I'm currently studying broad-spectrum visual arts at a local community college, because I can't afford real art school just yet, and one of the classes I have to take is Macintosh Basics, in keeping with the filthy lie that Macs are somehow just better for art and design.
Uh, what?
I've got some time on my hands before I have to go to work, so let's dissect this statement to find out just how furiously idiotic it is.
First off, what makes a computer 'good' for visual work? Processor speed and RAM, so it can keep up with the demands of whatever Adobe product you're using (I may not be a Mac snob, but I'm a proud Photoshop snob), and display quality, so you can see what you're doing. These things are not unique to Macs, nor does the Apple company produce any sort of superior hardware for these purposes. If you crack open your Mac, you're going to find pretty much the same bits and pieces that are in your Dell, only packed in there more tightly and with less ventilation. The only difference is that Dell hasn't charged you nearly as much for the Apple logo on the case, and your user interface isn't jam packed with flashy animations.
Which leads me to my second point, that Apple computers are an enormous scam. I went on their website to check the price of their lowest-end desktop. It's $1,200, for a 3 GB i3 processor, 4 GB of RAM, a 500 GB hard drive, a 256 MB graphics card, and a 21.5" display. I then went to the Dell website and priced a computer with equivalent specs; it came out to be just shy of $800, and that's with a monitor included and a bigger hard drive (the smallest option was 750 GB.) Congratulations, you just paid $400 for a brand name. Now, if you actually prefer your OS-whatever and your Apple logo, that's fine, as long as you recognize that you're spending extra money on gimmicks.
Finally, to put all of this in perspective, let's take a look at Gabriela, my desktop computer, with whom I make all of my digital art. I built her in 2007, and she cost about $800, with no operating system, monitor, mouse, or keyboard. She has a 3 GB dual core processor, a 500 GB hard drive, up to 8 GB of RAM (I only have 2 GB installed, because that's all I really need), and a 256 MB graphics card. Basically, her specs are just a bit shy of that Mac, despite the fact that she's three years old. Even if I include her OS and monitor, that's still about $1,000. For the same computer, three years ago. Who runs the latest version of Photoshop perfectly, in addition to being able to handle most PC games with the graphics set all the way up.
Don't kid yourself; your Mac is not any better for art, or anything, really, than my 3-year-old homebrew PC is. You just paid more so you can feel smugly superior in your Apple lifestyle. Ultimately, if you can live with yourself for that, it's none of my business, but don't force your beliefs on the rest of us.
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