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Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: ljooc on January 04, 2009, 14:43

Title: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: ljooc on January 04, 2009, 14:43
Hey guys,

Need to hear your thoughts on whether you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art work and why?

My current laptop, a PC, is about to give up so time for a new one. I am debating whether to go for a Mac this time around or stay with a PC. I know just a little about Mac. I use my laptop for all my work, it is my whole life really, lol, write articles, edit my photos (use Photoshop extensively, and GIMP occasionally), plan to start using illustrator. I am also learning programming.  The question is how different are the two platforms and what should I be aware of before I make the switch (especially if I need to move my files over. (word doc's) photo stuffs will be fine I imagine). I could have both but is that really necessary? What do you use/prefer as a photographer and why?

Was going to post this in the Photography equipment section, thought it might be ok here. I apologize if this question is in the wrong place.

Thanks you in advance for your advice.
jc

Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: avava on January 04, 2009, 15:02
 Hi Ljook,

 I'm not saying. People are very emotional about their platform of choice. This is gonna be a battle ground  ;D I use two squirrels in a cage, no not a cage a cage is to inhumane. They are free range squirrels. Thinking about stepping up to four and doubling my performance but I am worried about them all getting along. Then there is twice the clean up as well. ;)

Good Luck,
AVAVA
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on January 04, 2009, 15:29
I am perfectly happy with my HP laptop running Vista, with a 17" screen and the Adobe Suite.  Everything runs fine, nothing crashes, and it was cheaper than a Mac, plus I didn't need to repurchase or find all my existing software for a different system.

I would just stick with what you currently have.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: leaf on January 04, 2009, 15:38
I'm on a self built Desktop PC and haven't had any problems.  You will get more processing power for your $$ if you buy PC over MAC... but you might get more status buying a mac :)

Your photoshop license is platform specific, so if you switch systems you will also have to repurchase Photoshop :( 

I bought an older mac laptop to get experience using a mac, and frankly I am just as happy (or more happy) using a PC. 
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: avava on January 04, 2009, 15:42
I also rely on the squirrels for my data storage. They have a uncanny ability to remember where they put stuff. ;D

Best,
AVAVA
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Lcjtripod on January 04, 2009, 15:44
PC Reason:$  and far more programs for it over Mac.

If I had the bucks to spare I would have both! ;D

-Larry
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: ljooc on January 04, 2009, 15:55
thank you for your answers :) it sounds like I should stick with PC for the value and computing power it offers. I have a desktop PC which is my "if all fails PC/backup" and that never crushes (as opposed to my laptop PC). Yes, one consideration for me is also that Mac costs 2x more for the same speed/specs/power

I guess Mac is more suitable for those who do more design/3D /flash work or music production.

It also did not sound like it is worth my while to run both platforms, will drive me nuts keeping both updated and costly for the licenses. (yes, if I have the bucks :), that would be an ideal)

Glad to hear Vista is pretty decent. I have read some complaints about it from friends. The guy whose HP 9607 (w/17th inch and Vista loaded) I am considering buying from said he was not happy with Vista and he said I should load it with XP Pro..

thanks again.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: pauloresende on January 04, 2009, 16:32
I don´t wont to start a war here! Yes you will need to have specific software for the mac! Yes you will need to adapt to the new OS that is different from the PC.

But some things are not like some people said! If you have a PC with 2.0 GHz and a MAC with the same processor, the MAC is faster more stable and safe. Evan if add a more power PC, probably the MAC is faster.

The question is, not all people like the blue. One thing i can say, if you switch to MAC you never go back.
The price is all most the same and if you thing in the price of anti-virus, crash, lost of data with virus and OS bugs, you will see that is well spend money on the MAC.

I switch for MAC about 10 years ago and i´m very happy. My wife as a PC and this week she saw in Media Market a promotion of the Macbook for 699€ and guess what...
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: ljooc on January 04, 2009, 17:27
Your point is well taken, Pauloresende, thanks.
can I hear more from the Mac users?

I know this sounds like the Nikon vs Canon debate all over again (I don't mean to go there, sorry  ;D)
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: avava on January 04, 2009, 17:54
 Since everyone is being pretty cool so far

 Okay, my squirrels are Mac certified and for me it was the only choice back when I first started working with images in computer. Beside the expensive CGI machines the Mac offered the best support for graphics and the earliest PS version support to my knowledge. I won't say a word against a PC because I have never used one but if I had the choice to get the exact same results for less money I think I would have to chose the cheaper route. If I was not so entrenched in so many years of Macs I might change, but changing my work flow at this time and point would take something pretty special. And just to add people were asking about if they need to calibrate their monitor or not the answer is yes you need to calibrate if you want the printer to know what color you want your photo to be, he will be calibrated daily.

Best,
AVAVA
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: bittersweet on January 04, 2009, 18:01
There are pros and cons with both systems, and the argument against Mac by the PC people inevitably comes down to price. I could go on and on about why I love my 3 Macs but I don't feel like arguing to support my case. ;) I have never lost data because of a virus, and I have a little Apple sticker on the back of my car... if that makes me a self-important "status" person, then so be it. Mac just works and that is why I love it. When I have to use the Windows side of my Mac, it is like a different world... where I can't find anything :D  (I assume you know that the new Macs can run Windows, as well as all the Windows software you already own?)

The best people to get opinions from are those who have actually used PC for years and then switched. These folks will be able to give you the most real info about their personal experience, free from the mythos that pervades these types of discussions (on both sides).

FWIW, Adobe has a PC to Mac switch deal that can't be beat. Give them a call and discuss what you're considering. It does not involve you repurchasing all your software at full cost. I promise you will be very pleasantly surprised. But, like I said, you can just run what you already have on the Windows side of your Mac.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: sharpshot on January 04, 2009, 18:02
I used to use a PC and a Mac at work and I preferred the PC.  Just not having a right click on the mouse was enough to put me off the Mac.  I can never remember all the keyboard shortcuts for all the different applications.  My PC is fast enough now, so speed is not an issue but I never found the Mac to be noticeably quicker.

The other option is linux but I don't have problems with windows, so I will stick with microsoft.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: bittersweet on January 04, 2009, 18:07
I used to use a PC and a Mac at work and I preferred the PC.  Just not having a right click on the mouse was enough to put me off the Mac.

Yes, this is true... Mac is famous for "one button mouse". You actually have to hold down the Control key and click in order to achieve the equivalent of a "right click" on the mouse that comes with your Mac. Of course there are hundreds of other mice which you can use with the Mac that have two or three or six buttons, so maybe it's not quite a deal-breaker.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on January 04, 2009, 18:13
By the way, I learned 3d with Inifi-D on a PowerMac, circa 1994.  I switched when we got a new home computer, since the rest of the family had Windows.  At Disney, we used Alias/Maya on SGI Unix stations, and then to HP Linux machines.  I know Dreamworks has a huge deal with HP as well.  We used Macs for the productions manager to run tracking software and such.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: nebojsak on January 04, 2009, 18:18
Mac. No viruses, no threats, no registry cleaning, no overall system cleaning, no HDD defragmentation, no chance for the configuration to become obsolete in 3 yrs, no custom assembled chinese desktops.

Of course, it's up to you to choose what suits your needs.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: CofkoCof on January 04, 2009, 18:18
I am perfectly happy with my HP laptop running Vista, with a 17" screen and the Adobe Suite.  Everything runs fine, nothing crashes, and it was cheaper than a Mac, plus I didn't need to repurchase or find all my existing software for a different system.

I'm also using a 17" HP laptop (I use XP though) with a 24" HP LCD connected to it.

I'm sticking to windows since I can get a lot of software for free where I work. Never had any problems with the system so I don't see why would I change it. Not to mention that many of the programs I use don't exist on other OS (I daily use linux also and my coworker uses Mac OS). Also Macs are a lot more expensive if you compare the same computing power. You pay for the make up and to feed the hype.

PS: I never had a virus on my computer and I never got a blue screen or similar (I dont use any AV software and I don't have a software FW). So I don't really know how a Mac could be more stable and safer? It's hard to compare speed, still there's a test in for PS available online:
http://www.retouchartists.com/pages/results.html
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: michealo on January 04, 2009, 18:31
I use both either is just fine.

My tip buy the best screen you can afford, will last longer than the computer itself (just like lenses)
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: helix7 on January 04, 2009, 18:59
Yes, this is true... Mac is famous for "one button mouse". You actually have to hold down the Control key and click in order to achieve the equivalent of a "right click" on the mouse that comes with your Mac. Of course there are hundreds of other mice which you can use with the Mac that have two or three or six buttons, so maybe it's not quite a deal-breaker.

All macs (except the Mini) now come with the Mighty Mouse, which is a one-button design but has 2-button functionality. It looks like one button, but it functions like any 2-button mouse. It also has a scroll wheel that scrolls left and right in addition to the usual up and down.

I use it, and I personally think it is the best mouse I've ever used. I used to have other third-party mice with my macs, but this new one is easily my favorite.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: ljooc on January 04, 2009, 19:50
wow  :-\
Now the floodgate has opened :). It has been a very interesting discussion thus far. Now I have to think really hard. Will need to decide by this weekend so please keep the discussion going :)

hey, I really appreciate everyone's input on the subject.

jc
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: nebojsak on January 04, 2009, 20:37
The only benefit you'll get from this discussion is to face yet another OS war, so well known on the various forums around. So, my advice to you is to visit a mate who has a Mac, check it for yourself and make a decision. Simple as that.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: stormchaser on January 04, 2009, 21:26
Use both out of necessity. As I run InDesign and Quark Xpress, life is easier with a Mac for maximum compatibility with commercial printers. If I do a catalog with Quark on a PC, there are always those little things that are just quirky with PC files when hey get to the printer.

Macs don't play well for web developers because of the need to test sites in various browsers. So if you plan any semi serious web work, stick with PC.

Helix is right about the Apple Mouse - can cut work time way down and when I go between Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark and possibly another program like a word processor, life is a breeze. Would be hellish on a PC.

Also consider your own Geek factor - if you like to play and tinker a lot, not nearly the geek offerings on Mac that there are for PC.

Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: nebojsak on January 04, 2009, 21:34
Macs don't play well for web developers because of the need to test sites in various browsers. So if you plan any semi serious web work, stick with PC.

? You have the same whole variety of web browsers on both platforms. Not to mention you can run both systems regularly on Intel Mac.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Kngkyle on January 04, 2009, 21:40
Mac. No viruses, no threats, no registry cleaning, no overall system cleaning, no HDD defragmentation, no chance for the configuration to become obsolete in 3 yrs, no custom assembled chinese desktops.

Of course, it's up to you to choose what suits your needs.

The 1 virus I have gotten using a PC was because I was greedy and tried to rip a program. It took me about 10 minutes to get rid of the virus by doing system restore and all was fine. I have no firewall and no anti-virus/spyware applications. The solution to avoiding viruses is nothing more than intelligence.

The configuration is going to become obsolete in time no matter OS you have. The difference is how easy and cost effective you can update your machine so it is not as obsolete. Microsoft wins in that category hands down.

Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Graffoto on January 05, 2009, 00:05
I have two PC desktops, a Dell Laptop running Vista with 3 gigs of ram and a Mac Pro desktop.

Guess which one I use for image editing?  ;D
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: stormchaser on January 05, 2009, 00:20
Macs don't play well for web developers because of the need to test sites in various browsers. So if you plan any semi serious web work, stick with PC.

Quote
? You have the same whole variety of web browsers on both platforms.

Yes but they handle certain code bits differently for the different platforms. Mac Safari is very cranky when reading some CMS sites, and Firefox for Mac had its own hidden quirks. And Mac abandoned support for MS Explorer long ago.

Quote
Not to mention you can run both systems regularly on Intel Mac.

Been there, done that. we tried thinking we might ditch the PCs, but not worth the hassles. When you do a 200 page catalog, things tend to choke up. What looks good in the showroom does not always work in real life. Plus we need the screen real estate here and the benefit of true multi tasking, not working via a box within a box.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: avava on January 05, 2009, 01:11
I think you can get the same amount of real power in both systems and same with screen space so I don't quite understand the last posters explanation. Still seems cheaper to go PC.

AVAVA
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: pauloresende on January 05, 2009, 04:40
I only can speak for my experience. I work with Mac at home and at work, i work for several years in PC then we switch for MAC and i don't think in turn back again.

In my home i heave one iMac with 3 years, Intel C2D with 2,0Ghz and 3GB of RAM. And what did i do with this?
All my work with photos (Photoshop), illustrations with (illustrator), editing video, play Call of duty 4 or Need for speed, surf the web, webdesign (dreamweaver and flash), text some documents (word and exel).

At my work i add some Mac with 7 year and even this macs are good enough to work and to run the late operating system (try that with Vista).

But like someone wrote here, the best is to try with a friend that add Mac or try to visit a Mac store in figure out your self.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: .shock on January 05, 2009, 06:25
I using late macbook pro attached on 24" dell tft with vista x64 on it. Everything work perfec and fast. I have tested late osx 10.5 on it, there is also everything fast and stable but some details are incredibly annoying....

- image browsing software (nothing compared like acdsee pro on pc)
- ftp sofware (nothing like cute ftp pro)
- couple of photoshop plugins
- finder.. file browser is not user friendly and usable like windows exporer
- no ctrl+x option (cut)

But there is lot of things that you will love on your mac platform if you have time and paitence... hahah... ;)
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: pauloresende on January 05, 2009, 07:00

- no ctrl+x option (cut)



Try this keys = +x (cut), +c (copy), +v (paste)

And can i also suggest to try cyberduck (free ftp software)



Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Dreamframer on January 05, 2009, 07:07
I use PC simply because I can't find nothing for MAC here. 99% of users run PCs here
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: araminta on January 05, 2009, 07:34
My computer at home is a Mac since 1989 and I'm a software engineer and work 8h a day on a PC since 1990.

I cannot tell you exactly why, but overall I would never purchase a PC at home: I just love the "Mac way" of doing things a lot more than the "PC way".

If you really want to decide based on facts, you should avoid to listen to remarks on Macs coming from PC guys: there are too much false ideas (e.g. the one button mouse, hardware compatibility issues or the not enough softwares myths)  ::)

Remember: most Mac users use PC too while most PC users don't know Mac at all.

Ask any Mac user what he thinks about his computer (IMPORTANT: without entering into the Mac vs PC war because then everybody will defend his choice) and then do the same with PC users. I bet 90% of Mac users will tell you they are VERY happy and have a great pleasure using their computer, which is not the case for PC users.

Mac users are most of the time very enthusiastic. Now answer this question: why this difference?

You should try to borrow a Mac or purchase a Mac-mini and play with it for 1 week or so: the first days you will only see the difference with a PC which may be annoying first... and then you will understand  ;D
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: michealo on January 05, 2009, 08:22
My computer at home is a Mac since 1989 and I'm a software engineer and work 8h a day on a PC since 1990.

I cannot tell you exactly why, but overall I would never purchase a PC at home: I just love the "Mac way" of doing things a lot more than the "PC way".

If you really want to decide based on facts, you should avoid to listen to remarks on Macs coming from PC guys: there are too much false ideas (e.g. the one button mouse, hardware compatibility issues or the not enough softwares myths)  ::)

Remember: most Mac users use PC too while most PC users don't know Mac at all.

Ask any Mac user what he thinks about his computer (IMPORTANT: without entering into the Mac vs PC war because then everybody will defend his choice) and then do the same with PC users. I bet 90% of Mac users will tell you they are VERY happy and have a great pleasure using their computer, which is not the case for PC users.

Mac users are most of the time very enthusiastic. Now answer this question: why this difference?

You should try to borrow a Mac or purchase a Mac-mini and play with it for 1 week or so: the first days you will only see the difference with a PC which may be annoying first... and then you will understand  ;D


PC means personal computer (a Mac is a personal computer too)

the difference is between a PC running Windows versus Mac OS
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: helix7 on January 05, 2009, 08:26

PC means personal computer (a Mac is a personal computer too)

the difference is between a PC running Windows versus Mac OS

True, but good luck convincing the world to change how they refer to these things. :)


Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: bittersweet on January 05, 2009, 08:56
- finder.. file browser is not user friendly and usable like windows exporer

That's so funny because I feel exactly the same way about Windows. I cannot find anything. ever. I finally figured out that I can use that search thing but it seems like so many extra steps compared to what I can do in Finder. I guess we just get used to whatever OS we are using. I know my way around Mac. If I want to find an Application folder, I click on the App button. If I want to find a photo, there's a Pictures button right there, etc, etc... I don't have to go on a scavenger hunt all the time, and I don't feel like I'm going to break something by going into some scary place where the file names all look like cheat codes for my son's DS games.  :D
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: araminta on January 05, 2009, 09:48
PC means personal computer (a Mac is a personal computer too)
the difference is between a PC running Windows versus Mac OS

 ::)

Of course you are correct, but you also know that everybody understand PC=Windows comupter and Mac=MacOS X computer.

And you know that the meaning of a word may evolve along with its usage: common usage of "PC" nowadays is for "PC running windows".
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: ichiro17 on January 05, 2009, 10:45
I use PC because I refuse to pay 3x more for a computer thats glossy
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: bittersweet on January 05, 2009, 10:58
If you really want to decide based on facts, you should avoid to listen to remarks on Macs coming from PC guys: there are too much false ideas (e.g. the one button mouse, hardware compatibility issues or the not enough softwares myths)  ::)

Remember: most Mac users use PC too while most PC users don't know Mac at all.

You mean like this, for instance:
I use PC because I refuse to pay 3x more for a computer thats glossy

 ;D Just funnin' ya... seriously, please do not make your decision based on this thread. Get out there and give a Mac a try. If you have an Apple store nearby, schedule an appointment to check one out... or just stop in. It will be worth it in order for you to be shown all the things that you can do, and have any questions answered by someone who actually knows what they are talking about. You already know PC, right?

Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: helix7 on January 05, 2009, 11:01
I use PC because I refuse to pay 3x more for a computer thats glossy


If only that were the only difference, then I could save some money and stop buying these Macs...

Although, many would argue that the price difference is not anywhere near 3x, and some would even say that there is no significant difference (http://technologizer.com/2008/08/14/are-macs-more-expensive-lets-do-the-math-once-and-for-all/).


Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: ljooc on January 05, 2009, 12:23
Thanks everyone for the very lively discussion indeed. I really appreciate your first hand experience as a user/photographer/designer.

To clarify: Yes,  I already know PC well. My Mac knowledge is skimpy. had  a PowerMac desktop once and played with Illustrator on it. I did not have it long enough though because the persistent humming noise when it is on sleep mode drove me nuts. I sold it after a week. I actually did like the way folders and programs are displayed on Mac, it is design friendly and very intuitive. Although Vista is trying to do the same with its browser screen. My PC's crush a lot since I have too many programs running at the same time and they don't seem to like each other, I am somewhat tired of the hacks and software viruses lurking at PC and having to be on guard all the time, updating the anti virus softwares. For programming work, PC is definitely more suitable, more programs have been written for PCs and that is an important criteria to me.

The dual licenses will be costly. Having given much thoughts to all your advice and comments, I think a good solution is to get a new PC laptop for my normal work (writing/Photoshop,programming stuffs), then try to find a used Mac (a mini) or an old ibook and work with that and see if I can/should make a definitive switch at a later date.

thanks again
jc

Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: bittersweet on January 05, 2009, 12:28
Thanks everyone for the very lively discussion indeed. I really appreciate your first hand experience as a user/photographer/designer.

To clarify: Yes,  I already know PC well. My Mac knowledge is skimpy. had  a PowerMac desktop once and played with Illustrator on it. I did not have it long enough though because the persistent humming noise when it is on sleep mode drove me nuts. I sold it after a week. I actually did like the way folders and programs are displayed on Mac, it is design friendly and very intuitive. Although Vista is trying to do the same with its browser screen. My PC's crush a lot since I have too many programs running at the same time and they don't seem to like each other, I am somewhat tired of the hacks and software viruses lurking at PC and having to be on guard all the time, updating the anti virus softwares. For programming work, PC is definitely more suitable, more programs have been written for PCs and that is an important criteria to me.

The dual licenses will be costly. Having given much thoughts to all your advice and comments, I think a good solution is to get a new PC laptop for my normal work (writing/Photoshop,programming stuffs), then try to find a used Mac (a mini) or an old ibook and work with that and see if I can/should make a definitive switch at a later date.

thanks again
jc



I still don't believe that dual licenses are necessary, but...


Check out the refurbs at the online Apple store as well. The selection changes daily and you can get some good prices. Everything is certified and comes with a 1 year guarantee, which is more than you'll get buying from somebody on ebay. ;)

Good luck with whatever you decide!
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: loop on January 05, 2009, 13:07
Thanks everyone for the very lively discussion indeed. I really appreciate your first hand experience as a user/photographer/designer.

To clarify: Yes,  I already know PC well. My Mac knowledge is skimpy. had  a PowerMac desktop once and played with Illustrator on it. I did not have it long enough though because the persistent humming noise when it is on sleep mode drove me nuts. I sold it after a week. I actually did like the way folders and programs are displayed on Mac, it is design friendly and very intuitive. Although Vista is trying to do the same with its browser screen. My PC's crush a lot since I have too many programs running at the same time and they don't seem to like each other, I am somewhat tired of the hacks and software viruses lurking at PC and having to be on guard all the time, updating the anti virus softwares. For programming work, PC is definitely more suitable, more programs have been written for PCs and that is an important criteria to me.

The dual licenses will be costly. Having given much thoughts to all your advice and comments, I think a good solution is to get a new PC laptop for my normal work (writing/Photoshop,programming stuffs), then try to find a used Mac (a mini) or an old ibook and work with that and see if I can/should make a definitive switch at a later date.

thanks again
jc



I still don't believe that dual licenses are necessary, but...


Check out the refurbs at the online Apple store as well. The selection changes daily and you can get some good prices. Everything is certified and comes with a 1 year guarantee, which is more than you'll get buying from somebody on ebay. ;)

Good luck with whatever you decide!

With Apple there's less choice, and that means that all is more expensive. Way more. I've used both and thre's not big difference, once you are familiar with the software. Mac is fancier, yes, but my last PC, running Lunux or Windows XP (I'm not fond of Vista) goes smooth and great. It costed me almost the half what a Mac with similar specs would have cost me.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: ichiro17 on January 05, 2009, 14:15
10 years ago, Mac was the way to go because Photoshop was programmed for MAC not PC and there were bugs all over the place.  Now the coding is being specialized a lot more and with the processors being very similar in both mac and pc, adobe is optimizing photoshop and lightroom to run on both. 

i'm comfortable with PC, and i like being able to run other stuff so i don't have any problems there.  the only bonus is that there are no constant virus threats, but maybe thats just because no one really cares enough about macs to write them? :)
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: lisafx on January 05, 2009, 15:16
I've used both PC and Mac.  I have always had PC's at home and used to work as a secretary in a job that used Mac. 

I always found PC much more intuitive, although I hear a lot of people say the opposite.

When Vista came out I was in need of a new computer and had heard so many Vista horror stories that I decided to get a Mac.  Spent over $3300 on a tricked out Mac Pro. 

Guess what - I hated it!  In spite of dual quad core processors and 4 GB of ram it was slower than my old PC!  And the lovely industrial grid pattern on the front of the thing drove me nuts dancing around my peripheral vision. 

But the best part was that the text was "antialiased" (which means BLURRED) and was causing me some serious eye strain.  When I called Apple service to find out how to turn off antialiasing for small text they said it couldn't be done.  Lovely. 

When I returned it they charged me a 15% restocking fee because it had been custom ordered (i.e. - I spent more money).  Even with the restocking fee I was happy to be rid of it. 

Managed to get a high end HP PC with comparable specs for 1/3 the price ($1100). Took me about 10 minutes to figure out how to turn off the annoying pop-ups in user account settings and after that Vista was a breeze - not at all buggy and lightening fast, especially compared to the comparably equipped Mac.  I've been using the Vista machine over a year now and it is still super fast and bug/hassle free. 

That will be the last time I get seduced by the (excellent) mac advertising.  In practical use I find the PC faster, cheaper, and more intuitive. 
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: avava on January 05, 2009, 17:01
Hey Formated,

 Have you tried Photo Mechanic as an option for image tracking and editing here is a link:

http://www.torrentreactor.net/torrents/1721968/Photo-Mechanic-(Camera-Bits)-v4-5-3%2BKeygen

I use it on a Mac and it is the fastest I know. I think it beats everything else myself. Also been using it a long time and have a work flow established.

Best,
AVAVA
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: araminta on January 05, 2009, 17:30
If you really want to decide based on facts, you should avoid to listen to remarks on Macs coming from PC guys: there are too much false ideas (e.g. the one button mouse, hardware compatibility issues or the not enough softwares myths)  ::)

Remember: most Mac users use PC too while most PC users don't know Mac at all.

You mean like this, for instance:
I use PC because I refuse to pay 3x more for a computer thats glossy


That is completely false: Mac are no longer glossy!!!
 ;D

Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: nebojsak on January 05, 2009, 17:33
Guess what - I hated it!  In spite of dual quad core processors and 4 GB of ram it was slower than my old PC! 

Sorry, but I can't believe this. It turns out that I can afford a new Porche, state that it is much slower than my old Daewoo from 2001, and expect everybody would believe this.

Let's stay within usual comparisons, pros and cons, please.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: araminta on January 05, 2009, 17:34
I still don't believe that dual licenses are necessary, but...
True...if you already have a PC, you already have a Windows license, isn't it?


Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: araminta on January 05, 2009, 17:48
In spite of dual quad core processors and 4 GB of ram it was slower than my old PC!

Hum...

On my iMac Core 2 Duo 2.16GHz and 3GB RAM, I'm able to render a 6000x4000 3D picture in Maxwell Render requiring almost 2GB of memory and using 100% CPU on both cores in background while continuing surfing, writing mails, listening to music and even doing some light PS work: the OS is very efficient at resources allocation.

On my PC at work, Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz with 4GB RAM, as soon as I run Maxwell Render with even a small sized output, everything almost freeze: it is impossible to do anything else.

And concerning antialiased fonts, I always feel Windows font rendering ugly compared to Mac and I'm glad now to be able to use Safari on my PC which render web pages with anti-aliased fonts.

Different people, different experience  ;)

Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: cathyslife on January 05, 2009, 17:51
I've worked on macs since the first model came out, with 64k of ram, in the 80s. I would never buy a PC to do serious graphics work on. But that's just me. Having said that, I have worked on PCs at various jobs (not by choice). There are some features about XP that I like a lot, and there are a ton more programs for the PC. But this just hasn't ever been enough to sway me to the dark side.   ;)

Lisa, you must have gotten a lemon. That just does NOT sound like a Mac at all. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: araminta on January 05, 2009, 18:17
and there are a ton more programs for the PC

On PC, you have 2563 graphic editors... 2548 are crap and the best one is PS which is also available on Mac along with a few other very nice piece of software (yet not as powerful).

On PC, you have 99283 text editors... but I need only a good one which is not a problem to find on a Mac.

On PC, you have 992 FTP software, but I need only a good one and there are a few good ones on the Mac as well as many not as good.

On PC, you have a mega-powerful and expensive MS Office suite but should I pay so much when I only use 10% of Word or Excel features? On Mac you have MS Office too, but I prefer a lot Apple iWorks suite which is just what I need and so much fun to use and cost only $80.

On PC you have 92993820 OS skins or hacks. But I don't want to skin or hack my Mac because it works just fine as it is.

Having the choice among zillions of apps? But I just need to be able to choose the best app amongst a few good candidates and there are many good apps on Mac in every category.

But I agree: a few softwares are available on PC only and if you need them absolutely.... well, you can use a Windows VM on your Mac  ;)

There are a few good arguments to buy a PC rather than a Mac and a few good arguments to buy a Mac rather than a PC, as well as a few good arguments to use a Linux box... but there are dozens of silly arguments and it is difficult to distinguish between them  :-\

Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: sharpshot on January 05, 2009, 18:35
On PC, you have a mega-powerful and expensive MS Office suite but should I pay so much when I only use 10% of Word or Excel features? On Mac you have MS Office too, but I prefer a lot Apple iWorks suite which is just what I need and so much fun to use and cost only $80.
$80 is way too expensive for me.  I use the mega powerful and free Open Office on the PC.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: nebojsak on January 05, 2009, 19:20
You're right. Me too uses powerful and $0 NeoOffice on OS X.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Whiz on January 05, 2009, 19:20
On PC, you have a mega-powerful and expensive MS Office suite but should I pay so much when I only use 10% of Word or Excel features? On Mac you have MS Office too, but I prefer a lot Apple iWorks suite which is just what I need and so much fun to use and cost only $80.

$80 is way too expensive for me.  I use the mega powerful and free Open Office on the PC.



There's also KOffice (no experience with this one).

http://www.koffice.org/ (http://www.koffice.org/)
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: null on January 05, 2009, 19:54
Every time somebody on any forum (I'm obviously much more on IT forums than on photography forums) starts to rant about what PC users are missing like the unique Mac experience, I have this Jehova witnesses feeling. They used to come on knock on your door trying to convince you that you're worshiping the wrong God.  :-\

It just got me allergic to all that starts with an "i". iGod, iPod, iPhone, and... iStock  ::)
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: nebojsak on January 05, 2009, 19:58
Are you saying that a Mac zealot started this thread to convince us?
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: bittersweet on January 05, 2009, 20:39
Every time somebody on any forum (I'm obviously much more on IT forums than on photography forums) starts to rant about what PC users are missing like the unique Mac experience, I have this Jehova witnesses feeling. They used to come on knock on your door trying to convince you that you're worshiping the wrong God.  :-\

It just got me allergic to all that starts with an "i". iGod, iPod, iPhone, and... iStock  ::)

Give me a break. The thread was started in order to gather opinions from both sides. Many of the PC people are posting ignorant garbage --not about their experience with PC, but about their beliefs about why Macs are bad bad bad-- and so a Mac user pipes up to give REAL information rebutting that ignorant garbage.

But I do agree with you that there are similarities to the istock argument.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: ljooc on January 05, 2009, 21:40
Not to kill the thread but I did not want a fist fight to result from my initial question on whether you prefer Mac or PC as a designer/photographer :)

I have learned a lot from everyone: pros and cons of each platform and what you like and what you don't about PC or Mac. It looks like my pocket book will be doing the talking and that means it will likely be a new PC laptop to replace my current laptop that is giving up. I'd like to get my hands on a used Mac as well and am going to look for one so I will have a chance to work with both.

It is good every one is so passionate about the tools of their trade.  ;) ;)
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: helix7 on January 05, 2009, 23:00

I think this is all just personal preference at this point in the development of the home computer. The old arguments for and against each platform are largely non-existent anymore. A lot of things mentioned in this thread are old facts, many of which are just not true anymore. In this day and age, I doubt anyone could really make a "wrong" choice. It's just a matter of what you prefer.

Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: leaf on January 06, 2009, 01:32
Here is a seemingly unbiased test done by CNET back in 2006.  Although it is dated somewhat it could give a few nice ideas on how a MAC and a Windows laptop compare

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10442_7-6511774-1.html?tag=rb_content;rb_mtx
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: leaf on January 06, 2009, 02:10
i think we need a video to set a lighter tone :)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Gzq-QEt0s[/youtube]
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: araminta on January 06, 2009, 03:10
Every time somebody on any forum (I'm obviously much more on IT forums than on photography forums) starts to rant about what PC users are missing like the unique Mac experience, I have this Jehova witnesses feeling. They used to come on knock on your door trying to convince you that you're worshiping the wrong God.  :-\

It just got me allergic to all that starts with an "i". iGod, iPod, iPhone, and... iStock  ::)

For me, Mac users are only enthusiastic, sometimes overly I agree. But I understand (and like) enthusiasm, whatever the subject is.

I also see on many forums a lot of what I can only call Mac haters and I don't understand at all people who spend so much time to talk about things they dislike.

I'm not a Linux guy at all, but I also understand and like enthusiasm of Linux community.

But I never see any enthusiasm coming from Windows worshipers :)

Is seems indeed that the Mac vs PC vs Linux debate is very hot most of the time: I'm just happy to be enthusiastic.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: sharpshot on January 06, 2009, 03:51
But I never see any enthusiasm coming from Windows worshipers :)

I couldn't be more happy with windows.  I am sure most people who have problems with windows don't know much about computers.  Building my own was great fun, can you build your own Mac?  I used Macs and PC's side by side for 10 years at work and I have always had a PC with windows at home.

The only bit I preferred about the Mac was having the bin on the right side of the screen.  That is where mine is on my PC.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: araminta on January 06, 2009, 03:58
But I never see any enthusiasm coming from Windows worshipers :)

I couldn't be more happy with windows. 

Being happy is not being enthusiastic  ;)

I'm sure most Windows users are happy with it... partly because many don't know anything else.

But I agree, if you like to build your own machine, a PC is the way to go: this is one of the good argument. But I myself like not to have to build my Mac ;-)
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: LostOne on January 06, 2009, 04:42
Being happy is not being enthusiastic  ;)
Enthusiasm probably comes with the package. That's why you pay more for a Mac (at least here in Europe) :D
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: leaf on January 06, 2009, 04:43
building my own is perhaps one of the biggest advantages for PC for me too.

Being able to choose my parts and spend the $$ where I want them to be spent is worthwhile.  Also being able to customize to suite my needs is also important.  If I want to have 6 or more hard drives in my computer it isn't a problem.  I also like being able to upgrade a single component when I feel the need, and have a wide choice of options of what to upgrade to.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: pauloresende on January 06, 2009, 05:58
You also can build or upgrade a mac. In my case i already switch hard drives, memory, graphic cards etc. I see a lot people that said that MAC is a computer like any, if this is true the components that are in it also are equal to any computer! And thats true!

And i see here some people that like to build computers that said that if you have the "expert" windows work fine and if there are some problems, they (the expert that understand programing, hardware, etc) can fix all the problems. But did you guys think in the enormous quantity of people that work with computers that don't now anything about software and hardware!
How many of you that buy a car now mechanics?
Imagine a world were everybody must be expert in every item that buy in is life!

When i buy something i buy to use not to fix that item!
MAC works and i don't need to now how to fix or speed up! When someone make a PC like MAC i will buy it. Because i use this machine to work, i need a machine that is stable and i don't need to be expert on fix it. I prefer by expert in what i do!

If you like PC, please buy one! If you like Linux please buy one, if you like a mac please by one. But if you ask for opinions please respect the difference.

Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: sharpshot on January 06, 2009, 06:24
PC's work but it is inevitable that some people find ways to make them go wrong.  You don't have to be an expert, just a bit of common sense is all that is required but I see lots of people that don't have any and perhaps they would be better off with a Mac ;D

And Macs are not 100% fool proof, I have worked with people that are capable of screwing them up too.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Void on January 06, 2009, 09:28
I use a macbook.
Aperture does almost everything possibly needed to prepare images, and does it fast so there is no need to go to any other programs.
I also run Parallels which allows me to use any, and I mean any PC program on the mac, while still in the mac OS.
I almost  have my girlfriend convinced that she needs a mac!!!!

I never liked PCs because they are too much work, at least in my opinion.
Windows bloats up and eats itself so there is constant maintenance involved.

With the mac you turn it on and everything works....

Used PC early on, switched to mac 10 years ago and never looked back.
Mac applications also give you more screen real estate when working as opposed to a PC program taking up a third or more of the screen.

Yes the investment is bigger but time is money. The faster and easier you can work the better your quality of life and the more pictures you can take

Another great feature for a microstocker with the mac is uploading multiple files to istock via Aperture or iphoto.
I tell you I do not miss the uploading one at a time over there....
Before they are uploaded you can go through the keywords and categorize, when you are ready, press one button and you are all done!

In case you didnt notice, this is a vote for the mac and parallels for when you need to work in pc land!
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: lisafx on January 06, 2009, 11:23
Guess what - I hated it!  In spite of dual quad core processors and 4 GB of ram it was slower than my old PC! 

Sorry, but I can't believe this. It turns out that I can afford a new Porche, state that it is much slower than my old Daewoo from 2001, and expect everybody would believe this.

Let's stay within usual comparisons, pros and cons, please.

Yeah, why would you believe it?  I am completely inexperienced with computers, imaging, and a well known liar.  ;)
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: lisafx on January 06, 2009, 11:31

But I never see any enthusiasm coming from Windows worshipers :)

Most likely this is because people who prefer PC's view their computers as a tool, not a religion or a way of life... 

Not to mention that people expressing a preference for windows are accused of lying and told to shut up (reference the above post). 
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: thesentinel on January 06, 2009, 11:41

But I never see any enthusiasm coming from Windows worshipers :)

Most likely this is because people who prefer PC's view their computers as a tool, not a religion or a way of life... 

Like most users of computers my computer is a tool, not a religion nor a way of life, it just happens that I use a mac, and as most of my friends are in the design or music business they do too. None of us feel the need to evangelise, just the same as our pc using friends feel no need to hate. Polarising threads, like this has become, are unrepresentative of the real world and just spread more heat than light.

If we all liked exactly the same thing there would be no progress, nor need for stock photography, one handshake image would serve all needs for handshake illustrations etc.!
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: null on January 06, 2009, 11:50
I knew it, I knew it. The Mac is a religion. If the Mac is that super, why does it have a tiny market share, why Mac users are such zealots everywhere, and why do they feel that constant itch all the time to preach their superior gospel to the inferior PC infidels? Insecurity? Enjoy your Macs, but I don't care for them. Next!  :P
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: avava on January 06, 2009, 12:45
I told you this would happen. Two free range squirrels everyone, best choice. How about the sharpest lens now there is a good direction to steer this for some more bickering. Just make nice photos the buyer doesn't care if you made them pressing wild flowers together.

Best,
AVAVA
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: araminta on January 06, 2009, 13:43
I told you this would happen.

It was not difficult: it always happens  ;)

If the Mac is that super, why does it have a tiny market share,

Because Bill Gates is by far a better salesman compared to Steve Jobs.

and why do they feel that constant itch all the time to preach their superior gospel to the inferior PC infidels?

Re-read this thread: zealotery(?) is everywhere... Mac or PC side.

Insecurity?

Once again: enthusiasm. I'm also enthusiastic for microstock business and I like to explain to other people why I find this business cool and interesting. Same for the Mac.

I guess you understand my enthusiasm for microstock. You should then understand my enthusiasm for the Mac platform: different subject, but same feeling.

Enjoy your Macs, but I don't care for them. Next!  :P

Sound like an old and wise macrostock contributor telling us on this forum "Enjoy microstock, but I don't care for this business".
 ;D




Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: araminta on January 06, 2009, 13:48

But I never see any enthusiasm coming from Windows worshipers :)

Most likely this is because people who prefer PC's view their computers as a tool, not a religion or a way of life... 


I'm a software engineer... I would say it is a good thing I consider computers as something more than a tool... as I consider as a photographer my brand new Canon 24-70L a little bit more than a piece of glass and metal. You understand that feeling?
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: madelaide on January 06, 2009, 15:05
If the Mac is that super, why does it have a tiny market share,

Because Bill Gates is by far a better salesman compared to Steve Jobs.

Not necessarily.  I think Bill Gates focused on mass-marketing the concept of personal computers, whereas Steve Jobs focused on producing a brand with a status.  It's more like Levi's vs Gap jeans.  People buy i-pods, i-phones, i-anything, and quite frankly I think they pay more than it would be fair, as with any other fashion brand.

At least until some years ago, having a Mac was a status.  It was more like an "artists have Macs, ordinary people have PCs" thing.  ;D

I don't think there is much difference in owning one or another these days, although I suppose Mac prices are still a bit above.  Having  used PC for ages, I don't feel any need to change. 

Regards,
Adelaide
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: lisafx on January 06, 2009, 15:46

I'm a software engineer... I would say it is a good thing I consider computers as something more than a tool... as I consider as a photographer my brand new Canon 24-70L a little bit more than a piece of glass and metal. You understand that feeling?

Congrats on your wonderful new lens! 

You are certainly entitled to your opinion and to have one different than mine :)

However, no, I do not regard any of my lenses, cameras, computer, car,  or any other piece of equipment as more than a tool.  Some of them are tools I like very much and I will happily argue their merits, but I reserve my love and devotion for living beings. 

In the end our stuff is just stuff - IMHO it's a mistake to get too attached to any of it. 
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: araminta on January 06, 2009, 16:52
Congrats on your wonderful new lens! 

At least we agree on this subject  ;)

You are certainly entitled to your opinion and to have one different than mine :)

However, no, I do not regard any of my lenses, cameras, computer, car,  or any other piece of equipment as more than a tool.  Some of them are tools I like very much and I will happily argue their merits, but I reserve my love and devotion for living beings. 

In the end our stuff is just stuff - IMHO it's a mistake to get too attached to any of it. 

Macs are also for me tools I like very much and I happily argue their merits, as you have probably noted.

I consider that enthusiasm is a VERY positive feeling, whatever the reason of your enthusiasm. I'm myself very enthusiastic about various subjects and science and technology is one of them: Mac are tools, but they are also a wonderful piece of technology.

... but I reserve my love and devotion for living beings. 

Amen. It is impossible to argue with that  ;D
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: avava on January 06, 2009, 17:29
Have to agree with Lisa on this one. If your Chevy is starting to become one of your better friends it's probably time to get out a bit more often. Enjoy  ;D

Best,
AVAVA
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Lcjtripod on January 06, 2009, 17:59
Have to agree with Lisa on this one. If your Chevy is starting to become one of your better friends it's probably time to get out a bit more often. Enjoy  ;D

Best,
AVAVA

Whats wrong with a Chevy? Nothing, if you have a Ford to pull it around with. Ford is my new best friend. Whats yours?  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Time to end this never ending thread. Yes?

-Larry
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: LostOne on January 06, 2009, 19:53
New laptop from Apple:
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/apple_introduces_revolutionary?utm_source=embedded_video

:D
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: ljooc on January 06, 2009, 20:17
yes, can we lock this thread now, moderator?

I have got all the answers I need ;) thank you all.

jc

Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: bittersweet on January 06, 2009, 21:47
yes, can we lock this thread now, moderator?

I have got all the answers I need ;) thank you all.

jc



Yes, when we start repeating links to a parody video on the same thread, it's time to put it to bed.... although I think Leaf posted it the first time, so maybe that doesn't count. :D
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Tuilay on January 06, 2009, 23:08
yes, can we lock this thread now, moderator?

I have got all the answers I need ;) thank you all.

jc



Yes, when we start repeating links to a parody video on the same thread, it's time to put it to bed.... although I think Leaf posted it the first time, so maybe that doesn't count. :D

ACTUALLY I PREFER AMIGA, ... huh what?
the debate's over and done?  jeepers ! you mean i missed it all.

GOOD NIGHT FOLKS ! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: LostOne on January 07, 2009, 06:14
Yes, when we start repeating links to a parody video on the same thread, it's time to put it to bed.... although I think Leaf posted it the first time, so maybe that doesn't count. :D
I clicked on the thread but it jumped to the last page (page 3) so I didn't see Leaf posting the same thing on page 2. Sry.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: .shock on January 07, 2009, 12:35
in some applicatios is allowed ctrl+x but in finder, file browser is not.... also, I'm try cyberduck and all other ftp software but nothing compares cuteftp on pc.... also there is cuteftp ver. for mac but this is totaly diferent piece of software than on pc...
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: SoftDux on January 30, 2009, 03:52
I still prefer PC over MAC, purely cause it's easier to upgrade a PC, and more companies stock PC compatible components.

Although, with the new MAC's available, this will probably soon change. Yet, in our country MAC is seriously over-priced.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: cornishman on January 30, 2009, 11:32
Mac for work (Photoshop and Cinema4D, etc) and PC for gaming.

Mac's maybe overpriced but they're worth it as far as I'm concerned. Way more reliable.

Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: SoftDux on January 30, 2009, 15:56
in some countries MAC's are still within reasonable prices, but in our country, since it's not such a popular product yet, it's much more expensive than what it would cost in most other countries.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: PeterChigmaroff on January 30, 2009, 16:43
This may be silly but macs are so much more elegant looking. Both in OS and styling. As a creative I think it makes a difference to me. I have and have had many PCs right from the first XT. I've never ever seen a pretty one.

Peter
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: vlad_the_imp on February 02, 2009, 06:09
Go to any professional designers and see what they're using. ( as opposed to the mainly amateurs who hang out here)
(Hint, it won't be a PC)
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: SoftDux on February 02, 2009, 06:17
Go to any professional designers and see what they're using. ( as opposed to the mainly amateurs who hang out here)
(Hint, it won't be a PC)

Sure, but that's only cause the MAC / graphics / etc sales reps sell MAC's as better / faster / prettier than PC's. It will be hard for a MAC to beat my PC's performance, considering I have a Core 2 Quad 9300 CPU, 4GB DDRII 800Mhz RAM and 2x Gefore 9600 GT 3D cards :)
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: vlad_the_imp on February 02, 2009, 06:40
It's got nothing to do with 'sales reps'. ( and we've never seen a sales rep, ever) It's got to do with better speed, better color handling capabilities, better reliability and ease of use, plus the fact that most repro houses are far more Mac savvy than they are PC. It's the difference between amateurs and pros, basically. I assume you're not the latter. Nothing wrong with being an amateur. You're an amateur, you've got a graphic amateurs computer. End of.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: designalldone on February 02, 2009, 06:42
I use PC because I refuse to pay 3x more for a computer thats glossy

Firstly that's nonsense and you know it - they don't cost 3x more. Second, even if you do have to pay slightly more for a Mac, that's not the whole story.

Macs hold their value like no other computers. When you want to upgrade in 3 or 4 years you won't be left with a computer that nobody wants. Seriously, what sort of re-sell value is there on a used Dell or HP after 4 years? I bet it's not at least 50 - 60% of what you originally paid.

I sold my G5 PowerMac after 4 years of daily use and still managed to get £800 for it! - that money went towards a Mac Pro, which again will hold it's value very well until I'm ready to upgrade again in 3 or 4 years.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: araminta on February 02, 2009, 06:53
Sure, but that's only cause the MAC / graphics / etc sales reps sell MAC's as better / faster / prettier than PC's. It will be hard for a MAC to beat my PC's performance, considering I have a Core 2 Quad 9300 CPU, 4GB DDRII 800Mhz RAM and 2x Gefore 9600 GT 3D cards :)

May be a Mac Pro with two Quad Core Xeon Harpertown CPU, 32 GB DDRII 800MHz and 2x NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 1.5Go?
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: SoftDux on February 02, 2009, 06:58
It's got nothing to do with 'sales reps'. ( and we've never seen a sales rep, ever) It's got to do with better speed, better color handling capabilities, better reliability and ease of use, plus the fact that most repro houses are far more Mac savvy than they are PC.
In your country, yes. Don't always assume that cause how you do things, is how everyone else around the world does it. Nor are other countries the same as yours.

It's the difference between amateurs and pros, basically. I assume you're not the latter. Nothing wrong with being an amateur. You're an amateur, you've got a graphic amateurs computer. End of.

ouch, that's a low blow, especially from an elite professional. Don't get me wrong, but don't judge others according to your own standards. it's lame.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Microbius on February 02, 2009, 06:59
I use PC because I refuse to pay 3x more for a computer thats glossy

Firstly that's nonsense and you know it - they don't cost 3x more. Second, even if you do have to pay slightly more for a Mac, that's not the whole story.

Macs hold their value like no other computers. When you want to upgrade in 3 or 4 years you won't be left with a computer that nobody wants. Seriously, what sort of re-sell value is there on a used Dell or HP after 4 years? I bet it's not at least 50 - 60% of what you originally paid.

I sold my G5 PowerMac after 4 years of daily use and still managed to get £800 for it! - that money went towards a Mac Pro, which again will hold it's value very well until I'm ready to upgrade again in 3 or 4 years.

But then again you can gradually upgrade a pc  without having to sell the whole thing and start from scratch.

Both have their advantages, if you don't want to worry about your hardware and just want to get on with the job a mac is great. If you like getting to know your tools (hardware) intimately, even if this means hassle, then a pc is for you.
A lot of creatives don't like the idea of fiddling with technical stuff too much, a mac often means you don't have to. If you're into computers though you can't beat a pc for affordability and customization.
I guess this is why there are a lot more macs in studios but a more even split amongst freelancers.

Sorry but not all pros use macs, studios like them because they mean lower IT costs; in a studio you don't expect your artists to be tech heads.
If you freelance and you know your stuff there's nothing wrong with a PC.

Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: vlad_the_imp on February 02, 2009, 07:05
Quote
ouch, that's a low blow, especially from an elite professional. Don't get me wrong, but don't judge others according to your own standards. it's lame.

It's Monday morning, it's cold, I've just paid my tax bill, i'm bored, I'm winding him up.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: vlad_the_imp on February 02, 2009, 07:07
To be honest it's horses for courses. I have 2 PC's and 3 Macs, they're basically just tools to do a job and the one that suits its user is the best tool for the job.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: NitorPhoto on February 02, 2009, 08:07
I have both systems. I switched to Mac about two years ago... and I loved it. After a while I realized the Mac also has its week points and disadvantages. It also crashes, it's also generating mystical malfunctions just as the windows does. I switched back to PC but I kept the Mac as well.
Color management and and some functions of the user interface are much better on Mac. Other functions are better in Windows and you can access more programs there. My overall opinion: if you aren't an IT expert, use Mac, if you have an IT background (25 years in my case) you will be frustrated by Mac's strange restrictions. In my opinion Mac is more accessable for non-IT people but this why sometimes it drives you crazy. When I use the Mac I feel like driving a Mercedes... but there are many tasks you won't like to use a Mercedes for.

For studio work and for server purposes I am using a 64-bit Vista PC. It is more stable then my Mac ever was. It is working 24 hours and I restart it once a months. Well, it's good for windows - you know every restart is a risk that something strange happens :) But Mac is not better here.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Lizard on February 02, 2009, 09:26
New laptop from Apple:
[url]http://www.theonion.com/content/video/apple_introduces_revolutionary?utm_source=embedded_video[/url]

:D


Stupidity has no limits , they made typing few times harder than on regular cell phone , I don't know how could this thing handle shortcuts....  or any work at all.

What did they gain , a giant circle slide where keyboard was once , that keyboard that you need replaced for something that only makes your work painful.

Im sorry but that product is almost useless and born to be a huge failure if it ever comes out in this form.

 
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: bittersweet on February 02, 2009, 10:15
New laptop from Apple:
[url]http://www.theonion.com/content/video/apple_introduces_revolutionary?utm_source=embedded_video[/url]

:D


Stupidity has no limits


Yes, this is true.

Hello? This was a parody.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Lizard on February 02, 2009, 10:39
Sure, but that's only cause the MAC / graphics / etc sales reps sell MAC's as better / faster / prettier than PC's. It will be hard for a MAC to beat my PC's performance, considering I have a Core 2 Quad 9300 CPU, 4GB DDRII 800Mhz RAM and 2x Gefore 9600 GT 3D cards :)

May be a Mac Pro with two Quad Core Xeon Harpertown CPU, 32 GB DDRII 800MHz and 2x NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 1.5Go?



U can easily use all that with 64x windows , add 2x superior NVIDIA Quadro FX 5800 pack it in lets say coolermaster cosmost that is more quality build and looks better then the macs case.

Then put a decent cooling , and you will have a superior PC for way less $ spent.

Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Microbius on February 02, 2009, 10:42
New laptop from Apple:
[url]http://www.theonion.com/content/video/apple_introduces_revolutionary?utm_source=embedded_video[/url]

:D


Stupidity has no limits


Yes, this is true.



you beat me to it!
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: thesentinel on February 02, 2009, 10:44
New laptop from Apple:
[url]http://www.theonion.com/content/video/apple_introduces_revolutionary?utm_source=embedded_video[/url]

:D


Stupidity has no limits , they made typing few times harder than on regular cell phone , I don't know how could this thing handle shortcuts....  or any work at all.

What did they gain , a giant circle slide where keyboard was once , that keyboard that you need replaced for something that only makes your work painful.

Im sorry but that product is almost useless and born to be a huge failure if it ever comes out in this form.
 


Hook, line and sinker :-)

I'm reminded of a post on dpreview about a test shot in a review which featured a shot of the Lord Mayors office in London when some wise spark made a comment on such bad lens distortion, such an earnest follow on ensued, it was almost a shame when the joker had to point out that the building looks like its slanting anyway.


Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Lizard on February 02, 2009, 10:46
New laptop from Apple:
[url]http://www.theonion.com/content/video/apple_introduces_revolutionary?utm_source=embedded_video[/url]

:D


Stupidity has no limits


Yes, this is true.

Hello? This was a parody.


Well, i just watched few seconds , without thinking but..

After they introduced laptops without optical drive nothing from them can surprise me , cause that almost equals this.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: vlad_the_imp on February 02, 2009, 10:47
Quote
Im sorry but that product is almost useless and born to be a huge failure if it ever comes out in this form.

Duh, hello, this was a JOKE. It's not a real product.
(is it an indication of the average IQ of PC users that so many believe this?)
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: thesentinel on February 02, 2009, 10:47
Sure, but that's only cause the MAC / graphics / etc sales reps sell MAC's as better / faster / prettier than PC's. It will be hard for a MAC to beat my PC's performance, considering I have a Core 2 Quad 9300 CPU, 4GB DDRII 800Mhz RAM and 2x Gefore 9600 GT 3D cards :)

May be a Mac Pro with two Quad Core Xeon Harpertown CPU, 32 GB DDRII 800MHz and 2x NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 1.5Go?



U can easily use all that with 64x windows , add 2x superior NVIDIA Quadro FX 5800 pack it in lets say coolermaster cosmost that is more quality build and looks better then the macs case.

Then put a decent cooling , and you will have a superior PC for way less $ spent.



Is there room for a wheel?!
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: null on February 02, 2009, 15:35
Vladimir the Emperor, I still love my Commodore 64. What am I now? An amateur or a pro?  ;D

The real reason the PC made it is that you can find hacked "free" software for it everywhere, and for Mac that's more difficult.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: araminta on February 02, 2009, 16:16
Vladimir the Emperor...

Vlad Tepes the Impaler I would say... Dracula if you prefer  ;)
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Randy McKown on February 02, 2009, 20:46
If I go to the mall, best buy, circuit city .. wherever .. all I see is PC, PC, PC .. I can't remember a single time I walked into a store and saw a Mac. Everytime I get a new laptop I have never messed around doing it. It's always one of those things where we are sitting around and say ... hey let's go upgrade and we jump in the car and go buy a new system. So .. it's always a PC. I've used Macs .. they have lost their Wow factor in the last decade or so in my opinion. If stores would start carrying them I might convert .. but they would have to do some MAJOR MAJOR marketing and inventory because if I walk in the store and have 100 killer PCs to choose from I'm not going to spend much time browsing the 3 killer Macs in the corner. Graphics design ... maybe I would have a different opinion .. I dont know .. I run a photography studio and a up to date PC runs smoothly without problems.
After this thread is over can we please start a Nikon Vs Canon thread? We will get the same opinions ;D
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: null on February 02, 2009, 23:02
If I go to the mall, best buy, circuit city

Circuit City filed for bankruptcy.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: alladinian on February 04, 2009, 05:14
The same old story here :P

@All guys saying that having a PC is ok and works great:

What you really forget, as it seems from the posts, is the operating system.
Actually the main thing that makes mac computers more attractive to creative people is not the far-superior design of the machine, but the fact that the software it comes with is ages ahead of the competition. Besides, when a company ships a non-custom computer, can assure you that hardware is fully tested and working great with software, something that M$ simply cannot achieve since they don't know where you are going to put their software.

Finally, is it possible for anyone to find me a way to automate a batch procedure WITHOUT having to spend more money on 3rd party software?

For example, tell me how I can change the colorspace on 15.000 photos, rotate only those that are landscapes, zip them and e-mail them to 5 different email addresses based on their dimensions by JUST dragging them on to a special folder on my desktop on a PC with Vista (or XP) and I am going to set all my macs to flame the very same moment :)

Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: SoftDux on February 04, 2009, 07:37
You can't really compare a MAC to a PC due to the OS. Does the engine in a BMW make it better than a Mercedes? :)

Both Windows & MAC OS can be installed on either. But, since I prefer to use Linux (and FreeBSD, which is what MAC OSX is build on) does that make me inferior? Not at all. My argument was towards the hardware of a MAC, compared to a PC. What OS is on either is irrelevant. Cause the next question would be which graphics program one uses, and if the ones on MAC as superior to any other available (free or commercial, and whether it can work on MAC or not.).


P.S. For what it's worth, I've been working in the IT industry for about 11 years with extensive experience no both. PC's have a lot more benefit than the looks of the box they come in.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: null on February 04, 2009, 08:47
Finally, is it possible for anyone to find me a way to automate a batch procedure WITHOUT having to spend more money on 3rd party software?

The new Irfanview (free) does a lot of that. I'm not sure about the color space but you can write a Photoshop action for it.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: alladinian on February 04, 2009, 09:05
Finally, is it possible for anyone to find me a way to automate a batch procedure WITHOUT having to spend more money on 3rd party software?

The new Irfanview (free) does a lot of that. I'm not sure about the color space but you can write a Photoshop action for it.

Hmm... yes it can do batch processing but not system-wide (operates only on files, cannot send an automated filtered-based email or distribute files to a network for example) :) see my example to understand what I mean....
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: null on February 04, 2009, 09:41
Hmm... yes it can do batch processing but not system-wide (operates only on files, cannot send an automated filtered-based email or distribute files to a network for example) :) see my example to understand what I mean....

I read it. In general, I'm a bit reluctant to do complicated steps in batch. I like to see what I'm doing. But you is not me, and if you have to perform that workflow often and you know it works fine on a Mac, it's obvious you use a Mac for it. Time is money. You would probably lose a lot of time switching to a PC and having to go through a steep learning curve to perform the same.

It's the same reasoning as to GIMP, Photoshop and Lightroom. People tell me all the time GIMP can do the same, it's free, and Lightroom is better. Well, I know my way in Photoshop and I won't lose time on learning another workflow to basically just do the same.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: alladinian on February 04, 2009, 09:58
Yes you got right, but... I am actually talking about something that cannot be done if I was on Windows :)

There is absolutely no way to automate the operating system, simply because it doesn't support it!

That is my point and since the topic is concerned about Workflow and Creativity, I just mentioned my "why", I wouldn't like to debate on a theoretical basis :)

So just to recap, in the real world, apple's solution (and especially the OS) is far more superior to competitive products when it comes to Workflow/automation/simplicity etc...

Ps. I have a friend of mine that is actually typing simple text on photoshop just to print it out. Ok, the logic -> Go with what you know is not always right...
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: PeterChigmaroff on February 04, 2009, 10:28
PC's have a lot more benefit than the looks of the box they come in.
Pickup trucks have more benefits than a sports cars.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: null on February 04, 2009, 11:29
There is absolutely no way to automate the operating system, simply because it doesn't support it!
System wide batch has been around as long as there are computers, long before the time of PCs and MACs. IBM had it, DEC had it, Linux still has it. You can do it in Windows too if you really want it, but in command mode. The batch files with commands have the extension "BAT". Never used it after DOS though, so I can't comment on the ease of use under Windows. I can imagine there are batch tools for Windows around in the vast pool of Windows software. Just have a look at Tucows.

Ps. I have a friend of mine that is actually typing simple text on photoshop just to print it out. Ok, the logic -> Go with what you know is not always right...
If it works for him and he only has to do it once in a while, it's right. If the text is with effects, like shadows and bevels, it's the only way as far as I know. If it's simple text, he could use OpenOffice of course. The right tool to nail a spike is a hammer, but if it happens you have no hammer around but a rock and you just need to nail one spike, it's faster to use that rock.

Of course you can lecture that person how much more handy a hammer would be, but by the time you finished your lecture and he ran to the shop for a hammer, he could have nailed in 100 spikes. If he had to nail in 100 spikes every day, a hammer might be a better idea.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: alladinian on February 04, 2009, 16:40
There is absolutely no way to automate the operating system, simply because it doesn't support it!
System wide batch has been around as long as there are computers, long before the time of PCs and MACs. IBM had it, DEC had it, Linux still has it. You can do it in Windows too if you really want it, but in command mode. The batch files with commands have the extension "BAT". Never used it after DOS though, so I can't comment on the ease of use under Windows. I can imagine there are batch tools for Windows around in the vast pool of Windows software. Just have a look at Tucows.

Ps. I have a friend of mine that is actually typing simple text on photoshop just to print it out. Ok, the logic -> Go with what you know is not always right...
If it works for him and he only has to do it once in a while, it's right. If the text is with effects, like shadows and bevels, it's the only way as far as I know. If it's simple text, he could use OpenOffice of course. The right tool to nail a spike is a hammer, but if it happens you have no hammer around but a rock and you just need to nail one spike, it's faster to use that rock.

Of course you can lecture that person how much more handy a hammer would be, but by the time you finished your lecture and he ran to the shop for a hammer, he could have nailed in 100 spikes. If he had to nail in 100 spikes every day, a hammer might be a better idea.

You are joking about the BAT files... right?
So if I am getting this right, you recommend to a photographer to have a PC for having the privilege of workflow automation via BAT files???

Come on people, we all know it's true ! Windows are very poor os and linux (although powerful) cannot be used by professionals (I am talking about creative artists right now) for many reasons.

What I am trying to say is that apple is offering the best solution around for artists and this is why you see the majority of them to chose their products. As simple as that :)

Regarding the second part (the one with the rock and the hammer) I respect your opinion, but my point of view is that the time you spend on learning something properly is a major investment you do for your future.

Ps. Personally... I wouldn't trust someone to build my house by nailing spikes with a rock :)

Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: null on February 05, 2009, 08:54
So if I am getting this right, you recommend to a photographer to have a PC for having the privilege of workflow automation via BAT files???

I didn't recommend anything. It was just an answer to your statement that automatic tasking on the OS level was impossible under Windows. I remember scripting tools around, like the Wise install, and most install packages, but didn't use them after 2002. In general, if there is a need for tasks under Windows, some  guy will have written it, mostly for free.

Come on people, we all know it's true ! Windows are very poor os and linux (although powerful) cannot be used by professionals (I am talking about creative artists right now) for many reasons.

By "we all" you mean "I". Nice to meet a Mac-fundamentalist  :P
I knew it when this thread started  ;D
Well whatever gets your job done is fine. Be happy with your Mac, I'm happy with my PC, since it runs Photoshop well. Peace!

What I am trying to say is that apple is offering the best solution around for artists and this is why you see the majority of them to chose their products. As simple as that :)

Yes, very simple. Isn't life simple for people that stick to their beliefs, unchallenged by facts? One of those facts is that the PC-Windows has 90% of the market. But of course, those Windows-slaves have a very low IQ and they are all terribly misguided by not embracing the true religion of Mac.

As for me, I'm a Mac-infidel. Again, peace! Need to do some work now  ::)  ;D
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: alladinian on February 06, 2009, 05:01
:) truth is I really enjoy talking with intelligent people like you FlemishDreams, really.

The reason that my posts seem so hard against Windows is that I truly believe that people should deserve a better OS, especially from a company that holds the greatest share on the market.

No, I don't believe that all these people using windows are of low IQ. I just believe that they are not informed well (for a million reasons that I am not going to explain here - I got a full time job myself you know :) -) about the existence of better products.

As for the System automation issue, I know that it seems "impossible" to not find a software somewhere to do the job, but believe me you cannot! It is matter of system architecture!
For example if the OS is not designed to work with privilege-based-accounts, there is no software that can expand it to do it!
Yes, you can do almost everything on a windows machine, but the reality shows that you will have to spend time and in some cases money, to do the very same thing you could have done on another OS natively. This is my point and not to start a war here :)

Being a personal computer consumer since they appeared on the planet, I must say that paying for some hundred of dollars for windows, at the time that different OSes are superior (and cheaper) is not on my interest.

One last example I can think of is Google. Of course you can search for things in Yahoo and a million other sites, but the 95% of people doesn't. Why?... The answer (for me at least) is pretty simple. They choose google because they can try all of them in about 10' and stick with the best.

Maybe I am a Google fundamentalist too :P
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: thesentinel on February 06, 2009, 05:58
What is it with pcs and screen fonts?

As a mac user I'm always surprised at how varied the same sites can look on various friends pcs, and now on istock they change a style sheet and all hell breaks out with so many pc users having such different results... why is this?
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: alladinian on February 06, 2009, 06:02
This has to do with the rendering engine of the web-browser (ie different browser=different view), you cannot blame pc's for this.
But you can surely blame iStock for poor testing :P
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: travismanley on February 10, 2009, 15:46
I use a PC...I have never like Mac. I used them quite a bit in college and I always felt like I was trying to write with my left hand (im a righty)
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: eric.zx on February 11, 2009, 13:06
I definitely stick with a PC. I have no problems using a Mac, but I find them rather awkward. It's really what people are used to. However, I must agree with people saying that PCs are much more versatile. And there's too much unfounded hype around Macs in recent years, which is really Steve Jobs' marketing genius.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: vlad_the_imp on February 12, 2009, 04:17
That's why 90% plus of creative pro's use Macs? They're just taken in by the hype? Yeah, right! The problem is that large numbers of stock contributors are amateurs who naturally gravitate to PC's because they can upload their holiday snaps and play WoW. They're not serious users, in a pro sense. If you're an amateur, use a PC, if you're a pro a Mac-sorted!
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: null on February 12, 2009, 07:58
That's why 90% plus of creative pro's use Macs? They're just taken in by the hype? Yeah, right! The problem is that large numbers of stock contributors are amateurs who naturally gravitate to PC's because they can upload their holiday snaps and play WoW. They're not serious users, in a pro sense. If you're an amateur, use a PC, if you're a pro a Mac-sorted!

Hahahaha. Well, Macs are for sissies, and PCs are for real men.  ;D
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: bittersweet on February 12, 2009, 09:12
I saw a very cute PC commercial last night. It was a little girl uploading photos from her camera and emailing them to her mom. At the end, she said "I'm PC and I'm 4 years old."  ;)
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Norebbo on February 12, 2009, 10:48
I am a Mac user, though I have been a die-hard PC user for most of my professional career. I have always wanted a Mac, so I made the switch about a year ago. No regrets so far - I love it!

However, I'm not getting rid of my PC. The Mac still isn't "natural" to me yet, and it seems I can work faster on a PC because of the little differences I'm so used to. For example:

1). The file browsing mechanism on the PC is much better than the Mac
2). Mouse/pointer action on the Mac is different than the PC, and I'm still trying to get used to it. It's ultra sensitive, and I had difficulty doing technical pixel-level work at first. But I'm getting used to it.

But I like my Mac, and I'll definitely buy another when this one wears out.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: eric.zx on February 12, 2009, 18:08
Most of the creative pro's may be using Macs. But using a Mac is not going to turn you into a pro. Your photographs won't look better because they've been processed on a Mac, or worse if you're using a PC for that matter.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: araminta on February 13, 2009, 04:29
1). The file browsing mechanism on the PC is much better than the Mac

You should spend some time learning file browsing on Mac: coming from Windows, I would say that you may miss many extremely useful tips & tricks concerning file browsing on Mac.

* Spring loaded folders.
* Keyboard navigation
* Exposé
* Drag & Drop with Open/Save dialog
* Spotlight search in Finder or in Open/Save dialogs
* QuickLook
* etc.

I would not argue whether file browsing is better on PC or Mac, but there are some extremely useful features on Mac which have no equivalent on PC.

Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: RT on February 13, 2009, 04:54
I'm about to switch over to a Mac after many years of using PC's, and my reason is very simple, I'm fed up of my computer decided whether something will work or not for no reason other than to annoy me.

I use a Wacom tablet, last month I was using it to edit a photo, I closed the photo opened another one and all a sudden a box came up saying there was no driver for the tablet, and yesterday for no reason the buttons I've got assigned to the tablet stopped working yet they were working fine two minutes ago!

Same thing has happened with my iPod, Photoshop and other software.

I've done a lot of research before deciding to switch, one thing I've found is that you'll come across thousands of people who swear by their PC's but you'll also come across hundreds who have had problems with them, I have never come across anyone who's ever said their Mac did anything other that what it's supposed to do - that's good enough for me.

For me price, looks and whether you like the Mac interface is subjective, I just want a computer that does what it's meant to.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: TimAck on February 13, 2009, 07:08
I used to use a mac for years for graphic design and in the mid-late 90s it was the best choice for that type of work. But now PCs have caught up in performance and can deliver that at a fraction of the cost of a Mac. I switched from Mac to PC in 2003, I actually had both machines for a while but found I never switched on the Mac so focused on the PC and have saved a fortune in hardware over the following years. Windows (XP and Vista) has never crashed on me, while I still have nightmares about the 'frozen wristwatch' from my Mac days.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: araminta on February 13, 2009, 08:59
while I still have nightmares about the 'frozen wristwatch' from my Mac days.

Ever heard of MacOS X?

Comparing XP/Vista with a pre-OS X Mac is somewhat unfair, isn't it?


Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: TimAck on February 13, 2009, 10:13
while I still have nightmares about the 'frozen wristwatch' from my Mac days.
Ever heard of MacOS X?

Comparing XP/Vista with a pre-OS X Mac is somewhat unfair, isn't it?

I'm sure the Mac OS has improved considerably. I'm just explaining why I switched (crashes) and why I'm not going to switch back (value for money).
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Norebbo on February 13, 2009, 10:16


You should spend some time learning file browsing on Mac: coming from Windows, I would say that you may miss many extremely useful tips & tricks concerning file browsing on Mac.

* Spring loaded folders.
* Keyboard navigation
* Exposé
* Drag & Drop with Open/Save dialog
* Spotlight search in Finder or in Open/Save dialogs
* QuickLook
* etc.

I would not argue whether file browsing is better on PC or Mac, but there are some extremely useful features on Mac which have no equivalent on PC.



Oh, I agree - those features are very nice and useful. I love Exposé! I guess it's because I've been a PC user for so long that I really miss the "Windows Explorer" type of file navigation. It's been a core part of my workflow for years, so it's hard to break out of it.

I'm slowly getting used to the Mac way of doing things, though.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: eric.zx on February 13, 2009, 11:13
while I still have nightmares about the 'frozen wristwatch' from my Mac days.

Hahaha, oh yeah, "the spinning pizza of death" (Mac OS X equivalent of frozen wristwatch). I have nightmares about that as well.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: araminta on February 13, 2009, 16:27
Hahaha, oh yeah, "the spinning pizza of death" (Mac OS X equivalent of frozen wristwatch). I have nightmares about that as well.

The "spinning pizza" (a.k.a. "rainbow wheel") is not similar to the "frozen wristwatch": it indicates that an application is not responsive currently, but it never hang the system or other applications. You can still work in other applications, no problem. It is thus a problem with an application and not the OS.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: araminta on February 13, 2009, 16:36
And there's too much unfounded hype around Macs in recent years, which is really Steve Jobs' marketing genius.

Don't agree.

The current hype is not due to Apple marketing genius, but to Microsoft failure with Vista: PC users finally start considering Mac with an open mind and understand now that it is indeed a very nice alternative to Windows.

Everybody should be able to choose based on facts: until recently, PC users were not interested in knowing facts about Mac: they were just sure Windows was the only choice thanks to Bill Gates marketing genius... until Vista and Steve Ballmer came  :D


Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: eric.zx on February 13, 2009, 17:08
I totally agree with Vista being a major flop. I'm definitely not updating my XP until they come out with a new OS.
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: null on February 13, 2009, 19:14
Vista is a memory eater because all of the zillion "content protection" features in it. Right after the start, some Indian tailors downsized (removed all the copy-protect junk) it and the Indian Vista can even run fast on 512M RAM. You can't find that one in Western stores, but it's all over China and Asia, for a couple of bucks.

I heard from a friend in Shanghai the Indians downsized the new Win7 beta already and it's all over China, 2 weeks after the launch of the beta.

Most businesses and power users still use XP pro. That's a very stable OS - now. The problem is you can't buy XP any more, so everybody that wants to install it on a fresh PC (removing the preinstalled Vista) has to rely on Rapidshare or a friend's "share".
Title: Re: Do you use Mac or PC for your photography/creative art workflow and why
Post by: Graffoto on February 15, 2009, 10:54
LOL, I want one  ;D

Man, someone seriously has too much time on their hands.
That was a very expensive production to put together just for a chuckle.

(Typing this on my Dell Laptop Core 2 duo 2.4GHz with 3 GB of ram. Soon going downstairs to my Mac Pro desktop 2.8 quad core Xenon with 8 GB ram to do some serious image editing).