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sickelsick
2006-08-05, 00:16
im getting more and more into digital art and im gunna goto an art school,(this is what most of the computers are there) and i was wondering is mac really that much different than PCs? is the graphics that much better? are programs like PS and Corel better and run smoother on a mac?

i was tihnking about buying one then i saw the price... is it worth me buying it just for art? or is it good for other things too?

i got a million questions these are only a few.

any suggestions on a mac?

Brad
2006-08-05, 00:26
Welcome to AppleNova, sickelsick! :)

The applications from Adobe run generally the same on Mac OS X and Windows. As long as you calibrate your color profiles properly on both machines, a document in Photoshop will look identical in Mac OS X and Windows.

So, no, it's not worth buying a Mac just to run graphics applications.

It is worth buying a Mac for a plethora of other reasons, however. It's really too complex to outline briefly. Mac OS X "just works" in a lot of ways that Windows doesn't. The whole user experience is quite different in ways that are generally more intuitive.

If you are considering a Mac, here's my suggestion. Try to find someone who will loan you a moderately new Mac for a week or two. Have that person set up an account of your own on the machine so you can play around and change all the settings without affecting any of his/her stuff. I've suggested this to a few people and they've all found it immensely useful and educational (and they eventually got their own Macs too).

Sargasm
2006-08-05, 01:50
Let me walk you through my experiences with a Mac and PC.

I used Windows exclusively for 8 years prior to getting my PowerBook. I wanted to play games, and the beige iMacs in my elementary school's lab didn't appeal to me. Neither did the colorful ones. So I started out with a Windows 3.1 machien as a child, got a Pentium MX 233 mhz, then a 600 mhz laptop (2 mb of video memory was the worst.), and finally, my gaming rig, which is a 2.4 ghz Pentium 4, with a nice radeon 9600 xt. Runs all my Steam games smoothly, which is all I want.

So, let me run you through running both for the first time.

PC - boot it up, reformat. I hate all the bullshit trial apps they put in them. God forbid if it came with an HP printer. HP is the biggest offender with this asshat sofware. Install Windows XP, a laborious process.

Take out the old driver cd, run nine different setup.exe's. Reboot again.

Start Internet Explorer for the first time, immediately download Firefox and Ad-aware, and run the latter. 10 infected files already. Jesus Christ. Go to microsoft.com and run Windows update. If you're on anything slower than DSL, you're fucked. Even with broadband, the plethora of critical updates took at least 2 hours to download and install. Download Spybot, AVG free edition, Clam Antivirus, update them all, which takes another 2 hours.

Half a day later, I'm annoyed and frustrated, and after the 5 half-life 2 install discs, I don't even want to bother anymore. Hate Windows with a fiery passion.

I've actually started a business with my friends, where we help clean up peoples' computers. The horror stories I could tell you...

My Mac - Boot up, run software update, download any necessary drivers for third party peripherals (for my Microsoft intellimouse for example), reboot, and I'm good to go.

My philosophy in computing now, is this: unless you're a heavy gamer, there's pretty much no need to have a Windows machine. And with the introduction of Boot Camp, there's no need for a Windows machine EVER.

spikeh
2006-08-05, 05:09
I second the suggestion that you try it before you buy. It sounds to me like you don't necessarily need one for what you are doing - if you're happy with Windows then stay there.

I generally find OS X to be a lot more stable, intuitive, smart and good looking than XP or Vista. It does a lot of the little things that you think Windows should do - for instance the address book is something I've just come to appreciate recently, the way it assigns relationships between people. If it could output to hCard it'd be better but it's still immense.

Robo
2006-08-05, 05:36
I wanted to play games, and the beige iMacs in my elementary school's lab didn't appeal to me.

Beige iMacs, Sargasm? ;)

sickelsick: I agree that you should try before you buy. However, I disagree with spikeh's reasoning that if you're happy with Windows you should stay there. In my opinion, nobody is happy with Windows. They don't just realize how unhappy they are until they use Mac OS. :D

But that's just me. I wish you luck in your computer-purchasing endeavor, be it a PC or a Mac.

Just out of curiosity, what art school are you attending? I'm starting college this fall too. General studies now, film school later. :cancer:

Oh, and this might interst you: College students who buy any Mac (besides the Mac mini) get a free 2 GB iPod nano. If you don't want it, you can sell it to make the Mac easier on your wallet.

sickelsick
2006-08-05, 12:48
im going to Eastern Illinois University. i was attending Columbia College in Chicago. that was a GOOD art school. i will eventually go back to finish there.

ok, 1 more question, what is the difference between the imacs and the mini macs besides the way they are made? or is there any difference? i thought the only thing that differs is that one comes with a screen and the other doesnt

Ghost2
2006-08-05, 12:54
im going to Eastern Illinois University. i was attending Columbia College in Chicago. that was a GOOD art school. i will eventually go back to finish there.

ok, 1 more question, what is the difference between the imacs and the mini macs besides the way they are made? or is there any difference? i thought the only thing that differs is that one comes with a screen and the other doesnt

The iMac is faster, has a larger hard drive, and has a better gpu than the mac mini, along with an integrated display, and camera.

torifile
2006-08-05, 13:33
I just read a post (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Talking-Points-Memo/~3/8897700/week_2006_07_30.php) from a blogger about his experience with the Mac switch.
A small sampling:

Basically, I'm sold. I've been using a PC at home and a Mac at work for several months now. And I just prefer using the Mac. A lot. Some of it is simple ease of use, the 'it just works factor'. It runs with few or no problems. And not having to worry about computer viruses is nice. I'm also doing a lot more working with video. And there's no question the machine is just better designed for working with video -- both on the hardware level and in the applications it comes with.

This guy is a pretty respected political blogger, but the point is the same: it's not the heavy-hitting things that make a switch worth it. Both PCs and Macs can do those just fine. It's the day-to-day stuff that makes it so worthwhile.

Brad
2006-08-05, 13:52
ok, 1 more question, what is the difference between the imacs and the mini macs besides the way they are made? or is there any difference? i thought the only thing that differs is that one comes with a screen and the other doesnt
Ghost2 already answered this, but I'll just point out that you can get full specs on Apple's website. Just click the "What's Inside" link at the top of each product page. Here are a few key comparison points what highlight where the iMac is better:

http://www.apple.com/imac/whatsinside.html

1.83GHz or 2GHz Intel Core Duo processor
ATI Radeon X1600 graphics processor using PCI Express, 128 MB of GDDR3 video memory
160 or 250GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive
Two FireWire 400 ports; 8 watts shared
Built-in 17-inch (viewable) widescreen or 20-inch (viewable) widescreen TFT active-matrix liquid crystal display
Built-in stereo speakers


http://www.apple.com/macmini/whatsinside.html

1.5GHz Intel Core Solo or 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo processor
Intel GMA950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
60GB or 80GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive; optional 100GB or 120GB drive
One FireWire 400 port (8 watts)