So I start my new job tomorrow.

My new boss called me last week to discuss what kind of workstation to get. He is a pure Apple fanboi, and naturally asked me 'How would you like a nice brand new PowerMac?'. I have never used a mac, so I said (trying to remain on the fence) 'I'm not averse to the idea of learning to use a mac, but for the last 15+ years I've been a Windows user, and learning a new OS would slow me down some'. Then he said that on a mac there is no right-mouse-button. 'AAAAAaaargh!' I cried, and convinced him that I needed a PC.

Would anyone here tell me any different? The job is web design. 

Use what you are comfortable with as long as it can run the software you are required to use (if you are). 

@RickyT23, I have a powermac and laptop pc and switching between them is a nightmare. Shortcuts are different, no backspace, no right mouse click (there is a keyboard equivalent), interface is back-to-front (especially all the window icons). It is like apple deliberately made the interface arse about face.

Once you get over the interface issues luckily most of the software works the same. If you switch to Mac, play with it for a while, don't keep switching back, it will drive you nuts! 

...ayand counting! Phew! 

...I started on PC, turned to the Mac for your exact same reasons, some 10 years ago, on OS9. Now, that was a Nightmare! Been going back and forth since then and, while I'm what you'd call an Apple Fanboi ;), I'd say Spirit got it right.

My 2 cents of experience anyways, tell me that iMac is far superior when it comes to font management and that's not to underestimatedbe if you're doing ANY kind of graphic work.

Also, don't forget that you can still plug a Logitech (Or whatever you like) 3-buttons into that funky Powermac!!! 

of an edit button.

I guess you got what I mean anyways.... 

is really fascinating all that!

but was thinking.. what if one starts a campaign getting funds but then quits the project ?
funds must come back to pledgers ? 

some posts above were you answering to me or to fifthelephant ..about some pirates mod ? 

macs can support 2 button mice, you just have to plug one in. 

mac is really not that hard to learn and if you are any good at computers in general, you'll pick up the finer points of the UI fairly easily. if not, just google it and there's a lot of info out there. likely you'll be frustrated with the backwards setup on mac for a while, but you get used to it.

the biggest thing about mac is that most applications don't open up as a full screen the way windows applications do. for example, when you open up Photoshop in windows and maximize it, you get a big grey window with a menu bar on top and the tools on the sides.
on a mac, when you open photoshop, you see only the toolbars show up and the menu at the top of the screen is REPLACED with the photoshop menu. basically, application windows 'float' around on your screen instead of being bound inside a 'master' application window. that's really the biggest difference right there.
so sometimes you can open an application and not realized it opened because no window immediately pops up, only the menu bar at the top changes. 

Macs are pretty easy to get used to, but I lack the bar at the bottom of screen and not being able to maximize windows still irks me after all these years alternating between osx and windows. 

Apple also makes the worst mice known to mankind. Remember these?

http://cdn3.pcadvisor.co.uk/cmsdata/blogentries/108160/iMac-mouse-360.jpg

I had to use these at school, drove me fuckin nuts. 

oh god...

ironically, the oval classic mice were really good (except they only had 1 button); comfortable and easy to hold. 

but if they are really buying you a PowerMac, I'd ask for a computer from this decade. 

Doesn't Mac support Windows dual booting via Boot Camp? 

And, against all good advices I received here on creating a proper dual boot, I use my home iMac with Parallels and I happen to play HL2 or Doom3 (on Win2k) and simultaneously have a Photoshop session + Firefox + Itunes open in Osx no problem. 

I do have a dual boot setup with Windows 7, but I rarely actually boot into Windows 7. I play most games in the Parallels VM.

RickyT, regarding Mac vs Windows. I have switched to the Mac in 2005, and I have to say that I really prefer it to Windows. The switch can be hard for a couple of weeks, but then it became smooth sailing and I began to see how the OS X gui is superior to the Windows GUI in subtle ways. One example: The shortcuts are triggered with Cmd+SomeKey, and due to the positioning of the Cmd key (next to the spacebar), you use your thumb and your index finger for most shortcuts. This puts considerably less strain on my fingers. Huge win.

However, if your boss is offering a PowerMac (provided he's serious about it), I would be weary. The PPC architecture has been replaced with Intel CPUs about seven years ago, and is unsupported since OS X 10.5. Many programs simply won't run on that computer.

Some things of note:

- Forget about the one button mice - all modern macs have two button mice, and you can plug any USB mouse into a Mac. There are 3rd party drivers which allow you to configure the mice.
- If you're like me, you'll start using your Windows machine less and less because OS X works better for you.
- Use Parallels to run Windows in a VM if you still need it (or Boot Camp for games)
- For programming, the Mac is superior to Windows - there are great tools, a shell with all the goodies included, and its easy to install Apache / MySQL etc.
- I don't know about the stability of recent versions of Windows, but OS X is fucking rock solid. I can count the number of times I have seen the Mac equivalent of the BSOD on one hand.
- The hardware owns. I know you like to build your own computers, but let me tell you, just buying something off the rack that just works has its perks too. No more worrying what components will work together, no more fucking about with beta drivers etc. Downside: It's more expensive and you can't easily upgrade components. But I usually keep my Macs for at least two years, and I can see that I will keep my current machines (iMac and MacBook Air, both 2011) for several years to come, as they are just amazingly fast.

One more argument that was my original reason to switch: I found that using OS X has made me think differently about how I use computers and how I write software. Switching to any OS forces you out of your comfort zone, and allows you to learn something new. But this only works if you are interested in such things - if you just want to get your work done, and fast, then you're probably best off if you use what you know. 

In 15 years.

It's a lot scarier on OsX though, 'cause it's not the Blue Screen Of Death, but the BLACK Screen Of Death....

Muahahahhahhahhahahahh! 

http://www.wirelust.com/img/blog/20071031/osx_kernel_panic.jpg 

were much less of a problem after I switched to NT and its successors, but I still remember having much more trouble and reboots - but maybe that's my subconcious trying to rationalize the fact that I spend twice as much money on hardware now ;-) 

I am a long-term user of Windows, and Windows 1,2,3, 95, and 98 all had regular BSOD events. XP had a minimum number, most of which were involving me trying to do things that I probably should not have.

Re-installs of 95 and 98 were a regular event and at one stage I had cloned drives ready to swap in and out of the box just to speed things up.

I have been using Vista on a desktop since RC1, and Win7 on a laptop also since RC1 and have never seen a BSOD. I am one of those users (weirdo) who have been quite happy with Vista, and I have never even re-installed it once.

I have Win8, which I bought direct from MS, ready to install on the laptop but have never got around to it because Win7 works just fine.

I have never felt minded to even try a Mac, as I am deleriously happy with Windows, and consider Bill G to be my long-lost benevolent uncle. 

mac is fine windows is fine just use whatever makes you happy as long as it's not linux because that is shit. 

Win8 is shite. win7 works fine for me, I havn't seen a BSOD in years.

I've been tempted to go to linux but being my own sysadmin doesn't sound like much fun...

I've used Mac but don't really see the benefits, at least with what I use the machine for. And the Stalinist control over data (via iTunes) is a ballache I can do without. 

I have seen a BSOD, but that was hardware damage - a snap, crackle and pop, and the little whisp of smoke that is a few hundred quid saying goodbye. 

by 'someone'.