shoenberg3
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 p.3 #13 · Mac the choice of Pros - Why? | |
justruss wrote:
That's funny, because I built my own... Mac. Kinda. That is, I put together an i7-950 (4 cores, 8 logical cores) overclocked to 4 Ghz w/ manual voltage control/memory timings, w/ 12 GB RAM, 5 HDD + 1 SSD, and all the other goodies, hooked up to a 27-inch Apple Cinema Display-- running a paid-for retail copy of OS X Lion (10.7.2).
(I keep a Windows 7 partition on one of the drives... for Steam/games.)
I also have Snow Leopard installed on a netbook (from which I am writing this post). Beside me is a Macbook, an iPad 2, an iPod Touch... and I've had half a dozen machines on the way from a IIsi to a G3 Tower (did I mention I overclocked that using physical jumpers on the motherboard?) to a dual-processor G4 Tower, to multiple generations of Intel iMacs. I prefer my Android-based phone to an iPhone, but iOS based tablet to Android-based tablets (right now, at least).
Here's why I think many of us creative professionals use Macs:
1. By far the most important factor is the OS. It's clean to look at and use. It gets out of the way. Color management (and font management) has been built in-- and seamless-- for generations. I'm going to guess this is the reason for 80% to 90% of us.
2. Legacy factor. Early on, Apple adopted a GUI using a window-based metaphor (no, they didn't invent it). Perhaps as a result of this, visual applications were born and grew up on the Mac operating system. As these have become entrenched cultures, it's difficult to create a critical mass of the same behind competing systems. I'd give this factor less power, but some, in the reason why Macs and creative pros flock together. And once you have an entrenched cohort-- new folks get folded in, both because of culture, and because small things like sending files, collaborating on projects, troubleshooting is easier when you're on the same platform.
3. BSD underpinnings. An even smaller factor (for creative pros), but a lot of coders/designers use OS X because they can pop open a terminal window, setup whatever UNIX based environment needed, and work alongside there day-to-day personal programs.
4. Superficial reasons. It's hard to untangle this from the others, most of all the cleanliness and ease of use of the OS. But there's no doubt that some significant portion of Mac users as a whole buy Macs because of their industrial design (it's purty, no doubt), and because of the economic/social signaling associated with owning a hip product (see: marketing). But, I'd argue that when it comes to real professional users-- this factor is minimal. My income is based on working on my computer (I'm a professional photographer and writer)... I wouldn't take a hit to my income just to look "cool."
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I don't really disagree with any of the points above. I say that people can be either too busy or lazy to fiddle with settings, which is essentially what 1 says.
2 is not of relevance if someone is buying the computer in the present and had no experience in this field in years past (when there WAS a compelling reason for a mac). It is conceivable, as you note, that to "fit in" with the culture that uses apple predominantly, it might be wiser to similarly adopt mac. But, I don't think anyone could claim that this is a completely legitimate reason for why mac is an objectively better choice for somebody.
3 is true but addresses a very small crowd, as you note yourself, partly because in such cases, linux might be a better option.
4, well. I never talked about people's preferences, only about what people SHOULD get, to get the most out of their money and usage. If one has ample resources to burn, then they are free to pursue whatever tickles their fancy, instead of what may be more practical, cheaper, or more useful.
Also realize that I was generalizing and there always ought to be exceptions -- in fact, putting together a system (a very nice one, too) then installing an apple OS would not strictly qualify for having "bought a Mac," which was what I was referring in my initial post.
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