# mac - advantages/disadvantages for web design



## tiktoktik (Mar 25, 2009)

For my ict coursework i have to compare an imac to a normal desktop pc and recomment suitable software for web design and graphics. what could i write for advantages and disadvantages?


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## mmillerwsd (Mar 26, 2009)

Hard to say really.. Adobe has gone to great lengths to make products like Photoshop and Dreamweaver the same on either platform.. Those would imho be the dominant tools for graphics and web design..


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Mar 26, 2009)

tiktoktik said:


> what could i write for advantages and disadvantages?


What advantages and disadvantages have you encountered in your experience with Macs and Windows PCs?


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## CharlieJ (Mar 27, 2009)

Mac for:
No viruses
Faster
Looks nicer/more professional
Easier to use
Photoshop runs better on a mac.
Mac OSX Server is extremely easy to use with Mac OSX
Reliability
xCode
Transmit

Windows for:
Hardware compatbililty

Windows Against:
Hundreds of viruses.
.DLL's
You have to click 'Accept' everytime you click anything (in vista)
Drivers
The interface
Slow
Buggy
Isn't a mac


Ahh, slating windows does relieve some stress...


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## Natobasso (Apr 24, 2009)

I'd say macs are better for the graphic design side and pcs are better for the web design/dev side. For PC you've got all the free "Express" apps for Visual Studio, etc. Dreamweaver is $400 or so. 

Not sure the best way to host a site locally on a mac, but if I had to choose, I'd probably just use the mac and a text editor like TextWrangler and ftp like Fetch or Transmit.


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## Randy Singer (Apr 24, 2009)

Natobasso said:


> I'd say macs are better for the graphic design side and pcs are better for the web design/dev side. For PC you've got all the free "Express" apps for Visual Studio, etc. Dreamweaver is $400 or so.



There are far more WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) Web page creation programs for ordinary users for the Macintosh than there are for Windows.

RAPIDWEAVER ($49) 
http://www.realmacsoftware.com/rapidweaver/

FREEWAY EXPRESS ($79) 
http://www.softpress.com/products/freewayexpressne.php

SHUTTERBUG  ($40)
http://www.xtralean.com/SBOverview.html

SANDVOX ($49, $79 for the Pro version.)  The Pro version includes stuff to help you create an e-commerce Web site.
http://www.karelia.com/

GOLDFISH 2.0 ($59.90 for the Professional edition, $39.90 Standard edition)
http://www.fishbeam.com/en/goldfish/

Apple's iWEB (part of the $79 iLife)
http://www.apple.com/ilife/iweb/

JOOMLA! (free and open source)
http://joomla.en.softonic.com/mac
http://www.joomla.org/

KOMPOZER (free and open source)
Review page: http://www.download.com/8301-2007_4-9714054-12.html
Download page: http://kompozer.net/


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## Natobasso (Apr 24, 2009)

Are they free?


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## Randy Singer (Apr 24, 2009)

Natobasso said:


> Are they free?



Why, *yes*, if you read my post, you will find that some of them are indeed free.

My favorite is Kompozer, which is not just free, but is a very impressive application.  It is more complex than these others.  In fact, it is almost as powerful as a professional-level Web site creation tool.  

Even better, there are several free tutorials to learn how to use the program, and it isn't hard to learn to use.  You can easily migrate your existing Web site(s) to Kompozer because it doesn't use a proprietary format, it will simply open your HTML-based Web site.

http://kompozer.net/

FREE KompoZer tutorials:

- KompoZer User Guide
http://www.charlescooke.me.uk/web/kz-ug-home.htm

- How to Design and Publish Your Website with KompoZer
http://www.thesitewizard.com/gettingstarted/kompozer-tutorial-1.shtml

- KompoZer Tutorial 2: How to Add Images, Change Fonts and Colours 
Tutorial on designing and publishing your web pages with KompoZer, a free standalone WYSIWYG web editor.
www.thesitewizard.com/gettingstarted/kompozer-tutorial-2.shtm

- Other free KompoZer tutorials
http://www.thesitewizard.com/
Scroll down to KompoZer Tutorials

- KompoZer Video Tutorials
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=kompozer+tutorial&aq=f


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## nixgeek (Apr 24, 2009)

I'm not sure how Joomla! fits into the "web designing" category since it's just a content management system, not an application solution for designing or creating websites.


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## Randy Singer (Apr 24, 2009)

nixgeek said:


> I'm not sure how Joomla! fits into the "web designing" category since it's just a content management system, not an application solution for designing or creating websites.



From:
http://www.joomla.org/about-joomla/getting-started.html

"Joomla makes creating and maintaining Web sites easy for everyone, from total beginners setting up their first site to IT professionals managing enterprise installations."

From:
http://joomla.en.softonic.com/mac

"Although blogs are now the most common way to be online, there are still people who prefer alternative web publishing methods like a content management system.

"Joomla! is one of those systems, in fact one of the most popular ones. On the one hand, it's definitely not as easy to set up as a personal blog on any free blogging platform, but on the other hand, it grants you total control on the way your website is displayed, managed and updated. And in case you need help, Joomla! features a highly detailed help section on its website which can bring light on any problem you may have during installation and configuration.

"With Joomla! you can set up a complete website in minutes. You don't need to design or code anything; as long as you install the required apps (PHP, MySQL and Apache) you're ready to go. The whole website is configured and customized through web menus, so that the only thing you need to worry about is creating good content for your site."


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## nixgeek (Apr 24, 2009)

Randy Singer said:


> From:
> http://www.joomla.org/about-joomla/getting-started.html
> 
> "Joomla makes creating and maintaining Web sites easy for everyone, from total beginners setting up their first site to IT professionals managing enterprise installations."
> ...



That still doesn't make it a web designing app.  It's a server-side solution, not a client-side solution.  KompoZer and the like do not require the designer to install PHP, MySQL, and the like to modify a site.  Joomla! requires these in order to function on the server side.  They may have tools for administering and modifying certain aspects of the CMS as well as theming, but you don't "design" pages with them.  Joomla! and others like Drupal and Wordpress are pre-designed, "canned" site solutions.


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## Randy Singer (Apr 25, 2009)

nixgeek said:


> ...Joomla! and others like Drupal and Wordpress are pre-designed, "canned" site solutions.



Hence the review that I cited that said:

"...there are still people who prefer alternative web publishing methods like a content management system."

I'm not a Joomla user.  When I've posted on discussion forums about Web site creation tools for ordinary Mac users in the past, I've been told about Joomla by Macintosh users who use it and recommend it highly for creating Web sites.  

Apparently a "canned" solution is what many folks prefer.  It isn't, by any stretch, what I would prefer to use myself.  However, the fact that Joomla is very different than most other Web site creation tools isn't something that rules it out, in my mind, from consideration for creating a Web site.   iWeb with its canned templates, is very different, and more limiting than, for instance, Kompozer.  The latter being more like Dreamweaver or GoLive.  It sounds to me as if Joomla is just further along the continuum between being a design program and creating a site based on a template.

Not having tried Joomla, I can only go by the reviews, and what others have told me about it.  Apparently they all consider Joomla to be a Web site "creation" program.  (Using that *exact* term.)  Since it is free, it is easy enough for folks to try it out for themselves and see if it is what they had in mind.  But your point is well taken, and users should be mindful of the fact that the program offers little or no creativity to be brought to the process and apparently the emphasis is on the content of one's site when using Joomla, not on its aesthetics.


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## fryke (Apr 25, 2009)

One serious point for webdesigners is this:

Comparing results.

On a Mac, you can run both Windows and Mac OS X (and linux), which lets you test your designs in 100% of desktop web-browsers in use, whereas with Windows only (well, and linux) you get about 90%. While many companies ignore the 5-10% Macs, that's not a reason to ignore them as well. It's a reason not to. ("Our designs work on all web-browsers in use." That's an argument for you as a designer.)


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## rubaiyat (Oct 25, 2009)

Natobasso said:


> Are they free?



This seems to be a theme for you.

Do you have a reading problem?


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## Natobasso (Oct 25, 2009)

rubaiyat said:


> This seems to be a theme for you.
> 
> Do you have a reading problem?



Are you an adolescent troll?


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## rubaiyat (Oct 25, 2009)

No.

Is that short enough for you to read?


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## Natobasso (Oct 25, 2009)

No, why don't you go away and see if I can read that.


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## rubaiyat (Oct 25, 2009)

Trying to make sense of that petulant reply.


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## rubaiyat (Oct 25, 2009)

tiktoktik said:


> For my ict coursework i have to compare an imac to a normal desktop pc and recomment suitable software for web design and graphics. what could i write for advantages and disadvantages?



I think being able to use *TextMate* would be enough reason to choose the Mac.

*RapidWeaver* would come second.


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## Natobasso (Oct 30, 2009)

I like TextWrangler, personally, though it's really whatever gets the job done for you the best that's important. I'm really liking how mac can host sites locally (like I've done on a pc in wwwroot) in Sites.


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## CharlieJ (Oct 31, 2009)

Why hasn't Coda been mentioned?
http://www.panic.com/coda/

The *ONLY* web development app for mac.

Charlie


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## Natobasso (Oct 31, 2009)

CharlieJ said:


> Why hasn't Coda been mentioned?
> http://www.panic.com/coda/
> 
> The *ONLY* web development app for mac.
> ...



It's awesome, but hardly the only app.


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