M
mogwai
Guest
I am web/graphic and also a mac-die hard for the last five/six years. But sadly i had to buy a pc recently due to several issues which other designers and power users using a mac will surely understand. Admit it, since OS X appeared every pro is getting frustrated and getting less work done. I hoped that the release of tiger will improve things but everthing seems to get worse.
I have a quicksilver 733 G4 with 1.25g ram, its a good machine, well above OS X minimum requirements. But since i got my PC my productivity quadripled in every aspect being print and particularly the web. When you work in the design business the important thing is to have snapiness and you need speed to change your artowork over and over again until you are happy with the result. From what i hear, even from users with the latest G5 things are going bad. I receive a mailshot every week from my local mac retailer with second hand g5s for sale. Apple should worried about this and shouldn't waste its time coding widgets. Forget all benchmarks, and let's have a look at these important apps
Photoshop
Everthing done on a mac in photoshop can be done twice as fast as on a PC, Photoshop and most adobe software is bloated OK but the mac versions are a shame. Everthing from clicking on an icon in the main toolbar to the Save for web feature is more snappy on a PC, Not to mention opening files, using large brushes and i can go on.
Freehand
Freehand is probably the best software in terms of its speed and responsiveness in doing the basic stuff. I must say, i prefer using freehand on mac but the MX version appears to be sluggish when compared to older mac versions while on pc is still fast as before
In Design
I sometimes contemplate how huge magazines are done with indesign on mac, laying out a simple 3 gate flyer is a pain with this software on mac, its a shame because its the most powerful dtp software. It lacks speed and somtimes feels like your workin in slowmo. Using Indesign on a pc the story is by far different. It is blazingly fast and its a joy to use it, even when you have complex layouts
Dreamweaver
Comparing the PC version to the Mac version its like comparing a ferrari 360 modena to a TANK. It is usable on a mac, but nowhere compared to the productive level you can achive with it on a pc. I did large projects with dreamweaver on both Pc and Mac and i can say that while the mac version is somewhat decent, i wouldn't suggest any young webdesigner to get mac unless he plans to hand code css/html in BBedit or similar software.
Flash
With Flash, i have indeed touched the bottom. I bought the Pc because i couldn’ stand flash on the mac platform anymore. I had to find a solution and apparently there is no other solution than buying a PC. No release has been decent enough to be used on a production level. A simple task like moving the slider on the timeframe makes me cry. what about the library, working with gradients and the general whole look and feel. And im not going to mention the hopless flash player on the mac. Every flash player for every mac browser is crap when compared to a pc. Simply open a flash site on safari or firefox and minimize it and continue working wioth another app. You will see a noticeable performance reduction that you won’t bear.
Using fonts on OS X
A Designer is not like a MS word user which selects arial 12pt and he is happy. We need to change, browse, scale and god knows what when it comes to fonts. Once it used to be fun but nowadays choosing a font on mac is a nightmare. Comeon you mac-diehard designers reading this, ADMIT IT. Changing fonts in PC applications is blazingly fast, why this is not the same on mac
This is what I had to say as a disillusioned designer working on mac. I had to switch to a PC. If you want to just browse the internet and play with cool icons then stick to your mac, but if you want real-world production there is no the option right now then getting a pc. And sadly enough, the new intel based macs seem to hinder the promise of a fast mac platform for years to come.
Just for the record my pc is not a powerful one, it’s a 1.6mhz wth 512k ram which compares as approx year of manufacture with the G4
I have a quicksilver 733 G4 with 1.25g ram, its a good machine, well above OS X minimum requirements. But since i got my PC my productivity quadripled in every aspect being print and particularly the web. When you work in the design business the important thing is to have snapiness and you need speed to change your artowork over and over again until you are happy with the result. From what i hear, even from users with the latest G5 things are going bad. I receive a mailshot every week from my local mac retailer with second hand g5s for sale. Apple should worried about this and shouldn't waste its time coding widgets. Forget all benchmarks, and let's have a look at these important apps
Photoshop
Everthing done on a mac in photoshop can be done twice as fast as on a PC, Photoshop and most adobe software is bloated OK but the mac versions are a shame. Everthing from clicking on an icon in the main toolbar to the Save for web feature is more snappy on a PC, Not to mention opening files, using large brushes and i can go on.
Freehand
Freehand is probably the best software in terms of its speed and responsiveness in doing the basic stuff. I must say, i prefer using freehand on mac but the MX version appears to be sluggish when compared to older mac versions while on pc is still fast as before
In Design
I sometimes contemplate how huge magazines are done with indesign on mac, laying out a simple 3 gate flyer is a pain with this software on mac, its a shame because its the most powerful dtp software. It lacks speed and somtimes feels like your workin in slowmo. Using Indesign on a pc the story is by far different. It is blazingly fast and its a joy to use it, even when you have complex layouts
Dreamweaver
Comparing the PC version to the Mac version its like comparing a ferrari 360 modena to a TANK. It is usable on a mac, but nowhere compared to the productive level you can achive with it on a pc. I did large projects with dreamweaver on both Pc and Mac and i can say that while the mac version is somewhat decent, i wouldn't suggest any young webdesigner to get mac unless he plans to hand code css/html in BBedit or similar software.
Flash
With Flash, i have indeed touched the bottom. I bought the Pc because i couldn’ stand flash on the mac platform anymore. I had to find a solution and apparently there is no other solution than buying a PC. No release has been decent enough to be used on a production level. A simple task like moving the slider on the timeframe makes me cry. what about the library, working with gradients and the general whole look and feel. And im not going to mention the hopless flash player on the mac. Every flash player for every mac browser is crap when compared to a pc. Simply open a flash site on safari or firefox and minimize it and continue working wioth another app. You will see a noticeable performance reduction that you won’t bear.
Using fonts on OS X
A Designer is not like a MS word user which selects arial 12pt and he is happy. We need to change, browse, scale and god knows what when it comes to fonts. Once it used to be fun but nowadays choosing a font on mac is a nightmare. Comeon you mac-diehard designers reading this, ADMIT IT. Changing fonts in PC applications is blazingly fast, why this is not the same on mac
This is what I had to say as a disillusioned designer working on mac. I had to switch to a PC. If you want to just browse the internet and play with cool icons then stick to your mac, but if you want real-world production there is no the option right now then getting a pc. And sadly enough, the new intel based macs seem to hinder the promise of a fast mac platform for years to come.
Just for the record my pc is not a powerful one, it’s a 1.6mhz wth 512k ram which compares as approx year of manufacture with the G4