Unlike the business world, which tends to emphasize the use of Microsoft products, graphic design is not particularly known for being Windows friendly. In fact, we’d be willing to bet that nine out of every ten designers we know use a Macintosh computer, or at the very least a multitude of Apple products. We all have an iPod, right? However, does life have to be this way? There are in fact benefits to using a Windows computer!
- Business Ready: Sure, the good folks in Cupertino have taken great strides to make sure the Macintosh platform is ready for use in the business world. The iWork suite will handle just about any file format you shove at it, and with a competency that’s quite scary. Still, though, Microsoft Office is the gold standard for business document formats, and as such, using a Windows computer puts you that much closer to the industry action. This isn’t the best reason in the world to spring for a non-standard unit, but if it’s very important to you, it may be another notch in the platform’s favor.
- Cheaper: Believe it or not, all those MacBooks you see running around are freaking expensive. Okay, so maybe not in the grand scheme of things, but still: Spending more than a grand on a computer always puts us on edge, especially considering the physical specs of an Apple computer very rarely compare to some of the more heavyweight Windows models. The point we’re really trying to make is this—a Windows machine will always be cheaper in the short run. For the same money you’d spend to outboard a Mac Pro to the utmost, you could spend the same amount of money on a Windows machine and, in return, get one heck of a lot of better performance. We’re talking magnitudes of power here, too. Sure, you could make the argument that a Windows operating system simply cannot run as efficiently, but where the raw specs are concerned, you’ll be winning. And for a lot less, too. Furthermore, you have full reign to customize the look of your Windows machine, unlike with Apple.
