Mac or PC - advice please!!

[Eyenovation]

I know this is the age old question.. but I have the $ to get a new computer. I was thinking of building the most kick ass PC or getting a G4. I have used both and really see pros and cons w/ both systems. All the designers I know swear by Macs and I hear all these reasons but none which come to mind?

I hear the MAC colors are closer to actual print colors, they run faster, all this and that..

But can someone separate fact from fiction and tell me why its better to get a MAC, rather than a PC?

Thanks!!!

[Mac8myPC]

Macintosh's pros and cons vs PC eh? he he

People think that it matters what you do with your computer that should decide this issue - macs are for graphics they say - not for programming, or word processing. however i beg to differ greatly. mac's can do anything a PC can do and do it better, faster, more reliably and with a much more user friendly interface. I use flash and director on both platforms, both for design and programming and the mac kicks the tar out of any windows machine. my computer at home is an old 8500 with a 250mhz g3 upgrade! my computer at work is a 600mhz p3 dell! they are both run about the same speed. imagine what a tasty new 733mhz g4 would do? or even a 400mhz g4 laptop. a buddy of mine at work has one and he brings it to work to design his director projects on because his NT machine (same as mine 600 mhz p3) is too friggin slow? hows that for a real world example!

With more programs coming out for osX every day were getting closer to a more widely used unix based OS that's more reliable than any macOS ever made! it has a command line interface which utilizes all unix commands and can run most unix server software!

bottom line, the mac is just a more efficiently designed machine, that's why it runs circles around PC's. You may think that they cost more, but if you bought a PC that had the same reliablity and capability of a mac i think the price would be about the same.

go for the g4 laptop, you won't be disappointed. - http://www.macmall.com is even thowing in a free firewire CD-RW and 256MB of free ram with the purchase. screamin deal if you ask me

[ultrarob]

Hmm,

I would love to say that a Mac should be your automatic choice, but sitting on my table right now is a G4 500Mhz and a PIII 1 Ghz and...

The PIII is noticably faster at running Flash than the Mac. I'm authoring a Flash CD-Rom at the moment and can honestly say that the PC is a stable (enough) environment and, if anything, too fast. It's also cheaper.

The G4 looks nicer and is more engaging to use, but performance wise, I'd go for a fast PC.

There may be an issue with the way that Flash runs on a Mac compared to a PC. People have complained before about Flash's performance on Macs. I think Macromedia blame any speed problems on the Mac OS itself - not their own programming. Mac OS X may help in this area but who knows when there will be an OS X native version of Flash 5?

OS X is still in a growing up phase. Probably best to hold off for a while.

[ultrarob]

Hmm,

I would love to say that a Mac should be your automatic choice, but sitting on my table right now is a G4 500Mhz and a PIII 1 Ghz and...

The PIII is noticably faster at running Flash than the Mac. I'm authoring a Flash CD-Rom at the moment and can honestly say that the PC is a stable (enough) environment and, if anything, too fast. It's also cheaper.

The G4 looks nicer and is more engaging to use, but performance wise, I'd go for a fast PC.

There may be an issue with the way that Flash runs on a Mac compared to a PC. People have complained before about Flash's performance on Macs. I think Macromedia blame any speed problems on the Mac OS itself - not their own programming. Mac OS X may help in this area but who knows when there will be an OS X native version of Flash 5?

OS X is still in a growing up phase. Probably best to hold off for a while.

[SJT]

Seeing as a 500 Mhz G4 has been shown to outpace a 1Ghz PC, it probably is down to Macromedia not being botherd...

Although techincally macs outrun PCs, I don't think that's the issue; the issue is how quickly you can use the machine.
That's where the true beauty of the mac os comes into play; its just better thought through and built better because of it.

If you know macs and PCs already, then you'll know that both go wrong. You'll also know that on a PC it'll be some corrupted dll which has nothing to indicate that it might be causing the trouble, or even what app its associated with half the time.
Then consider the situation on macs, you've got your extensions and that's about it that causes trouble 9 times out of 10. Your machine starts playing up; you go to extension manager, switch off the one that seems to be causing the trouble and reboot. If really necessary you switch to base system and do a bit of 'process of elimination' to get the one that is conflicting.
You then carry on with your work after you've reinstalled that extension.
In extreme situations, you boot up from a CD and do a system software restore in place (which leaves everything non-apple where it is).

I've been through the same process on both platforms; on windows after a day or so, I ended up having to reformat the drive just to get rid of windows so I could start from scratch (because it wouldn't let me before); I then had to find the graphics and ethernet drivers on the internet so my screen and network card would work in windows (thankyou http://www.windrivers.com/ ) and install them by hand because windows wouldn't recognise the hardware...when does this ever happen on a mac? Never that's when...

[ultrarob]

Well, right now both the G4 and my PC are having technical problems. The G4 freezes for about 15 seconds after it has booted up and the CD writer is playing up. Real Player on my PC crashes as soon as you connect to the internet. After that, you can't shut down properly.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

I DEFINITELY find that both OS's have their strengths and weaknesses. I am a Mac fan at heart, but my head tells me that its not a case of one platform being absolutely superior to the other.

Rob

[BIG jolt]

>>All the designers I know swear by Macs

uuhh? Print designers maybe but now you want to be an interactive one.

If Flash is your game then designing and programming on the PC ought to be your tool.

Look not only at the poor fps on Mac systems but also that third party developers are less likely to support the MAc environment.

Looking a little wider, this is best exemplified by the browser market. Flash on Mac IE has notorious probelms - no ActiveX - check Moocks site for all the gory details. Netscape ain't making browsers anymore so that leaves IE on a PC. I'm not a fan of Microsoft by any measure but IE 5.5 and soon to be 6 seem tobe the best solution. Approx. 80% of the world population agress

Getting a local development server up and running is less of a hassle also. Mac OSX Server with Apache is great but with servers for a PC your choice is greater.

That's where Flash gets really interesting. We know it's dynamic animation abilities but now with v5 it's capable of dynamic data.

Then there's cost ...


[Edited by BIG jolt on 07-13-2001 at 06:20 PM]

[greenplasticcup]

Cost? You will notice that a fast PC that runs is probably cheaper than a mac, but add in everything you want (firewire, double check for USB, maybe an extra video card, etc) and the PC might still be cheaper. Oh, make sure, the motherboard supports 1.5GB of ram. And they are probably about even.

Series of surveys indicate that cost of ownership with a Winbox is more than that of a mac. What is cost of ownership? Oh, it considers the price of the product plus having to take it in to get something fixed, replacing parts, labor of fixing stuff yourself, etc.

Meaning your mac will run cheaper in the long run.

We were going to upgrade to more pc's in my office in the media department, but we ended up getting macs instead. Why? The main reason in our IT department was that the mac can support more ram, in a stable manner.

peace,
b

[David Michie]

This is the dilemma faced by small software developers like ourselves...

Why have we not developed a Mac version of SWiSH:

- Because less than 3% of people visiting our site use a Mac.
- Because it would cost us half-a-million dollars to port to Mac.
- Because it would delay the next Windows version by six months or more.

In short, developing a Mac version would put us out of business.

Cheers, David.

[Mac8myPC]

Originally posted by David Michie
This is the dilemma faced by small software developers like ourselves...

Why have we not developed a Mac version of SWiSH:

- Because less than 3% of people visiting our site use a Mac.
- Because it would cost us half-a-million dollars to port to Mac.
- Because it would delay the next Windows version by six months or more.

In short, developing a Mac version would put us out of business.

Cheers, David.

well... i'm glad that the makers of swift 3D thought differently.

not to mention the good folks at blizzard

[aidangibbons]

WAIT is the single most important word i have for you. Go with Mac. They're currently creating the new imac and boy o boy, you should wait for it. Basically the computer comprises of simple a 17' LCD very very very slim monitor and a see through blue, wait for it.....rollable-up snazzy keyboard!!! soo groovy. The computer is contained in the screen, with not 1 but 2 G4 processors and 256mb RAM. Don't forget that you'll also have the DVD player which you insert into the top of the LCD monitor/computer and plenty of handy ports. Also, you'll have the amazing Mac OSX which is simply the best operating system in the world. Sorry if i sound like a fricken salesman (which i do) but I work with both PC's and Mac's and mac's simply rule not only when it comes to graphics (which it does!)!!

Remember that one simple word

[jeanaque]

Well, we all know the real world is made up of automotans who use PC's. Most software, games etc. is written of PCs.

On the other hand Mac's are uniquely special, but only really useful if you are in the print graphic design profession. The whole industry is based on it. In creating graphics I find that the graphical interface is much more elegant on a Mac which makes it easier to pixel precise. PC mouses seem to float a lot.

If you do web design, both platforms are good, but Mac is more "cross-platformable" that the PC side is.

I you plan on doing any Web server adminstration, a Pc is the only way to go. There aren't many servers on the internet which are Macs.

[Eyenovation]

Thank you all for your valuable input. I appreciate it VERY much.

[jonstrong]

Okay. big deal "more peope are on pc's" so?? windows locks up so much it should be a prison gaurd. ILLEGAL OPERATION!
ILEGAL OPERATION: face it, bill gates could only think of his pathetic little text based OS, so when apple came out with GUI,
the stole that pronto. Most of the good multimedia design stuff originated on a mac. there a better systym, and more ppl are
switching over lately. my 500 mhz imac, runs noticibly faster than my friends "top of the line" Dell 1.5 ghz.

[Eyenovation]

Actually.... Steve Jobs stole the GUI interface originally from the people over at Xerox.. or was it Epson. In any case.. one of Steve Jobs biggest quotes was always: "Great artists dont invent, they steal."

You cant blame Bill for doing the same. Besides.. Jobs didnt patent things like the mouse like he should have.

I agree Macs are more artisitc. I agree they are known as the industry standard. What I am asking is if the cost is justfied and are PC's becoming MORE on par with macs as far as design.

On some of these posts, I am reading that Flash does not work worth a hoot on Macs. That would certainly influence a buying decision.."

Thanks for all the opinions.

[Zacha K]

Um, yeah, I'm sure that the good people at Xerox developed a GUI before Apple...

Now is a very good time to buy a Mac. The old top of the line Mac (as of a week ago), the 767MHz, used to cost in excess of $3,500. it is now the slowest computer Apple offers, for around $1,500.

I am an active Flash developer. With a iMac 500Mhz, I find it suits my needs very nicely, and now you can get a 700MHz iMac for $1,499. The 500Mhz works fine for me. It rarely crashes or freezes. My only complaint is that scripting is a tiny bit slow in the player integrated into Flash 5 (authoring app.) Speed is almost no issue in the standalone player or via a plug-in.

But to be completely honest with you, it's rare that you'll get an unbiased answer to your question from anyone.

And as to Steve Job's "quote", that was Pablo Picasso. "Good artists borrow, great artists steal."

[BrainTea]

Only .02 worth, but I had to speak up.

I've had an iMac 450 mhz for eleven months.
Nothing I've ever done in Flash has crashed
my machine or caused problems. (Except the time
I tried to have around twenty-five separate
alphabet letter movie clips, each one a mask
over a full screen-size gradient, come dancing in to
form a sentence...but of course that was because
I didn't know what the hell I was doing.)

This computer has been very nearly flawless.
As someone mentioned before, if worse comes to worst you can do a system re-install which leaves everything else totally intact. (Just remember to back
up your Preferences folder.)
Just once, I elected to re-format the internal 10g hard
drive, then re-install everything. It took about an
hour and a half, and everything was just dandy.

I fully intend to acquire a PC in the future, to be
cross-platform functional. I am only too aware
that I am in a tiny minority here, and I want to
at least be able to speak the language.
Yes, you will get differing, passionate opinions,
and this is but one more.
So again: virtually no problems here, ever.
I Love My Macintosh!


[Edited by BrainTea on 07-27-2001 at 05:36 AM]

[gratis]

I am soo confused:

Which is best among:

1. Imac
2. Ibook
3. G3 box
4. G3 laptop
5. G4 laptop
6. G4 titanium laptop
7. G4 cube
8. G4 tower



AAAAHHHHHH

I am looking for the point of diminishing returns, i.e. where you start spending lots of money for little improvement. I'm looking to spend about 2500 bucks. What should I do?

(should I wait a little longer?)

[BrainTea]

The G4 tower is expandable and easily
upgraded, where the iMac is pretty well
closed-end, other than adding ram.
Same probably goes for the laptops,
and they ain't making the Cube anymore
(you might get a great deal on one soon).
With the G4, you can install things like a
video-capture card, or get right into serious audio
with Pro Tools and the like.
My iMac's been very good to me, but
ultimately it's got to be a G4, or whatever's
next when I amass the $.

[ultrarob]

I think all Macs these days come with Firewire (or "i-link" if your Sony). This is the standard port for digital video now. Also, Firewire will be used for audio in the future...probably.

Rob