What's Driving Mac vs. PC Purchasing Today?

[narseman]

Macs have their uses. You need something to hold the door open on a sunny day. Or to keep the boat still.. Win 10.. I hear many saying how great it is.. till the next push update which you can't control.. Same with macs.. Why I never liked them. Best OS ever.. for flexibility and playing around, was Win98. Memory was a problem.. still. Win 7 next best thing, with "Classic StartMenu" installed... after the initial updates and patches.. Turn off all updating, keep your AV up to date and sit behind a firewall. Have not updated in over 4 years on my current (self built) build. NO PROBLEMS. Same with previous builds. Meantime, my associates Dell pc's and macs have had quite a few problems. Of course, I don't go to questionable sites or open random email links either..

 

[narseman]

I just like the "feel" and the look on Mac, the track pad is smooth, just "feels" better. I want to throw the mouse on the pc that is in my office. But I'm old and set in my ways so the day they say no more Mac, I'm going home.

You do know, don't you.. That "mice" come in a vast assortment of shapes, styles, sizes, colors and functionality.. even track pads.. You could spend 20-30 minutes at a computer store and choose a new one that suits you better. Then take the old one out back and let it run free..

 

[truehue]

Our Prepress dept. is all Mac. We used to have a single PC "just in case", but nobody ever used it. It's long gone now. The servers for print and digital are PC. Concerning design software, I believe Mac and PC are mostly even as far as usability and function. I think anyone could learn to use either one. I've used both (Mac at work and PC at home). Definitely prefer the Mac for design work.

 

[OffsetStorefront]

Macs have their uses. You need something to hold the door open on a sunny day. Or to keep the boat still.. Win 10.. I hear many saying how great it is.. till the next push update which you can't control.. Same with macs.. Why I never liked them. Best OS ever.. for flexibility and playing around, was Win98. Memory was a problem.. still. Win 7 next best thing, with "Classic StartMenu" installed... after the initial updates and patches.. Turn off all updating, keep your AV up to date and sit behind a firewall. Have not updated in over 4 years on my current (self built) build. NO PROBLEMS. Same with previous builds. Meantime, my associates Dell pc's and macs have had quite a few problems. Of course, I don't go to questionable sites or open random email links either..

Won't argue your OS preferences, but not running updates for 4 years leaves your machine incredibly vulnerable to malware. A firewall won't save you if you or someone on your network clicks on a malicious email attachment or link, or God-forbid you're targeted by a human who drops it in on a USB drive full of "art". Many viruses have automated mechanisms to jump from one computer to another on the same network once they're in (aka behind the firewall already) and I know of at least one well-known and well-implemented exploit ("Eternal Blue") that will crack open your Win7 system like an egg if given the chance without the proper update installed. The well-documented WannaCry ransomware virus ran rampant in 2017 on unpatched machines like yours (EternalBlue - Wikipedia) despite the availability of a free patch to stop it.

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

Won't argue your OS preferences, but not running updates for 4 years leaves your machine incredibly vulnerable to malware. A firewall won't save you if you or someone on your network clicks on a malicious email attachment or link, or God-forbid you're targeted by a human who drops it in on a USB drive full of "art". Many viruses have automated mechanisms to jump from one computer to another on the same network once they're in (aka behind the firewall already) and I know of at least one well-known and well-implemented exploit ("Eternal Blue") that will crack open your Win7 system like an egg if given the chance without the proper update installed. The well-documented WannaCry ransomware virus ran rampant in 2017 on unpatched machines like yours (EternalBlue - Wikipedia) despite the availability of a free patch to stop it.

Totally true. The best viruses and malware are the ones you don't even notice your computer is infected with. Very ignorant what you are doing Narseman.

Also, there are tons of mice that aren't $10 pieces of crap. Razer mice can be nice if you turn off the RGB lights.

 

[Sam H]

Different companies work differently. One place I worked we had all PC's apart from 1 Mac, another place it's all Mac and PC's for imposition software. If you work in a combined house you switch between them, hardly noticing the difference. From an economy point of view, The latest Windows 10 machine will still quite happily use a fair bit of very old software, not so on the Mac. Machine wise, if anything small breaks, or you need more of it, it's a doddle and inifinately cheaper doing that on a PC than e.g. on an iMac unless you are very brave.
It's quite delicously entertaining when you have a designer who soo loves his Mac and an IT guy who equally is soo in love with PC and just suggest which is better, then observe
When it comes to fonts, generally windows fonts will run on a Mac but not necessarily the other way around. If you need and want a choice, run Parallels as it makes a Windows Program look and feel as though it was Mac native. I gather that it uses memory better than on a PC as well.
e.g. Microsoft Office for Mac is mostly ok, but happier and cheaper for Windows. I have experienced Microsoft Office Mac, being installed on two identical machines, yet Excel worked in one, yet not in the other, causing corruption and Publisher in which some clients might wish to supply artwork, is Windows only.
In a non printing context, showing Powerpoint, I have experienced where it didn't work in the Mac version, there was no problem using Libre Office on the Mac and it'll show any flavour of powerpoint.
Thankfully it is a long time ago when PC and Mac wouldn't read each other's portable media without adding file header and file conversion

 

[ChrisZ]

Hardware is the same.
Only difference is OS, but you can have mac from your pc Hackintosh Instructions, Hackintosh How To Guides: Hackintosh.com
Chris

 

[agmfan3]

You do know, don't you.. That "mice" come in a vast assortment of shapes, styles, sizes, colors and functionality.. even track pads.. You could spend 20-30 minutes at a computer store and choose a new one that suits you better. Then take the old one out back and let it run free..

I don't use a mouse, I have a track pad.

 

[Lorenburton]

The Mac vs. PC debate is one of the most controversial topics when it comes to computers. This page gives an overall comparison between computers running Apple's macOS and those running Microsoft Windows. We are looking to help users who are interested in buying a new computer, not dictating which brand is the "best." ?

 

[Ynot_UK]

The Mac vs. PC debate is one of the most controversial topics when it comes to computers. This page gives an overall comparison between computers running Apple's macOS and those running Microsoft Windows. We are looking to help users who are interested in buying a new computer, not dictating which brand is the "best." ?

@Lorenburton I expect others are also thinking it, so I'm gonna be the guy to ask. Why do you keep copying random, loosely related phrases from other sites and post it on PP? If it wasn't for the absence of links, you'd look like a bot,

 

[[email protected]]

I work at various sites and have to mangle (sorry manage) Linux, Macintosh, Unix and Windows on a daily basis.
They are all awful.
The hardware is made right on the limit so it lasts three years and one day, and not a day longer.
The software is released with known bugs, but denied until some researcher is able to bring it out into the open (and even then it may not get fixed).
We have to use this stuff (there is no alternative) and the manufacturers not only know it, but all belong to the same club and make sure we all pay through the nose.
If you do not believe me just look at their official profits.
Now with subscription licensing the software companies do not have to try hard (or at all) to increase the usability of their products, they are getting paid whatever they do.
If you do not believe me just look at their official profits.
They no longer innovate - why take the financial risks?
Apple used to be the best IMHO, but lost it when they gave up on the enterprise and concentrated on consumer products only.

 

[Puch]

Now with subscription licensing the software companies do not have to try hard (or at all) to increase the usability of their products, they are getting paid whatever they do.

I tend to believe that you're a guy running Adobe CC on crappy no-name laptops... No offense, just kidding.

I have a very different view of the landscape. Yes, there is a giant which is important to us, unfortunately - because of our profession. IMHO Adobe's general behavior is the perfect example of how to hurt your user base and drive them mad. Every time I have to touch a CC application - especially Acrobat - I beg to God to send me a real, usable alternative.

On the other hand, there are examples of real innovation and great support, at a reasonable price. Every update of Enfocus (Switch) bring new features which solve real problems (at least for me). Windows (10) does much better than the previous versions and I have to admit I'm starting to like it, mostly because it's not so aggressive on 'innovation' like Apple.

On the hardware side, we had the following faults in a 10+ years period: one Intel motherboard loosed USB ports (dried out capacitors?), one Seagate hard drive started to develop bad sectors (replaced under the lifetime warranty), two SSDs completely died. Epson x900 printers had three head changes, 1000 EUR each. That's for a 10-seat prepress department, with servers, proofers, etc. I think it's not that bad.

What I see is that there are areas where the established player has no future (at least not in the business model they're currently operating) but they try to churn out the last drops of honey from the market, using deceptive marketing. EFI is a perfect example of this kind of behavior.

 

[scotts]

Let's all just agree that Mac or PC, it's just a tool to get the job done.

And it really comes down to preference. I've been an IT person since the 80s and I prefer Mac, but can work on PC too. I used to see that PCs weren't as reliable as Macs, but drive around your town, do you notice that you don't have as many PC repair shops anymore. That's telling you something. PCs are better than they used to be, by far. I still wouldn't get one, but that is just my preference.

I do believe Macs are more stable in general. Partly because all hardware has been designed to work together. That also means it will cost a bit more. And should also mean that downtime should be less. Which in my time, has been the case over the years. And yes, there are always exceptions to the rule. I also know if you get the right PC hardware mix correct, it will be as good, if not better than the Mac. But that is also not an easy thing to do, and can take time to perfect. What is your time worth, figuring all this out?

As far as software and the "maintenance" plans, I believe it does get us some innovations, but I think it causes more issues that it fixes. I mean the companies can put out updates quickly, which can be nice, but also means that they might not have tested it enough like they used to. And it forces users to upgrade more often, software and hardware. Never ending cycle. Capitalism at it's best.

 

[OffsetStorefront]

I also know if you get the right PC hardware mix correct, it will be as good, if not better than the Mac. But that is also not an easy thing to do, and can take time to perfect. What is your time worth, figuring all this out?

I agree with a lot of your points (especially since Macs are now going to be using Apple Silicon and we've been seeing substantial real-world benefits from that tight integration between software and hardware). But I think it's also worth pointing out that it seems that modern Windows is able to handle a wide swath of hardware now and getting the correct mix is as easy as using a hardware-picking website...the result seems to be a 50% cheaper price tag for the same performance (at least compared to Intel macs).

It's interesting to hear justifications for that +50% price tag. I still detect a lot of "how it used to be" impressions dictating the decision when it might not be relevant now in the modern landscape.

 

[tngcas]

I also know if you get the right PC hardware mix correct, it will be as good, if not better than the Mac. But that is also not an easy thing to do, and can take time to perfect. What is your time worth, figuring all this out?

This is why I've always ended up with a Mac personally. I have a finite amount of time to be good at specific things. Dialing in my computer hardware isn't where I want to spend my time so the higher upfront price tag has always been worth it. Macs seem to last longer but we do use both in our shop.

 

[chriscozi]

I use both PC's and Macs - all day.
Workflow, workflow, workflow.
Cheaper, faster, better.

I had clients with Apple-Script workflows that were amazing.
I still have many Applescripts I use regularly.
Here is an example for Indesign: Calendar Wizard Home

I often told my clients "All computers are tools. Get the one that works for you."
This avoided the competitive rhetoric nicely.
To each his own.
;-)

 

[scotts]

This avoided the competitive rhetoric nicely.

I've often told people who ask me which computer to get, the same thing. Even though they know I'm a "Mac Guy". There are some who still want to discuss and argue the points though. It's a never ending battle since my first job out of college selling computers in 1995. I thought that was bad after a couple years and decided to get into the printing world. And I'm still here.

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

I often told my clients "All computers are tools. Get the one that works for you."

People don't seem to understand that arguing about which is better is not very productive. It should be clear that if it is a "decades old argument", then it is likely both sides have reasonable merits and disadvantages, and the continued prevalence of both platforms/ideas means that they have survived the market selection process where bad stores of value or productivity get thrown out.