Mac or PC - Which is Better for Microstock?

The answer to this question can be complex. Users can be overly zealous when defending their personal favorite. If you've never asked yourself this question before (or researched on the web concerning this), then you may not be aware of the endless discussions and battles revolving around which system is better.

Here are a few jokes I found on the internet.

PC Jokes

Mac=Making a career
PC=Personal Crap

Q: What's the difference between a PC and an Abacus?
A: It's doesn't take 20 minutes to boot the Abacus.

Q: What's the best way to accelerate a PC?
A: Drop it off a tall building.

Q: Why doesn't NASA use PCs?
A: They don't need to do crash tests.

Three major versions of Windows are CE ME NT. Coincidence?

Q: How do you crash a PC?
A: Switch it on.

Mac Jokes

Q: What's the difference between a Mac and an Etch-A-Sketch?
A: You don't have to shake the Mac to clear the screen

Q: What is the difference between a Mac User and a Terrorist?
A: You can negotiate with a terrorist.

A man went into a novelty shop and saw an item that caught his fancy almost immediately. It was a stuffed rat. The man couldn't take his eyes off it, and finally asked how much it cost. The answer was "$79.95, but if you buy it, you can't return it for any reason."; The man thought this was a bit odd, but he was really taken by the stuffed rat so he bought it.
As he headed down the street with the stuffed rat, several live rats started following him. He thought this was really odd, but he kept walking. Within a few blocks, he had a huge pack of rats behind him. When he got to the river, he threw the stuffed rat into the river, and all the live rats jumped into the river and drowned.
The man returned to the shop. As soon as he walked in, the owner said "I told you you couldn't return the stuffed rat!"
The man said "No! I don't want to return it! I was wondering if you had any stuffed Mac Users."

How many Mac users does it take to change a light bulb?
Four. One to consult the manual that came with it, one to call tech-support, and two to sit and wait for the 'Smiley Face' to appear and say 'Welcome to Macintosh'

Perception vs. Reality

The perception of the PC user as the uptight non creative business man and the Mac user as the cool laid back creative young person as seen on the Mac commercials is common. Macs are seen as the new innovative forward thinking future. PC's are seen as stoic, old fashioned utilitarian machines. That may have something to do with the fact that PC's are so common. Most people use them therefore those people who use a computer simply as a tool and not as a creative person are probably using a PC.
The Apple Macintosh is a brand name computer. There is no other to compare to it. It is different from other computers in look and function. It strives to be user friendly.
Macs have a more specific clientele. Having been known as the computer for artists and creative people it remains the go to machine for these types of pursuits.

The Mac has more expensive and better quality parts than the lower end PC.
It's simplicity of design is echoed in its marketing. It has a stable operating system and does what it is supposed to do. It offers many entertainment options as well.
In essence it's more fun.

The PC is seen as more of a workhorse computer. Something you can count on to keep your accounting files in order or a tool to use to buy something from Amazon.
The truth is that the PC is a versatile computer that can be endlessly modified and upgraded in ways I'm sure I'm not even aware of. You can "hot rod" it in any way you want. Everyone from gamers to 3D artists can build a system that is fast and powerful enough to handle anything you can throw at it.

It can really be a blast to build your own computer. You can design it to your own specs for your own purposes.
In essence it's more fun.

Who is more popular?

Microsoft at last look had a little over 90% of the market for computers whereas Apple had around 5%. The rest of the market belongs to other operating systems such as Linux. Microsoft's dominance of the market has to do with several factors.
Apple designs their operating systems to only operate with their own hardware. Microsoft on the other hand sells there operating system to many computer builders such as Dell and Gateway and the type and brand of hardware used in a PC is interchangeable, many and varied. You can even build your own PC with parts from places like Newegg.com.
Macintosh offers an array of different types of computers and also gives you different build options such as how big of a hard drive you want, what size monitor, etc.
The Mac is generally more expensive than a PC unless you're a hard core gamer or someone who wants to build a PC using the best hardware available. This simple fact puts the Mac out of the price range of many people.

Which is better?

Apple is known to be a more stable operating system and also not vulnerable to the viruses, trojan horses and such that can infect PC's.
From personal experience I've found that a lot of the problems that used to be commonplace in the PC world are going away.
I've had PC's crash. I've had Macintosh computers crash. I've had the hard drives die in both systems, programs freeze, etc. The occurrence of these failures used to be much more frequent in PC's. As time goes by, both systems have become more stable.
Graphics programs used to have a problem operating correctly in many PCs, if you have a good system that isn't a problem anymore.
Both computers can be great when the user is adept at using the software. I can create the same thing in Illustrator on a PC that I can on a Mac and vise-versa.
I use both Macs and PC and like them both. Many artists that I know won't use anything other than a Mac. Many of them also began working on a Mac originally and they see no reason to change. The fact is there is no reason for them to change. Often it comes down to which system you started on or what system you are using in school. Art schools mostly teach using Macs and so these same artists still use Macs in their jobs and in their lives.
It's up to you which system you choose. I wouldn't push either. If you're comfortable with a PC then use a PC, if you're comfortable with a Mac then use a Mac.
More important are you're skills and imagination.