This is a complex issue and should vary case-by-case. I have worked previously in print houses, music recording studios, and now a multimedia outlet, all of which deployed Macs to some degree. The highest friction is usually workflow based, as in your employees' skill set, in-house or even out-source software compatibility, or the need to use "legacy" industry hardware which requires some exclusive setup etc. When factoring in all the possible expenses, downtime, and man-hours needed to change anything in a working chain, the conclusion is usually just to never change until absolutely have to. And the complexity multiplies when your team headcount and involved disciplines increase.
But if a certain pain / choke point in an existing workflow has been the most time consuming, and that it becomes clear the vendor's hardware is the bottleneck in question, then a simple math is enough to warrant a switch if an alternative exists. I suppose this has already happened to video editing and music post-production, particularly for solos/freelancers or even low head count teams. If the software in use is like Adobe CC, cross-platform by design where not only the output is the same regardless of which platform you are on, but the interface and settings also are, then the performance disadvantage of using the suite on a Mac will become un-dismissible.
That said, OS X from the beginning laid a solid foundation in interfacing among different I/Os, and that the main system itself is still built upon a robust BSD kernel, coupled with the iDevices experiences, there is still an apparent degree of painlessness while using Macs, at least on the interfacing / human level. It is difficult to quantify how much this is worth to a workplace, but the advantages of this really shows when you need to deal with countless sources of media and publish destinations. The problem is Apple's willingness to maintain this "coherence" while still offering brute performance on top. To me, the design choices made with the TouchBar MBP suggested otherwise - they seem to be losing grip of the cohesion while refusing to provide adequate horse power.
Last edited:
