Ask HN: Is it worth switching to a Mac? • Hacker News Board

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

#71

Post by creativeembassy » Wed, Dec 10, 2008, 12:25 AM UTC

neovive wrote: post #33

thomasswift wrote: post #3

I am a long time mac user, not a new switcher, but I am a web developer on a mac. If you are going to heavily rely on VMware to run all of you windows apps you might want to grab a pro or the top of the line macbook, the bare minimum is to juice up the RAM. I have an older white macbook and I love VMWare, but just for running on operating system at once, I usually have a ubuntu server going and when I try using a win…

I would definitely like to avoid using the VM wherever possible. Just need to keep it around for website testing in IE 6/7.

You'll love this then:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=21E...

Images with pre-installed, pre-activated versions of Windows XP SP2 and SP3, running Internet Explorer 6, 7, and beta 8. Microsoft has them automatically expire in January, but they're pretty consistent with making updated images by then with later time bombs. Keeps you from buying XP for your Mac...

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

#72

Post by amackera » Wed, Dec 10, 2008, 12:26 AM UTC

lacker wrote: post #62

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…

I'd add Aquamacs if you are an emacs user.

I'd advocate GNU Emacs over Aquamacs. He did say he's an Eclipse user though so this isn't likely an issue.

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

#73

Post by spydez » Wed, Dec 10, 2008, 12:27 AM UTC

lacker wrote: post #62

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…

I'd add Aquamacs if you are an emacs user.

Personally, I prefer GNU Emacs (aka Emacs.app) over Aquamacs.

I have a rather large .emacs that's followed me faithfully from Solaris to Linux to Windows to Linux to Windows, and Aquamacs refused to work with it. I spent about a week trying to get them to work together, but gave up and switched to Emacs.app and got everything running in a day.

So, just a warning. Aquamacs is fine for simple .emacs, but might throw a tantrum if you want to do things like have a non-standard color scheme or keep your .emacs OS and Emacs version independent.

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

#74

Post by creativeembassy » Wed, Dec 10, 2008, 12:29 AM UTC

davo11 wrote: post #32

Think about the software too. I see you use Adobe CS3 and MS Office, so you'll have to buy new licenses of each of these, unless you're running them in a VM. I looked at moving to a Mac just like you are and after looking at the hardware and software costs, I could by myself a separate linux server as well as a new PC for about the same price as a Mac. You're also limiting yourself in the hardware you can buy by usin…

Let's be honest, you will NOT want to run CS3 in a VM. Image processing requires full use of your RAM and CPU.

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

#75

Post by creativeembassy » Wed, Dec 10, 2008, 12:34 AM UTC

drwh0 wrote: post #50

raffi wrote: post #27

I switched from Linux to OS X several years ago. I tend to live on the command line so my experience is a bit different. First, I installed Fink which brings dselect and friends to MacOS X. Fink let me install all the packages from Linux that I use. For giggles, I installed the Apple X server and ran KDE from Fink. It worked but felt sluggish. I also realized this was very pointless and stopped doing it after 5 minut…

I tend to live on the command line so my experience is a bit different. then why would you go to an OS that mandates the use of the mouse??

My last experience with a MacBook Pro, my friend used the keyboard 99% of the time. The few occasions he used the touchpad, it was almost entirely composed of 1+2+3+4 finger gestures for switching between programs/tabe, scrolling, and so on. This actually became a selling point for me, and why I'm considering a MacBook for my next laptop.

And at this point, I need to learn to stop feeding the trolls. But I thought my point would contribute to the discussion anyhow. :-)

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

#76

Post by spydez » Wed, Dec 10, 2008, 12:34 AM UTC

peterb wrote: post #28

bprater wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Important point here: you WILL have an adjustment period. You'll have to learn the quirks of the OS. (Where's the damn menu bar!) You'll have to find similar apps to the ones you've used in Windows. (Assuming you don't want to VM everything -- and if you do -- maybe you should question why you're moving to Mac.)

One more data point. I switched and found it very painful to internalize keyboard commands while still having to do Windows work (i.e. switching back & forth). Once I went "mac-only", it got much easier, but now I suck at using Windows again. Was it worth it? No. You can be fully productive in which ever platform you choose: Windows, Mac, or Linux. Each platform is fully mature. Productivity comes from your commitmen…

My day job has me coding on Windows for 9 hours a day. My home computer is a Macbook Pro. I don't have any trouble switching between the two every day, except for the occasionally accidental keyboard shortcut (e.g. hitting alt-t in Windows Firefox instead of Ctrl-t).

But then, I use a dvorak keyboard layout and run into qwerty all the time, so maybe I've trained myself to easily switch gears.

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

#77

Post by andylei » Wed, Dec 10, 2008, 12:35 AM UTC

minalecs wrote: post #18

I recently switched from linux to mac, and I would not pay the apple tax again. I force myself to use the fisher price os they call osx, to justify the apple tax i payed for the hardware. But being a windows to mac user may be a better transition. For those that say use Vmware.. why not just buy the cheaper hardware and run windows. The hardware is all commodity, and you are not getting any benefits from the hardware…

it sounds like you're trying to use your pinky to hit the command key. it's a lot more comfortable if you use your thumb to hit the command key.

it's a lot more natural to hit the command key for me, since i only have to curl my thumb in a little bit to hit the command key, whereas i can't reach the control key with my pinky unless I shift my hand.

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

#78

Post by minalecs » Wed, Dec 10, 2008, 12:39 AM UTC

elai wrote: post #58

There's less yak shaving on a mac vs. linux/windows. If linux had minimal yak shaving and a really good quicksilver replacement, (and a bit more elegance to their program suites) I'd go there in a heartbeat. But there is always tons and tons of yak shaving and i've found laptop hardware support to be painful. You can get a refurb macbook pro with comparable specs to a dell laptop for the same price right now. And the…

katapult - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katapult

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

#79

Post by mattmaroon » Wed, Dec 10, 2008, 12:40 AM UTC

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 expensive beast of a Mac Pro. So the price jumped from like $650 to $2,8000.

If I could have gotten something with iMac-like specs but minus the monitor it still would have cost more than a Dell, I'm sure, but at least only by 10-20%.

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

#80

Post by code_devil » Wed, Dec 10, 2008, 12:40 AM UTC

I was almost in the same boat as you, but decided to get a MAC so I can do some iPhone Development as well. If you are not planning to do iPhone or Mac Development I dont see much benefit in context switching apart from the fact that it's cool to own one ... my 2 cents.