PC or Mac?

[Jean_McFadzen@adobeforums.com]

For a yearbook journalism lab I want to create. Just getting started. If InDesign CS works both on PC or Mac, does it matter which OS I go with? Kids, of course, are more comfy with PC. Any imput would be appreciated.

[Bob_Levine]

No, it doesn't matter and anyone who tells you it does is simply wrong.
The application is identical on either platform. Use which ever you're
most comfortable with.

Bob

[Gabriel_Ayala@adobeforums.com]

512 MB is a good starting point, but it can't hurt to double that amount.




With memory being so cheap these days, you might as well start at 1GB and get it over with. You will need a mother board that supports it of course.

Some people here are still working with machines built pre-1999 when the 80GB hard drive barrier was a problem.

[Greg_Gaspard@adobeforums.com]

Even better news: if your printer accepts PDF files, then it REALLY doesn't matter which platform you use. If you've got the hardware and software (including fonts) for Windows, go for it.

[jasondh@adobeforums.com]

work on both. both fine. IMHO PC crashes more tho
(altho Im sure that statement will just raise the ire of others...)
but Indesign does a stellar job of recovery and retaining your last work to be rebuilt so its not like the nightmare of Quark...

[rubini@adobeforums.com]

great posts. very imformative.

[MeditDesigner]

I use both Mac and PC for my InDesign work. I am right now on my Mac. I use OSX Jaguar on my Mac and Windows XP Professional on my PC. On both I use InDesign CS (3.01). In my experience, both crash rather equally, but with PC you have to be more careful about security. I don't use antivirus at all on my Mac, and still I have not been infected. A PC user has to be very careful, since threats are going to rise and there is no way other than installing regular updates issued by microsoft and norton.

Usage-wise, Windows XP is actually far more powerful than Jaguar. I don't know about Panther or upcoming Tigers or Lions. Paradoxically, it is PC that seems more user-friendly to me. Look at the myriad options you get when you right click, compared to the surprisingly skimpy ones you get when you do control click in Mac!

Suppose, for example, you are working in InDesign on PC. You want to open a file. In the file open menu, right click on any file icon. You may get more than a dozen options, that even includes opening it with any other application, zipping, emailing etc. etc. You get none of that in Mac. In effect you can do many more things with your PC mouse than with your Mac mouse. Since Mac needs keyboard shortcuts for these, it actually makes Mac less userfriendly in my opinion.

But I do believe that Mac OSX is a far more promising OS compared to Windows, but it has not yet been optimized enough for the power user. They still dressing it up externally, trying to attract the Win crowd. But eventually they should consider the power user too. I do hope they do it early, because the time is coming when Windows will be too dangerous to use and then it will be good to have a really mature OS to migrate to.

In fact, already I am seriously thinking of using Mac for browsing the Net (though I'll miss my Google Toolbar) and using PC for design work!!

[Androo]

>
> Usage-wise, Windows XP is actually far more powerful than Jaguar. I don't

know about Panther or upcoming Tigers or Lions. Paradoxically, it is PC that
seems more user-friendly to me. Look at the myriad options you get when you
right click, compared to the surprisingly skimpy ones you get when you do
control click in Mac!

>

I use ID at work on a Win2000 PC, and at home on a Mac with Panther, and
prefer using it on the Mac. I swapped the one-button Mac mouse for a
Microsoft mouse with two buttons and a scroll and tilt wheel which makes it
great for browsing in Internet Explorer for Mac. I agree that the number of
crashes is about equal, but I massively prefer using Panther to Windows. I
can live with fewer right-click options because most other things work
better!

Androo

[willmark@adobeforums.com]

In terms of programs Bob's right there is no difference cross platform. Throw in OTF fonts and you should have no cross-platform issues.

In terms of the platforms its a tough call, I manage 45 PCs and 41 Macs at the current time. Most of what MeditDesigner has stated is true to a point.

One thing to consider on OSX a crash or problem in program does not bring down the OS. On Windows before W2k this was a problem, 2000 is better, XP better yet, still not quite there as much as OSX.

If the kids are more comfy on the PC, fine then, but one thing to consider is that in the graphic design world and printing it is still overwhelmingly a Mac world, by a large margin, unlike the rest of computing which is Windows. Can't hurt to get Mac experiennce either, Heck I work in Windows, Mac OS9, OSX, Yellow Dog Linux, and various forms of UNIX and some understanding of Oracle, point is the more you teach them and the more "multi-lingual" they are, the better.

[Skyline@adobeforums.com]

Funny no one here has mentioned money. You get a bigger bang for your buck with Windows, and it can certainly get the job done as well as a Mac.

Though Macs still carry weight in the creative worlds (the opposite is true in the rest of the world), it is no longer true that Macs are the only game in town. Windows today is a worthy competitor, and most shops accept and can handle files created on Windows just like they can Mac files. Most staff is cross-trained (not that many differences today anyway except for pre-OT fonts) so don't let a person who is only trained or comfortable on a Mac tell you "it can't be done except on a Mac." It can be.

To eliminate 99.9% of cross-platform issues, adopt a PDF workflow. Any shop with up-to-date RIPs should be able to handle your properly made PDFs routinely and nearly effortlessly.

[Jim_Oblak@adobeforums.com]

You get a bigger bang for your buck with Windows




This is not entirely true. Yes, Windows computers are traditionally cheaper off the shelf, but long term support issues may creep extra cost into Windows hardware. I spend considerably less time troubleshooting Mac issues than Windows issues... and I have equal experience with both.

eMacs are nice price competitors to Windows computers.

[JohnO@adobeforums.com]

I was surprised the first time I opened a G3, and saw a lot of familiar
stuff...it had ATAPI drives, PC-100 memory, a PCI video card (with a special
BIOS, but the same hardware) and USB keyboard/mouse that will work on a PC.
Slap in an Intel mobo and it's a transplatform computer. :-)

-John O

[willmark@adobeforums.com]

Jim is correct, numerous studies have been done on this by Gartner for example. While a PC is cheaper to buy it is not cheaper to maintain. Somehere on the order of 30-40% more in terms of support in a head to head comparison. Of course this is speaking to large installs, business's and educational bases. TCO Total Cost of Ownership is a prime factor comapnies look at. In business this is because it effects the bottom line in unseen ways rather then upfront cost which are more obvious.

So pay more up front or later seems to be the tacts between the two.

[Skyline@adobeforums.com]

As for TCO, I think it depends on where you're located. In smaller markets you may be hard-pressed to find competent techs who speak Mac. That means you have to have a tech travel quite a distance, and that increases not only the travel (and possibly lodging) expenses, but also increases your down time waiting for him/her to arrive.

[Jim_Oblak@adobeforums.com]

Hiring a Mac-specialized tech to come out to your location is certainly a consideration. The Mac can have a much greater support cost if you don't have anyone that speaks Mac. One of my employers is a school district that has an army of Windows support technicians. They do not employ a single Mac technician. The school district's help desk line operator does not even know what a Mac is.

However, with that being said, we have never had to call out a technician because the Mac is so much easier to maintain.

Aside from a technician that is called in to work on a pre-press hardware, I am weary of calling on anyone that is needed to troubleshoot an application or operating system issue (Windows or Mac). Is it too much to ask in the 21st century that a designer with at least 5 years of experience should know how to manage their own system? A painter knows how to clean their brushes :: a designer should be able to clean their computer of hiccups.

[Bob_Levine]

> a designer should be able to clean their computer of hiccups.

Well said...and very true. It's amazing how many problems people report
that could have been avoided with the proper "house cleaning."

Bob

[Cyndee_Meystel@adobeforums.com]

>a designer should be able to clean their computer of hiccups.

I agree 100% I can't tell you how often I have to explain very basic
software or hardware issues to professional designers from whom I receive
copy.

As someone who is solely self taught, I do all of my own hardware and
software support as well as repairs, installation, etc. Of course I have
help from these forums, and from the web via Google when needed.
--
Cyndee

[Stu_Bloom@adobeforums.com]

In principle, I agree that a designer should be able to clean their computer of hiccups.

However, in many corporate environments, the computer is so locked down that only someone from the IT department has the rights to change anything on a workstation.

One place I worked as a consultant you filled out a trouble ticket and waited two or three days for the IT department to respond.

They paid me a great deal of money to sit and read magazines because my workstation would not boot and I did not have the rights to fix it - and had I figured out how to do it anyway, I would have been fired for making unauthorized modifications.

[George_Bilalis@adobeforums.com]

One place I worked as a consultant you filled out a trouble ticket and
waited two or three days for the IT department to respond.




Is that spelling bureaucracy?

They paid me a great deal of money to sit and read magazines because my
workstation would not boot and I did not have the rights to fix it - and
had I figured out how to do it anyway, I would have been fired for making
unauthorized modifications.




An interesting question is: How did you feel about it, Stu

rgrds
George

[JohnO@adobeforums.com]

> However, with that being said, we have never had to call out a technician
because the Mac is so much easier to maintain.

What makes Macs easier to maintain? (serious question, really)

-John O