POLL: PC or Mac

[buffdr_rasouliyan]

<p>PC, Q9400 with 8 gig RAM, 9800 GT video card, 12 500 gig hard drives. SONY monitors. These days, MAC is a PC with different software, internals are the same. </p>

[rich_evans]

<p>PC - custom made, totally upgradeable, 1T external, readily accessible innards ;-)</p>

[ndt_photo]

<p>PC - Custom built by myself. Used the old parts to make a 2nd PC for the Living Room TV so now I have an HTPC as well... I could care less what people use, both paths lead to the same result image-editing-wise, but I will never go to Mac until they open up their OS to custom built PC's. I don't see that being part of their business plan anytime soon. I know there are hacked OSX copies available for this sort of thing, but I'd rather be on the up & up...</p>

[Mike D]

<p>PC. I also use a lot of "legacy" software that simply isn't available on a Mac. I also own an iMac but use the PC for all post processing and my website. My PC box is custom built (5 hard drives) by a local PC store. My understanding is that if you buy a brand name PC, it will be loaded with all kinds of "crapware" that is difficult to get rid of. If that's the case, the iMac operated perfectly (after answering a couple questions) right out of the box. The iMac also boots up and shuts down much more quickly than a PC,</p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>Mac. I love it.</p>

[steve_c.5]

<p>Well, I've read all the posts here with interest, and after having used both Mac and PC, I'll stick with PC running XP, until Microsoft gets the next OS right (Vista is a bit aggravating, but I hear Windows 7 is a dream).</p>

<p>I HATE not having right mouse button functionality on a Mac. It's ridiculous. It harkens back to the old days of the putty-colored Apple II. Why would we need more than one mouse button? Well, we DO need more than one mouse button. Oh, don't give me that "well, you can get a Mac mouse with multiple buttons now" baloney. It should come from Apple with them. It's SO frustrating being used to a PC and having to sit down and wrestle with a Mac and it's weird functionality, just trying to do simple things without having to pull down menus and hunt for stuff. I can get things done so much faster with a right mouse click, and a TON of software makes use of that function. Oh, but not in the Mac world...</p>

<p>Want to delete something on a Mac? Oh, we have to drag it to the trash can. I just want to select an item and hit delete, for cryin' out loud.</p>

<p>I find that most folks who pick Macs know very little about the inner goings on with their computer. It's why they need the weird Mac paradigm of doing things to shield them from the harsh underpinnings of modern computing. Oh, we have to hide the file extension from our users; the dot and those extra three letters might confuse them!</p>

<p>Just the other day, I had a situation where I had to help a poor, dumb Mac user download Fetch just so they could access our FTP site and download some image files. Using Windows Explorer, all you have to do is enter the FTP address in the URL bar at the top, and you can log right in. Not with a Mac. They simply don't have FTP functionality built in.</p>

<p>I've known folks for years who swear by their Macs, but they can't for the life of them give me ANY compelling reason to get one myself. They just swear it's better. It's like people voting for Obama. Every one I've asked can't give me ONE good reason, can't name even a single thing he's ever done that makes him qualified to be president. He's just the popular guy. It's silly.</p>

<p>Bottom line: there is NOTHING you can do on a Mac that I can't do on a PC cheaper and just as fast. And there's a TON of programs I can run on a PC that you probably can't run on a Mac, unless it's an Intel version. PC software and hardware still outnumbers Mac 10-1, and, the hardware is still cheaper by a long shot.</p>

[garrison_k.]

<p>Grew up on Mac's, switched to PC, almost switched back last year until I heard CS4 is only 64-bit for Windows. Currently, a custom built Vista 64 on quad-core, 8 gigs ram, 2 X Western digital 640's hdd's in RAID O for OS and applications. 2 X Western Digtal 250's in RAID O for scratch and Lightroom Library. 2 X Western Digital 750's for storage.</p>

<p><em>A new Dell will have Vista or whatever they sell now. So drivers for the screens you now use may not work and there may or may not be updated Vista compatable drivers. Vista has become very picky about what you can install.</em></p>

<p>Ronald, there should be a disclaimer under your posts. Vista is the most compatible OS that one can buy. Once one uses Ubuntu, (free, small footprint, even loads onto 12 year old PC's, updates all the time) you soon wonder what takes Mac so freaking long to come out with patches and updates or why they can't bend with new hardware, quicker. Tweaking Unix to run on a few pieces of hardware, Apple really has a small task to accomplish and do it quite poorly when all things are considered.</p>

<p><em>However, the TCO (total cost of ownership) is typically MUCH LESS on a Mac. Check out eBay prices for a three year old Mac vs a three year old PC. And that's just one factor in TCO.</em></p>

<p>Mike, in a few weeks for my P4 email machine, I'll order an i7 920, a $200 mobo, and $150 for 6 gigs of ram, open the case and install it one sunday morning. For $650 I'll have a great fast box for another three years. I'm not sure what I'd have to spend on a Mac to go that fast? But a lot, and I'd be stuck with it until I sold it for half the original amount. Not being able to do this hardware upgrade on a Mac is why I switched from Mac years ago. Going PC offers us more hardware and software choices for much less money. But I almost built an Octa-core Hackintosh last spring though :) and might switch back when Adobe goes 64-bit for Mac.</p>

<p>Nice machine, CG.</p>

<p> </p>

[Brad_]

<blockquote>

<p>I HATE not having right mouse button functionality on a Mac. It's ridiculous. It harkens back to the old days of the putty-colored Apple II. Why would we need more than one mouse button? Well, we DO need more than one mouse button. Oh, don't give me that "well, you can get a Mac mouse with multiple buttons now" baloney. It should come from Apple with them. It's SO frustrating being used to a PC and having to sit down and wrestle with a Mac and it's weird functionality, just trying to do simple things without having to pull down menus and hunt for stuff. I can get things done so much faster with a right mouse click, and a TON of software makes use of that function. Oh, but not in the Mac world...</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Wow. Makes you wonder about the rest....</p>

[alan_bryant1]

<p><em>Vista is the most compatible OS that one can buy. </em></p>

<p>...compatible with what?</p>

<p>My day job is computer programmer. Making our software install properly on Vista has been a freaking <strong>nightmare</strong> . Personally I run XP on all my machines, even my development machines at work. Incidentally, you can still get XP on a Dell (select the "Vista with Downgrade to XP" option).</p>

[patricklavoie]

<p>Steve, not that its really important but;</p>

<p>1_yes you have a rigth click on a mac if you simply enable the feature on the control panel, you even have it on the new macbook pro + with 2 finger you can rotate, zoom, slide a la iphone style.</p>

<p>2_also you can simply select a folder and hit cmd + delete to send the file to the trash.</p>

<p>3_any new mac from the past 2-3 years come with a 6-7 function button on it..not because the mouse look slick that its mean you do not have button : )</p>

<p>I think as many unimformed people on both side, people just rant about untrue fact...and Steve just prove that. Its OK to to prefer a Mac or PC..once in photoshop the difference are almost non existent, the pc is cheaper, the mac is simpler to use..both have good point.</p>

<p>Im a Mac fan for the past 23 years, and i know i spend way more money on my Mac vs what i can get for way less on the same kinjd of PC..i just dont like the PC interface itself and the learning curve to feel comfortable with one. It doestn mean i will rant about the same old virus and incompatibility concept that people always bring.</p>

 

[hungnguyen]

<p>I use both Mac OSX and PC (XP) on my Macbook Pro. I prefer the Mac operating system by a very long margin. All my photographic stuff is done on the Mac side.... I also use Nikon (mostly) but I don't particularly care if people use PC or Canon...I don't understand people who slag off others' choices. I certainly did not invent the Mac operating system or the Nikon camera. That I made a personal decision to choose them or how much I paid for them does not say anything about me more than what kind of tea I drink and how much I paid for it.<br /> Anyhow computers and cameras are tools....Do not let your tools become your masters....(Confucius said)...Let the photos speak!</p>

[garrison_k.]

<p><em>...compatible with what?</em></p>

<p>Old hardware. Hardware that was released before Vista. That runs old software that was released before Vista.</p>

<p><em>My day job is computer programmer. Making our software install properly on Vista has been a freaking <strong>nightmare</strong> .</em></p>

<p>Hmm. Everything that I own that was written years ago for XP 32 loads fine under emulation on Vista 64. Even crappy Nikon software that wouldn't run on XP-64. Not sure what the problem is if you are starting afresh?</p>

<p>Windows 7 is even better. And so it should. I just loaded W7 Beta 2200 onto an ancient P4 with 1.5 gigs of ram this weekend. Runs way faster than XP and is more than adequate for youtube watching and word doc's. This means this (10 year old?) box can now take...four(?) different Windows OS's. Who knows how far back I can install old software.</p>

<p> </p>

[g dan mitchell]

<blockquote>

<p>I prefer PC over Mac/Apple, and all for the same reason; I want control!</p>

</blockquote>

<p>So, what is it, exactly, that one can "control" on a Windows machine that cannot be controlled on a Mac?</p>

[dan_elkins]

<p>I was PC from 1990 to 2004 when I bought a Mac for Design school. I found it to be a more dependable/predictable machine and still have it today plus a iMac 24" with 1.5GB ext.</p>

<p>If your PC is problem free and you never curse it out (lol) there is no need to switch, otherwise it's time to free your mind!</p>

[g dan mitchell]

<p>Regarding cost, I've been a member of a team developing hardware/software computer specifications for a large dual-platform institution for well over a decade. We use Dell systems on the Windows side and, obviously, Apple systems.</p>

<p>The members of the team include those who are primarily Windows users and those who are primarily Mac users, and a fair number use both systems. We specify comparable systems on the two platforms, which means that they have essentiall the same size HD, same amount of RAM, same size monitor, same ports, same basic productivity software, etc.</p>

<p>The costs of the Macs is very definitely <em>not</em> higher than that of the Windows equivalents from a major vendor such as Dell. In some categories the Apple solution is typically a bit less expensive, in others it alternates between the two systems. While I can't disagree with the idea that you can buy off-brand Windows boxes or even construct your own for lower cost, unless you are the sort who finds that approach appealing the overall costs of the two systems will generally be quite similar.</p>

[garrison_k.]

<p><em>So, what is it, exactly, that one can "control" on a Windows machine that<br /> cannot be controlled on a Mac?</em></p>

<p>This isn't a very well thought out question. But then again, "taking control" is niether an elquent way of getting ones point across about the access a windows user has to the bois and registry compared to Unix. The very thing that makes Mac's strong, stable, and resiliant to virues and spyware is that you can't "get in there" and make a muck of things. This, for some, is a blessing or a curse. The very fact that anyone can write an .exe for windows (and having them execute without permission), is also a blessing or a curse.</p>

[garrison_k.]

<p><em>The costs of the Macs is very definitely <em>not</em> higher than that of the Windows equivalents from a major vendor such as Dell. In some categories the Apple solution is typically a bit less expensive, in others it alternates between the two systems. While I can't disagree with the idea that you can buy off-brand Windows boxes or even construct your own for lower cost, unless you are the sort who finds that approach appealing the overall costs of the two systems will generally be quite similar.</em></p>

<p>Dan, a Dell XPS with an i7 920, western digital 640 (fastest 7200 rpm drive) and 6 gigs of ram can be bought for $1000. Can you please tell me what Mac has comparable performance for the same money?</p>

[kelly_flanigan1]

<p>Patrick;</p>

<p>I feel the same way as Steve does about our 20" iMacs mouse; I feel like its a time warp backwards 2 decades compared the the useable two button with thumb wheel optical mouse on this 1999 pentium III with win2000.<br>

Our 2006 Imacs mouse rockers or pivots on its bum/ass/rear. The two side buttons or what ever they are seem to be duds; or sometimes work to grab stuff.<br>

The gain is wonky; one has the to move the mouse physically ALOT compared to the movement on the screen one day; the next day it is tolerable but one still needs giant workspace.<br>

Ours is like the gain or ratio of hand movement to screen movement varies.</p>

<p>Somedays one can move the Imacs mouse 1 foot and it moves 3 inches on the screen; other times it is closer to a PC in useablity.</p>

<p>It is an optical mouse; I have tried mousepads; cardboard with roughness; wood; many items to ses if its a reflectance issue. </p>

<p>The goofy mouse is one of the main reason our Mac fails flat on its face in the human interface arena.The old tombstone 30SE was alot easier to use.</p>

<p>I would rather retouch a photo with our dual 333Mhz pentium II than our Imac 20" 2 ghz unit; its way quicker for me in the mouse area; how to save files; how to even find anything.</p>

<p>Maybe the issue is most games are used with PC's and thus the mouse is thus a better human interface to use.</p>

<p>Maybe the OSX 10.4 on our Imac 20" unit has the mouse turned mostly off; or in a retarded counter intuitive mode; or its setup to give ones arm a workout.</p>

<p>One of our old printers runs a graphical interface under pure DOS; it has the mouse.exe driver. One box has a track ball; another has a PC mouse; both are lightyears more useable than our imac 20" unit.</p>

<p>We bought another mac mouse for the imac and it still is a pain to use; thus it is either a mac hardware/software issue; or some weird gain setting that vary to drive one bonkers.</p>

<p>It is interesting How I can play Ultimate Tournament 2004 against a friend 2500 miles away on a dumb PC; and not even think about the mouse; one uses both buttons and moves the mouse with zero thought.</p>

<p>Then with the imac 20" unit its a constant frustration over simple stuff; maybe the 20" means one has to move the mouse 20" sometimes and others not!</p>

[andrew_gale]

<p>In order of use:<br>

Darkroom in the basement for 99% of photography work.<br>

Linux Ubuntu 8.10 on an HP Notebook for the internet and most digital photo stuff.<br>

XP on a Dell Tower with CS3 for important work. (used once)<br>

Wacom Intuos3</p>

[georges_pelpel]

<p>Used both. Now only using a MacBook Pro with Windows installed. I write business and accounting systems that are cross-platform. All my work is done within Mac OSX, Windows is started and used only for testing purposes.<br>

For photography (hobby) it's purely Mac, from post-processing to archiving and printing. I also designed a software for managing our local camera club competitions; importing photos from Members, slide show, judging, managing points...<br>

As a professional who consults numerous business clients using both platforms, I have no hesitation in choosing the platform I want for my own needs.</p>

[bob_king2]

<p>Both, but prefer the Mac</p>

[mattsilva]

<p>Windows is coming out with a new OS. I haven't read all the answers here, so forgive any double posts. I would wait to see what the new OS has to offer.<br>

Vista is a no go in my opinion. Unless you're working or play a lot of video games on your computer. I think vista was more of a "let's see what works" OS, in preparation for this new OS which I believe is referred to as Windows 7. As for now, I'm all Mac, and will always be. But I do respect Windows, and Windows is always worth a look. I sure don't miss getting a virus, or having to deal with all the software to prevent them. As you may know, Macs have been able to stay ahead of all virus. Basically you don't need anything extra to keep a virus out. The OS is too far up the trail to be caught. They can't break a Mac:)</p>

[Uhooru]

<p>Kelly, are you sure the mouse is the problem? Know many photographers that do a lot of work on macs and seem to do fine using a pen and a mouse. Don't hear them whinging.</p>

[chris_seary]

<p>Macs are now Intel based. A Mac IS a PC.<br>

Different horses for different courses. Macs can't be beat for graphic aplications. It's what they've always been successful at.<br>

However, Macs aren't made for the commercial environment. Windows and other PC based OS were using TCP/IP while Apple were messing about with Apple Talk. Also, how do you write custom software for Macs? Tools are available, but it's a damn site easier with the PC. PC OS (Windows, Linux) are designed for the enterprise.<br>

Getting staff that are trained to look after Macs is more expensive than for PCs. And they'll have to have other expertise also (Unix, Windows). Where does that IP address for your networked Mac come from? That's right - another Intel based operating system.</p>

[j_kluska]

<p>PC</p>