The fact that I still have to think about drive letters on Windows irks me, and over the years I've had a few disasters with damage to the registry and bad application installs. My Macs just seem to require less 'futzing' to keep them running smoothly.
I do keep a pretty current Windows desktop machine at home for games and providing support for friends and family. However, I've also had good luck steering my non-techie friends to Mac in the last few years. Again, the only way I can describe the benefit is less 'futzing'. I hear this a lot. Let's see it with a recent example: Gnome Shell vs the iPad , can you see the differences?. Then the icons. The four basic rules of graphic design are contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity.
They tell you basically if two elements are alike. When you look at the home screen of the Gnome Shell, apart from being crowded, you see wildly different icons with irregular shapes, so your mind gets busy wondering what are those and how they relate to each other. This doesn't happen on the iPad because the elements are aligned on a grid, and they all have rounded corners and a gloss effect applied by iOS.
Obviously, they are elements of the same set, so your mind rests. Just an example of similar functionality with different execution. This is important because design is not just a coat of paint, appearance is an integral part of the product itself.
How you feel can not be separated from how you think literally. Read Does Form Follow Function? A common misconception is that Macs are overpriced.
This derives from comparing a low end PC with a Mac. If you think otherwise, really try to find a serious comparative on the Internet here is one. Of course you will always be able to assemble a more powerful and cheaper PC yourself if that's your only criteria, but that's not what Apple is aiming for.
You don't buy a Mac because of its power nothing matches a linux cluster for that. Apple values stability and ease of use over features or raw power.
You can argue with this, but beyond personal experiences, they consistently come on top on consumer satisfaction in several countries. Almost all linux software is available through macports packages. OpenGL is probably the more bleeding example since it depends on Apple drivers. There are also popular desktop apps for all purposes, not only from Apple but from Adobe, Microsoft, Autodesk, and others.
And no need for antivirus nonsense because you are on Unix. Anyway, if you are on a budget, or if you prefer Windows, Linux, or a muffin toaster running emacs, go ahead. There isn't a best OS for everything and everyone. Right now, as a consultant, I work on three paid projects, two on the Mac that take about half my time, and one on Linux that takes the other half.
I'm not going to address Windows since I don't code for it much these days, but regarding Linux, uh, yeah. Almost everything is easier on the Mac. Let's take one small area: text editors. I'm an old GUI guy, don't do emacs at all, and know just enough vi to cope with small editing chores. On Ubuntu, the major options are gedit, kate, and Eclipse. Kate is flaky I've lost lots of data , Eclipse is very heavyweight, so I mostly stick with gedit.
But it's like a programmer's version of MS Notepad: it just doesn't do much. And anything that's not built into the editor that you want to add, like ctags support, requires a lot of screwing around to install and configure and mess with on an ongoing basis.
On the Mac There are innumerable really great options, and they have all kinds of fantastic features. Xcode is powerful, and TextWrangler rocks as a free app that combines all the best features of kate and meld. And in the last ten years, neither has crashed in a way that lost my edits, which I can't say of either kate or gedit.
Actually, the text editors on Linux are so full of general suckitude that when I'm doing Linux development where the underlying libraries are also available on the Mac, I often write the code first on Mac OS X in Xcode, and then when it's working, move it to Linux and write a makefile for it.
I could go on and on. I tried dia for creating diagrams, and it's appalling. But OmniGraffle on the Mac is superb for creating diagrams. I am a huge fan of open source, contribute to several projects, and have submitted a talk proposal for this summer's Ottawa Linux Symposium. But I also like maintaining my reputation as somebody who writes great code fast. So I want to use the most efficient development tools possible, and those often happen to be on the Mac.
To add a little bit Screwing around with flaky software comes out of my free time, which I'd rather use for other things, like hanging with my wife, doing martial arts, and learning Italian. My experience, working in parallel on the two platforms since , has been that I spend less time screwing with things on the Mac than on Linux. If you're doing web development, in my experience, Macs are far superior to Windows machines, if only because most of the tools you need are already there.
Yes, Linux can claim the same thing. But can you really compare Linux and Mac in terms of usability? If you're writing Windows apps, you need a Windows machine, that's all there is too it. In summary: mostly built-in Unix and web dev tools, great usability, Windows compatibility if you really need it. The best of all worlds. Plus, it makes you look way cooler down at Starbucks than some Dell thing would.
I can and do run Windows in a VM if I need to, which is nicer than running Windows natively can make copies of whole machine, etc. I boot into OS X, but can run Windows 7 for Visual Studio development as well as desktop application and web application testing and Ubuntu for desktop application and web application testing within Virtual Box.
If I used anything else, I'd at least have to have a side Mac in order to test across platforms. Any other benefit is available with Linux or Windows or comes down to personal preference. I see lots of MacBooks at developer conferences too. You know what the caveat is? You need to look at the operating system they are running. Almost every one of them that I see is running Windows 7 on those precious MacBooks.
The reason - either to overpay for their hardware because it's cool, or to be able to run OSX those few times when Objective-C is needed and switching to windows for most of their other tasks. That said, I enjoy the fact it's a mesh of a clean and intuitive UI with all the power of a Unix-based system i. Outside of work. I chose mac but only because I mostly do linux dev and I prefer the unix-y environment nice unix terminal and all.
But I would pick a linux laptop if that was an option. I also do some web programming with Wicket java and PHP. My Primary system is a Mac. By saying that real programmers don't use Mac is short sighted. If I didn't write for Mac, would I use Mac? Or maybe I'd use Linux. I also need to stay with an OS that closely matches the live environment file paths, executables, services. For people coming from linux and the college it looks just like Linux with a sexy UI.
Given enough years they start to understand the differences, and the drawbacks, and the complete arbitrariety of the many roadblocks the vendor is imposing on them and grow out of that.
So, if they're enthusiastic, they're probably just a tad bit too young. But that's a small segment. So the real question should be: "why young programmers straight out of college know no better than recommending OSX? Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Why do programmers use or recommend Mac OS X?
Asked 10 years, 8 months ago. Active 8 years, 4 months ago. Viewed k times. I'm not sure about the premise of the question, since I've never known one that did. Granted I've been using Macs for over 15 years, but still. Carson Every time I go to developer conference or hackathons, I only see macbooks. Probably 5 macbooks to 1 windows laptop rarely see linux nowadays. These events aren't necessarily for developing the next iPhone or Mac apps.
Even when I go to Android conference, all I see is macbook. I ask people at those events why they use macbooks, and most of them usually think it's just "cool" to have macbooks or don't know that Windows can do the same thing or even better. I get excited when I see Linux, though. Linux on lenovo laptops ftw! Most coders I know hate Macs, some don't, but there are fashion victims in many walks of life.
Reading your comments on some of the answers, I don't get the feeling that any answer would be acceptable to you, so why did you ask the question? Active Oldest Votes. All the tools you take for granted in Linux are either non-existent or painful to get to work on OSX: installing open source software: if you're lucky there's MacPort for it.
Installing MacPorts feels like Linux 15 years ago. These developers unanimously register their opinions. Note that the developers, who responded to our question, have used both platforms to develop software and apps. This gave them a clear understanding of merits and demerits of both the systems. Based on their experiences, developers voted for Mac. Windows, in its early stage, enjoyed a status of the sole player in the market. But when Apple entered in the business, competition between the two became fierce.
Apple seems to have the edge over Windows with its secure ecosystem, smarter operating system, and powerful hardware. Developers were quick to switch to Mac from Windows, as they could recognize a remarkable difference between the two platforms. After nearly eight years of development on Mac, I believe that the development environment of the Mac is excellent, and it is user-friendlier in configuring various programs, and there is no need to load too many things manually.
Many of the tools that developers use come from Unix and the power of UNIX is very comfortable to use. Secondly, the Mac is very cool; it can bring the Apple development software industry a sense of honor. The third is to virtualize Windows on OS X, which is very simple. A simple user interface makes the work smoother. I have been using Mac for the last eight years. If you ask me why I use Mac for such a long time, I would reply you with a question: why I am breathing.
Yes, it as simple as that to understand the importance of Mac. While the high cost of entry is a major obstacle keeping Macbooks out of reach for students and beginning developers, if you can afford a Macbook, you should consider making it your next programming device. The Cosmos HackAtom is here! Get feral when you answer to the greatest interview in history Share your philosophy. Why Programmers Love Macbooks? December 16th 10, reads. Macbook computers are by default a little more secure than PC ones, which is crucial when it comes to programming work.
Sure, I could have used WSL to run a Linux terminal in Windows, but that's a lot of work just for this one thing, and for why?
This bug had been present for a while and had several github issues, but still not fixed. Windows is clearly a lower priority for React Native devs. That's fine, it makes sense, React Native was originally iOS only. All my bugs went away once I switched to a MacBook I was given. Lots of other things have been easier too. Just generally happier. Most people use macs because of the trend. MacOS innovation has been minimal, and the hardware until has been terrible now it's just bad.
If ever my Mac hardware needs replacement hopefully it will last a couple more years then I'd be tempted to NOT get new Apple hardware but to buy PC hardware instead desktop or laptop - but I'd probably skip Windows and put Linux Ubuntu on it, with a no-nonsense configuration, just Gnome Classic.
Good question. My comment refers to Windows 10 feature development for developers and enthusiasts. In the last 5 years, MacOS has shipped one dev-focused feature: dark mode. And many dev-hostile features removing kernel extensions, protected mode, bad hardware.
Containers for VS Code have pretty much removed any competitive advantage that a Mac offered me. While WSL isn't quite as good as native Linux, it's still good enough. Window management in windows is better than Mac spectacle helps, but natively try running multiple instances of vs code or intellij and switching between the windows.
The price tag is the main barrier from me getting a Mac. You certainly don't need a Mac for web development. It's based on Unix as well as Linux but both diverged a bit and now you need to virtualize docker for example and it's inefficient in comparison against Linux.
You can get "Creative software" on it but Are you a web dev or a designer? If you are a dev, you need dev tools.
I can't figure out what pro makes sense on the name. I really tried it many times on last 10 years but i couldn't get a reason for using a Mac. What exactly is the argument you are making here? Why is macOS the "perfect choice"? Can you elaborate on the "programming on it can be quite troublesome"? Is it a performance issue? Is it a usability issue?
What metrics are you comparing? How exactly is creative software support limited on Windows and Linx? Are you saying graphical applications from Adobe et al lack support on Windows and Linux? In what way? What were the difficulties you experienced on Windows and Linux to conclude that macOS is better? As for your section on Multiple browsers support , are you saying that the only reason macOS is better is because of the availability of Safari?
What about the small percentage of users who still use Internet Explorer? Would using something like Browserstack solve browser testing issues regardless of the operating system you are on?
I use a MacBook Pro at work, and these reasons are hardly the reasons why I would choose it. The biggest advantage for me is macOS's amazing ability to manage full-screen workspaces among multiple monitors. Otherwise, I can make do with Linux or Windows. Actually for me in , taking into consideration that any development needs will need some setup, the only reasons I use a MacBook pro are Xcode and good laptop builds with good value.
Other than the need for IOS development you can do anything just fine in a well customized Linux distro or even windows with the latest efforts. Mac is more stable? IMHO in if you don't need to develop for IOS, do buy whatever you like more, take in consideration important things like keyboard, display, build quality, price. I do like my macbook, but it is so damn expansive that it annoys the f out of me when something like the external display looks so bad, or that I need to buy some third party windows management software to do half of the things I can do natively in windows and in so many Linux GUIs.
0コメント