Awimoway said:
The GUI looks much better. This may not make much difference in terms of objectively quantifiable performance, but ask yourself if you would rather work in a filthy, ratty, poorly lit studio or a clean, bright, modern studio? Every edge, line, window, and character looks 50 times better on a Mac running OS X. It's an environment that is simply more conducive to creative thinking.
Also, the widespread use of widescreen displays with Macs and the lack of a Maximize feature on the Mac is better for creative work. Macs handle windows differently, more the way creative people tend to think. On Windows, people generally have one viewable window open at a time, with their desktop completely obscured. (In Dennis Hopper voice🙂 That's tunnel vision, man. On a Mac, you'll have windows from different apps, palettes, etc. strewn about your desktop. You'll be able to quickly move from one task to another and back again. The widescreen displays really help with this, because they give you more horizontal room to work in. And the new feature, Exposé, makes this all that much easier. No time is lost hunting through your taskbar or behind the maximized window to find what you're looking for.
Ya know, if I were a potential switcher, you would have just convinced me against the Mac.
🙂 I will argue rabidly with your first point here -- the GUI _used_ to be much better, before Quartz Extreme and the PDF-style font rendering. Now it's just fuzzy and smudgy and dirty. I hear all the raves about how the font rendering is so great and can only say, well, you're not looking with my eyeballs. And the choice between a) brushed metal, stripes, and stripped-down customization and b) third-party apps that haven't come close to catching up to Kaleidoscope in theme diversity? Not a point in the GUI's favor. And maybe Panther's improved it, but Jaguar's Finder is almost as annoying as Windows Explorer.
As for the window use... I have multiple minimized windows open all the time on my Windows machine at work with no problem finding the tools I need quickly. Though perhaps that's because I'm a Mac person at heart.
🙂 But I can't stand the sort of cluttered desktop you just described as a benefit. On the other hand, I very very badly miss having Maximize on my Macs. We used to have it, way back when, and I don't understand why Apple now thinks eliminating options is a good thing. Lots of windows may be fine for some things, but other times I don't want to be distracted by a lot of extraneous clutter.
All told, that clean bright studio? I've got it at work, on the PC. When I want it at home -- I boot to OS 9. OS X? Great for gazing at amazingly cool screen savers, but not for getting anything done.
And stability? After years as a card-carrying Mac bigot, I hate to say it, but Windows2000 and the apps I use on it cause me a lot less frustration than OS 10 and the apps I use there.
So, yeah, for graphics folks, it's the standard. And if your eyeballs like their first impression of the GUI, then go for it. But play with it at the store first and make sure it's usable for _you_, because no one else is gonna be using it for you. Yes, for the vast majority of people, the GUI is fabulous. Just make sure you're not one of the minority for whom it isn't before dropping that much money.
If you _are_ one of the minority... well, then you can go drop the money on a used machine that runs OS 9.
🙂 You'll still be better off than running Windows, and all ready for when Apple _fixes_ the font rendering.
