Convince me on why I should make the switch to Macs

[Noe]

I have used PC since I bought my first computer. As we all know, they have some issues. I had gotten pretty good at dealing with them, and up to a few months ago just avoiding them. I have tried Macs, but my experience with them was not good. Out of the 3 that I had at work I always felt them slow. Could not have a few apps running or I would see the pinwheel all the time. Since XP can be installed on a Mac, I am thinking about giving them a try.

So let me know what you think and recommendations on the Macs, such as HD, RAM, and so on. I might be leaning towards a laptop so make any recommendations.

Thanks,

Noe

[srwatters]

Noe,

You and only you should make that decision. You're going to hear PC zealots say they are better, faster, and cheaper while the Apple heads (like me) will tell you the same about Mac. It comes down to personal preference. They both work just fine for almost everyone.

For me however, since making the change to Mac after 20+ years of using the PC/Microsoft platform, I spend almost no time working 'on' the computer and the rest working on my projects. I own a Mac Pro, a 20" iMac G5, and a 15.4" PowerBook G4. All have worked well for me and when I did have an issue (early main board problem on the iMac), Apple took care of it for me quickly and with very little hassle. The PowerBook and Mac Pro have worked without any issues since I opened the boxes.

As always, YMMV.

[Charles Putnam]

No! Don't do it! Don't go to the dark side!

Actually, my thinking is along the same lines. I've been using a PC ever since (if I reveal that, I'd be dating myself). From a business standpoint, it's a Windows world. But given the fact that Apple has long been the platform of choice for digital imaging (and almost everyone that's part of NAPP has a Mac), I'm looking at a MacBook Pro as my first Mac.

Down the line, maybe even get an 8 core Mac desktop.

The upside too is that all of the applications in Adobe's Creative Suite CS3 are ported for both Mac and Windows. From what I recall, Adobe will let you pay the upgrade price if you're going from Windows to Mac (or vice versa), but you have to order it through Adobe.

[Gordon]

Playing the crazy card, I just switched my laptop to Ubuntu. Fantastic.

[Wes]

FWIW, like Scott, I've worked on Wintel machines for 20+ years. However, I spend almost to time at all "working on" my computers. The kinds of issues I run into on my machines are not indiginous to the PC platform (running out of space on the HDD, needing to add more RAM, etc.). Also, like Scott said, only YOU can make this call.

IMHO, for working on still images I do not see one platform having an advantage over the other. If I were into audio and/or video editing it might be a different story. PS CS2 is PS CS2 is PS CS2 no matter what it's running on.

[JamesB]

Originally Posted by Gordon

Playing the crazy card, I just switched my laptop to Ubuntu. Fantastic.

interesting, I went to the Ubuntu site and read up on it. looks interesting. wish I had a spare PC to run this on.

James

[PeteQ]

Walk into the graphics department of almost any major advertising or graphics related firm. Take a look at what most of them are running. These guys are doing millions of dollars worth of work specifically in graphics and more likely than not, it's Macs. Or do a search for studio rentals in places like NYC. See what computers the majority keep on site for their clients use. There's a reason for that and it's not because those guys like to buy the more expensive machine that won't run thousands of p.o.s. shareware games. They have done their research and the cost-benefit analysis and have picked the best tool for the job. You don't pound nails with a screwdriver... Well, at least most people don't.

Now the bean-counters, that's probably another story.

How about this analogy..... Macs are to computers what Canon is to cameras. They do certain things slightly better than PC's but both will get the job done if you use them right. Just like a Canon camera has a slight edge on certain things like high iso but you can still get it done with a Nikon.

[Noe]

Macs are to computers what Canon is to cameras

I like the analogy, thanks for the advice guys. Since I do work with audio and video once in a while I will put more consideration into the mac. Thanks again.

Noe

[srwatters]

Originally Posted by JamesB

interesting, I went to the Ubuntu site and read up on it. looks interesting. wish I had a spare PC to run this on.

The best thing is you don't need and extra PC. Did you check into the live CD or mobile options? You can run Ubuntu (and some other Linux distros) with all data on a 1 or 2GB USB flash drive. I know some folks that use a small USB HDD also. The live CD allows you to have a reasonable system that runs without modifying the host PC. Pretty cool stuff. Check it out.

[Daniel Bates]

Hmmm... I might just have to give this Ubuntu thing a try. I like the idea of running an OS on a flash drive.

[AndrewCCM]

The completely 100% accurate commercials should be all you need to convince you.

[AndrewCCM]

Originally Posted by Daniel Bates

Hmmm... I might just have to give this Ubuntu thing a try. I like the idea of running an OS on a flash drive.

I have done that.. I also use VMWare to run all kinds of images/flavors of Linux...

[Daniel Bates]

All I would need is PS CS2, Firefox, and Word on the same key and I'd be set!

[JamesB]

Originally Posted by srwatters

The best thing is you don't need and extra PC. Did you check into the live CD or mobile options? You can run Ubuntu (and some other Linux distros) with all data on a 1 or 2GB USB flash drive. I know some folks that use a small USB HDD also. The live CD allows you to have a reasonable system that runs without modifying the host PC. Pretty cool stuff. Check it out.

I will check it out.

James

[laanba]

I agree with Scott that this should really be a personal decision. I don't think anything we say here can totally convince you one way or another. That being said...

I found out when I recently took a PC friend to the Apple store that you can sign up for a 30 minute personal introduction to Macs at the Apple stores. Basically a sales associate will be assigned to you for 30 minutes and you can ask all the questions you want, explore the software (which you can do anyway on your own) etc. I thought that was a really neat service and definitely a good idea for someone who is thinking about it. Then when you leave your visit you will have all the information on both sides to make the right decision for yourself.