For digital photography or any other artistic work, get a mac. The
software and the performance is actually better...
Um, you're joking, right?
Read a professional photographer's assessment of the Mac vs. PC issue:
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-4869-4882
If you don't have time, here is a quote:
"Six different RAW processing applications, crunching files from 8 different digital SLR cameras, have been put through their paces on 4 different computers: two Macs running OS X 10.2.3, and two PC's running Windows XP Professional.
Conclusion
What's there to say but the obvious: The fastest dual processor Mac has been soundly thumped by one of the fastest single processor PCs. If this report had included a dual processor PC, the PC's margin of victory could have been even greater (at least in the multitasking tests, and for other PC software that may be optimized for multiple processors). Even the Dell, a modestly equipped desktop by current standards, matches or bests the dual 1.25GHz desktop Mac in numerous benchmarks."
In Rob's follow-up to the article, he has this to say:
"First, it's important to understand that I'm a Mac guy. This is the platform I would prefer to use. That's primarily because I'm familiar with it after many years of the Mac being my primary computing platform. So, my familiarity with the Mac is a factor in the computer selection process, alongside RAW photo processing, Photoshop batch processing, image cataloging and card to computer transfer speed.
...
So, the Mac may be more than quick enough for your tasks, as it is for plenty of my own. But quicker than a PC for RAW file processing? Nope. Quicker for a range of pro digital imaging tasks? Nope. Quicker at general purpose computing tasks? Well, I'd suspect not. I submit that anyone who values making an informed decision about the computer they choose ought to hold Apple's feet to the fire over their claims of speed superiority.
For a major project that ran through much of last year, I got up close and personal with Windows XP Professional running on the humble Dell box in the speed report. I connected a whole raft of pro digital SLR cameras, over a dozen card readers, plus several CD writers, several inkjet printers, a flatbed scanner and a film scanner. Every device connected and worked without a hitch, many of them sucking their own drivers from the ether and configuring themselves. Way, way cool.
On the Mac, it was as it always has been for me dealing with pro digital photography peripherals, whether in OS X or earlier iterations of the operating system. Some devices worked fine, though many required the manual installation of drivers, while some devices, and especially USB and FireWire card readers didn't work at all. Or required a driver for OS X 10.1, then a different one for 10.1.2, then a driver change again in OS X 10.1.3. Ugh. I've had fairly serious ongoing fights with my film scanner, so much so that I only use it on the PC now, where it just works."
Don't waste your money on a Mac. Anything the Mac can do the PC can do, except faster and cheaper.
I've used Apple computers for years. Never had a virus, EVER!!! I had a small problem recently but didn't have to fret over who to call, Microsoft or (insert PC name here) Just called Apple, they sent me a box next day sent it off and had my computer back up and running in 8 days.