Best Business Practices for Photographers [21]
MACS VERSUS PCS
Windows fans cite the statistic that in the U.S. only 10 percent of today's computers are Macs. What that statistic fails to reveal is that approximately 70 percent of the entire group of computer users from which that same 10 percent is drawn are enterprise-level major corporations whose IT departments dictate the PC mantra—in part because it keeps them employed fixing all the PC crashes and the like. When you extract enterprise-level networks from the equation, the Mac percentage skyrockets, and rightly so. Here's why:
Viruses. Ninety-nine percent of all viruses (and some would suggest 99.9 percent) are written to take advantage of weaknesses in the Windows operating system. From Internet Explorer to Windows Vista, there's a reason why Microsoft must put out security patches once a month or more. Thankfully, Macs don't incite the ire of hackers wishing to take on (and take down) the behemoth that is Windows. Further, the UNIX operating system, on which Mac's OS X is based, is a better programmed and safer operating system. That said, if you buy a Mac and boot into Windows on it (or use Apple's Boot Camp application to run Windows operating systems on your Mac), you'll be just as susceptible to those viruses.
Stability. Microsoft's operating systems constantly face delays on their launch dates and often end up being pared down to meet those pushed-back deadlines because they have not started from scratch since early versions of Windows. As a result, the feared "blue screen of death"—the indication that your PC has fatally crashed—appears far too often in my opinion, and it inevitably occurs when you're on deadline or you have not saved all the Photoshop retouching, for example, and you lose your work and possibly the data on that drive. At some point, Microsoft will begin an operating system from scratch and not build on the faulty and error-strewn code from previous builds. As this book was going to press, Microsoft was launching Windows 7, and Bill Gates was coyly critical of Windows Vista during his 2008 CES appearance, suggesting when he was asked, "What Microsoft product could have used a little more polish before release?" during an interview with the website Gizmodo, "Uh, ask me after we ship the next version of Windows [and then laughed nervously]…then I'll be more open to give you a blunt answer."
Macs have always been the choice of "creatives," from art directors to photographers, illustrators, graphics designers, and the like. Software has been written specifically to take advantage of Mac functionality and often is then transferred over to PCs. The software that best serves this community is often Mac-optimized, Mac-centric, or sometimes Mac-only.
If you are an employee of a large company that dictates you must use a PC, then by all means use a PC and take full advantage of the IT department. Make them your friends by gifting them with gift cards for Starbucks, donuts, or Danish, because you want to be on their good sides.
You want them to help you and look out for you, and java and pastry are an appreciated way to ensure that your IT department looks forward to your calls and panicked visits.
I spent close to eight years running cross-platform with an equal number of PCs and Macs, and every time I had a problem with a PC, it took two to three days to find and fix the problem. Problems with the Mac were fewer and farther between, and they took 30 minutes to an hour to resolve. I finally donated all my PCs to the Salvation Army, took a tax deduction for my donation, and said good riddance. I do, however, keep one PC in the office to use PC-only shipping software, to test CDs with client deliverables, and to remind me of just how much I never want a PC office network again.
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That said, there is a studied reason why the latest and greatest machines are worthwhile acquisitions. The first and foremost reason is productivity. If you want to know just how much time and money you can save by buying a new computer on a regular schedule, do a little homework. First, take a hundred Raw