Again with the Mac vs. PC

Recently I have had the opportunity to again have the Mac vs. PC discussion. Even after all these years we still have issues dealing with these two platforms. It is like a racial problem, with discrimination, segregation and bigotry. Really... it is.

We use PCs here at Optiem to do our design work. At our sister company Adcom, they use Macs. And in all honesty, it makes very little difference in what we do. We hand files back and forth over the same servers, edit and save each other's files, and have been coexisting in the same office space without any outwardly obvious prejudice toward each other for some time. Sometimes we have font issues. But those are usually easily solved.

This most recent discussion came up during a capabilities meeting with a client, but it was really a previous event that got under my skin with this issue.

Not too long ago we tried to hire a nicely qualified candidate as a designer. This person accepted the job and was in the process of getting all of their information to our human resources person when the discussion on Mac and PC reared its ugly head... again.

The entire thing broke down when this young, and I feel misinformed, designer insisted that we purchase them a brand new Macintosh computer and all of the associated software. We had a brand new, perfectly capable PC machine available with all of the software needed sitting ready. We weren't going to buy the new person a Mac, and all the expensive software we use. Not to mention that we don't have the people of resources to support Macs on our network directly. So the offer was rejected by the candidate and we didn't hire this person.. simply over the platform of his workstation.

Today, the software is all the same. Put me at a Mac in Photoshop and I am just as good (or bad) as I am on a PC. The same is true about inDesign, Dreamweaver, Flash, and all the other software we use to do our jobs. In fact, the whole hiring situation with this particular person made me question whether they were actually wanting the Mac to help do their job better or just to have some of the bells and whistles that the Mac excels at.

Listen, I had a Mac Plus... with the 9" black and white monitor years before this designer was even born. I had the Apple sticker on my car and all. I was a card carrying Mac evangelist before most of the kids demanding new Macs at their new jobs were even coloring with a crayon. I don't need to be sold on the Mac. I have ALWAYS loved it. Still do.

But the plain and simple fact is... I don't need to have one to do my job. I do exactly the same work on this Dell laptop I am writing on right now. My design ability is not based on a platform. If it was, perhaps I would have a Mac. Or maybe not.

Just last week I had the opportunity to look at this debate once again. And once again, I have come to the same conclusion. It is the tools in the box that matter. Not the box. Sure, I love to have a fancy box to put my tools in. If it can play movies and music and scratch my back, all the better. But frankly, that is not what Optiem pays me for here. And that is not what we were hiring the young designer for either.

I could go off an a whole tangent here regarding the attitudes of young designers I have met over the last few years. Perhaps in another post.

Anyway, to wrap this up. Mac vs PC is a simple contest. Do they do the same things? Yes. Does my Dell run the tools I need to do my job efficiently and effectively? Yes. Is it as flashy and cool as a Mac? Probably no. Can I deal with THAT part of it? Absolutely.

But, I just have to go on record... I DO love those commercials. They make me laugh. And if the Mac has done one thing over the years better than the PC.. it was always entertainment.