I was speaking to a room full of very successful businessmen about Production-Now. One of the guys there asked me a technical question. As I responded to his query he stopped me and said, "I probably can't do that because I don't have a Mac, right?"
Wrong.
Sure, it may be much harder to find some free software for the PC because OSX has DVD authoring software built in and Microsoft didn't get with the program until Vista, but that's not to say it isn't out there.
A PC can do anything a Mac can do, and vice versa. I've used both for years now, and despite the frustration of not knowing how to do something, there is very little difference between the two machines.
The Apple interface is more fluid than Windows which some people love and others hate. Now that Apple has produced some small Macs, there isn't even an "out of the box" price difference. In short, you will be okay no matter which system you choose. Thus, it's a good idea to go with 1. What you have, and 2. What you like.
The really exciting thing to me is that there are many programs available which are "cross platform". This is really nice if you happen to work on a Mac and a PC. Most of the free programs we suggest are cross platform. There are even a couple video editing programs that are not only cross platform but free.
Here's the bottom line, however: Technology costs money. Free stuff, while useful and potentially powerful, will often fall short of what you want to do. And while there probably are several good freeware programs that do what you want out there in the world wide web, you may be better off shelling out a couple hundred bucks.
Granted, at Production-Now.com we do our best to find all the best software and options available (free or otherwise) and pass those on to you. If you want to find out even more, get involved in the Forums today!
Tip of the Month: Be sure to keep your machine, no matter what format, as compatible with the "opposition" as possible. For example, install Quicktime on your PC and Flip4Mac on your Apple.
