Traditionally, PCs and PC components have never exciting to unwrap and unbox, as that was never really the focus of manufacturers.

Choosing one platform over the other can be a difficult choice because there are so many different aspects and variables to consider.

Hardware, software, operating system, cost, designaesthetics, simplicity, ease of use, stability, upgrade options, resale value, size, and weight are some of the factors one might look into on both PCs and Macs to make the ultimate choice.

And what makes it even tougher, is that some of these factors can carry very different weights.

For example, cost and hardware are often the two major factors that influence purchasing decisions the most.

So lets take a look at a number of above-mentioned factors and see which platform is potentially a better choice for photography needs.

Table of Contents Preface The Unboxing Experience Hardware Differences Software Differences: Drivers and Integration Operating System Differences Viruses and Trojans Security Design and Aesthetics Ergonomics and Ease of Use Upfront Cost and Performance Upgrade Options Resale Value Photoshop and Lightroom Performance Display Quality and Calibration Accuracy 10-Bit Support Summary Preface Having been a PC user since my first 80286 machine many years ago, I have never been particularly attracted to other platforms.

I still enjoy the feeling I get after putting components together, firing up the machine and hearing that first post beep and the BIOS screen, showing me that everything is working correctly.

Over the years, I have enjoyed trying out many different hardware components and operating systems.

I have had my fun days of running DOS, Slackware, FreeBSD, BeOS, Redhat, Fedora, Gentoo, Ubuntu, Windows 2000, XP, 7 to name a few, and not so fun days messing with Windows NT 3.51 and Windows ME.

In my past corporate life, I have probably tried out pretty much every flavor of server hardware and operating systems as well, running large enterprise networks with huge datacenters.

At a later point in time, I picked up a few Apple products for personal use, but mostly in the music mobile area: iPods, iPads, and iPhones (I have been using the iPhone since the third generation).

After so many years, my first Apple computer purchase for personal use was a few years ago, when I got a 27 iMac Retina.

I primarily bought it for presentations and photo reviews during workshops, as I did not want to drag a PC with a large monitor with me every time.

Since then, I have been trying to actively use the iMac for everyday tasks, including post-processing.

The iMac is another popular choice among photographers For the most part, however, I have been able to successfully dodge most of the Apple world, keeping myself away from the hardcore fanboyism that seems to have always been very strong in the Apple community.

If a decade ago one could practically get into a fight when talking about PCs vs Macs, it seems like things have not really changed for the better today any time this topic comes up, people seem to lose it very fast.

I understand loyalty, love, devotion, support, and dedication for a particular brand, but in all honesty, none of those really matter to me when it comes to choosing tools anymore.

Therefore, I would like to clear up that I have no intention of bashing or scrutinizing either platform.

I have zero loyalty to PCs or Macs, just like I have no loyalty for a particular camera or a lens brand.

I laid out my past experience for a reason so that you can better understand my background and my point of view.

Although I will do my best to remain objective, please keep in mind that it is still my perspective and experience, which can be vastly different from yours.

We could be right in our own ways I guess you could call it objective subjectivity, or was it subjective objectivity So before I jump into comparisons, I would like to ask you, our dear reader, to keep the discussion civil.

If you have a point you disagree with me on, kindly state your thoughts and your experiences and share it with the rest of the readers.

But if your fingers are itching to type something nasty, please keep it to yourself or vent someplace else:) Thank you for understanding The Unboxing Experience Before we dive into the really important points, let me first talk about something many of us would consider ridiculous the unboxing experience.

Is Mac Better For Editing Videos?