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The desktop and the developer

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Re: The desktop and the developer

#181

Post by imsofuture »

davexunit wrote: post #20

I've used OS X at work for the past 2 years and I completely disagree that OS X is nice for developers. I've had a lot of issues that I wouldn't have had if I was using a GNU/Linux distro like Debian. Major issues with GCC after certain updates, outdated GNU software like bash, brew is barely acceptable as a package manager (can't hold a candle to dpkg/apt), and I have to go to websites to get the installers for most…

Absolutely. I spent 3 years on MacBook Airs + OSX, and about a month ago, I just had finally had enough of the 'not-quite-right' development environment. Installed Ubuntu (on the MBA, it actually worked perfectly), and haven't looked back.

All the things I'd learned to work-around, suddenly became non-issues, and all of a sudden I had a real window manager again.

Re: The desktop and the developer

#182

Post by pestaa »

ANTSANTS wrote: post #176
pestaa wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never thought about having they keyboard and trackpad switch places, but it surely sounds great in theory. (Well, only for those of us keyboard-centric users, anyway.)

I mentioned this somewhere else in this thread, but before touchpads, most laptops had either a nub (like the kind that Thinkpads still have today) or no mouse at all, and the keyboard was almost always on the lower edge. It really was great for typing. http://oldcomputers.net/pics/ibm-thinkpad-750c.jpg I wonder how feasible it would be to gut one of these things and update its internals (big fat battery and a small…

The keyboard resembles mechanical keys in my mind. A bit too thick of a machine, but otherwise looks more usable than what we have today.

Re: The desktop and the developer

#183

Post by harel »

microtonal wrote: post #155
harel wrote: post #33

I just don't get how OSX is so popular with a developers. It is essentially a "user's" OS. Not a developer one. Its geared towards, and hides a lot from, the common user. Setting up OSX with all the dev stack is usually a painful experience requiring a few workarounds (I see this with colleagues of mine who wanted a Mac over a Thinkpad with Linux). The keyboard as well is anythign but developer friendly. Where are th…

I just don't get how OSX is so popular with a developers. It is essentially a "user's" OS. I have been a Linux user from 1994 to 2007 (mostly Slackware, some Debian and CentOS later), Mac from 2007. I switched to OS X, because: (1) I don't want to mess with hardware and drivers anymore; (2) I don't want to update my whole operating system to update applications; (3) in my work environment people do use Microsoft Offi…

I don't understand what you mean by "updating the operating system to update applications". In Ubuntu, for example, my apps are updates as soon as new versions are out. If I want a major version upgrade, in some cases, I can also add particular repos that track those apps... I have not compiled anything in Linux for so long I don't even remember what/when was the last time.

Re: The desktop and the developer

#184

Post by losvedir »

collyw wrote: post #126
gooseyard wrote: post #69

I like OSX on a laptop because it's the only portable machine I've ever used where everything works correctly when I am constantly opening and closing the lid of the machine. At work I will leave my desk several times per day for meetings in conference rooms, then I take the machine home and I may open and close it a dozen more times in the evening. I've probably had 50 laptops over the last 20 years, and the only on…

Am I the only person out there who hasn't got a clue what the point in suspend / hibernate are for. Whenever I use them, it seems to take longer to boot than a complete restart, and half of the times it doesn't boot, and if it does, there is a good chance something is not working.

No, there are probably other Linux / Windows users who are similarly confused. :-p

Among Mac users, your comment is hard to understand, though. We don't have "suspend" or "hibernate" so we don't think about that. Want to relocate? You close the lid, no thought about it. Get to the new place? Open the lid, and your mac is operational instantaneously - literally as soon as the lid is fully open. Of course, the laptop was in power-save mode while you were relocating, but you don't think of that.

Re: The desktop and the developer

#185

Post by ulisesrmzroche »

agumonkey wrote: post #127
Swizec wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who's been using OSX full-time for the past two years, and using it in conjuction with a Linux-based desktop computer for the previous ~5. Yes. Linux is insanely better for development. But OSX is just passable enough that the form-factor of an Apple laptop wins out and I can work. I don't want to go back to using two computers and OSX is _much_ better at everyday non-developer stuff than any Linux I've ev…

Oh-my-zsh was pretty wasteful on resources (theming and plugins). The stock config in archlinux is pretty decent (good completion) but avoid OMZ pitfalls.

I actually like the fact it has so many themes and plugins. Calling it 'wasteful' is over-board though. We're talking mbs at most here, if that.

Re: The desktop and the developer

#186

Post by agumonkey »

ulisesrmzroche wrote: post #185
agumonkey wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh-my-zsh was pretty wasteful on resources (theming and plugins). The stock config in archlinux is pretty decent (good completion) but avoid OMZ pitfalls.

I actually like the fact it has so many themes and plugins. Calling it 'wasteful' is over-board though. We're talking mbs at most here, if that.

Not space, CPU. OMZ theming abstraction consumes a lot (last time I checked it was full of redundancy) bringing latency.

Re: The desktop and the developer

#187

Post by wting »

eterps wrote: post #180
platz wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fan of i3 as well. People talk about tmux and I just shrug; it's built in!

Tmux is built in to i3?

He prefers a tiling windows manager at the application level rather than within tmux.

People make a big deal out of tmux's split screens, but my workflow is much more flexible with xmonad and GNU screen (with the caveat that it requires more upfront).

Re: The desktop and the developer

#188

Post by ForHackernews »

gooseyard wrote: post #69

I like OSX on a laptop because it's the only portable machine I've ever used where everything works correctly when I am constantly opening and closing the lid of the machine. At work I will leave my desk several times per day for meetings in conference rooms, then I take the machine home and I may open and close it a dozen more times in the evening. I've probably had 50 laptops over the last 20 years, and the only on…

FWIW, I run Ubuntu 14.04 on a rMBP, and suspend/resume works just fine when I close/reopen the lid. (Yes, including wireless)

Re: The desktop and the developer

#189

Post by Bahamut »

Can't say I like iTunes at all, but my main reasons for liking Apple laptops are that it's Unix-based, light, and has good battery life. If Windows laptops were comparable and tossing Linux on them was painless, I'd consider it, but I haven't seen a laptop vendor come close.

Re: The desktop and the developer

#190

Post by bunderbunder »

exodust wrote: post #100
cs02rm0 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use a macbook, but agree with you. Unfortunately as a piece of hardware it seems to me virtually unrivalled, the latest internal components are available to new machines promptly, they have great displays with loads of real estate, long battery life, very good manufacturer support and the 13" is a superb, thin form factor for travelling with. I run a cluster of Linux VMs on it using vagrant so it's just my browser,…

Surely it's a myth that macbook hardware is of superhero "unrivalled" quality. I haven't seen links to comparative data backing up the claim. Failure rates, service rates, lifespan, side by side images of components at a microscopic level, data showing resistance to heat, cold, dust, impacts etc. What you will find is a lot of people repeating the claim about Apple hardware and the OS. A belief based it seems on one…

For comparative failure rates, see here: http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_laptop_reliab...

A bar graph comparing failure rates among manufacturers appears on page 6. Asus and Toshiba represent the top tier, but Apple's better than average and not far behind them.

That said, I think much of the "unrivaled quality" that many perceive in Macs has less to do with failure rates and more to do with the details - MagSafe power adapters, fantastic trackpads, the general lack of crapware; all these details come together to give an overall impression of a more put-together piece of electronics. This is coming from someone whose first act upon firing up a brand-new Mac is to stick a copy of Windows on it. (Nuking the price advantage I'd otherwise be getting from going with Macs in the process.)

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