BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : NOVEMBER 13, 2000 ISSUE
TECH BUYING GUIDE Artistic Apples Macs retain the loyalty of graphics types, but gamers should think twice Freelance graphic designer John O'Connell says he has never met a serious digital artist who didn't use a Macintosh. ''I know it sounds, well, snobby, but it's true,'' says O'Connell, a 19-year-old sophomore at Emerson College in Boston. It's not that you can't use PCs to make great art. They just don't signal to your peers that you want to be a great artist, O'Connell says. That's why he carries his tangerine-colored iBook portable Mac with him most places. ''I can take my art with me anywhere,'' he says.   Not Alone Graphic artist O'Connell says a Mac signals seriousness to his peers. The desktop iMac also appeals to the technically challenged O'Connell is hardly alone. Apple's Macs still hold an almost mystical appeal for some people, such as writers and teachers. That's especially true for artists who use graphics programs that still run better on Macs than on PCs. Tom Tortorici, a freelance graphic designer in Atlanta, says Photoshop and other popular products are ''so powerful on the Mac it's like a religion to me.'' But those programs are getting better on PCs, making the PC-vs.-Mac choice less about function than about fashion. That's why Macs come shaped like giant gumdrops, such as the iMac, or see-through tissue boxes like the new G4 Cube. EASE OF USE. That doesn't mean you have to be the artsy type to own a Mac. These machines are ideal for anyone who doesn't give a fig about how computers work. There is still no computer that's easier to set up and use. This is especially true of the iMac, in which the monitor and the microprocessor are one unit. With an iMac, you literally lift it out of the box, plug it in, and you're ready to go. It won't beep at you, signaling you're missing a certain video card you need to play a game--an all too common glitch with PCs. That's because Apple makes the software that controls the computer, so it works better with other devices. Choosing the right Mac is much easier than it used to be. Apple ( AAPL) has trimmed a bewildering array of offerings into four simple lines. There are desktops and laptops--the iMac and iBook, respectively--for home users. There are Power Macs and PowerBooks for those who need more computing juice. And Apple recently added the G4 Cube, which is basically a Power Mac encased in a sleek plastic rectangle. While they may look different, every Mac is largely the same inside. All run the same Apple operating system and include built-in video, sound, and Internet access. The difference: The more power you want, the more you'll have to pay. While the basic iMac with 64 megabytes of RAM and a 7-gigabyte hard drive is priced under $800, a Power Mac with a 30-GB hard drive and 128 megabytes of RAM costs $2,500. And upgrading it with a sharper screen, and better video and sound capabilities pushes the cost up to $3,500 or more. So even though prices have fallen in recent years, you'll still pay a premium for a Mac. An $800 PC, for example, has a hard drive nearly twice the size of an iMac's and has a faster microprocessor. Another downside is that there isn't as much software for the Mac as there is for the PC. Sure, you'll find all the basic stuff, such as Microsoft Office, but there's only one personal-finance program, Quicken, for the Mac. And the biggest shortfall remains in games. Only the most popular titles, such as The Sims, are translated for the Mac, and then often a year or so after they've been initially released. My advice: Don't consider a Mac if you enjoy playing the hottest new games or need special PC software to do your job. If you value ease of use, then a Mac is for you. Especially if you like the idea of turning heads when you walk into a coffee shop with a tangerine laptop tucked under your arm. By Charles Haddad in Atlanta _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS The New Wireless Wonders Desktops What If It Breaks? TABLE: Desktops: Best of Breed TABLE: How the Warranties Stack Up Cool Tools: iFeel MouseMan Help Is Just an E-Mail Away TABLE: How to Hook Up with a Nerd If Web Surfing Is All You're Into... 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