Mac vs. PC

Mac vs. PC – This is a legendary debate which has been going on for years & will most likely continue for years to come. Many people believe that if you are an artist or designer you must use a Mac & if you are a business that predominantly uses written documents or spreadsheets then a PC is for you.  Maybe in the 90’s this belief was valid but is that still the case today?

 After reading through many blogs on this topic I have come to the conclusion that Mac’s & PC’s are very similar & ultimately it comes down to your personal preference.

I specifically want to know if there is any significant difference between a Mac & PC when using Adobe creative suite software. The Adobe creative suite contains various design software which is tailored towards specific needs / industries. So I will only look into the areas relating to the design industry.

The Handling Of Graphics, Colour & Type;
For a designer this is probably the most important factor in their decision making when choosing which type of computer to work on. Apple have always made a huge effort to make sure that their product was leading the way in terms of dealing with graphics, colour & type. Over the years the difference between the two machines has been vastly reduced, however Mac’s are still slightly better than PC’s in this category.

Usability;
Regarding usability I strongly believe that it mainly comes down to personal preference. I’m a PC man myself but I used Mac’s for 3 years whilst I was at university but I always found the Adobe software easier to use on my PC. This was mainly due to all the small differences, I was just used to a PC where all the small things were 2^nd nature, but with a Mac I had to remember them. It’s similar to driving two different cars or playing the Xbox & PlayStation, it’s essentially the same, you just have to adjust to the minor differences.  Really the main difference between the two machines are the shortcuts. The key fact to remember is that the ‘alt’ & ‘option’ keys do the same job & are interchangeable.

So whether you use Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign or Flash or any other Adobe software you can find all the shortcuts you will ever need here.

Conclusion;
In conclusion, I agree with the common consensus that Mac’s are the best computers for designers to use & this opinion is purely based on the fact that Mac’s handle graphics, colour & type better than a PC. But it is important to mention that this is only noticeable when dealing with high end designs. For anyone starting I would suggest that you choose the computer that best suits you. Ultimately your creativity & software knowledge will determine the outcome of your work, not the spec of your computer.

Futuretrend provides training to those who wish to learn how to use the Adobe software & to those who already possess basic knowledge of the software but wish to build upon that by learning more advanced techniques. So check out our courses: http://bit.ly/mPeNyg

Advance your knowledge > Enhance your potential

http://www.futuretrend.co.uk/