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Ask HN: Is it worth switching to a Mac?

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Re: Ask HN: Is it worth switching to a Mac?

#101

Post by ciscoriordan »

bprater wrote: post #16

If you want to go native, this list of Mac counterparts might help you: Eclipse - There is a Mac version. UltraEdit - Coda or Textmate. SQLYog - Sequel Pro. WinSCP - Cyberduck, YummyFTP. Tons of clients. Check out ExpanDrive for some real fun. TortoiseSVN - Syncro SVN. Adobe CS3 - There is a Mac version. Camtasia Studio - Screenflow. MS Office - There is a Mac version. WAMP - There is a similar MAMP. Then again, you…

Might want to use iWork (Word->Pages, Excel->Numbers, PowerPoint->Keynote) instead of the Mac version of Office. I have Office 2008 for Mac, but rarely use it. It's much easier to use iWork or Office 2007 for Windows through VMWare Fusion.

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth switching to a Mac?

#102

Post by makecheck »

The rumor seems to be that Mac hardware runs Windows the best, so if you intended to change nothing else about your workflow, it still seems like that's the machine you want.

Having said that, there are some favorites I use, such as "vim" and Xcode, and SCFinderPlugin (for Subversion integration into the Finder, similar to TortoiseSVN on Windows).

I've chosen a handful of graphical 3rd party software that has made the Mac infinitely nicer than its out-of-the-box config. DragThing is probably the most significant, so I can ignore Apple's horrid Dock and create truly useful docks.

It is also very important to take OS differences with a side of salt, because many things that people gripe about simply aren't set in stone (so you can't discount an entire platform because of them). For instance, who cares if someone doesn't like "the Mac way" to use the keyboard for X, Y and Z, because the OS lets you change key mappings.

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth switching to a Mac?

#103

Post by asmosoinio »

Poleris wrote: post #35

I was in your position recently and decided to switch. 3 months later and I'm back with Windows - it is simply more efficient for me . I'm really big on productivity, so I really tried to customize every tool I've listed below. To give some background, the main programs I use are: 1. ( http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/04/09/launchers.h... "Launchers - SlickRun vs QuickSilver + Butler/Launchbar") a) Ported a…

Did not read you comment yet, but does this markup have to break the layout of the page? Makes the discussion not so nice to follow with too long rows.

I remember someone else also complaining about this lately... Why is the PRE-tag used here and how can I get around this?

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth switching to a Mac?

#105

Post by jmah »

tocomment wrote: post #83
ibsulon wrote: post #67

I just bought one. The lack of home/pgdown/pgup/end is still frustrating. I must say, it's a great piece of hardware and the double tap/corner "right click" is a great addition. Frankly, the hardware is wonderful. The software? Frankly, I'd be happier on a "just works" linux, and I'm tempted to research reverse engineering the touchpad for linux - it's quite a nice addition and it would be a best of both worlds scena…

Yeah, what's the deal with home and end! I just got a mac and I'm still trying to get to the begining and ends of lines. Any solutions? Also why does iPhoto open every time I connect my iPhone? That's pretty annoying.

Cmd-Left, Cmd-Right are the traditional Mac keys, or you can use Emacs-style Ctrl-A, Ctrl-E.

iPhoto preferences, General. "Connecting camera opens: No application"

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth switching to a Mac?

#106

Post by teej »

jaxn wrote: post #9

I think I am actually a little less productive on a Mac than I was on Linux. However, if you are developing web applications that will be hosted on a *nix server, OS X is much better than Windows.

I'd only be more efficient on Linux because it doesn't support WoW.

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth switching to a Mac?

#107

Post by silentbicycle »

lacker wrote: post #63
drwh0 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah its amazing that apple touts themselves as pro-user but their external keyboards are without a doubt the most craptastic worthless keyboards on the market. they look cool but are utterly useless for prolonged use and yes apple takes your freedom and will slowly turn you into an idiot. we're software developers damnit, we're supposed to be interested in how the computer works under the hood, not looking to put a…

I don't like macs because they are gramma-friendly, I like them because I can run a real bash rather than cygwin. You want to know how a computer works under the hood, you should prefer OS X to windows.

It's rather unfortunate that you need to pay for Mac hardware just to run bash, don't you think?

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth switching to a Mac?

#108

Post by silentbicycle »

drwh0 wrote: post #60
cooldude127 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

not every developer wants to develop on their os. rather, I would like computer that "just works" so that I can do my development work. yes it's cool to be interested in what's under the hood, but once you've tried to get your wireless working for hours on numerous occasions, you start to appreciate when things just work. i got sick of wasting my time.

not every developer wants to develop on their os uh....okay-doke

I think what they meant was, "Not everybody wants to develop things for only their current OS".

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth switching to a Mac?

#109

Post by chollida1 »

mattmaroon wrote: post #79
flashgordon wrote: post #30

actually if you are not doing any iphone development (or mac development) i dont see the point. i am on a dell inspiron (bought early last year) and is very solid. running fedora 9, only log in to XP if i have to (around once a month).. cost of hardware is lower (id say atleast 10%-20%) and you have a lot more freedom with what you can do without running into the JobsWall! plus for webapps i can get it to mimic the p…

It's a lot more than 10-20% for a lot of desktop users because Apple doesn't offer a middle of the road desktop without a monitor built in. Personally I already own two great LCDs, so when I went to pick one out, my options were the mini (which has only one video jack and is pretty weak by desktop standards, though small and silent and therefore great for casual use or probably as a media hub) or some ridiculously ex…

> So the price jumped from like $650 to $2,8000.

Wow, what kind of Mac are you buying for that kind of money:)

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth switching to a Mac?

#110

Post by natrius »

asmosoinio wrote: post #103
Poleris wrote: post #35

I was in your position recently and decided to switch. 3 months later and I'm back with Windows - it is simply more efficient for me . I'm really big on productivity, so I really tried to customize every tool I've listed below. To give some background, the main programs I use are: 1. ( http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/04/09/launchers.h... "Launchers - SlickRun vs QuickSilver + Butler/Launchbar") a) Ported a…

Did not read you comment yet, but does this markup have to break the layout of the page? Makes the discussion not so nice to follow with too long rows. I remember someone else also complaining about this lately... Why is the PRE-tag used here and how can I get around this?

Install the Stylish Firefox extension and add a whitespace: pre-wrap rule for pre tags on this site.
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