Apple or Windows?

[G9]

Let's take it to the workstation level. You are a professional graphics and web developer in need of power for running web developing programs and resource-consuming 3D rendering programs. Which computer is for you?

A Quad 3.4ghz Power Mac G5, pumped up to full configurations, or a top-notch Windows computer?

Setting money aside, which will be better for you? Apple or Windows?

[mkeefe]

Windows for more software and better intergration.

Mac for more users created useful apps but less intergration.

Matt

[Kinetica]

id have to say windows b/c the last apple i was on was when the GS II first came out. LOL. though id seriously like to try out a new mac.

[stylez]

--

[Edited on 1/29/2011 by stylez]

[G9]

Originally posted by stylez
never worked on Apple :blush

worked on WINDOWS for whole my life and still
I feel the lack of apple experience here makes this poll invalid.

[sasrdu]

I use windows (xp professional) for writing web applications. This includes java, xml, html, asp, php, etc...anything involving code. My prefered tool for writing code is textpad. Sometimes I'll use Dreamweaver or eclipse. For pure graphics I use a mac. Both my systems are networked together - so I'll be writing code on the pc and doing the images on the mac. If I'm lazy - I'll sometimes write code on the mac but for some reason it drives me nutso. I have tomcat and mysql configured on both the mac and the pc for testing locally. On the mac side I use dreamweaver but long for textpad. I have a 17 inch powerbook g4 with 1 gig of ram.

I recently purchased a new dell laptop 2.0ghz and 2 gig of ram. I maxed it out so I could also do graphics on it. When I travel I take my mac but if I'm travelling for work I need to take the pc but on my older pc (the one I just replaced) I couldn't do the graphics.

I don't have much of a background in 3D graphics but if is was something I planned to delve more deeply into - I would probably lean towards the pc for it. I do have Strata 3D Cx for the mac.

From the web developer perspective (which is my day job) - I still recommend the pc. When I have to connect to various servers - including unix, sharepoint, nt - it makes my life easier. I also like using gui interfaces to mysql and never really found one for the mac side I like as much. For doing web design - the majority of folks still use the pc - so I can test comfortably. I cross check websites on my mac for compatability. I know I'm running on at the mouth here - sorry - but I would strongly recommend you stick with the pc if you have to choose one. From what I know, the availability of 3d programs is more robust on the pc side and the industry standards are pc based.

I have been using a mac for many years. It is still my choice for graphics and when I mess around in video etc - and yes, it could work fine for web development but be prepared for much less online support/tutorials etc when troubleshooting. In the end you would still need to cross check on the pc. I wouldn't even consider trying to write anything microsoft centric - like .asp or .net on the mac.

If you do plan to work with graphics and web development and 3d - you will probably end up living in a dual platform world like I do. But for starting out - ask yourself - which of these three is the priority? If it turns out to be development and 3d - go with the pc. You can adequately do graphics on the pc.

Hope this helps - sorry for the long reply. Oh yeah - for web development - make sure you get xp professional. If you have any questions etc - give me a shout.

[Phil_The_Rodent]

I have a fully loaded G5 and a Windows PIII running Windows 98 at work. Without getting into specifics, I will simply say I will never buy another Mac.

[G9]

G5 Power Mac? Fully loaded?

[Deweyrocket]

With the risk of alienation, here are my thoughts on Mac vs. PC. Some proven, some urban legends, some personal.

Urban Legend 1: PCs are unfriendly and non-intuitive to use. Requiring ugly strings of code to get from point A to B and some mighty strange hoops to jump through to accomplish any given task.

Personal 1: As an artist I've grown up using a drawing board and all the tools that come with it. This was before computers were available to mere mortals. As a computer artist and graphic designer the history and beauty of fonts is of HUGE importance to my daily life an business... one big deciding factor for me choosing the Mac was it's respect and elegant handling of fonts. The general usability of PC fonts seems counter intuitive to all goals in graphic design. (Why do the large corporations have the Mac over in the corner for doing the good looking projects?)

Proven 1: The PC is well rooted in the general 'business' world but has always been playing catch-up to the elegant functionality of the Mac interface in the 'art world'. In the "Mac Community' PCs running Windows in any flavor are considered a gorilla with a wig on!

Personal 2: Another deciding factor for me in choosing Mac was the graphics community, in which I was planning to work... that community was 95% Macs! The designers, the service bureaus and most of the print houses. There's a no brainer!

Getting to the posted question...! 3D Rendering? I would guess that if Pixar is using Macs for the feature length movies they are making I would choose the same! They must have a good reason!

For real code geeks the new Mac interface now offers the best of both worlds: Unix code strings to dream about, and the ever wonderful 'don't need it, don't show it' policy for the rest of the world!

Make mine an Amiga!

[Edited on 1/9/2006 by Deweyrocket]

[SublimeProgie]

i havent done a whole lot of web work, so i dont know if you want to count my opinion, but i have used pc my whole life until this semester, and i got a mac laptop, i like it better than any complete pc system i have ever worked on. it is alot less stacked than the pc that i spent last semester on, and it still runs better. i only wish i had enough money to get a better set up than i have

[jdrumstik]

I've never had a mac. Personally I really like mac's elegance, but I can't ever justify the extened cost, and the stupid scrolling icons in mac OSX.

Windows has its issues and it looks like a Dog, but I can build my own PC, and pick out a Tower that suites my needs.

[neil_akoga]

i've just bought a dual 2ghz G5 with 1.5 gig of ram, at work i've got a dual 3ghz xeon with 1 gig of ram so i'll let you know in a week which i like more

[Maggie_Mae]

I have never done graphic design on a windows before I came to work at my present job. I have always thought that when you do graphic design, mac is better. On the other hand, I know alot of programers that like the windows, and I think that is why we have windows at work. We do programming as well as graphic.

In my humble opinion though, I like the Mac.

[gothic_hydran]

I love my apple computer...but there are frustrating things about it. The first for me is updates that could be good for your programs but do the opposite, if a web page takes to long to download (like MSN) you risk losing internet connection which means you have to reboot the computer to get it back, and I like to play web & software games but the really, really, good games works only on Windows. If I had more money I would buy a Windows to only play games on.

[d4o2]

windows.. xp but will move to vista in the future.. maybe after 4-5 months :D

[AussieInLondon]

If the 6 numbers come up in my favour on Lotto, then Apple is going to get a HUGE order from me. I have tried them out and I love them. Just never owned one.

Have just upgraded to a new pc. 2.4Ghz, 4GB RAM, 256MB Video (a decent card), 1.3 TB of space over a raid system of 4 drives, 2 external drives - 232GB Phillips usb, 720GB Maxtor Firewire.

New monitor is 21" Ultrasharp widescreen from Dell. 1680 x 1050 of crystal sharp images in PSCS3.

But like I said, Lotto win...APPLE ....big time.

[mkeefe]

Wow I responded to this a while ago and the times have changed.

I now have 3 macs and love them all.. Mac Pro, MacBook Pro and Mac Mini.. not to mention the other Apple products around the house..

So basically, I officially change my vote to Apple.. excluding the horrible way they are bricking iPhones, but that is a topic for another time.

Matt

[G9]

Originally posted by mkeefe
Wow I responded to this a while ago and the times have changed.

I now have 3 macs and love them all.. Mac Pro, MacBook Pro and Mac Mini.. not to mention the other Apple products around the house..

So basically, I officially change my vote to Apple.. excluding the horrible way they are bricking iPhones, but that is a topic for another time.

Matt

Nearly two years have past yet I still do not have a Mac... seems like the change of times smiled upon you. :P

[kiwicolin]

I now have 4 macs and only 1 PC - I run Windows on one of my macs though

[mixedupmacandpc]

I am a recent convert with macbookpro/macpro and imacs on the way in a building full of XPs. I am on OSX 10.4.10 and latest XP. I am the defacto sys admin for the entire network of A/V producing machines. On the MBP i am now administering the whole shebang and using for all design work, and have to use both OSX and Parallels Desktop to get to some software that's not on the mac. I have been using PCs since I wrote the user's guide for the PC XT Portable (the world's first suitcase PC). Here are my conclusions based on experience:

* Apple hardware rocks
* OSX rocks
* Apps in OSX (universal binary) rock

There are quirks, and new mac users transitioning from XP/Vista may be in for a bit of culture shock, but that should die down after a week or so.

* PC Hardware by in large sucks (price/quality comparison)
* XP finally after all this time, is tolerable. Vista sucks.
* Apps in XP run slower in comparison with OSX counterparts with the exception of CS3 Dreamweaver, which has a known bug in OSX. But it has resource problems in XP too.

Vista is a non-starter, I get 1 artist a week now in the studio that wants me to unload vista from their new laptop and put XP back on.

Opinion: Microsoft is in a tough spot with a miserable new operating system that has to support an open architecture of ever expanding hardware. Vista, already a year old, behaves like a beta and will take another year or more to become stable and useful. This may be the "real" beginning of the end for this Dinosaur of a company. Look to IBM history and OS/2.

Apple on the other hand is just releasing a new OSX that has long-awaited improvements and pizazz. Jobs decided long ago to keep a closed system hardware-wise and knows how to woo customers with features. Riding on the tails of itunes, iphone, and next ipod successes coupled with tight integration, the next generation of mac/intels will be unbeatable: easy to use and maintain, and even fun, if u like this sorta thing.

So the question originally posed, Apple or Windows?, is not even a question anymore. Apple will soon be both, but with better hardware and tighter software integration. One area that Apple needs to work on is networking. It's not as easy as in windows (but maybe that's just me, after decades in NT).

Well, that's my 2 bucks worth. Thanks for reading.
:cheers

[Edited on 10/9/2007 by mixedupmacandpc]

[mkeefe]

Well I have to disagree on a couple of points.

1) Vista has its place and Microsoft isn't going anywhere.. do you realize MS could buy and sell Apple and only take a slight price hit?? They are 2 different players in an overall small world.

2) I am all for Apple and OS X ( I use it daily ) but keep in mind a lot of what is in Leopard is nothing more than glassy updates..

3) Most important point, I am tired of DRM, locked phones and them crying because ringtones should cost $99.. it is sad and they are going to lose in the long run.. just watch.

oh and I have an iPhone, so I can bitch :P

Matt

[ritchelclips]

I have always been using Windows and I think it's user friendly so I am sticking on it.

[Freedom211]

I just recently switched over to apple and I love it so much more than windows. Im still trying to figure everything out but eventually I'll get there one day.

[dcloud]

My wallet is allergic to apples (lol).

[StylizE]

I never had mac on my entire life. Is it easy to use? which is easy to use? mac or windows?

I choose windows. I consider the software running on Mac. some software do not run on mac system,

[mkeefe]

Mac is a better user experience overall, but Windows does have some software that is specific to that Operating System. Personally, I like my Mac's.

Matt

[Deanozzy]

I have a Poorman's Computer (PC). I have learned to live with it, Great for business, but probably works half as good for Art. I guess it is like VHS and Beta. Mass production= better price.

[mixedupmacandpc]

Originally posted by StylizE
I never had mac on my entire life. Is it easy to use? which is easy to use? mac or windows?

I choose windows. I consider the software running on Mac. some software do not run on mac system,

Style, I think more to the point is not that u can't find the same software or equal to run on a mac, it's the upgrade costs that will kill ya. Crap, apps like cinema4d and vue and cs3 cost more then the macbook pro, and it was a killer considering i had all that in pc form. and those things don't run very well in virtual spaces, regardless of what the marketing hype tells ya. but after being pc-bound for almost 30 years it was time for a change. The new macintels are just a blast to run, albiet not without the usual shoddy workmanship inherent in most hardware these days. Maybe if they gave those chinese more holidays and better burgers...
cheers!

[brandonl]

stylize
there the same especially now that macs have intel cpus, i think macs are a simplified os that is more stable.
the only thing a pc has on it is software compatibilty.

but if u are going to usea mac for work like designing and web sites that arnt hardcore ASP then you are set.

i have both and never us my pc always on mac!

[beautifulBYdesign]

i want a MAC but I dont want to have to have to buy for two systems.. that's just too much for me

[Cappy]

MAC in the print world and PC in the WEB Design world = The only complaint I have is buying software that supports both environments and it is a crime that platforms don't cross. If I use both platforms the software companies should allow me to use on both platforms.

Anyway, this argument is as old as the hills and it just comes down to what you are used to and how adaptable one is!

Nuff Said, Cappy

[TheDoc]

I am an avid Mac user and that's that.

But Windows users have something to look forward to! Windows 7 seems to redeem the company after the whole Vista debacle.

[mixedupmacandpc]

its been a year since i posted here on this topic and i suppose this is one of those threads that live endlessly, and is pretty good for historical purposes. during the past year we replaced every PC we had with macs and while the conversion was painful there is no looking back now. none of it would have been possible without running virtual PCs in a box, aka Parallels Desktop. There are still so many times the boys have to go to a virtual PC box to run something. Our software and hardware costs of course almost doubled, but we have had ZERO downtime due to hardware failures or virus infections for the entire year. That savings alone over the course of a few years will pay for the initial upgrade costs.

However, one must recognize that the quality of apple hardware has taken a hit recently, just when more and more people are switching over. The late 2007 model MPB with the defective Nvidia chip was a fiasco, as is the quality of all apple power bricks (they blow regularly in the field where there is an uneven power source, ie generators, constant power cuts, inverter power, etc..). Still, as long as u have a warrenty or apple care u are in good shape, as for the moment, customer service is great.

So that's the year in review from Nepal, where mixedupmacandpc is no longer mixed. I sure wish the sysop could change that!
coocoo
:cheers

[Edited on 2/6/2009 by mixedupmacandpc]

[lovesbmw]

A reliable computer is one that doesn’t crash, but when that happens, the easiest solution is to restart, which can result in losing data. This usually happens because Windows’ software components are connected to each other. For example, if Internet Explorer stops working, the rest of the computer usually stops working too. On a Macintosh, if a program stops working, you can easily “force quit” the affected application. Unlike Window’s software components, which are all connected, Apple’s operating system (OS X) keeps applications separated from each other, and from the operating system itself.

[mixedupmacandpc]

Originally posted by lovesbmw
A reliable computer is one that doesn’t crash, but when that happens, the easiest solution is to restart, which can result in losing data. This usually happens because Windows’ software components are connected to each other. For example, if Internet Explorer stops working, the rest of the computer usually stops working too. On a Macintosh, if a program stops working, you can easily “force quit” the affected application. Unlike Window’s software components, which are all connected, Apple’s operating system (OS X) keeps applications separated from each other, and from the operating system itself.

Not too sure this is accurate, but nice try. I think you can kill processes in Win7/Vista/XP, albiet you have to bring up a process list first, whereas in OSX, a hung program will report itself in the dock. I manage to hang my macs all the time, to the point where the only option is to kill the power, which reeks havoc with the file system. Thank buddha there is Disk Warrior.

On the whole, I think both OS's - Win7 and Snow Leopard are equally reliable but it probably depends on what you run. My only beef with Apple right now is that they refuse to 64-bit the Quicktime framework so apps like FCP are still rendering in 32-bit, which seems a bit arcane considering renders in Windows. Cheers!
coocoo

[amerianna]

we have PC and Mac at school.. i tried messing around on a mac and i didn't know what the bloody hell i was doing.... but i think i need to learn from a professional stand point.. cause my instructor says that a lot of people in the graphics industry use Mac computers.....still prefer a PC.

[mixedupmacandpc]

i'm sold on Apple, if not just for the software. I just finished 600 seconds of 2d/3d animation in Motion 4 in just 4 days, complete with particle generation, video walls, 3d animated backgrounds, etc etc. It would have taken a month to do in AE. I'm sold for rest of my life.

[Agvuj]

I use both to be honest