[deaconMPG]

Hi friend of mine asked me this (she is going to film School)
>>>
Hey DeaconMPG,

Had a question, again. I'll be talking with a rep from a school in AZ. As part of supplies / tuition for the school they want all students to purchase through them at a discounted rate a Gateway laptop (PC) computer. What is the deal with this?

I thought all designers prefer MACs. What is the industry you are in use? Do the majority of your friends use PC or Macs? PC vs. MAC?
I have been using macs for the past 6yrs, now I'm being told to buy a pc. I know its good to know both platforms, yet...a PC? What's your input, if you don't mind.

Thanks. Talk to you later.
Lissa

<<< MY REPLY >>>

OK hear is the deal (as I see it),

Short Version:
Just learn the computer that you are using make the most of it, macs and pcs are similar and it is not hard to use both. I use PC at work and Mac at home (pc is cheaper / mac costs more [personally mac for me is a little more fun and warm and fuzzy])

Thoughts On School Puchased Gateway:
I think you are going to film school? I know 0.001% about computers and film. I know Apple puts out great software for film and is trying to gain market share and is popular (go here http://www.apple.com/pro/ ). I would just wonder what software you are using and stuff do they want everyone to have Gateway cause its cheap and you can do basic stuff on it and then you use their labs to do high end stuff.

Macs and PCs are coming really close together. There is not much you can do with one that you can't do with the other. People like both. Both have their pros and cons. Just kinda like what are you willing to deal with.

Macs have tended to be a little user friendly (some people might disagree), but with WinXP the gap is closing.

At work I use a Dell Desktop / WinXP /Pentium 4 - 2.8Ghz / 512MB / 40 GB, over all a nice machine does its job. I work on webpages in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Macromedia Dreamweaver.

At home I have a S.O.M. (Slightly Older Mac) G4 350mhz / 640MB / 80 GB / OS X.2 an ok machine a little slow with X on it but ok.

My work machine is faster then my home machine but I like both and use them both.

- DeaconMPG

[deaconMPG]

Heyo Mr. G3 Supa Killa / PB Master

Go with a Mac for Design/Film/IT. If you're not a geek (i.e. I love looking at .dll and code) then go with a Mac; yes they are more expensive. But with te edu discount it brings the price down. Mac all the way, make sure to check out which mac is better for you before you buy. Some of us need a G5, some of us just need a 12" laptop. Buy the mac for what you're going to use it for.

If you buying the mac because it's IT or Film related get a G5 Dual 2 gighz. Buy the ram elsewhere once you buy the computer. Faster the hardrive the better or get a big ol' external firewire drive.

I'd stay away from Gateway since they just closed *all* of their stores last week. Their last 48 quaters have been in the toilet.

Laters,
Mr. G3 Supa Killa / PB Master

[Axo1ot1]

At NYU Film School it is a big inconvenience to have a PC, or so I have noticed from people I know who are trying to take work back and forth from class to home.

In general the people I know who do own PCs use the pcs for papers and email and then have to spend all their time at school working on projects. Looks like a drag.

[TMLai]

Its all depend on which software the school use. (In the real world, application software always come first!)

If they use Avid, PC work as well as Mac.
If they use Final Cut Pro, it only run on Mac.
If they use Premiere, try get you tution fee refund, they don't know what they're doing.

[direktor]

TMLai has got it right.

If they use Avid, you have your choice. If they use FCP (which I doubt if they're telling you to buy a PC), you need a Mac.

If they're using Premiere, then run away. That's an exaggeration, but really, I've never worked with a company using Premiere in a professional capacity...Adobe's always been a day late and a dollar short when it comes to Premiere.

In Los Angeles, while Avid has the high end work all wrapped up, everything else (including a chunk of high end work) is FCP. That means everybody, sooner or later, out here winds up working with FCP at one point or another.