Why Web Developers Don’t Need A Mac

OK, don’t shoot the messenger please!

I found this article Why Web Developers Don’t Need A Mac thought provoking...

It is in response to this piece

Five Reasons Why Designers Developers are Switching to Mac

Total Disclosure:

I don’t own a Mac neither can I afford one! 

I think commenting on the original article is like getting into a flame war on YouTube. I’m not convinced by that article... everything touted on the Windows side is nearly equally available on the Mac side. While doing coding/web dev @ an office on a Windows PC, I timed how much time I wasted each day just waiting for the OS (e.g. if one window of the browser froze up or was busy, I couldn’t get to the desktop, crashes, etc. ). The results? Each work day I wasted somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes. On the Mac, it was less than half that, usually closer to 10 minutes of wait time.

I agree to a point that the OS is a means to an end, but Windows seems to get in the way of my work, and I truly hate that OS and for whatever reason, that just seems to be the way I’m wired: it just simply doesn’t compute in my brain why on earth someone would *want* to use Windows... but I have to respect that that’s EXACTLY how some folks feel about Macs (and that’s how some folks feel about religion, George W., etc). I don’t understand it... I just know those feelings are there inside everybody.

So, the cliche holds true: to each, their own.

I grudgingly started working on a Mac a few years ago and now I just can’t stand to do any work on my PC. It’s great for other stuff, but my overall development workflow is so much quicker on the Mac. TextMate alone is a reason to switch IMHO. The article lists Notepad++, which is great (it’s the default editor on my PC), but it doesn’t even begin to compare to TextMate.

For windows users hankering after a Textmate clone there’s always E-text editor:
http://www.e-texteditor.com/

Works just like the Mac version

Awesome thread!!

I think Everett has aptly summed it:

the cliche holds true: to each, their own.

I have used many PC’s and Mac’s at work and now at my home based business. I am very much a Mac guy.

My main business is photography and Photoshop is my number one tool. Working with color has always been easier on the Mac.

One thing I have always noticed though: if you are spending hours editing text or code the actual on screen text always looks sharper and cleaner, thus easier on the eyes, with Apple’s OSX than any version of Windows I have ever tried.

Max

I used Windows almost all my life. From time to time I tried Linux(mostly Ubuntu) but the lack of photoshop/drivers/flash player made me install Windows again.

Two years ago I was hired by a company who had only an iMac available. I didn’t like it a lot at the beginning. Didn’t know a lot about the system(i didn’t know it was based on *nix either). The only programs I knew where photoshop and dreamweaver.
I still ran Windows Xp, Vista and Linux at home.

Today I only have Ubuntu at home and Mac at work. I will not go back to windows unless I have to. Vista gave me headaches and I had to upgrade my laptop to only have a nice browsing experience. Xp had it’s problems too: I personally had to do a reinstall it every 6 months or so. Also who wants to run a 7 years old OS?

Today there is nothing for me on Windows. I would completely switch to Linux but I need Photoshop and Coda just helps a lot when coding.

I hate the pricing for Macs but I do consider them the best laptops out there. I prefer to pay 500$ more for a mac than to buy a D*ll or similar.

Now I’m looking to buy the new MacBook Pro and triple boot with Linux Mint/Ubuntu and Windows.
I plan to only use Linux Mint or Ubuntu and have Windows Xp installed virtually so I can use photoshop and test in IE.

Cheers

Guys, give 7 a try.

Quote from: zi at Jun 11, 2009, 02:22 PM

Guys, give 7 a try.

I do not want to be mean but why should I try it?
I’ve read all the reviews of the beta and I was not convinced. I even played with it a bit and I was not impressed.