Yes I know Macs are easier to setup and use for beginner users then PCs, yes I know Macs are more expensive to upgrade / aren't backwards compatible, yes I know differance between power of the processors and yes I know PCs have more programs avalible and are a more open arcitecture. My question is: What makes Macs better then PCs for photo editing type stuff? Both can plug into scanners and use Photoshop, what makes Macs better then PCs for this task. I'm asking this because for school I want to know which would make a better allround machine

For media applications, both PC and Mac are fast and have plenty of programs.Comparing them is hard to do. Mac and PC's have alwas been rivals. In the past yes Mac's were the defining graphics machines, but PC's have rewritten the rules by constantly upgrading hardware from the standard VGA ISA video adapter to the nVida GeForce GPU's. So it's a tough decision but... My least bias comparison would try to be: Mac - If its a tower G4, you have power and expandabilty, MacOS X is out and promises to be faster and more reliable then its counterpart, UNIX in its core makes it stable, and configurable. Software will be rewriten specifically for the new OS and will take full advantage of the hardware. 3D software is not as fast because of the graphics card restrictions, but 2D and video editing is very reliable and fast, Apple has started really moving on video editing on Mac, and I expect there to be many applications to be expecting within the next year. (Notes for Mac's; do not get an iMac for media applications it will waste your time, Cube's look nice but don't have great horse power, single or dual G4 towers are great but expensive.) PC's (I'm assuming your talking about Windows, not Linux or BeOS) - Windows based computers are not usually considered for pure graphic arts but, if your system needs to have fast 3D rendering, PC's are typically better, there are more 3D programs avalible (most for Mac's were ported from PC's). 2D and video editing is still fast but most people use Mac's. Hardware wise, graphics are focused in 3D not 2D, but that dosn't make PC's slower for 2D graphics. (Notes for PC's; if you are looking for a 2D or 3D graphics station get a Matrox Mellenium G400 or any graphics card that supports dual monitors, for video editing get a seperate card for input/output, but remember two or more monitors will make your life a lot easyer) BeOS or Linux - Many have predicted that some major software titles will be ported to Linux and BeOS, but not any time soon. Gimp, CorelDraw, Personal Studio, Mojo, and Blender are all great tools, but not very mainstream. Unless you are rebeling against Bill Gates or Steave Jobs, I don't recomend you use either. (No offence ment to BeOS or Linux users. I happen to be a BeOS user.) You are right though the PC and Mac are very capable of doing the same tasks, but if you want speed and reliablity tests, there are many websites to visit that give conflicting results, so you yourself will be the one to decide which is fastest for you. Go to a store or find a representitive to show you the different computers you might want to buy. Good Luck! Please show us your results...

Please. Don't get a Mac; they're all bad luck. I've had way too many bad experiences with Macs to consider using one even if the Mac advocates actually ever do produce an argument that will prove that Macs have any advantages in the arena of graphic design.

Thank you Lispeb...you're right about all that.

Your better off buying a PC. You can eliminate alot of crossplatform problems. Fact is most people use PC's so software won't be an issue and same with PC files . There cheaper and you can do basically the same stuff as a Mac. And I don't think there is much of a difference between which computer is better at graphics these days. That being said the New G4 is a beutiful machine tons of room for expansion ram and hard drive space and all the port it has gives it unliminated possabilities. And it looks cool too. Long live mac

Lispeb, what are you talking about!? Besides the usual "I hate mac" routine, nothing. I've had very few problems with macs. I've been using them since they first came out. I've also used EVERY version of windows, since the start. I can't count high enough to note how many pc/win problems I've had. Also, as far as macs being bad luck, that's a silly thing to say. I've seen only a handfull of macs that didn't work (most likely from abuse) ever. Another number that escapes me is how many old pc's that people leave on the curb for the trashmen or scavengers. Never seen a mac on a curb! My SE30 (stored away) still works fine. I used it up 'til os 7.5 came out! The only people I've ever heard complain about mac's are the ones that haven't used them long enough to even know the os. If ya want numbers, as far as graphics performance, do a couple of searches on the web. BTW - I use mac's, pc's and unix everyday. If God used a computer it would be a mac (or unix)! MSbites ;)

Kenneth, I also use(d) Mac, Windows and Unix. Before, when you had to choose between OS 2 and W3.1 the choice was obvious. Mac was better. But at this moment: if you have the choice between W2k and OS 9, again the choice is quite simple: W2k. It is just more stabile. Don't start about easier, ... . It is just a habit. It's a little bit like driving on the left or right side of the road: It's just a habit. But I still get angry when Mac people tell me that pc is s--- while they don't bother to restart there Mac 5 times a day ! I once saw a database crashing many times a day on a Mac G4, OS9, 256 MB ram , nothing else installed, ... . We transfered it to an NT (after a burn out of nearly our whole IT-Department), PII (!), 128MB ram, also File Server and it never crashed again !!! Nothing changed about the database and the same application on PC wasn't even supported by the manufacturer. Sorry, no more macservers for me again. Mac is OK if you work at home. But on a large network it is just terrible, real disaster actually. Go and monitor a large NT or Unix network and do the same with a mac network. If you're honnest, you will see the difference !!!