£2300 !! - Page 2

aidanjt · 28-10-2009, 09:22 AM

TBH, it sounds like the artists want shiny new toys to show off to their colleagues at their employers vast expense. I'd be inclined to review whether the outlay will provide any kind of productivity improvement. And even at that, as prior meantioned, the Core i5 iMacs should be plenty powerful enough, and I'd really consider a standard PC since CS4 works more or less the same on both Windows and OS X.

Not a good time for splashing out on toys, atm.

Phage · 28-10-2009, 09:31 AM

As an update, things have gone very quiet over at the Art House....I imagine that they may be reviewing this idea on the basis that no-one's going to rubber stamp their costs any more.

nightkhaos · 28-10-2009, 01:26 PM

Do they need to get a Mac? I could easily spec a very good, overkill, CS4 rig for between £800 and £1200 depending on requirements that runs Windows 7.

Phage · 28-10-2009, 01:29 PM

I'm sure you could. But it's a political/ego issue. There's no way I could pry Apple out of there without more clout than I have politically.
Artistes have to be different, because they're......y'know......artistes. Not like the rest of us plebs.

Phage · 28-10-2009, 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by nightkhaos

Do they need to get a Mac? I could easily spec a very good, overkill, CS4 rig for between £800 and £1200 depending on requirements that runs Windows 7.

On second thoughts....
Yes, if you could spec a killer CS4 rig, I might be able to use it as the nuclear option.
Thanks.

nightkhaos · 28-10-2009, 01:32 PM

Originally Posted by Phage

I'm sure you could. But it's a political/ego issue. There's no way I could pry Apple out of there without more clout than I have politically.
Artistes have to be different, because they're......y'know......artistes. Not like the rest of us plebs.

Of course I understand this, but at least considering giving them the option. There are two valid reasons I would for not making the move accept personally.

- You have tried, and failed, to convience them that they are able to do their work on Windows 7.
- They cannot transfer their CS4 license from a Mac to a Windows edition.

This is not about ablity anymore, this is about money. And if they cannot pay upwards of £2,000 per machine, then they should either not upgrade, or consider their options. Afterall, if all these rigs are doing is CS4 and a few other things, there is not much reason for them to be on Mac. Mac's uniqueness is unfortuantely coming to an end, and I say this as a Mac user. (Note my MBP).

If you don't believe me on this, consider the fact that a higher percentage of people can make the transition to Mac now.... if that doesn't show that Mac is becoming same-old, same-old I don't know what will.

badass · 28-10-2009, 10:23 PM

It it's not coming out of your budget and won't affect your budget this year or next in any way, let them choose what they want, but first see what they actually want to use them for and make sure the machines they demand are up to scratch and nopt overkill.
Also, if you plan to force Windows machines on them, make damn sure you have seriously good web filtering and security and the computers are properly locked down with AV that you can monitor actively. If not, do you want to deal with a bunch of whiney artists telling you that you should have bought Mac's as they would never have had whatever problems they infect them with?
Also, one other thing to consider is that if they are used to using Mac's there will be lost productivity moving to Windows and that may well cost the company far more than a few hundred pounds per machine.

user1453 · 28-10-2009, 10:55 PM

Considering they will likely save £1000 per machine by switching, given a rough quote nightkhaos gave of around £1200 per machine, the £200 in lost productivity and retraining is justified. But as you said, it is up to them.

And since the machines they purchase will likely be running Windows 7 the learning curve is reduced some what, and with UAC enabled and everything properly configured, security concerns are minor.

Windows 7 and Vista are a lot more secure thanks to UAC now. It was just that when UAC first came out programs weren't UAC complaint so you'd have to answer a UAC prompt all over the place. The I'm a Mac ads had a kick out of that one.

The primary concern is weather they can justify the time lost for retraining/productivity lost, and software costs. For example if there licenses for CS4 do not allow transfer between operating systems.

I'm of the opinion the benefits outweigh the costs, but I don't have the full picture to make that assessment.

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