My very first computer was an Apple 2e (or ][e for those of you old enough to remember they way they wrote it out back then.) But over time, I moved over to a PC and eventually ended up working for what some people humorously refer to as The Evil Empire. (That would be Microsoft.)
As a designer, I work on both a Mac and PC, with the PC being my primary platform. Until now. As the years have gone on, I’ve grown weary of battling Windows for control of my computer. And I have a high tolerance since I’m a bit more familiar with making Windows run smoothly than the aveage user.
But as I’ve had a Mac and PC running side-by-side on my desk, I’ve noticed something: The Mac works better. There are some aspects that I don’t think are as good as a Windows machine, but those reasons are dwindling.
So, this weekend, I started migrating my files over to the Mac, including my mail. I’ve still got some projects I started on my PC that I want to finish there, but I think I’ll be starting all new projects on the Mac.
Now, I’m not telling you this just to share my personal life. There’s a design aspect you should be aware of.
When it comes to software, the main tools of the design trade (InDesign, Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, etc.) all work on both PC’s and Mac’s. And in most cases, a client doesn’t care if you’re using a PC or Mac.
But…
I’ve never had a client require a project be done on a PC, but I have had the requirement a few times that it be done on a Mac. If you’re a PC user, don’t worry. There’s still plenty of work for if you’re only using a PC. But if you’re at that stage where you can go either way, go Mac.
This is just my own experience, plus a little inside knowledge from my time as a Windows tester at Microsoft, but the Mac operating system is more stable than Windows, and it doesn’t even matter which version of Windows you want to talk about.
I’m not saying OS X (the current Mac operating system) is perfect. I am saying that, by and large, it has fewer problems and will get in your way less often.
There are some downsides to using a Mac, so in fairness I’ll raise those issues.
First, if you depend on Office like I do, the current Mac version of Office is inferior to any of the recent PC versions, especially when it comes to Entourage (the Mac version of Outlook.) While a new version of Office for the Mac is due later this year, based on a few things I’m reading, I’m not entirely confident of what we’ll get or if it will be vastly improved. I hope I’m proven wrong on that.
Second, I always advocate a back-up system in case your main system dies. PC’s are so low in price I wouldn’t be surprised to see them given away in cereal boxes if they could fit. But Mac’s are another story. They’re pricey and not something you can find easily at Costco or some discount computer store.
If you’re running your business off a Mac and it dies, how easily can you get it replaced and be up and running again? A lot of people who use PC’s actually have more than one in the house, so temporarily moving to another PC if your main one dies isn’t as big a deal.
So those are a couple of potential downsides to be aware of. I’m sure there are more. But for me, I’ve had it. I’ve been battling Windows since version 3.1. I’ve served my time. The main design software I use runs just as easily (if not better) on a Mac than it does a PC, so there’s nothing holding me to Windows except old habits. I’ll still have a PC on hand for projects that require it and for non-business software that is PC only. (And, no, I don’t intend to run Windows on my Intel Mac.)
So the next time you read a post here from me, it will have been written on a Mac and I will have cast aside the daily shackles of Windows!! (Ok, that’s no big deal and it won’t make any difference to you in how you read this blog. I was just trying to end on a dramatic note because this is a really geeky topic to be discussing.)
