Forums | MacLife

Coffee1970 · 2007-08-02 2:57 pm

Hello, and thanks for reading.

Enrolled in college (I'm 37) for e-Business and major in website design.

I have a Windows PC that works fine. I know that Macs used to be all the rage in graphics and such, but now Windows PC's have really come into the picture.

I will be buying a second computer for me to use....so....

Do I need to learn how to use a MAC in todays website design job market? I know that a lot of programs like Adobe's are available on both systems, but if I get a job somewhere that use Macs still? Are Macs still being used as much these days for website design?

Here's the lowdown.........
I have approx $500 to spend on another computer.
I will either get a Dual 1.25/1.42 G4 Powermac off eBay (1-2gb ram, ati pro, etc)...or go buy a new windows laptop that has the usual Athlon X2 or Intel Duo.

I know that the G4 is older technology, but that's ok....with a good video card, max memory, maybe even Firewire 800, it should still rock, yes?

Any help would be greatly appreciated by those in the field.

Thanks again,
Brian.

b_dubb · 2007-08-02 3:20 pm

get yourself a Mac mini Intel Core Duo machine from the Apple STore "Special Deals" department. if you aren't doing anything really graphics intensive it will work extrememly well for you. besides what kind of windows box can you get for that money? a Pentium 4 box? ... and Macs STILL rule the web!

b

Malkin · 2007-08-02 3:37 pm

Why not sell your Windows PC, and then buy a nice new Mac and dual boot?

Jonski · 2007-08-02 3:46 pm

Coffee1970 wrote:
Do I need to learn how to use a MAC in todays website design job market?

No, but you need to learn how to write Mac. Because if you do get a proper job involving computers and the interwebs a lot of people will wonder why you're asking about Media Access Control address's when you keep writing MAC.

Coffee1970 wrote:
Are Macs still being used as much these days for website design?

Is the pope catholic? Do bears smurf in the woods?

Coffee1970 wrote:
Here's the lowdown.........
I have approx $500 to spend on another computer.
I will either get a Dual 1.25/1.42 G4 Powermac off eBay (1-2gb ram, ati pro, etc)...or go buy a new windows laptop that has the usual Athlon X2 or Intel Duo.

As the old saying goes "You get what you pay for".

A G4 is not that great an investment for what you want to do. And 500 bucks will get you... a 500 buck PC. And what good is one of those?

Personally I'd try to get some money together and at least double what you have to spend. A Macbook would be ideal for you. That said, the Mac Mini is a good call - but you need to budget in the cost of a monitor.

With either of those two machines you can take advantage of being able to use Mac OS and (when needed) Windohs, through Bootcamp or Parallels.

And get more RAM than you think you will ever need.

I'm with stupid · 2007-08-02 4:31 pm

Coming to a forum dedicated to computing on the Mac and asking "Should I get a Mac or PC?" is...well... just don't be surprised if you get the same answer over and over again.

Get a Mac!!! smile

Seriously though, a Mac Mini loaded with RAM would be a fine web development machine. And, as has been mentioned already, you can run Windows and Mac OS X on it to get the best of both worlds. But a $500 budget is a little anemic for a PC or a Mac...

Coffee1970 · 2007-08-02 5:04 pm

Thanks everyone.
Malkin.....to answer you...I need at least two computers for the family set up.
I will keep the PC as it has everything on it....great software, card readers, etc.

Just thought about getting a Mac again (had an eMac 1.25 G4) to use as my school computer.

Thanks,
Brian

Gipetto · 2007-08-02 5:25 pm

Lemme throw a wrench in the replies.
HTML, CSS & JavaScript don't care about platform (well, JS does, but that's for later). Web design can go two ways for the back end... open source (php, ruby, python, etc...) or Microsoft (IIS, ASP, .NET, C#). If you're "just gonna be a designer" then this doesn't matter much, but like most everybody in the field you'll end up wanting to know a bit of these... it just helps.

If you're going the open-source route go Mac. Why? Most of what you need is already there in terms of Apache & PHP - you've got a solid web server built right in to test and build on. Add MySQL and you're golden for learning dynamic web building.

if you're going the Microsoft route then get a PC. Why? Its all proprietary, so you need MS to run the apps needed to use .NET, IIS, MSSQL and the like.

If you're on the fence, I'd point you towards open source. Why? More tools, there are free tools, no licenses to run the server as you can actually set up a server running linux and don't actually need OS X or Windows. You'll find that once you get into MS you get into paying a lot for tools and servers...

And, of course, there's the party line of: Get a Mac, but I think you expected that coming here... wink

Really, though, try to get an Intel Mac, that way you can later on get VMware or Parallels and run Windows and Linux in a VM and you never need to reboot to test the "other" operating systems. The biggest pain of which is that you design for web standards, then hack for IE, wonder why your JS isn't quite right in Safari, and then ponder if you care about Opera or not.

Last edited by Gipetto (2007-08-02 5:26 pm)

Coffee1970 · 2007-08-02 5:35 pm

You are wise Gipetto. I know that I will need to know some of both.
That's why I think I will get a Mac. But, I really (kinda ?!?!?) have to stay in that $500 range...I know, I know, what do I expect.

Just to learn (again) the ins and outs of Macs, having the experience to set up a server would be valuable indeed.

Now, I do have the Intel Windows PC to use other tools with, as I have some Adobe and Macromedia software, and the 3GHZ Celeron is fast enough for most of it.

So...that's why I thought about an 'older' Mac Dual G4 ...can get a used one that a previous designer had. These always come with max memory, good video cards, and were taken well care of. Have seen a Dual 1.25/1.42 MDD, 1.5-2GB Ram, 7200 160gb HD, Ati Pro/Geforce 3/4ti video, FW 800...all for around my price range.

Ok , OK...plus, I like to tinker around ok, you got me. Powermac users love to upgrade....mini users...ehhh, maybe a little...mostly no. And, the new minis are hundreds over my budget.

Then....there's the used G5's??? Hmmmmmm....decisions, decisions.....

Thanks again,
Brian

registered_user · 2007-08-02 7:03 pm

In your position, I wouldn't bother with a Mac unless you can get an Intel one. Sure, it's nice to have both platforms handy, but downright spectacular to have them running side by side.

I'd bank the $500 and save a few hundred more to get an Intel Mac if you can't find the right deal now.

33specter · 2007-08-09 8:27 am

Intel Mac with no less than 2 Gigs of RAM + Parallels + BootCamp. A nice combo for me, I never need a PC now

Forums | MacLife

#1 2007-08-02 2:57 pm

Questions for Mac Website Designers....Mac vs PC?

#2 2007-08-02 3:20 pm

Re: Questions for Mac Website Designers....Mac vs PC?

#3 2007-08-02 3:37 pm

Re: Questions for Mac Website Designers....Mac vs PC?

#4 2007-08-02 3:46 pm

Re: Questions for Mac Website Designers....Mac vs PC?

Coffee1970 wrote:

Coffee1970 wrote:

Coffee1970 wrote:

#5 2007-08-02 4:31 pm

Re: Questions for Mac Website Designers....Mac vs PC?

#6 2007-08-02 5:04 pm

Re: Questions for Mac Website Designers....Mac vs PC?

#7 2007-08-02 5:25 pm

Re: Questions for Mac Website Designers....Mac vs PC?

#8 2007-08-02 5:35 pm

Re: Questions for Mac Website Designers....Mac vs PC?

#9 2007-08-02 7:03 pm

Re: Questions for Mac Website Designers....Mac vs PC?

#10 2007-08-09 8:27 am

Re: Questions for Mac Website Designers....Mac vs PC?

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