macs for web design

Marketcake

Marketcake

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Dec 6, 2009
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so i just got this super baller macbook pro, and spent like 2 days configuring all the suggestions in my thread, automator, apps, etc.

now that im actually designing though with cs5, its kind of weird just because everything seems shrunk down about 40% more than a PC. im not sure if its the resolution (17" monitor), or just the way mac fonts+margins+padding are handled, but everything is way tinier (even at 100% full size).

Every one of my sites ive looked at previously that I have designed has some very noticable font+spacing changes. they definitely dont look bad, but i dont think i could design in REVERSE and have it look good... designing 'small' and then having it not look like complete shit on a pc.

is there something im missing? thanks d00dz
 


i check compatibility but chrome, firefox, versions of IE all display roughly the same. I didnt have a mac before so browsershots was just kind of weak and I didnt use it much. I often just asked my freinds with macs 'does it look okay' .. that was about the extent of my mac testing. now having it be the primary though is kind of weird
 
Whenever I do a slice job, I always have a copy of Windows XP running on VmWare Fusion, that way I can load up IE6, 7, and 8 in their native OS and test it out after I verified everything looks good in Safari/FF on the mac side. Fonts of course are gona be the most major differences across OSes.

PS: It helps if you define ALL your fonts in CSS, I noticed some people such as on paragraphs, don't even bother to define a font, they just figure if it looks good in their browser's auto-selected font it'll be fine elsewhere (big mistake).
 
Why do people buy a Mac for "design" ? You can do the exact same shit on pcs but for half the cost of buying an overpriced mac.
 
kblessinggr said:
PS: It helps if you define ALL your fonts in CSS...
Click to expand...

This.

I highly suggest you use a CSS reset at the beginning of your stylesheet before even styling the DOM. This prevents nearly all compatibility problems.

Eric's Archived Thoughts: Reset Reasoning

Here's what I use:

Code: 
/* @group global reset */
/* Don't forget to set a foreground and background color on the 'html' or 'body' element! For more information on the current state of Global Reset visit http://meyerweb.com/eric/thoughts/2007/04/12/reset-styles */

html, body, div, span,
applet, object, iframe,
h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, p, blockquote, pre,
a, abbr, acronym, address, big, cite, code,
del, dfn, em, font, img, ins, kbd, q, s, samp,
small, strike, strong, sub, sup, tt, var,
dd, dl, dt, li, ol, ul,
fieldset, form, label, legend,
table, caption, tbody, tfoot, thead, tr, th, td{
    margin: 0;
    padding: 0;
    border: 0;
    font-weight: inherit;
    font-style: inherit;
    font-size: 100%;
    line-height: 1;
    font-family: inherit;
    text-align: left;
    vertical-align: baseline;
}
a img, :link img, :visited img{
    border: 0;
}
table{
    border-collapse: collapse;
    border-spacing: 0;
}
ol, ul{
    list-style: none;
}
q:before, q:after,
blockquote:before, blockquote:after{
    content: "";
}

/* @end global reset */

You'll have to define strong and em's behavior if you use them. They get reset because each browser configures them differently.
 
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kblessinggr said:
Whenever I do a slice job, I always have a copy of Windows XP running on VmWare Fusion, that way I can load up IE6, 7, and 8 in their native OS and test it out after I verified everything looks good in Safari/FF on the mac side. Fonts of course are gona be the most major differences across OSes.

PS: It helps if you define ALL your fonts in CSS, I noticed some people such as on paragraphs, don't even bother to define a font, they just figure if it looks good in their browser's auto-selected font it'll be fine elsewhere (big mistake).
Click to expand...

Couple follow up points to this - for those of you on Windows, you should check out My DebugBar | IETester / Browser Compatibility Check for Internet Explorer Versions from 5.5 to 9 for IE testing.

About the CSS, ALWAYS use a global reset. This forces you to define everything and not count on the browser using it's default settings. Some good ones here - A Killer Collection of Global CSS Reset Styles ? Perishable Press
 
emk33 said:
Why do people buy a Mac for "design" ? You can do the exact same shit on pcs but for half the cost of buying an overpriced mac.
Click to expand...
If your working with several clients on a PC and your HD dies or your fan dies can you go to the place where you bought it and get it replace instantly for free? I think not
 
nvanprooyen said:
Couple follow up points to this - for those of you on Windows, you should check out My DebugBar | IETester / Browser Compatibility Check for Internet Explorer Versions from 5.5 to 9 for IE testing.

About the CSS, ALWAYS use a global reset. This forces you to define everything and not count on the browser using it's default settings. Some good ones here - A Killer Collection of Global CSS Reset Styles ? Perishable Press
Click to expand...

I been using the YUI reset myself, followed by the usual html *, body declarations I always use.
 
.Hack said:
If your working with several clients on a PC and your HD dies or your fan dies can you go to the place where you bought it and get it replace instantly for free? I think not
Click to expand...

well if I dropped 2k on a laptop that had the same specs and ran the same apps as a $600 laptop, I would be expecting at least a handjob if my fan died
 
i just figured out what it was ... its the ridiculous resolutions on the imac and the macbook monitors (27" & 17")

i just bought a 25" samsung and i read a lot of forums. apparently i only needed 1080p to get the new hotness.. everyone said to look at the panel type but newegg/tigerdirect didnt have any info on it, so i went by reviews instead

when i plug it in everything looks like my PC again.... duller colors and not insane resolution where its actually somewhat hard to read. it basically looks like my old laptop monitor now (my friends imac in the next room is way more crisp)... i suppose for graphic design thats better actually cause, as this thread is about, i can design on something that looks more normal, although at the same time im a bit bummed i dont have nearly as vibrant as colors as on my macbook monitor, or the sharpness

is there some tool i can use to calibrate multiple profiles on my mac (when monitor is plugged in/vs when its not in). maybe i can squeeze a little extra color in

also whats the deal with these resolutions. i had assumed the rez on my mac was roughly the same as my 17" dell.. i was wrong.. lol
 
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