?) serial anywhere that will allow me to install it on the Mac without having to run duel operating systems so i can run it on windows... which is my next job over the next few days.

that's my input, hope it's useful
 
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