As a web designer, there are specific hardware and software needs that are required to do the job. This computer setup for Macintosh web designers provides all the essentials, and also gives you the hardware and software you need to design web pages wherever you find yourself. You will have the equipment to impress your clients on site and the tools to impress them with your designs.
Written with assistance from Mark Kyrnin, About.com Guide to Computer Hardware.
Apple Macintosh Pro
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The Apple Mac Pro desktop will give you the power and speed you need to run all your programs, including Flash, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and Premier. Make sure you don't skimp on the memory, and get as large a hard drive as you can. It also helps to have an external drive that is as big as your desktop drive, so you can run Time Machine.
Apple Cinema HD 30" Display
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A 30-inch flat panel LCD monitor is essential if you’re going to be able to readily view all your layouts and designs without having windows hidden. This monitor is beautiful, and allows you to have everything to hand for your work. The biggest challenge is that you might not be able to find the 30-inch display for sale. If that’s the case, then look for the 27-inch Thunderbolt display. Or you can look for another brand 30-inch display.
MacBook Pro
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A desktop is an important component of your setup, but in order to show clients what your ideas are, you need a laptop with built-in wireless capability. The MacBook Pro gives you the power and sophistication you need to show your clients what you can do for them. And with Mac OS Lion, you can use the cloud to share your documents across both computers so you’ve always got the latest content.
Parallels 7
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Parallels is an integral part of any Macintosh web designer’s workflow, as it allows you to install multiple operating systems on virtual machines on your Mac. Testing in Internet Explorer is a lot easier when you don’t have to go to some other machine or website. Plus you can test on Linux browsers and browsers for older operating systems.
Windows 7
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If you have Parallels, you need Windows, so that you can test Internet Explorer. Make sure you have the most current service pack, so that your systems are secure.
Adobe Creative Suite Master Collection
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Creative Suite Master Collection is the ultimate in creativity suites. It includes all of the Adobe design products including Dreamweaver, Photoshop extended, Illustrator, Flash, InDesign, Acrobat, Contribute. Plus all the production products like AfterEffects, Premiere, Soundbooth, and Encore. The Master collection is the ultimate Web design software package.
Wacom Intuos4 Extra Large Tablet
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A tablet is a lifesaver for any web designer. It is much easier to draw and annotate images with a tablet than any other pointing device. And the Wacom Intuos comes in four sizes if the extra large is too large. Plus there is a wireless version as well.
Fujitsu ScanSnap S510 Scanner
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Scanners are great for creating background textures and getting photos and images that you don't have digitally up on the web. This is a small, expensive scanner that does an excellent job at helping you control the paper clutter in an office.
Konica Minolta Magicolor 7450
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Nothing screams professional like a color laserjet printed brochure. And with this model, all your printouts will be of high quality.
Canon PowerShot SD 870
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When your client asks you if their building can be featured on the Web site, this handy pocket camera can do the trick in just a few seconds. At 8 megapixels, it shoots large photos that can be easily cropped down to your Web site size or even used in print work.
Sony HDR-SR8 Handycam
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Finally, don't count out digital video. This camcorder records HD video directly to a hard drive, you can record as much as you need to get your video ready for your Web site.
What Hardware Do You Have?
Do you have a set up like this? Or something better? What does your set up look like?
