OSX or Windows

longstand · Dec 13th, 2007, 19:55

Recently i downloaded alot of tutorials by lynda.com & could not help notice that alot of people prefer Mac OSX for design work...

My question is: Is it worth purchasing a apple mac for web design use or is windows much preferered over osx??

Cheers.

alexgeek · Dec 13th, 2007, 20:14

I've heard that Mac are the best for design work. I'm sure a lot of people agree.

karinne · Dec 14th, 2007, 12:17

Oh dear .... opening a can of worm aren't you

MAC vs PC is probably the biggest subject of debate ever.

JacobHaug (our Lead Admin) wrote an article for the Newsletter on the subject that you could read. Notice that the article are his views and not necessarily those of the whole WF team

Friends Don't Let Friends Buy PCs

Now ... I have been on the teeter-totter for quite some time. I've always had PC but now I need a change ... I would really love to try out a MAC ...

The general consensus however is that Vista sucks

Windows Vista

There are ALOT of GREAT web designers out there that use MACs and ALOT use PC as well so ... it's like choosing which political party you want to vote for .... what may be right for you may not be right for another

Rakuli · Dec 14th, 2007, 12:27

Yes indeed this topic has caused almost as many online arguments as the windows-linux debate.

From a design point of view, in the past I would have said Mac without hesitation however with the current hardware and program suites available on both systems, there really isn't a lot to separate them apart from personal preference.

As for windows Vista, I would never use another OS on a PC.. the arguments I contunally hear against Vista are mostly "friend of a friend has it and says it isn't good" or "it uses so much ram" but these arguments haven't been researched and in most cases and the justification behind them aren't looked sketchy at best.. Vista uses a lot of ram for a reason not to mention the many unseen enhancements.

Karinne's thread linked above is mostly on the negative side but I tried to put this into perspective and highlight the numerous positives that make Vista better than XP in the thread

What do you think of Windows Vista

Hope that helps... It will be your preference rather than the superiority of a given system that influences your choice.

Cheers

anantais · Dec 14th, 2007, 21:47

Why not both? The new Macs can handle both. I have XP and OSX on mine.

Obviously, I have never been able to commit fully to one or the other myself.

I will tell you that I love my Macbook Pro. As a beginning web designer, I committed fully to Apple, but the choice is a personal one. I would suggest borrowing a friends first to make sure it is for you. (I first started by buying a used Apple laptop and went completely to the dark side once the Intel Core Duo line came out).

alexgeek · Dec 18th, 2007, 20:48

You can do both on PCs to, special bootloader (I think it's called frog something).

Jack Franklin · Dec 21st, 2007, 16:58

To be honest there is not huge amounts of difference IMO. I would prefer a mac, but a PC is completey adequate for my needs.

Stuart · Dec 23rd, 2007, 16:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by karinne

MAC vs PC is probably the biggest subject of debate ever.

That would be an interesting debate seeing that Macs are PCs!

"PC" is an acronym for "Personal Computer". Are you saying Macs are not personal computers? I think not! I'm sure that you, Karinne, as well as many people all over the world, have just been pulled into the net of confusion by the everyday misconceived meaning of "PC". This confusion is especially emphasized by the "Mac vs. PC" commercials. Those commercials are putting bad ideas into people's minds!

It's not the end of the world, and it certainly is not anyone's fault, it's just that the whole world has been brain-washed by the pathetic usage of English that many technology retailers are employing.

Another reason is that the Apple Company is trying to separate themselves from Microsoft as much as possible. And I can very well understand that. Microsoft is trying to squeeze their products into everything these days. I recently say a commercial for a new Toyota. Guess what powered the Navigation System. Microsoft!
The Apple Company is doing the right thing, and avoiding Microsoft, and all of their stupid products.

I have been trying to end the misconception for a few months now, telling people that they are making a mistake. But I alone cannot achieve the goal of correcting the world's bad English. Therefore, it will take many more years!

So, to summarize my tirade, the correct distinction is "Mac vs. Windows". "Mac vs. PC" is, unfortunately, a common misconception.

And to the actual question asked by this thread, I strongly recommend a Mac for anyone that does not want to deal with some of the silly things Microsoft fails at.

Hope that helps!

Marc · Dec 23rd, 2007, 17:21

Stuart, what do you distinguish 'smart' as being? Good looking? 'Smart' is a little vague in my opinion.

My view on Mac's are that they aren't as widely supported as windows. I don't see the point in changing to a Mac because what's the point? I haven't had any problems with windows (touch wood) - just as long as you don't download things illegally and go on sites that aren't safe.

I say that you will be fine if you use Windows, just as long as you don't Download illigal software, go on unsafe websites and download things that you don't know what they are, and get a decant Internet Security package you will be fine for your design work.

I also recommend that you get a decant amount of RAM on your PC if you do buy one.