For many, the words I am about to say are practically swear words. My question is, do web designers and internet-types really need a mac?
Shock. Horror! I know! How dare I even question the whole Mac-PC saga? After all, I live in a completely PC free environment (even phones are Apple) with a small horde of the fruity Californian products.
What gives me the right to question the mighty mac? Nothing really. I am a mac fan through and through. But I have begun to wonder, do we really need a Mac?
1. Macs are way more expensive than their PC counter-parts
Macs are more expensive. But then the old adage, you get what you pay for comes into play. Yes, you can spend $10000′s on a PC but at the end of the day it won’t look and smell half as nice as a brand new iMac…
2. Macs are basically non-user serviceable
I hear this a lot. “ooo, you can’t break into your mac and play with the giggly switches or add water cooling. You can’t even dremel the sides and add classy looking LED lights” most PC lovers tell me. But to be honest, why on this planet would I want to? Macs work fine out the box (something that has to be physically experienced). And, Macs never break. Consider them the British Commando of the computer world. And then add a little more toughness.
PC’s on the other hand….. they’d be a giant wet lettuce. By the way, the only thing I’ve ever had to do to a Mac is increase the RAM – a 2 screw slot-in-slot-out task. Simple,easy and almost fun.
3. Macs aren’t supported by most IT support firms
And?? This is bad why? Let’s stop while I recount a true story of me and my new mac.
Recently I upgraded to a shiny new iMac 27″. My old iMac 20″ was lined up as a replacement for the Vista machine we have in our other office. Whenever this gremlin was kicked into life, it would make the Internet cut out and our whole workdays would grind to a halt. Having a Mac as the core network machine would make our life a lot easier.
I did expect I’d need a Network surgeon to set everything up. The process involved me getting rid of the Vista PC, which was hard-wired to the router and modem in a fashion which can only be described as fluorescent, rubber coated spaghetti. Once I managed to tidy up the 2000 cables behind the desk, the Mac was dropped onto the desk, plugged into the printer and connected wirelessly to the router.
This process took me 2 minutes. Quite literally. Setting up file-sharing on an inter-Mac basis is a checkbox process, click the box and your done. Printer sharing again is stupidly easy. That’s why I love Mac. Simplicity. It left me with 4 hours spare that I had anticipated would have left me either in a coma with an ethernet cable in my lung or throwing the darn thing through the window before performing a chokeslam onto it. It also gave me time to flex my insane analogy muscles.
Basically, what I am trying to say is that your cat could install a Mac network, upside down whilst singing the Australian national anthem. In fact, If you jump onto Google, you’ll find hundreds of Apple technicians.
4. Mac people are snobs
This is partly true. Once you’ve tried a slice of the Apple pie, you never do look at that old PC in the same way. Everything about it screams DULL. As in, I was made to be shoved in the corner and hidden in dark closets, collecting dust whilst trundling towards a major crash.
A Mac however is something pleasant to look at. They are easy to clean, even the keyboards can be cleaned in less than 10 seconds. Macs brighten your desk. The User interface takes a little getting used to, but it’s lean, uncluttered and purposeful. Everything about the Mac exubes simplicity. Installing apps takes seconds, networking mere minutes and disc burning can be acheived right out of the box. You don’t have to think about will Barry Dobsons Ultra-Fast thingy-ma-jig(x250583829305hadd) work with Mintels 7200RPM 4GB doofenschmirtz? Apple have done all that for you. So you can just work.
So, if it’s so wrong to enjoy all of the above (highly practical points) then so be it. I am a snob. I like to think Apple people are more zealous preachers for the Apple mothership! We want more friends to switch to Apple, because we know it will make the hair on their heads last longer and the skin on their faces to remain taught and wrinkle free.
5. Mac people have too much money
This is not true. Apple people just earn more money than their Windows counter-part. I’m not been condescending in anyway here either.
Apple people don’t get pestered by those virus things, they rarely (if ever) encounter a ‘crash’ and their machines constantly work hard, increasing productivity. Windows people are still waiting for their ginormous collection of icons to load in the taskbar when Mr Mac is sat by the pool having worked 10 hours already.
It’s honestly not a case of having more money. It’s about valuing the money you have, your time and then using those wisely.
If you we’re to kit a PC out to the same spec of everything (from screen to GPU) I’m pretty sure you’d be looking at a similar price to the comparable Mac. But then, on PC’s you still have all that anti-virus nonsense to buy, not forgetting the fortnightly OS releases. Your money is whisked away.
On the Mac side however, you’ve spent a good chunk, but not needed to re-invest large sums in your Mac since.
6. Owning a Mac is about image
Yes, ok. I take your point. In the films good guys always have macs. Even Doctor Who has been known to have a wireless Apple keyboard or two. The bad guys on the other hand – without fail will be packing Vista based fun. Now ask yourself, who wins? The Good guy. And he looks cooler for it. So if owning a superior software / hardware combo also comes with a little helping of street cred, please, pile on the bling.
Desk Tour: Cavica Office
Your welcome to send your desk and do a little show and tell. Just email the Editor here. Don't forget to include lot's of tasty photos! We had a complete overhaul of our office, to sit
581 Permalink ›
Kory Urban September 8, 2010 @00:01
Please note before reading this, I am not trying to start a fight. People always seem to think so since the MAC vs PC thing is always a touchy subject. I would like to give my opinion on your breakdown.
I am a PC user and I have been all my life. I am also tech support for a University and for my own company where I have to deal with Macs and PCs on a daily basis. I also design and build websites.
1) Macs are way more expensive than their PC counter-parts
Really? Your argument is that Macs look and smell nicer than PCs so you should pay more? What does that have to do with web-designing and internet usage?
A brand new, “nice smelling,” iMac
http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MC511LL/A?mco=MTg1ODA4MDM
This costs $1,999 for the base model
A brand new HP
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF06b/12454-12454-64287-321860-3328898-4065899-4066931-4205115.html
Only costs $1,009. Half as much!
Sure you still have to buy some peripherals but it still won’t come to the price of the iMac and it will have so much more specification wise and customization wise.
On top of that how good something looks and smells is personal opinion. I like the look of the HP and really I think the way they designed the Mac makes it a pain to clean.
2) Macs are basically non-user serviceable
That is true and your points about you don’t have to are somewhat true.
If however you are unlucky to get a Mac that doesn’t work out of the box, with happens more than Apple would like to admit, you are screwed. You can’t do anything but send it or take it back, and get a new one.
Again looks are personal opinion. If I want to customize my computer with some lights I should be able to without it being more than a pain in the butt then it should have to be. I should be able to add a water cooling system and push my computer beyond its limits if I want. I don’t want the company telling me what I can and cannot do with my hardware.
3) Macs aren’t supported by most IT support firms
I’ll tell you right now why I don’t support Macs through my business. Macs try to make everything easy by removing opinions and automating other things. Thats great when it works. However, when it doesn’t, it is a nightmare. I always hear from Mac users “Well windows just gives you a cryptic error message when it crashes.” At least it gives you something. When a Mac crashes you get a pinwheel of death… nothing else. Good luck figuring out what went wrong. And Apple makes it difficult on anyone that isn’t one of their Mac geniuses or isn’t licensed directly through them to fix anything.
The only reason you had “fluorescent, rubber coated spaghetti” for wiring is because your IT person is an idiot. It is easy to keep cabling neat and clean when you know what you’re doing.
PC desktops can do wireless to. They just don’t automatically come with it because unless you can’t push cable to the desktop for some reason you don’t need wifi. Whenever everyone is on Wifi it is nothing more than a huge invisible mess. On top of that its slower than a wired connection. So unless you’re picking up and carrying your iMac around with you like a laptop you should be wired. I’ll take a direct wired hookup to the router over wireless any day.
4) Mac people are snobs
Macs are nothing more than a status piece.
Again, the look of a Mac has nothing to do with what your main argument is and is personal opinion.
Again, Macs are nice when they work but are nightmares when they don’t
You really went off topic here.
I hear people all the time, even people that are total strangers, tell me I need to switch to Mac. But, then I ask why usually all I get is it looks cool and its simple. You only think it looks cool because its popular and you like the simplicity because you’re too impatient or too stupid to understand what a real computer is supposed to be like and what it is capable of. Its like owning a piece of brand name clothing. You buy it because you’re told its cool. You Mac users are nothing more than tools.
5) Mac people have too much money
Ok you’re right on this point Mac users don’t make more than windows users. Its actually the other way around most of the time and you Mac users are normally broke.
Good virus protection is free so your whole argument there is invalid.
Macs do have viruses and when they get them you are screwed because there is no way to clean them out, but you’re right there certainly aren’t as many. Thats mainly because it isn’t worth writing viruses for Macs. Mac users don’t have anything valuable to steal on their computers.
6) Owning a Mac is about image
Hmmm I’m having trouble thinking of a movie or show where anyone used a Mac. However I can think of plenty of shows where they used HPs or Dells.
*Criminal Minds
*CSI
*Lie to me
*White Collar
Look at that I have examples so my argument is actually valid.
Macs are nothing more than a brand name status symbol
Now I will actually make a point towards the argument you claimed to be making
For web designers and internet users the big name software is pretty much the same but windows has a ton more open source opinions. This is mainly because Apple makes it difficult to write for Macs.
Hardware wise you get a lot more bang for your buck with a PC. If you like the look of a Mac, buy a Mac case off from eBay and put in your own hardware. It is so much cheaper.
And to add something else, iPads are nothing more than giant iTouches and you’re a fool for buying one Mac users!
Thanks for reading
586 Permalink ›
Karn Broad September 8, 2010 @19:47
I find the comments above of limited value, and of one point of view. I’ve seem Which? reports stating the best portable machine at one point you could get to run Windows 7 was a Macbook Pro!
Why do I run a Mac? Because I’m a multiple field creative. If I tried to do what I do on a PC laptop, it simply wouldn’t behave with all I run on here. I’m then looking at 2 computers. They aren’t cheaper then. A Mac really does do what it says on the tin so much more often that a Windows based PC for anyone except some seriously tech minded, long-term Windows users, who don’t mix music, video, web design and all their home computing into one machine. I’ve been doing that for years with so little downtime it’s incredible. Pay yourself at $1/hour while getting your PC to try and do what I do on my Mac when it misbehaves, and you’ll be out of pocket. With MacOS as efficient as it is in Snow leopard, I don’t need the highest powered Mac to do it all either, something people ignore. Oh, and 10-12 apps running most of the time here too, something Macs are very good with.
Look at the Mac laptops, then find a seriously well matched PC equivalent, like maybe, a Sony (backlit keyboard, battery life, glass covered crisp screen, aluminium body). Is it cheaper? Not always. If you really want to run Windows 7 in preference to Mac OS, then I’ll leave you to it, I sure as hell won’t any time soon. It simply won’t give me the stability with the way I use the machine. The length of time a Mac can run the latest OS due to the OS efficiency has also been a noticeable thing in the past. Vista put so many PCs out of practical range, it was quite disastrous. Hopefully that won’t be so much the case moving forward with Windows 7 being quite a large improvement.
In the music world, find an equivalent to Logic Studio, with all it’s apps and content for your PC and you’ll spend hundreds of dollars or pounds more. Even when you buy a Mac it has quite a good music app on it, that ties into all the other creative apps for images and video, giving you such an easy way to do what most people like to do with home computers these days without any complex knowledge. Brilliantly useful.
Why haven’t I mentioned Linux? You try and get an equivalent to all I do on Linux, and then by the time you’ve spent weeks getting what you have found to behave, like the most complicated Lego kit you ever saw, I’ve made enough money by completing work to pay for all my Mac & software. I’ve looked at it, and Logic Studio alone isn’t replaceable in a realistic fashion, let alone the rest of it.
Don’t get me started on how Windows slows down when lots of apps are pushed into the system, and how the registry gradually crunches itself up (don’t forget Windows 7 hasn’t been running for that long, betas needed re-install, and I bet this issue repeats for many people soon enough).
Do I think everyone needs/should have a Mac? No I don’t. For simple computing tasks like letters and email and surfing, it’s quite a bit overboard. If you are moving it around in college a lot and it get treated with little care, then best doing that with a smaller investment. Several people all wanting the internet etc at the same time in a family, then costs come into play. I’m using mine for creative work where it’s simply the most efficient tool for the job. It can be the proverbial ‘sledgehammer to crack a nut’ though.
If you are getting your first computer though, you might find a Mac a shed load easier to operate mind.
587 Permalink ›
Adrian September 8, 2010 @20:15
lol……..
I guess I will never understand people. There is no proof that mac and it’s most evenly matched Windows(mac’s are PC’s too, asses) cannot accomplish all of the same tasks. There is no proof that one will be more efficient at handling those tasks(mac users don’t even like multitasking). And it is completely ignorant to claim Windows as an OS cannot handle numerous processes(and up to and past a dozen).
Please look at this matter in a scientific way: What is your test size? How many parts and combinations have you tested? How many variations of applications and running processes have you run on each hardware variation? How long did you test each?
Here is what we(all of us here) can conclude without becoming ranting, ignorant snobs:
Windows 7 and Snow Leopard are both stable, efficient, and capable OS’s.
Mac laptops are generally viewed as the most visually appealing design.
Windows based machines have more options, some bad.
You are all idiots and you can do anything you want with whatever compute you want. I have used Mac’s and Window’s based computers for a minimum of 2 years each. The both suck the same.
598 Permalink ›
Matt September 9, 2010 @19:01
While this piece is amusing, and I am sure you had fun writing it, you’re title is misleading. Heck even your section headers are just silly. Your argument could be summed up with one image, you kissing Steve Job’s ass.
600 Permalink ›
Clatterframe September 9, 2010 @19:13
I can’t believe that it’s 2010 and we’re still reading this kind of crap.
Three things to think about, and I leave the synthesis up to you:
1. The music is not in the piano.
2. A Mac is a tool.
3. Having a paintbrush doesn’t make you an artist.
897 Permalink ›
lil689sis September 15, 2010 @21:52
haha
1130 Permalink ›
Rob September 19, 2010 @19:22
True Words, Clatterframe!
It’s not the tool itself, it’s the person who makes up the talent! Theoretically speaking, for the most part, any pianist could make a piano sound good…regardless of the make and model. Of course, if it’s missing keys or out of tune, that’s a different story.
1443 Permalink ›
Jon M. Spencer September 24, 2010 @21:36
So very true. Great Article. 
Ever since my first mac in 2005, Windows has become an idiot’s (half) solution. In my opinion: Yes. Any designer worth their salt will have a mac. Not because they need to, but because they know better.
8 Post Comments