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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?

#171

Post by chollida1 »

mattmaroon wrote: post #125
chollida1 wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So the price jumped from like $650 to $2,8000. Wow, what kind of Mac are you buying for that kind of money:)

I just looked on Apple.com, that was the starting rate for a Mac Pro. It was a beast though, with 2 Quad Cores. The rest of the specs were woefully unimpressive, but I guess it's like a Lexus where they know that if you're spending that much money, you'll have no problem ordering the upgrades, and they just put the base price there to lure you in.

> I just looked on Apple.com, that was the starting rate for a Mac Pro.

Sorry, I was making a joke about the extra zero you had in the price. You had put $28,000 rather than $2,800:)

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

#173

Post by mdoar »

I use similar apps, plus emacs. I switched about a year ago and have been happy with VMWare, though you do need to max out your RAM. Swapping can take a few seconds sometimes. I use a Mac Mini plus double-angle keyboard and external monitors bigger than any laptop screen. I wouldn't go back.

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

#174

Post by lacker »

silentbicycle wrote: post #107
lacker wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

In my case my employer pays for it ;-) Otherwise I'd be running Ubuntu!

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

#175

Post by lacker »

drwh0 wrote: post #127
lacker wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You want to know how a computer works under the hood, you should prefer OS X no, i should prefer linux or freebsd, which i do, ON (SANITIZED AND LIBERATED) APPLE HARDWARE.

Hey, you are quoting just part of my sentence! I said prefer OS X to Windows. I agree with you.

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

#176

Post by cpr »

drwh0 wrote: post #129
cpr wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The latest flat aluminum Apple external keyboards are the best I've ever used, and I've been a keyboard snob for decades.

ask anyone occupational therapist if the apple keyboard is recommended over, say, the kinesis advantage pro. if you aren't using a kinesis or one of its real competitors right now , you are not a "keyboard snob" the apple keyboard: - has no discernable key travel - is not split and contoured - is too small its probably the biggest ergonomic nightmare out there. fortunately few people actually use them after buying th…

But if I can fly on this keyboard (and the ones like it such as the MacBook Air) with no problems for years, why should I worry about the "ergonomic" keyboards?

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

#177

Post by burrokeet »

cpr wrote: post #97
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…

The latest flat aluminum Apple external keyboards are the best I've ever used, and I've been a keyboard snob for decades.

+1 I LOVE this keyboard- only wish the wireless one had a numeric keypad also

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

#178

Post by Poleris »

tdavis wrote: post #61
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…

For someone who used a Mac for 3 months, I'm surprised you never figured out there is a right click... there's been a right click for a long time. I use it constantly. "If you spent a lot of time becoming proficient on your platform of choice, you probably can only lose on OS X." Until you spend a lot of time becoming proficient with OS X... it goes both ways. I don't understand how people come to these conclusions.

I know that, but for someone using mouse gestures in FF, I can't do a right click+drag left/right/up/down, etc.

"Until you spend a lot of time becoming proficient with OS X... it goes both ways. I don't understand how people come to these conclusions."

Right, it goes both ways. So if you spent a lot of time becoming proficient with OS X, I wouldn't recommend you switch to Windows. But if you spent a lot of time becoming proficient with Windows/Linux, I wouldn't recommend you switch to OS X.

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

#179

Post by jodrellblank »

Terminal is nice, spaces is nice, expose is great. Having an OS that can suspend/resume is really nice.

But it's just not Windows. My favourite apps aren't here, I don't know my way around the filesystem, all the Windows-specific tools I know are meaningless. When I stray too far outside Safari, it's pretty bleak.

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

#180

Post by mattmaroon »

chollida1 wrote: post #171
mattmaroon wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just looked on Apple.com, that was the starting rate for a Mac Pro. It was a beast though, with 2 Quad Cores. The rest of the specs were woefully unimpressive, but I guess it's like a Lexus where they know that if you're spending that much money, you'll have no problem ordering the upgrades, and they just put the base price there to lure you in.

> I just looked on Apple.com, that was the starting rate for a Mac Pro. Sorry, I was making a joke about the extra zero you had in the price. You had put $28,000 rather than $2,800:)

Ha. I guess that's if you get the solid state drive.
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