Mac or PC?

[Hazel Grant]

I am in the market for a new computer and am seriously considering switching back to the MAC. Currently I have a Dell and find that my comfort level of the using the PC is not as good as with the MAC. I used a MAC for years at work and was very comfortable with it. The salesman I talked to said that he thought that the MAC builtin software was parallel to Photoshop and that I wouldn't have to get any new software. Any thoughts on whether I should get the MAC or stay with the PC ? Any MAC users out there? And if so, what about the software question? Thanks for any input.

[allanrube]

You can emulate a PC on a Mac but I would not buy one for that reason. I would say go back to Mac if you like it more. There are a few programs many photographers used such as BreezeBrowser and Qimage that you would have to use in emulation as there are not available on a Mac but just about everything else is.
I have a Mac btw.

[Jim Poor]

You can switch your PC license for Photoshop over to Mac as well. Just call Adobe and ask them about it.

I prefer Mac after being a PC user and builder up until recently.

[Doug Brown]

Made the switch a year and a half ago (PC to Mac). Never looked back! Adobe will switch you from a PC version to a Mac version of CS for a couple of $, but I think they'll only do it for the newest version of the software (CS4). Lightroom comes with versions for both computing platforms on a single disk.

[E.J. Peiker]

CS4 for Mac is 32 bit, CS4 for Windows is 64 bit...

[Susan Griffith]

Well I am in the process of making the change from PC to MAC for most of my photo editing needs. I find the mac updates to be less disruptive and the OS to be a bit more stable. I will keep my Windows machines around but to do other tasks.

-Susan

[Alfred Forns]

Good point E.J. :)

Hazel I'm partial to Mac and would suggest going back due to the operating system and the new one has had a few problems but nothing like the new one for Windows. If you have bootcamp and install Windows your computer will run like any Windows machine. This is different than the old emulation "Virtual PC" clunky at best.

I have always been impressed with the Mac hardware and its compatibility. Both systems are good just preference.

[Hazel Grant]

Thanks for everyone's input. What we are looking at is the Macbook and then get an additional monitor to use while I am at home. Anyone done that? From what I read in the replies, perhaps Lightroom would be good to get instead of Elements?

[Arthur Morris]

Funny, just as I was thinking about replying as the lone PC-user/lover (never owned a Mac), I got an e-mail from a friend with My Mac is a pain in the *** as the subject line. Most Mac folks say that PC = piece of crap. My experience when working around folks using Macs is that they have many, many problems but just do not advertise. When I spoke to Victoria at the Lepp Institute she said that they had 5 Macs but that all were "in the shop." For me, Mac = mmore advanced crap (at twice the price).

I love my HP Pavillion. I process all of my images on the laptop relatively qiuckly. And for the most part, they do not suck...

[Grady Weed]

Since the end user is often the culprit behind most PC or Mac issues, the end result is this; read your manual, think before you click, and if you do not know, ask. I have been a PC tech for about 18 years now. I have worked on both platforms and all Os's since DOS. ALL COMPUTER HAVE ISSUES, some just a bit more than others, be reasonable with what you expect from a computer. It is just a piece of equipment. Personally, since I have been building my own and thousands since I have owned my own business doing so, the only problems I have are the ones I created. Someone is always bashing Microsoft, and MAC too. They both will always need repairing.

Some days I hate my PC. That's when I go out and photograph! Go Canon!

[Alfred Forns]

My experience with Mac is just the opposite as Arties In all the laptops I've had only one had a problem (seven laptops) and it was a strange one. All others have not been in for any kind of service

The one problem had to do with a bio upgrade, it fried the logic board. Overall all would say it is a great track record.

The Mac notebooks are particularly good regarding battery life, size and weight. On the Win size If I had to get one would go for the Sony.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

My experience with Mac is just the opposite as Arties In all the laptops I've had only one had a problem (seven laptops) and it was a strange one. All others have not been in for any kind of service

The one problem had to do with a bio upgrade, it fried the logic board. Overall all would say it is a great track record.

The Mac notebooks are particularly good regarding battery life, size and weight. On the Win size If I had to get one would go for the Sony.

I used to have a Sony laptop with a great 17 inch XBrite display. The only problem was there was no easy way to exchange the hard drive since there was no slot. I had to completely take it apart, and more than 40 screws on my table (slightly scary) :)

[Maxis Gamez]

I used to built my own computers and as the Microsoft Ad's. I'm PC!! :D

I really don't see a reason to spend all that extra money for a MAC.

[John Chardine]

I've owned about half a dozen Macs since 1984 and have never had a hard drive crash or a virus and I've never had to send one to the shop for repair. BTW I don't run anti-virus software.

[Doug Brown]

Same goes for me.

[Fabs Forns]

The only people I've heard complaining about Mac are Windows users. Go know!

[Trey Barron]

Another fan for the PC. I have no experience with Mac and no intention to anytime soon. I just built a new desktop and am running Vista64. I have had no problems so far with running both CS4 and LR2. If you can find someone to build one I saved about $800 from the almost as good Dell system.

[Larry Daniel]

I switched to an Apple Mac four years ago. Not going back. Far fewer headaches, lots less maintenance. Now on a Mac Pro and three other Mac computers in the house and two iPhones.

[Amy DeStefanis]

Hi Hazel,

I have always been a PC user. In spring 2007, I got a Dell laptop with Vista. If I could have gotten it with XP, I would have, but at the time it wasn't offered. About 2 weeks after I got mine, all the complaints about Vista forced Dell to start offering their laptops with XP as a choice. I was SOOOOO ticked off by this. I was leaving in a couple of weeks for a photo workshop outside the country, which was the whole reason I'd gotten the laptop. I couldn't send it back to be restamped (one option) in time, and they told me I had to purchase a full copy of the XP operating system at retail price if I wanted to install it myself, but that wasn't recommended because of course, then XP compatible drivers for the hardware, etc., had to be installed, etc.....

So, I kept the Vista PC. (this was my 4th Dell purchase, by the way)

In spring 2008, I bought a MacBook Pro, and a wireless router, and gave my husband the Vista P(o)C....

I work with PC's all day everyday as a software developer at work (using XP). Some things they really are fine for.

When I come home, I use my Mac for working in Lightroom and CS3, and I've had very few problems. At first I had some problems networking the router, and backup drives, but I was able to take everything in to an Apple store, and learned what I was doing wrong. They didn't just fix it and leave it a mystery. They actually took the time to teach me a lot of good things.

Now it's my husband who sits cursing the PC, but he really only needs to check email and put music on his iPod.

One of the big disadvantages with the PC is all the time it takes to load up the antivirus updates, and security patches that are constantly coming out. The Mac boots up, and shuts down without having to do 10 minutes worth of housekeeping.

Good luck with the choice!
Amy D.

[Joseph Martines]

This is almost as bad as should I buy a Canon or a Nikon!!

My son works in a government job where he must work with the PC platform during the day. At night, at home, he chooses to use a Mac because he doesn't want to fight with the computer when he has down time.

I have always used a Mac. Whenever it comes to taking a photographic class there is always a problem when it comes to setting up the "talk" for the presentation when they use PC's. There hardly is ever a problem when they use Macs.

You have to make your own decision. They are just equipment for you to use. Whichever is easiest for you.

[John Chardine]

One of the Mac OS X features I find indispensable is Quicklook. Click on a file icon, any type including RAW, jpegs, text, pdfs, MS Office etc etc, hit the space bar and the file opens in a window, quickly, without running the software that created it. A simple thing like this which is built in at the system level makes life so easy. It seems like I use the feature 100s of times a day.