Mac Vs PC User Quotes - Very Interesting

Friday, February 05, 2010

Since we started Freelance Review, we've done some interesting interviews with many cool people. One question I like to ask is whether or not a person likes a Mac or a PC. I've asked freelancers, agency designers (including a designer from Apple's agency TWBA and a designer from Microsoft's agency CB+B). Read on to see who prefers a Mac and who prefers a PC. Be sure to tell us whether you prefer a Mac or a PC in the comments!

Erik Miller

Design Director, TBWA\Chiat\Day (Apple's ad agency)

We're Mac based. Macs have more of a friendly user interface and it's just the industry standard. There's no way we can use a PC, it's just not going to work. It just doesn't make any sense for the design world. Also I don't think Steve Jobs would like that - he's one of our clients.

Michael Kritzer

Industrial Designer, Crispin Porter + Bogusky (Microsofts ad agency)

I’m whatever works. I refuse to be defined by software.

Chris Spooner

Designer, Blogger

I'm now a fully fledged Mac guy and have never looked back since. I just love how everything works (and looks great!). Beforehand I couldn't see the advantage of paying 30% extra for Apple when a PC could be built at the same spec, but when I made the switch I immediately saw it's the little things that come together and make the cost more than worthwhile - No drivers to install, bright/crisp displays, awesome UI, no bugs or crashes and being able to brag to friends!

Jacob Gube

Blogger

I'm a PC (Windows) guy. I can name a lot of reasons why, but let's just stick to the basics. First, I like building my own PC's - it's my hobby. Second, I don't think there's any difference (except maybe the price you have to pay for it) between a Mac or a PC in terms of getting your job done. Whether you're a Mac person or a Windows person, you're still probably using Photoshop/Illustrator/Dreamweaver and platform-independent webapps like Basecamp and Gmail to get your job done. I'd switch to a Mac or Linux or any other operating system in a heartbeat if it means that I'll produce a better product out of simply using another operating system.

Chris Coyier

Blogger

I try not to be too big a snob about it, but, Mac. I don't even like discussing it since those conversations tend to degenerate into what might as well be schoolkids slapping each other in the face. I work on a Mac and I love using it, feel no limitations, and get serious work done on it. Do you do the same on a PC? Awesome, good for you.

Clint! Runge

Creative Director, Archrival

Yeah, honestly we roll about half and half, whatever people want to use is cool with me. I don’t get too caught up with the debate, I’ve seen awesome stuff done on both. I guess I view it as just a tool and it’s really about the designer behind it.

N.C. Winters

Designer, Creator of Freelance Freedom Comic Strip

I'm assuming this is based off my MacTastik comic strip. That's a funny question because I've almost always been both. I've worked for years at print houses and ad agencies that were mostly on Macs, but I always had a PC at home. My very first production and design job was at a printing house and it required that I knew both PC and Mac, and could transition between both formats seamlessly. This was invaluable to learn the idiosyncrasies of both systems as well as understand their perks and flaws. Most recently I've switched over to Mac 100% and so far I have to say…it works for me. Neither is superior to the other, though I would make the argument that Mac makes things a little easier, especially in the design world.

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Comments

web design cheltenham commented on 06-Feb-2010 03:56 AM

ah the debate goes on..... personally mac all the way, but it is the software we rely on ultimately - right!

Grant Sykes commented on 06-Feb-2010 06:46 AM

Good to see some more mature comments than this debate normally sparks. I'm a lifelong PC guy, coming from PC gaming and modding background originally. I still love PC's, but since starting my latest job, I have been tinkering with the Macs in my office, and I'm very impressed, particularly with the sharpness of the display. I'm pretty sure my next computer will be a Mac, but I think a designer is not defined by their technology, but by the quality of their design.

Derek commented on 06-Feb-2010 09:09 AM

I agree, it's largely what works for the user. I'm a Mac man all the way around (from my own consistently horrible experiences with all manner of Windows versions), so I'm a little biased. I do take issue with the price point, however: Macs are not more expensive; they cost more simply because Apple does not make a low end computer. Reviews on highly regarded tech blogs have shown that if specs are matched evenly, component for component, a Macintosh comes in cheaper than three of the largest PC makers. rant> Thx for the perspectives! (I'm betting Crispin Porter and Bogusky use Mac more than they're letting on)

Anthony Pipkin commented on 06-Feb-2010 07:52 PM

I personally use windows, mac, and linux on a daily basis. Each have their benefits over the others. For instance I the the spacebar previewer in mac and Linux is worth a lot. Stability is another factor where Linux and mac both excel. Windows and Linux both have a feature I feel mac is sorely missing out on, that is the ability to manipulate the file system from an open/save dialog. This feature amazingly doesn't exist. I'm sure there are other features worth commenting on aswell. Personally I'm not a fan of how apple spews lies about pc in their pc vs mac commercials. Though they are very hillarious. So all in all, I agree with the idea that if it gets the job done, then _that_ is the right tool for the job. Oh also, email apps are Missing the point as well. I've been beta testing office2010 and outlook is by far the best email application around. I don't even understand why entourage was even created fir the mac.

Megan commented on 07-Feb-2010 08:43 PM

I started on a PC then moved onto a Mac in University. At work we use PC's and at home I use a combination of both. I think being able to work on both has some good qualities and means I am diverse in what systems I can use

Wagner Matos commented on 08-Feb-2010 03:18 AM

I'm a Mac person all the way simply because I can switch on my Mac (in fact, just wake it as I never switch it off) and work. There is no nagging with thousands of notices, questions or whatever that comes with using Windows (Are you sure you want to do this? / Windows has 156665 updates available / Your anti-virus is out-of-date, etc). Recently I had to install my mum's broadband software in her PC and after 30 minutes I was exhausted. Not to mention that while I did use PC, I had to reset (format hard drives and install all programs again, including Windows) every six months to keep the performance as it should. That might be because I do install and uninstall a tonne of programs (testing, trying, etc) but that's how I like it. Since I moved to Mac, I have never had to do it (and I haven't changed the way I use computers).

Chris Pratt commented on 08-Feb-2010 01:14 PM

The last commenter really captured it with the word "exhausting". Until 3 years ago, I was a PC guy. I've used them my entire life. And, then, I finally bought a Mac and have never looked back. A computer is just a tool, and as such it should stay out of your way. Life with Windows was *exhausting*, every little task required a multitude of subtasks, that spiraled into more maintenance tasks, and on and on. It was like have a car that required you to rebuild the engine everytime you wanted to start it. It'll drive, but it's tedious and terribly inconvenient to us.