How essential is being a mac user to getting in the industry?

Actually it wasn't the interface at all...it was simply how it handled footage. Always wanted to process it for me and make a new file. Even a RAW DV file...it was odd. I hate that garbage, I can open FCP, drop in and go, Avid just seemed like it was made to do things more complicated than I wanted it to...who knows.
 
"While I worked for Digital Domain, Flat Earth, NDEI and Foundation Imaging, it was overwhelmingly PC/Windows workstations (for Lightwave and associated tools), with a smaller number of SGIs, etc. Perhaps that's changed (like three of the four houses now being defunct...)"

Most of the houses now have a strong Mac regiment at least in the concept department, at least in the last 3/4 years, mostly since 2003. There are more Macs in the CG department than there used to be, but I should have clarified that most of the modelling systems I saw were SGI, in recent years with more and more macs coming into play. At Skycron we use mostly Macs but we have Maya running dual platform.
 
Everything aside. As a "creative" person who is ALSO technical and knows computers (I've homebuilt every PC I've ever owned, built many friends PCs, worked at Intel a validation tech, been using PCs since DOS, written programs, etc. etc. etc.) I know computers (Windows & Mac) pretty well.

For those "computer savvy" PC users who say they feel like they're banging their head against a wall using OSX, I have to question if they're really COMPUTER savvy (in general) or Windows savvy.

Macs are incredibly intuitive AND powerful, and YES, they are able to do all those "nerdy/technical" stuff AND have an easy interface. If you want to get more technical, remember, you're running on UNIX and you have terminal, and some 3rd party apps like Onyx/Quicksilver/a 3rd party "Finder" replacement, and you have a lot of power and control - just as much as in Windows, and I would argue more, thanks to the UNIX base (yes that means you have to learn Unix... wait, is that too technical for you? JK - I know its a new system to learn... but the power *IS* there.)

All things aside, I have come to prefer Macs to PCs. It has been hassle free for me being on a Mac, less upkeep and housekeeping, troubleshooting, etc. And....

The user interface is just SPECTACULAR for working with applications and files (while I still prefer Windows explorer to the default "Finder", there are about a dozen 3rd party "finder" replacements that act like Windows Explorer and add more detailed options, so this is a moot point).

In any case, with Expose & Spaces, using Hot Corners and shortcuts on the mouse, and using Spotlight and the 3rd party tool Quicksilver (check this out if you're curious by googling) - WOW. I feel like I'm working with that computer from the beginning of Minority Report. Working with files, the desktop, and different programs is insanely intuitive and just COOL + Visually appealing. Nothing beats multiple desktops (the implementation is much better than in Linux) to swap between various different apps, triggered by a mouse button or hot corner, then moving to a new desktop and selecting windows using expose (hot corner or mouse button), dragging a file from there back to a hot corner and to a different app, etc. I love it, its super fast, and it looks sweet.

So yes, I am a PC guy who has been "converted" to prefer Macs, not because of Kool-Aid effect, but because they are just so dang intuitive AND powerful (if you know what you're doing. Repeat after me: OSX is NOT Windows). If you can come to grips with that and be OK with learning computers from a new perspective... or a new "lens" if you will... I think you'll like what you find...

And if not, I worked on PCs for all my video stuff for years before I ever switched to Mac and they work great,too I second everything about editing on whatever you like (*IF* working for yourself. If not, you *need* to learn both, but for at home, work with what you like unless it hinders your ability to work with clients). BUT... I would say... if working for yourself... you should look into the Mac platform... not because you have to... but because you GET to :)
 
filmguy123 said:
For those "computer savvy" PC users who say they feel like they're banging their head against a wall using OSX, I have to question if they're really COMPUTER savvy (in general) or Windows savvy.
Click to expand...
Quote of the Year.

Great whole post overall. I know my way around both XP (and ugh, Vista) and OSX, and OSX is just sooooo much better. It's not even close.
I have a pc laptop now, and I'm not a fan of using it, mostly because of the OS. There is nothing wrong with it, but after using OSX, it's hard to use an OS that is not nearly as good.
I used pc's before 2004, not for editing though.
 
Last edited:
Being computer literate is essential so knowing at least the basics of Windows and OS X are essential, IMO.


-A
 
At home I use a pc but at the university I study most of the equipment we use (for design classes) is mac.

I like both , no one has more power than the other, the only thing that sets the way to go are your needs, do you need to exchangwe files for FCP go mac, you need to use avid use a PC or whatever you want. The great thing about this is that you choose.

At this moment i'm using the new apple keyboard in my PC becasue I realy like it, and it works perfect.
 
Sad Max said:
It's very subjective. I find macs a head-banging-exercise in frustration, and utterly counter-intuitive to use. I find that I can sit down at a windows machine, and if there is something I don't know how to do (OS-wise) I can almost always figure it out. On macs - forget it. Damn things might as well be running in Sanskrit.

I lament the assumption that 'creative' people have to have things made 'simple' for them, in order to function effectively.

Yep.
Click to expand...

I don't mean that creative people only use 'simple' things cause we are somehow less smart... I meant in general for everyone.. For you, yes using a Mac might be annoying an frustrating, but you are not computer illiterate, or someone that just 'checks your email' you use you comp for so much more.

To each his own I guess though, windows has as many backwards and asinine ways of doing things as any OS I would say. *cough* vista *cough*
:nads:
 
When I first bought my first own computer, which was a pc, I didn't have much trouble figuring stuff out. Everything took me longer, cuz i was a noobie, but I figured everything out. When I switched over to a mac, I figured out stuff without trouble, some things were different than pc's, but no troubles again.
I can use both, but I just prefer OSX and Apple build quality over pc's and XP or Vista.
I and most people I know personally who use macs, don't choose them because they are "cool" or "creative" or "simple" but because we like the OS, programs, stability, integration, ect.
But I can't speak for every mac owner. Like anywhere and in everythign in life, there are morons in every camp.
 
As far as anything else I wouldn't see why anybody wouldn't want to be relatively comfortable on both operating systems (OS X and XP, not vista), it seems pretty essential these days.

I'm an Sys Admin w/ MCSA by day and mac user at home.... draw your own conclusions from there.
 
I've met many people who use pc's at work and mac's at home. Seems to somewhat common nowadays. At my old work we used both pc's and macs. We had a newer pc with xp, and an old g4 with OS9 on it. The mac was used for almost everything, while the pc was used/needed just for this one machine that turned jpgs and a few other formats into slides. (worked with pc's only I believe)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top