I am a professional photographer/videographer and I use Windows computers. I don't LOVE Windows, I just know that Mac OS drives me crazy. I hate all of the "syncing" and hand holding that Macs have. Windows disappears into the background and allows me to use applications in peace. Some days, like today, it's hard to justify this decision.
First of all I would like to admit that I love well designed products. Apple products are the most beautifully designed electronic products I've ever seen. I love (almost) everything about my iPhone and iPad and I wish my Laptop could also be as beautifully made but although I have almost unlimited options when it comes to buying a Windows based laptop, nothing seems to come close to the quality of the Macbooks hardware.
Almost all of my photography buddies own a Mac and I am constantly ridiculed about my ugly, thick, (plastic) laptop, my oversized (plastic) Alienware desktop, and my "unstable" and "virus prone" operating system. I personally don't believe that my computers are any less stable than comparable Macs; I've been filming post production with Elia Locardi for the past month and I've seen his brand new Macbook Pro crash just like my computer occasionally does. I do however admit that Windows is still far more susceptible to viruses and hacks.
I personally haven't had any issues with viruses in many years but I am very careful with my work computers. I stay away from shady looking (and sounding) websites, and I don't download anything unless I know exactly what it is and where it is coming from. That being said, anyone can make a mistake and click on a malicious link via Facebook or their email. In the past just visiting a particular website could install a virus, but Windows has gotten better than that, right... RIGHT?
Well it feels like it's 1998 all over again because yesterday Windows announced that they have found a hole that can "allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted document or visits an untrusted webpage that contains embedded OpenType fonts."
So basically THIS FONT could take down your computer
How can I possibly argue against stuff like this with my Apple wielding opponents? Luckily Windows immediately pushed out an update (which I'm sure will shut down your computer without your permission while you are in the middle of working on something really important). Make sure you're all up to date and safe until the next vulnerability arises... Please Windows 10 and Surface Pro 4, you're my only hope.
I visit all sort of untrusted sites with my PC., which I also use for work. And I am internet-addict. I browse and google everything and everywhere with no special safety belts.
I am least paranoic user in the world.
I only have Microsoft antivirus and firewall installed.
My Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit PC has never, even once, even a little tiny bit crashed during it's 6 years run.
It was never a case during XP and Vista eras too. Now I am on Windows 7.
Those speculative talks about PC crashing more than Macs and being less safe than Macs I take as propaganda well created by Apple marketing team. They simply convinces few blindly dedicated iZombies and those are spreading the false rumour all over.
Stop this nonsense.
Windows is not vulnerable in any way.
It's a myth well-crafted by Apple.
I disagree based on my experience. I have had many windows machines become useless and never a mac machine.
Why would anyone vote down my comment based on my observations and experience. Thats like voting down a comment that says "My bananas are yellow". Windows is fine, I like Macs and PC/ OSX and Windows equally. I prefer Macs because they have lasted longer for me in my use without the maintenance needs.
This is like all the Profoto B1 and Enstein arguments on cost and effectiveness. It is what it is, Macs and Profoto are more expensive, some people appreciate paying more for things that they feel will work better. If you don't believe them or disagree with them you don't need to follow them. I like having no cables and yes that is worth a 1000$ to me. I have had a handful of occasions on a shoot where the strobes were not firing because of cable/Pocket wizard malfunctions. It eats up valuable time to fix and kills motivation on location.
I worked at a Lab wear we had Macs and Windows based PC's running various tasks. The PC's failed so many times. Im not going to banter them, they were fine until they did not work. It was immense stress having to deal with that. The Macs worked all the time, and if they did crash or fail they did so much less often and with much less repercussion. Data was not lost and they would boot right up without issues. I choose to Use Macs now because they just seem to work more often. Even if it is just a small percentage more that is worth a hike in price.
"Why would anyone vote down my comment based on my observations and experience." Hi Michael, welcome to the Internet. ;)
I'm not going to say that Windows isn't vulnerable but I have had zero and I mean zero stability issues on my 64bit Windows system running Win7.
I have zero virus protection and visit any site that I wish. I'm not downloading warez or anything but still, zero problems.
Thats awesome I am stoked they work for you!
Don't listen to him. He's a hacker wanting to exploit your trust!
I agree, the same history for me, never had an antivirus on, max. 1-2 times crash or virus on PC in a decade. I'm really satisfied with Win 7!
I have to use both on a daily basis. While I like the idea of the PC. A platform where anyone, manufacturer or making your own desktop, can build a machine and just run what ever program they want. But it's just nice day dream.
The reality is that it's been a race to the bottom for a while. Microsoft seems to put in the minimum effort they can to cruise by because everyone needs to buy their OS because of the software they want to run. On the hardware side, it seems like only recently have manufacturers understood that some people are ready to drop some serious money for a better built machine. - Heck of all people, it's Microsoft leading the way with the Surface line (I'm actually considering ditching my mac for one...)
Fan of PC, sure - but I don't know anyone who's actually a fan of Windows. It just happens that you need it to run the software you want to use.
I would urge you to revisit Windows(excluding 8/8.1). Windows 7 was a solid edition and WIndows 10(from teh preview build ive used) is pretty awesome. I wouldnt exactly say they are doing the bare minimum to get by.
I don't worry about virus protection or any of that stuff...haven't for years. It is much easier to have a fresh image of your hard-drive(OS + Programs) backed up somewhere along with your data that you can easily restore from. Once you get a virus are you really going to trust that PC again until you completely wipe it? I wouldn't.
I built my PC from parts, it wipes the floor with most Macs and I also saved about $1K. I'm not anti-Mac but if they can't get my iPhone to run cleanly then I'm not going to trust them with a $3K computer.
My biggest disappointment with Apple is that they have a limited number of hardware configurations to support because they control everything - however my iPhone still has the same problems that every OS+hardware based system has. Crashes and slowdowns that only seem to get worse with every software release even after clean wipes of the phone. Windows on the other hand has to be compatible with damn near everything so I'm amazed they are as stable as they are at this point.
Are Apples sexy and sleek? You bet but that's where it really ends for me.
You sound very tech savy. I think that is what Apple takes advantage of, people that are not. People that cannot handle a single incident or problem tend to hate windows. As it may be a 30 second fix for someone of your computer intellect, it is a wasted day and potentially lost revenue ect for a computer novice.
Been using PC for over 20 years now! I have NEVER gotten a virus that took my computer out, I have NEVER had a hard drive fail, I have NEVER had any hardware failures, I have NEVER gotten the blue screen of death with Windows 7 and I am very productive with 3ea 24" Dell ultrasharp monitors! I bought a MacBook Pro and had it for 3 months before I sold it. If I was younger I'm sure I would own Mac's but I'm not. Your computer is a tool. Use it and make clients happy by delivering awesome images!
I use Razer Blade Pro and Razer Blade 14" for my work. It's windows but pretty powerful gaming systems thus stable for work too. Virus can be handled if you behave enough and have some common sense. Having also firefox and not chrome is way better to handle privacy and cookie monster websites.
Though I've always been looking over the fence and wondering what if I switch to Mac, would it really help me? I guess not that much, right?
I also play graphic intensive games, render 3D, edit films, and loves overclocking desktops from time to time - things that I won't enjoy from Mac.
*I love iPhones and iPads, it's just Mac is not for me yet.
** I've seen Macs thar have been plagued with bugs, popups and viruses. So pleaseeeeee...
Popups, yep, I've seen those but I've also seen those on all kinds of systems, and every system has bugs (software is written by humans after all). Plagued with "viruses" not possible (where a virus is a self replicating, executing and distributing malicious application), Seriously, no joke, the number of actual viruses for OS X still stands at zero. As of the release of 10.10 it is extremely unlikely that a virus could even run. Apple's default configuration is to not allow unsigned applications (those without an validated security certificate) to run. Now that said, there are 15 malware applications in the wild but those are automatically deleted by a background security daemon. That daemon is maintained automatically by Apple without user intervention, and Apple pushes malware profile updates as required in the background. A given computer system is only a secure as the most ignorant user with 'administration' level privileges. :)
I admit, i might be wrong with viruses on mac as i never owned one, only I've seen it from friends. But just to generalize, i'll call it "problems" instead.
Thanks for the correction.
Ready? Fiiiight!
right now I'm using PC and Mac. And more and more the PC workstation I own. After upgrading the graphic card (330 Euro) I achieve the same or better performance in raw conversion than a full charged mac pro. The big problem, I would love to use a beefy mac pro, but that is no option, because of the shitty AMD gpus they are using, same problem with the current macbook pro retina and the 5k imac. professionals wanna have nvidia because of cuda support by the pro software and better drivers. At the moment there are several issues with amd gpus and OpenCL rendering in different big software releases (adobe, phase one, ...)
the 5k imac seams to be a nice workhorse for photographers, but after I saw the colorgarmut of the display and that the cpu is constantly throttling at 100°C I would never buy this. The imac case is to small and can't handle the heat, so I'm certain that in maybe 2 years a lot of 5k imacs which are used for more than browsing porn and Facebook, will desolder itselfs, like a lot of mbp from 2010/11. Apple should stay with the old imac case, more volume better heat management. same with the mbp 15 cases, they are to small for constant heavy workload, it's a 2500 euro porn and Facebook machine.
People handling big raw photo and videofiles and working with 3d wanna have the fastest cpus and nvidia gpus plus a lot of easy replaceable ram and no heat or throttling issues. apple is not delivering anymore for us. besides i love my old 2011 mbp and the current incarnation of osx. but the heavy stuff is now handled by my pc workstation with windows 8.1, wich is really great and not the annoying shithole 7
Ditched my AMD GPU last week, still with waranty. Bought an Nvidia 970...ohh man what a beauty that is.
Apple's InfoSec record is pretty damned awful. Apple hardware was vulnerable to a very nasty Evil Maid attack which allows a rootkit/RAT software to be installed onto the EFI BIOS that was undetectable and more worrying, irreversible without a new motherboard replacement. Whilst the initial attack was physical access later exploits would allow it to be done remotely through chaining exploits.
A brief overview of some security concerns that hit mainstream media:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/apple-security-breach/
That excludes any you will see in the InfoSec blogs which discloses the higher level risks. There has been 177 CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) raised this year, 25 will allow escalation of privileges and 20 will reveal information. Compare that to Windows 8.1 which has 82 this year, 33 is escalation of privileges and 18 will reveal information (note the stats for Win 7 is similar, with only 3 more EoP).
These days most attacks are coming from Malvertising or compromised websites which uses tool kits to attack systems usually with a broad array of Zero Days and other vulnerabilities.
All systems need pro-active security measures on Windows install EMET and you will pretty much stop most exploits (including many of the Flash CVEs), downside is it doesn't auto-update and it takes a bit of knowledge to set up properly. Also make sure you're running Windows x64 as that has additional security layers. Also regardless if you're on Windows or OS X ensure you're running an adware blocking tool in your browser or through your hosts file.
Remember the only secure system is one that's locked away with no user or 'Net access, soon as you let a user on it and give 'Net access then it becomes vulnerable. The biggest problem with security is the user, not the OS.
Finally all the patches for Flash, Windows and other systems have come from the data breach of one of the most notorious infiltration teams the Hacking Team. If you really want to see how much your OS is made of Swiss Cheese then go through that doxing. The effects of this breach will be felt for years yet, and information and security vulnerabilities will be reported daily for a while yet as experts review the code.
https://threatpost.com/hackers-release-hacking-team-internal-documents-a...
Dead on!
Set up a hostfile, that will take care of most troublesome sites. Interestingly enough I was working on a relative's infected macbook pro and what could be something very easy on a windows machine, Mac's would make you jump several hoops because of their permissions.
Just sayin'
Haha I thought that writing this piece would bring out a bunch of windows jokes but this comment thread has become filled with Windows users and you're getting downvoted to hell... muhhahahahaha I'll give you another downvote now ;)
Man, i think you are pushing it to hard. First, i've owned windows computers for a long while, and i've worked with macs. As for crashes, well, both are losers and it depends on the hardware and drivers you have.
I've owned an iPhone 5, and i own an iPad Mini 2. Loved the iphone and ditched it to buy a super android phone with superman capabilities (still it freezes and reboots twice a day), still, i can't complain when i see the gorgeous 4K DCI images it records...
Both systems have flaws, i would never put my money on a laptop, that uses middle end processors, overpriced RAM and a lack of other things, when my cheaper plastic laptop has the state of art i7 and 16GB of DDR3 1800MHz.
Design, yeah, they are a beauty, i'd love to put my hands on the 5K iMac (well, not after i saw that the GPU can't handle the UI smoothly due to the huge resolution).
They are both great, in apple you pay for the ecosystem, in windows you pay for what you get. There are also slick ASUS computers out there, made out of alluminium alloy, and HP.
What i miss in windows laptops? QuadHD IPS calibrated displays.
Virus? Well, you belong to a system used by more than 80% of all personal computers...kind of normal, and as for iOS, well last month you could reset an iPhone with a message....
I have an HP Spectre 360 running Windows 10--as beautiful as a mac air--and a Macbook Pro 13, maxed out in memory and hard drive. I like them both and easily switch. The hardest part is going to the mac where there are very few shortcuts--you have to use the mouse a lot--the lack of windows explorer--I hate finder--and the lack of touch screen. I have to carry my Wacom tablet when I use the Mac.
In regard of security, these two computers are not used for browsing. At least no directly. What I use is a virtual machine (vmware or parallels) if it gets infected i reload the vm from my backup and keep on working. That does not preclude antivirus, or being careful on what sotes I visit or how I handle the email.
I personally think the design of Macs these days is outdated. It was cool in 2010. As for PCs, at least a few companies are getting the message. I recently bought a nice-looking Dell laptop with a nice, sturdy 180-degree hinge.
My biggest complaint about Macs is that you can't rip them apart and rebuild them as you see fit. Even if you spend $5,000 on a Mac Pro you're only limited to maybe adding in a card or two. Drove me nuts.
At work (graphic designer) I use a mac every day and at home I have a PC. I still fail to see the appeal of Mac (the OS).
The sanctity of Macs from viruses and such is a myth whose era has long passed and it is time for people to realize that. Just last month CNN reported on a new exploit that was found in Macs that, when going into or out of sleep it allows direct access to the software of the motherboard which could allow of something to be implanted directly into it. It takes some sophistication and root access to the machine but it can be accomplished and pretty nasty once it's in.
Mac OS X has been susceptible to infestation since Renepo was first identified in 2004 and that was just a simple shell worm. It only gets more sophisticated from here on out.
As for Windows itself, Microsoft has two strikes against it. As has already been mentioned, they are the majority of the market share so that paints a target on them already. Enough said about that.
Second is they still have to leave a lot of stuff in that shouldn't be there for backwards compatibility which is forced on them by 3rd party vendors who refuse to change their code until absolutely forced to. Because all that happens then is these 3rd party vendors will run to the Department of Justice and cry "anti-trust!". For example, 32bit versions of Windows are inherently less secure than 64bit version because the 64bit version prevents patching of the Kernel. Symantec and McAfee pitched a fit because they did not want to update their code even though Microsoft's anti-virus software does not even need Kernel access yet someone still ran to whine to the European Commission who investigated Microsoft LiveOne for antiturst violations.
Edit: Microsoft also has become more and more forceful about making security better. One such example which curbed macro viruses that spread via Outlook, Microsoft made things that accessed the Outlook address book automatically require the user to acknowledge it (this actually ticked off a lot of people who were mad they had to click a button to sync their Palm devices). With the dawn of Windows 10, the Home version is now self-updating with no exceptions.
Windows 7 is much more user friendly than Windows Vista. ..I don't like that.
I run Windows because it's cheaper. There, I said it. My preferences don't take precendence over my budget.
That being said, I hate Windows LOL. The computers come with so much CRAP from the manufacturer that it takes me days to delete all the unnecessary programs installed and running in the background. This is not generally an issue for Apple in my experience. Don't even get me started on Windows 8. My computer is about to die and I'm hoping it makes it to the Windows 10 release because it's a dinosaur running Windows 7. I hate 8 so much I refused to have anything with Windows 8 on it, and it's limping along so badly I have a hard time running Adobe right now. And now as I type this I'm trying to reconfigure my budget in my head so that I can justify an Apple computer LOL!
"I feel the conflict within you. Let go of your hate."
"It is too late ... The Emperor will show you the true nature of the [Mac]. He is your master now."
- PC free since 2003
Check out the ASUS Zenbook Pro UX501. It's beautiful, it's really powerful and it runs Windows.
I know this came a bit late, but check this out: http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/07/bug-in-latest-version-of-os-x-gi...
Stay Win. Apple's syncing problems are the worst. And lets be real, you always have to jailbreak your Iphone to get it anything you as a savvy user wants to do. Even then it doesn't allow everything. As for a nice laptop I found this to be quit nice looking http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T7XT17E?ref_=pd_ybh_5
I was an anti-Mac hold out for a long time and I still refuse to buy an IOS device. I purchased a maxed out retina mac book pro because it was so much higher quality than any PC counterpart I could buy. I ran windows exclusively for a few months and once in a while I used OSX, after a while I was using Windows less and less. It's been a few months since I've used windows, I have a few complaints but the benefits of Mac OS outweigh them. Buying a Mac Book Pro is a solid workaround to your quality issues with PC laptops but beware it might just turn you into an Apple Fan Boy.
D
This sounds exactly like something I would do
Sorry, the maxed out version of my Gigabyte P35 laptop spanks the Macbook Pro Retina and costs roughly the same. It just run circles around it, especially for video editing
http://www.xoticpc.com/gigabyte-p35xv3cf8-p-7979.html
It's almost as light and almost as thin as the MBPR, but can hold 4 hard drives (I run dual SSDs in Raid 0 for the OS and apps, and a 1TB SSD for files). Unlike MBPR's middle-range graphics card (Until recently, the GeForce 750M), the P35 has an insane 8GB GeForce 980M.
And of course, it has 4xUSB (2xUSB3.0 & 2xUSB2.0), DisplayPort, 16GB DDR3 RAM, and 16.5" WQHD+ (2880x1620) matte IPS screen.
Like I said, it spanks the Macbook Pro Retina.
Welcome to the.....
Pepsi vs. Coke
Canon vs. Nikon
Ford vs. Chevy
debate. Seriously, use what works best for you and move on.
Signed - PC(desktop) and Mac(laptop) user.
It's time to reach out to a) Digital Storm, b) Singularity Computers (youtube), c) Maingear PC. That or you go and do what we do--build your own custom water-cooled beast of a machine. Look up the Red Harbinger chassis and the new Lian-Li sets of chassis too. Puget Systems is the best option if you still want to stick to air-cooling. Put down the cameras for a bit and have fun building your new workstations :)
Haven't had any issues with my windows pcs/laptops for years now since I started building them myself back in 2004.
well.. tell your mac fanboys friends about this:
http://thehackernews.com/2015/07/apple-mac-os-x-vulnerability.html
it just came now, let's see how much time apple takes to fix it.. (not like microsoft that did right away)
You can poke Windows where the sun dont shine, my imac is 7years old and still beating the crap out of the office windows machine. when after three years of ownership Apple informed me the hard drive was known to fail and replaced it free of charge Happy Day....the windows PC failed before the end of the first year "bad luck buddy" was all they could say.....I love my Apple kit
http://www.macworld.com/article/1132733/hack.html
It took a hacker 2 minutes to take control of a Mac computer back in 2008 by having it just visit a website with exploit code (sound familiar?).
Using a mac is like shooting in auto mode, where all things are decided for you. Sure the picture looks nice to the average person, but you professionals know you can do a lot more with that picture if you had control of the settings.
Macs are no different. They lock you out of playing with most settings, as well as limit you on what hardware you can use. Of course microsoft gets hacked more - it represents a massive majority of computer systems out there (sorry, as great as your photos are, hackers aren't really interested in them). Most back end systems are on Windows or Linux type platforms - and for a reason.
Price vs Power - there is really no comparison. I will challenge anyone to buy a mac that has even a fraction of the specs my home made super gaming computer has on it for the price I paid for it. You won't do it.
If you are not a computer professional and don't care to have access to those details on a Windows Machine, and you are willing to pay more to have software/hardware integrated for you - Mac is the way to go.
If you know what you are doing and spend the time to learn computers though...well lets just say there is a reason most IT professionals aren't carrying Macbooks.
MacBook Pro Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0 ? No problems on Mac, ever?
I find it funny Apple users and you think that Apple Computers are "safe from viruses." I live in Vegas and they have this black-hat conventions with tournaments called Pwn2Own. The first computer that gets hacked first in the last 4-5 years is Apple computer, normally under 1 minute. Windows machines normally takes 10-15 minutes to hack. Just because you hear more about Windows machines, that is because there are 4-5 billion Window machines and only a couple 100 million Apple machines.
Also, like at the Asus Laptops... they have some great high end laptops. Or better yet, how about Microsoft Surface Pro or Wacom Cintiq Companion... Nothing Apple even offers.
Your whole story seems like a well written reason why to abandon Windows and get a Mac. Being a convert to Mac who still has to use Windows as well for somethings, In eight years all my Macs combined have crashed less than any one single Windows computer I have owned and/or used. Sure, OS X isn't perfect, but it might as well be so compared to Windows ME, Windows Vista, and Windows 8 (and, from what I am reading, add Windows 10 to this list possibly as well).
Just about every Windows laptop released in the last few years are trying to look like MacBook Pros or Airs - except that they are never built as well. When the MacBook Air was released a bunch of Japanese computer designers got together and took it apart. One criticism they had of it was that Apple didn't let the Chinese manufacturers remove the "unnecessary" parts from the design such as excessive screws and whatnot in the production model. What more proof do you need than that that Apple products are inherently superior to most PC computers?
Ha Ha ! The war between Mac fans & Windows Fans is a never ending saga. I think if your comfortable and enjoy using the one that suits you best than great. Sort of like Nikon vs Cannon, to each there own.
Had to come to this site after seeing a hardware "quality" review of a MacBook vs Surface Book on YouTube. Then to see this article about a font vulnerability by someone who claims to work with Windows devices and "fight" Apple fanboys.. Nothing quite like pretending to be the person you are silently attacking right?
Font vulnerabilities in Windows from July 2015 when you wrote this article/post... So...
http://yahoo-security.tumblr.com/post/123981052855/font-parsing-vulnerab...
http://www.cvedetails.com/cve/CVE-2015-3681/
CVE-2015-3681
CVE-2015-3686
CVE-2015-3687
CVE-2015-3688
CVE-2015-3694
CVE-2015-3719
"Apple Type Services (ATS) in Apple OS X before 10.10.4 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted font file, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-3679, CVE-2015-3680, and CVE-2015-3682. "
"CoreText in Apple iOS before 8.4 and OS X before 10.10.4 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted text file, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-3685, CVE-2015-3687, CVE-2015-3688, and CVE-2015-3689. "
You can take a look at the rest of the CVEs. But if you want to fight off Apple fanboys you need to start recalling what you said about Mac OS machines crashing.... "I've been filming post production with Elia Locardi for the past month and I've seen his brand new Macbook Pro crash just like my computer occasionally does." Comes down to it, more access/capability opens a machine to more potential misuse. You, the user, decide use/misuse in what you do/allow to happen to your computer. Happens on all platforms.