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Thread: Why do designers use macs?

  1. #1
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    As a design student, I use a PC at home and a G4 at uni. One of the things that I wonder is why people think macs are so great. In my experience, macs crash frequently, run out of memory when trying to open more than one application at a time, and have to be restarted every so often because the RAM becomes fragmented.

    My humble PC at home with win2k never crashes or needs to be restarted, I can have open photoshop, director, flash, 3d studio, illustrator, dreamweaver, cubase all at the same time. In fact i gave up after opening 20 applications and only half of the memory was in use (i have 384 megs). Plus it has more than one mouse button. It's also faster than the equivalent G4 and half the price. All the software that is available on a mac is also available on a PC plus a helluva lot more.

    Bearing this in mind, can anyone enlighten me as to why designers seem to prefer macs? Is it an egotistical 'my computer's better than yours cos it has transparent coloured plastic' thing, or is it because mac are easier for computer-illiterates that can't cope with drive letters? I don't want to hear anything about macs being faster or more reliable because that is simply not the case.

    I read a lot about mac processors being faster because of RISC based architecture, but why bother when for the price of a dual 500 mac you can buy a PC with twin 1.3gig AMDs and x86 the mac to dust.

  2. #2
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    Hi there,
    just read another of your posts where you were praising PCs... well, I do have to defend my MAC!!! But each to their own!
    You sound as if the inside workings of a computer are no mystery to you, so you're lucky. But I reckon there are a lot of people out there who are like I used to be - not the faintest idea about the "brain" of a computer but still willing to learn - and in this case I have to say that a MAC is a much friendlier machine to use, you'll be able to understand a lot more, a lot easier and a lot faster on it without having to do a degree in IT.
    When it comes to graphics I personally find my mac a lot more reliable ( I know you don't want to hear that but that was my experience) and smoother than my friend's PC that I often use. A PC is more of a nerd's (meant in a respectful way!) computer in my opinion.
    I'm sure the real pros have a lot more reasons for using a mac...
    Well, that's just me... a mac lover..
    Happy flashin', Prisca

  3. #3
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    Please bobajobrob,
    we don´t need another "Mac vs PC" thread!
    It was discussed a lot of times at Flashkit, so please go and search for them.

    This is a helpboard for Mac specific problems!

  4. #4
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    Point taken - I am a bit of a nerd, but proud to be one. Remember - geeks are cool.

  5. #5
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    And as a DESIGN student, you are then aware that more than 95% of the print community works with Macintosh systems. Always have since the desktop publishing inception and always will. In fact, if you're on a PC and try to give them a PC disk, you won't only incure the wrath of a grumpy engraver and mechanical artist plus, a modest fee to convert the PC disk and files to work on a Mac.

    Now if your a WEB DESIGN student, the situation may be different. Yes, you are on a PC(at home), but, many many print designers who are becoming web designers are Mac educated and so, they will build their sites on Macs. It's not, as of now, a superior operating system and does have its ineffiecencies.

    And besides, windoze 98/ME lockes up for the oddest reasons, say when you awaken it from sleep mode....
    And 98/ME will be the system that most PRINT designers will have access to. Not the geek tested, nerd approves 2000..(even though it really is too cool to be slamming...but hey, I'm in the spirit here.)

    So in the end, it doesn't matter what you use to create sites. What does matter that it works cross-platform. If you're a desinger who chooses not to because of 'egotistical' reasons of 'Mac suks', then your shortchanging your audience.
    (You can't ignore the fact that Apple just sold its 5 millionth Imac now can you...thats a huge chunk of user audience if you compare the numbers of people online with those who own a Mac....
    http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2001/apr/19imac.html)

    (nor can you ignore many of the advisors to decision makers for companies have also seen the light and converted...http://www.statejournal.com/feature.cfm)

    But of course, the bottom line is what matters...and I do believe in the age of slow PC sales and this article should satisfy all who digress....
    http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2001/apr/19imac.html

    But of course, the final blow comes in the form of the very browser that Microsoft develops...for the Mac...
    conforms the closest to standards...
    http://www.webreview.com/browsers/browsers.shtml

    Oh, and since when does not being able to recognize a drive letter make you computer illiterate? Oh, it doesn't...you just speak a different, way more ineffiecent computer language than I do....

    One point you do make well, Yes, geeks are cool....but also remember, bilingual ones are wealthy....

    My apologies for continuing this thread on this subject...enlightment is knowledge..... hee, hee.....







  6. #6
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    Originally posted by aszalacinski
    95% of the print community works with Macintosh systems.
    No problem, just put the PC files on a mac disk.
    Now if your a WEB DESIGN student
    I am a web design student.
    many many print designers who are becoming web designers are Mac educated
    Me too, I use both mac and PC, like I said. I've been using macs longer than PCs.
    And besides, windoze 98/ME lockes up for the oddest reasons, say when you awaken it from sleep mode....
    I would not use those opperating systems, they are designed for home use, not business. As for lock ups, I think every mac user in the world has had a few.
    Not the geek tested, nerd approves 2000.
    What's geeky or nerdy about having an operating system that is reliable?
    So in the end, it doesn't matter what you use to create sites. What does matter that it works cross-platform. If you're a desinger who chooses not to because of 'egotistical' reasons of 'Mac suks', then your shortchanging your audience.
    Wtf??? Since when has HTML, javascript, flash or any other web format been platform dependent? 99% of the time, if it works on a PC, it will work on a mac or linux. What I mean is, how could I possibly choose not to make it work on a mac? Not that I ever would.
    You can't ignore the fact that Apple just sold its 5 millionth Imac
    Are you a sales rep for apple?
    Oh, it doesn't...you just speak a different, way more ineffiecent computer language than I do....
    Like I said, I use both macs and PCs. I've been using macs for years - maybe I could teach you a thing or two. As for inefficient, I disagree with that.

    Going back to my original point, as a designer, I find PCs easier to use than macs, more reliable, flexible and functional. You've obviously made up your mind which you prefer, but I wonder whether that's because it is a better machine for your work or a better machine for your ego. There seems to be a misconception among designers that PCs are difficult to use, in fact, a lot of misconceptions, mostly by people that do not use them frequently. Maybe the reason why you are getting tetchy is because you had to shell out far more dollars than me for a very similar machine.
    [Edited by bobajobrob on 04-20-2001 at 08:50 PM]

  7. #7
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    Post sad sad bobajobrob

    I'm glad you enjoy being a nerd so much...sounds pretty pathetic to me. ha!

  8. #8
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    Post sad sad bobajobrob

    by the way, why don't you put the same amount of Ram (384) into the mac and see if you'll still have a problem?

  9. #9
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    I'm not sad, I'm quite happy , thankyou. As for pathetic, you's the pathetic one m8, not me.

    About the RAM, even when a PC has only 128 megs, you can still have open say 5 or 6 programs at a time with no problems. On a mac, you'll be lucky to manage 2. A PC automatically allocates memory as an application requests it. A mac has to be configured manually hence frequent 'there is not enough memory to run xxxxx application' messages. Also, a mac's RAM will become fragmented after a while, reducing the usable ammount of memory available to the system. The only way to sort this out is to restart. Kind of antique by comparison, but quaint none the less. My PC is often on all day if I'm working at home, and it never needs restarting. Since I've had win2k, I've never had a full lock up either.

    I really enjoy using macs because they're fun and quirky, but for me reliability is more important. That's all.
    [Edited by bobajobrob on 04-20-2001 at 10:32 PM]

  10. #10
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    blah blah blah

    I tell you exactly why designers use macs.. cuz some people just love macs...especially professional designers. That's a fact so deal with it. Trying to figure out why that is is not gonna get you anywhere — you'll still love your pc and mac users will continue to love macs.

  11. #11
    I have to tell you, you are just wrong about the RAM. But I totally hear you about Macs crashing too much. I was 'raised' on a PC, and I recently bought an iMac. It is an iMac DV SE (graphite, non of the snow crap =) and I have 128 MB of RAM. I have yet to get an out of memory message and I often run around 10 applications at a time. However, it crashes too damn much. For no reason most of the time.
    Why did I get a Mac? They handle graphics better. I plan on using this iMac to assist me in my painting: touching up photos, seeing what one of my works would look like if there was a little more blue in the background. Things like that. Oh, and I also got an iMac for iTunes. =) It f**king rules.

  12. #12
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    I thought this site was about Flash
    and I thought this section was about using Macs
    with Flash...... or am I wrong?

    anyway about Egos .... the Dali Lama is in a Mac Add
    and he seems to be a pretty selfless guy...

    Think different .... Make a Flash Movie and stop
    f*****g around with whose got the biggest ......whatever!

  13. #13
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    This is getting a bit off topic, this is a Mac help forum.

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