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Ask HN: Is it necessary that a developer own an Apple laptop?

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Ask HN: Is it necessary that a developer own an Apple laptop?

#31

Post by digi_owl »

Best i can tell, this is an artifact of history.

Early on, before the web, most was done in a terminal-like environment (most of the time input and output was text).

But then the web came, and as it was document oriented and had at least some emphasis on layout, the natural assumption was that web development should be sorted under media production. After all, it looked superficially like laying out newspaper/magazine pages.

So the formal web development classes got handed to the media department. And those places were a Apple stronghold.

This because most of the lecturers were people that at one point or other had established the techniques and such taught by using early Macintosh computers and its GUI.

Frankly, outside of USA, media production was the only market for Apple. And the one thing that was keeping them afloat during the 90s.

Re: Ask HN: Is it necessary that a developer own an Apple laptop?

#32

Post by dang »

Avalaxy wrote: post #21

> The majority of "modern" software development seems to happen on UNIX-based systems (see: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3786674 ), so Windows is often treated as a second class citizen. I'm really sorry, but if this is what you think, you're very delusional. Try to get out of the HN bubble sometime?

Please, no personal attacks or flamewars on HN.

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11056825 and marked it off-topic.

Re: Ask HN: Is it necessary that a developer own an Apple laptop?

#33

Post by roryisok »

DrScump wrote: post #14
roryisok wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. I don't find them better. And the build quality everyone praises is not what it used to be

The A/C adapters are junk . I can't think of another manufacturer that uses ungrounded plugs (North America style outlets), and the design makes adjacent outlets unusable.

Mine frayed at one end, burned out. Could have burned my house down. I had to replace the battery twice, and the hard drive once

Re: Ask HN: Is it necessary that a developer own an Apple laptop?

#34

Post by roryisok »

nstart wrote: post #17

Is it necessary? NO! Is it worth it? Oh gosh yes!! Like a hundred times yes! My development productivity has been measurably an order of magnitude greater after getting the laptop. Just the simple act of opening the laptop and getting to work in a couple of seconds with the machine running at full speed is such a blessing. My experience with windows and even Linux (on laptops), has been that there's a slightly long d…

My hp is 6-8 hours, near instant boot. Both are common. The mythical "Linux laptop with this kind of quality" you speak of is widely available

Re: Ask HN: Is it necessary that a developer own an Apple laptop?

#35

Post by nstart »

roryisok wrote: post #34
nstart wrote: post #17

Is it necessary? NO! Is it worth it? Oh gosh yes!! Like a hundred times yes! My development productivity has been measurably an order of magnitude greater after getting the laptop. Just the simple act of opening the laptop and getting to work in a couple of seconds with the machine running at full speed is such a blessing. My experience with windows and even Linux (on laptops), has been that there's a slightly long d…

My hp is 6-8 hours, near instant boot. Both are common. The mythical "Linux laptop with this kind of quality" you speak of is widely available

Nice! Would love to know more about it. I've had a pretty poor experience so it really could be just me. Would you be up for sharing what the laptop model+specs are?

Re: Ask HN: Is it necessary that a developer own an Apple laptop?

#36

Post by ishbits »

I use it so I can have a laptop that just works with minimal fuss and a decent unix-like environment as I have only ever deceloped for the server side targeting Linux and BSD.

However, while I routinely upgrade to the best MacBook Pro, I'm not a fan of the physical aspects of the hardware. To me it's more like MacBook Poser than a pro machine. Just doesn't compare to the Thinkpads I've had for durability and quality of the keyboard.

Re: Ask HN: Is it necessary that a developer own an Apple laptop?

#37

Post by a_lifters_life »

Like many other things in life, you don't need an apple laptop. Some developers prefer it over Win* for example, but it isn't a be-all, end-all. I personally prefer mac, but i know competent dev's who use Win* . I think it comes down to your preference. Go in an apple store, and try one out.

Re: Ask HN: Is it necessary that a developer own an Apple laptop?

#38

Post by roryisok »

nstart wrote: post #35
roryisok wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My hp is 6-8 hours, near instant boot. Both are common. The mythical "Linux laptop with this kind of quality" you speak of is widely available

Nice! Would love to know more about it. I've had a pretty poor experience so it really could be just me. Would you be up for sharing what the laptop model+specs are?

It's a HP Spectre x360 running Windows 10. Intel Core i7 (I forget exactly which one but you can google it), 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Intel HD 4400 Graphics

http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Offer.aspx?p=c-spectre-x36...

The site claims 12.5 hours battery. I've gotten close to that on one occasion but real-world usage is nearer to 6-8 hours like I said.

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