The Great Debate - PC Vs Mac

Web coders need to be able to use both and not get to fussy about it...

I have a mac which I love but only had it for about a year. I also have 2 PCs under my desk for testing and *cough* the occasional game.

For 'pure design' I prefer the Mac. For coding I prefer coda on mac over dreamweaver on PC. Actually I prefer PSPad over Dreamweaver.

For Office docs (which I don't do much of these days) PC Office knocks the MAC version for a six.

My home set up has MAC and PC sharing a big monitor and mac keyboard via KVM switch so I can flick between as needed. MAC in notebook so I have two screens all the time. Works very well as long as you can internally switch between cmd and ctrl for copy and paste!!! The monitor is a samsung not mac as I wanted to see PC gamma most of the time.
 
Allen said:
Web coders need to be able to use both and not get to fussy about it...

I have a mac which I love but only had it for about a year. I also have 2 PCs under my desk for testing and *cough* the occasional game.

Why do "Web Coders" need to be able to use Both and not get fussy about it? I am not sure what you are saying here because I have Never had to use one or the other.

This is a very sketchy quote, coders dont really need to be "fussy" about anything. I could code the same quality of work in Notepad as any other IDE because I understand the code. So no matter the platform or software I could produce the same quality of work. And dont mention *cough* "Dreamweaver" *cough*, I dont know any coders that use this ever, and I am serious. The target platform will mostly be Windows(IIS + ASP, ASP,NET, C#, PHP etc) or Linux(mainly Apache + PHP) (maybe Solaris - which is unix anyway and very very small posibility that it would be AIX) but it certainly wont be a MAC. So why do I even need to touch one?

I actually code mostly in Java (enterprise level application servers) for work and I use PHP Designer for most other freelance work. The reason I (and most other people) use any IDE is to make life easier and quicker, so things like syntax highlighting etc all help. But software produced code is always (to this date with me anyway) a no no.

Eclipse IDE is both available on MAC and PC and has plugins for any language, in fact you can see here Eclipse compared with 7 other IDE's from IBM is one of the top 7;

Seven great PHP IDEs compared

However, PHP Designer is a favorite of mine and not available on MAC...

MPSOFTWARE - phpDesigner - The Best PHP Editor & PHP IDE!

You can see someone asking for an alternative here;

phpDesigner alternative for mac?

so the corresponding question (from a pure devs view) is "what is it your trying to achive?", "What makes you fluid in your work?" and "what makes it easier for you?", and this goes for quite a lot of software (even including design).

Who cares if you can "tell" people you have a MAC. If it works for you and is productive, then cool.

You see, maybe I speak for myself, but I know a lot of coders and I think they (at least) would all say the same thing, Platform + IDE is not the same to us as it is to you designers. MAC's were build by designers for designers, so was most of the software. Its a cult thing. Dont include "Web Coders" and "MAC's" into the same sentence;) as that is too general. Maybe web "Designers" and "MAC's" ;) Coders care more about what is going to "interpret" our work... be that IIS, Apache, Weblogic or Websphere etc or the technical info rather than "I own a MAC".

I could write you 10K words on development scale, unless you mean the designers that hash template code like Wordpress or similar into a site :) (Booooooo me), and I dont think that platform and OS would come into account once. Even though I could write what you need for your client in less than 10% of the code; Some designers decide to use wordpress or similar as a template/platform instead of employ a coder to write bespoke code. (cost less? - I think not tbh - have you asked recently compared to your own time invested. FInd a good coder to work with and your sorted!) Maybe I am a little bitter about this, but you see... it is with good reason.

for a short e.g. open source = vulnerable. Any "template" or "foundation" that you use to create something.. I have the source code too. CSS and images just make it LOOK different, the code is the same as what I downloaded and I can see the flaws. So, please dont use this for larger clients! ;)

Edit "My home set up has MAC and PC sharing a big monitor and mac keyboard via KVM switch so I can flick between as needed."

BTW: KVM switches are out-of-date now. They are slow, sluggish and there is a whole host of problems with USB ones. I work with 3 desktops and 2 laptops daily, I control them all via my main desktop and RealVNC http://www.realvnc.com/ . If you are on an internal network, its all good to use the free version as it is fully functional. If not, buy the full version (does not really cost a lot)

I can assure you (as a user - cross-platform) that this is the way to go. if you even buy the full version you can scale a target/source/server to a specific resolution fullscreen. So say that you have dual monitors @ 1680*1050 (like me) but one of your laptops is only 1280*800, you can still scale this fullscreen to one of your monitors.

Just press F8 to get the "special" options, like sending "Ctrl + Alt + Del" to a client etc.

Check it out. Well worth it and blows Remote Desktop away (since this requires sessions outside of session 0)
.
 
There are a million different arguments within the mac vs pc argument e.g:


Design vs Design


PCs they're not all ugly, we have passed the grey box under the desk era!
Apple have a stunning range of products and the design is reflected in the price

sony_ls1_2.jpg



there are even a few 'faux macs' out there lol


Sony-VAIO-JS1-Series-All-in-one-PC.jpg




OS Vs OS


an argument based mostly on preference; however the issue with no viruses is appealing.



Hardware Vs Hardware


limited with entry level macs, very flexible with mac pro but at a huge cost.



Cost Vs Cost


PCs are generally a LOT cheaper than mac.



Future Proofing


A macs lifespan I would say is far more limited than PC due to the soldered processors (not sure if they still do this with intel platform?), and generally integrated circuitry.


My favourite thing about PCs is that I can order an empty case and shop around on the internet for individual components and build it to my own spec with ease.



My final word is that I am currently saving for a mac
 
PCs are generally a LOT cheaper than mac.

that's because apple guarantee quality and are not a discount company.

they worked for months to find the ideal solution to the white macbook's body fault, and they produced an aluminium unibody. find that on PCs? thought not.

yes, apple are the only ones who make their computers, but surely that's brilliant...? it means that people dont destroy the quality, almost designer brand that is Apple.

A macs lifespan I would say is far more limited than PC

wrong. apple products are guaranteed one year, but normally last 3/4 years (if you don't use it very strenuously).

despite that, two years in, i guarantee your mac will be as fast as it was originally. i don't see that on a PC.

Design vs Design

PCs they're not all ugly, we have passed the grey box under the desk era!
Apple have a stunning range of products and the design is reflected in the price

there are even a few 'faux macs' out there lol

i doubt you can find a PC as pretty as the new macbook pro range that arent copies.

and yes, the faux macs are shite. they are deliberately produced to imitate iMacs, with £100 less (typically) on their price tag than the iMacs themselves.

if someone's set on getting an iMac (or even something that looks like it), surely you'd pay the extra £100 for the better OS and better experience all round?

strange that there is actually a niche for this, although i can see why.

limited with entry level macs, very flexible with mac pro but at a huge cost.

wrooooong. 8GB of RAM can be installed in the aluminium 13.3" macbook pro. it's extremely flexible. you ask for it, they install it.
 
It's definately not a case of install anything you want in any mac other than in the mac pro! it is a very small list.

with regards to lifespan my point is that after 3/4 years a mac becomes outdated but is not upgradeable without getting rid of your old system and buying a new one.

The sony vaio that looks like a mac is £899 - not bad with 3gb 1066 ram, 2.8ghz dual core intel, 500gb ram. not that i would buy one but still a lot cheaper.
 
with regards to lifespan my point is that after 3/4 years a mac becomes outdated but is not upgradeable without getting rid of your old system and buying a new one.

at 5 years an item becomes vintage. apple happily replace any items that are younger than that, and sometimes even older. we had the old iMac (below) in this week, and that's 8 years old+?

imac_swivel.jpg


The sony vaio that looks like a mac is £899 - not bad with 3gb 1066 ram, 2.8ghz dual core intel, 500gb ram. not that i would buy one but still a lot cheaper.

it looks nothing like a Mac IMO, it tries to copy the single present desktop, but doesnt pull off what apple have.

the base iMac is £949 and has this spec:

- 2GB 1066MHz RAM
- 320GB HD
- 2.66 intel core 2 duo

But i'd happily get 180GB and pay £50 more if i was getting Leopard. Fuck Windows.
 
So that's better quality manufacturing, very fast processors, expandable RAM, top notch OS, nearly virus threat free, can run Windows if required, damn sexy design but a bit more pricey than your Acer/Dell/HP competition.

Well it sounds good to me...

ps I still have a g4 iMac 17" 1ghz I've have had it nearly six years and other than a replacement cd burner it's tops. Sure it's a back up machine now but it's still running fine and looking good.
I call her Bessy. Which is nice.
 
Too true, in the office at work a few of the other design chaps have been re-equiped with superdooper 'work station' Acer machines. I stood my ground and stuck with Apple.
They are really fast the numpty IT fella said, years of use from these he said.

A week later...I hear regular groans from across the studio...it's crashed again...blo*dy XP! Bong!...etc...

Yes the car might be fast but it's no use if the steering wheel keeps coming off!

I stick with my Mac at work and at home.
 
How are components in windows machines cheaper than those in a mac, yes you get your budget brands but do any designers use a budget machine, I can't as they'd just fail under my type of work.
And as much as I hate to admit it (not that I would buy any), hardware wise the dell precisions (ie the workstation machines) aren't actually bad once you get rid of the crap that dell adds, yes the case isnt as pretty but its tucked under a desk most of the time.
Last time I checked I could nearly build 3 machines (quad i7's) for the price of the base (8 core) mac pro with specs which are more suited to my CAD work (quadro, 12GB ram etc). 3 machines would also be better than 1 in terms of distributed computing :)

Also how many times has apple had issues with things like the logic board failing on macbooks/ibooks, the plastic cases on the macbook (and iphone) discolouring.

Plenty of high quality cases for desktops, lian li and silverstone are just as high quality as the mac pro and in many ways are superior (more than 4 hard drives for example)

Apple doesn't even sell a machine with a true workstation gpu (no a geforce is not a workstation card) anymore (quadro fx 4800 isn't released yet afaik)

I will say that mac office is a bargain compared with the windows version in my opinion.
 
fading iPhones?? as in the black fading to grey? or the white fading to a cream? seems crazy to me...
 
it's not true, apple havent released a statement recalling the iPhones, nor has their been any sort of statement from them.

if it's not on the apple website, dont believe it.
 
Tempted to get a macbook pro once I've saved up for it, though not sure I can make the transistion from PC -> mac, or use both effectively so not sure if I should or just get a desktop PC (on laptop which meets all my needs at the moment)
 
how do you mean, you wont be able to deal with the switch?

as in learning the basics of the OS, or transferring files/apps?

if you pop into an Apple store and buy a MB Pro, they'll offer you OneToOne, which would definitely be worth snapping up if you need help with either of those ^.

it's £79 for one year, but you get unlimited help sessions (you can even request to learn pro apps like Aperture or CS4, or maybe just iPhoto/iMovie) and free data transfer from your PC to your new Mac.

Tadaah.
 
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