[pinksage]

I know graphic designers use or have MAC'S as a standard in their industry. Is it the same for WEb design? How bout programmer? Im curious about this, because im in the market for a new laptop and not sure if to stick with MAC or go back to PC. Im a recent graphic design major, but going back to school for web design or computer science. What do you guys suggest?

[stylin328]

I used Mac for designing and minor programming. Of course you will always have to test in windows which is why I have virtual PC.

[Transmogrify]

Originally Posted by pinksage

I know graphic designers use or have MAC'S as a standard in their industry. Is it the same for WEb design? How bout programmer? Im curious about this, because im in the market for a new laptop and not sure if to stick with MAC or go back to PC. Im a recent graphic design major, but going back to school for web design or computer science. What do you guys suggest?

I don't think it makes a great deal of difference at the end of the day. Working on a Mac isn't suddenly going to make you a better developer (or vise versa). It's what you are used to and what helps to become more productive. I moved over to Mac start of this year and I've become more productive as I don't have to content with software and the OS crashing all the time and having to do reinstalls every 6 - 12 months. I've also found development tools on the Mac better than what is available on the PC, but that's just my opinion and my experience. YMMV.

[bender]

Originally Posted by Luke A

Dell: They explode and made out of cheap shitty parts
Alienware: Overpriced
E-Machines/Gateway: Absolute rubbish, I used to work in staples and we had these fucking things returned with faults within a few days of purchase.
Acer: Questionable build quality
Sony: Sony are useless cunts
IBM: Apparently ment to be quite good, but are overpriced.
etc.....

Apples are getting a larger and larger userbase, so the support and compatibility comes with that too. The MacBooks have had their problems, but they have thought of soooooo many things and definately built them to last.

- HDDs that brace for impact when they sense when they are going to get thrown across the room
- Widescreen
- Coolest Design
- Lots of built in goodies like bluetooth, webcam, wifi
- Magnetic Powercord (I caused £400 worth of damage tripping over my girlfriend's laptops power cord, it wrecked the motherboard and the power cable)

If I were to get a PC, I couldnt justify getting an Apple over a PC. I just love my shuttle too much.

Ahh, sweet, sweet marketing doing it's trick here.
Apples explode just the same as Dell's, they both use sony batteries and Apple just recalled a few million laptops for this very reason.

Alienware overpriced? Call me when Alienware starts to offer black color as a 200$ extra, ala apple.
Impact protected HDD's are not an Apple exclusive feature.
Neither is widescreen.

How about the recent overheating issues in Apple laptops? The barnyard noises they make? The discoloration issues?

Trust me, Apple laptops are no different.
If you like the design, I can understand. Paying yourself broke just for the design?
Your problem.

[pgo]

For PC laptops, it's IBM's ThinkPad line (now sold by Lenovo) that's got the best reputation. The Dells are fine. Just avoid the ones that blow up.

The discoloration issues?

This is very true. My boss got excited and bought himself a MacBook. 2 months later the case around the touchpad is yellow/brown.

Anywho, I use a PC at home and at work (Dell desktop that sucks, but getting a 17" Inspiron soon). At home, it's custom built by yours truly, so brandless unless you want to say it's an "IntelASUSCorsairCreativeLabsEVGASeagateNECEnermax Gmono" computer.

[d*d]

I use a Mac G5 for any design, won't touch the new intel macs until they're another model down the line at least (I think apple use the 1st generation of their products as tests) and i have an old celeron based Dell laptop to develop, code and test stuff on.

[Dusteh]

I thought they were called tagnuts?

Anyway... design on PC. Macs are for pretty boys.

[finbarr]

Originally Posted by Dusteh

I thought they were called tagnuts?

Anyway... design on PC. Macs are for pretty boys.

like d*d???

[d*d]

I am a boy and I'm pretty enough (see avatar)

[pgo]

Originally Posted by Luke A

Does he happen to smoke, not ever wash, or pick clinkers from his arse hair all day?

No, no, and no. He's a Mac zealot. Has like 4 iPods and 3 Macs or something...

[dtrenz]

why not get an intel core duo mac and run OSX and Windows XP (via bootcamp).

then you can code, design, and test on both, no?

-d (vaio user)

[747]

use both

[pgo]

Originally Posted by dtrenz

(via bootcamp)

I've heard great things about Parallels personally.

Anyway, to answer the original question:

PC. Mac. It doesn't matter.

Macs are traditional because in the early days they were far superior for graphic applications. That's no longer true today. So, it doesn't matter.

[Alivia]

I like PCs, I can never understand how to use the Mac interface.
People say Macs produces better quality images or something though...

[bender]

Originally Posted by Alivia

I like PCs, I can never understand how to use the Mac interface.
People say Macs produces better quality images or something though...

Well if you heard it then it must be true.

[dtrenz]

i heard it on the internets!

[pgo]

Originally Posted by Alivia

People say Macs produces better quality images or something though...

See my post just prior to yours.

[Transmogrify]

Originally Posted by bender

Ahh, sweet, sweet marketing doing it's trick here.
Apples explode just the same as Dell's, they both use sony batteries and Apple just recalled a few million laptops for this very reason.

Alienware overpriced? Call me when Alienware starts to offer black color as a 200$ extra, ala apple.
Impact protected HDD's are not an Apple exclusive feature.
Neither is widescreen.

How about the recent overheating issues in Apple laptops? The barnyard noises they make? The discoloration issues?

Trust me, Apple laptops are no different.
If you like the design, I can understand. Paying yourself broke just for the design?
Your problem.

I chose an Apple because OS X is a superior operating system. It just works - all the time. It doesn't start to slow down after 3 months, software doesn't crash, software available for the kind of development I do is far superior than what is available for Windows, I don't have viruses or spyware to content with and OS X offers far more longevity for the hardware.

That it comes in an attractive box makes no odds to me, but that it's reliable and trustworthy is very important to me and I don't have even close to the same confidence with Windows.

[dtrenz]

this isn't an Mac vs. PC thread, he was wondering if there are any specific benefits when it comes to web design.

i'm curious, what development software do you use that is "far superior than what is available for Windows?"

[pgo]

Anyway, just for the sake of balance:

"It just works - all the time." So does Windows.

"It doesn't start to slow down after 3 months." Neither does Windows. My current install is going 1 year or so with no slow down that I've noticed.

"Software doesn't crash." Neither does any of my Windows software. The only thing I've had crash is Firefox due to shitty websites. And QuickTime when I used that piece of trash.

"Software available for the kind of development I do is far superior than what is available for Windows." There's more software available for Windows - bar none. Not sure where this one's going? TextMate? Dreamweaver?

"I don't have viruses or spyware to content with." Neither do I. No viruses or spyware that I can remember in the last two years.