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Surface Book – It’s Easy to Switch from Mac to Surface

microsoft.com

11–20 of 131 posts

Re: Surface Book – It’s Easy to Switch from Mac to Surface

#11
Unfortunately, Apple's done such a good job of keeping me locked to their software ecosystem I cannot consider this, though I vastly prefer the Surface hardware.

Even if I wasn't an iOS developer, my other two jobs are Audio Production/editing and Video Production/editing.

While I could almost happily toss Final Cut out the window (we all know what a disaster the FCP7 -> FCPX transition was, and my friends in the industry tell me Premiere is where it's at right now), I am highly, highly dependant on Logic.

I've been using Logic in some shape or form for more than a decade, I picked up my first Mac Mini G4 in 2004(5?) and proceeded to learn Garageband inside out and backwards, got all the Jam Packs (which are now included in Logic, they used to be $99/apiece and now all 6 are included in Logic for $199...go figure) and got completely used to making music this way. (I moved to actual Logic from GB in 2008-2009.)

I've tried Ableton, and can't get past it's convoluted UI and complete lack of bundled instruments (Logic comes with more than 50GB of included content, and recently added a phenomenal new synth called Alchemy), Pro Tools is expensive and almost requires better than top-of-the-line Mac hardware, etc, etc.

The amount of time it would take me to switch, and learn another DAW, after 10 years of experience, I'd never get back.

I can open Logic, pick up a MIDI instrument, select some of the phenomenal built-in sounds, get a USB mic and have a freakin' awesome track down in like a half-hour.

Possible with Ableton or Pro Tools? Of course. But I'm not about to throw 10 years of experience out the window.

Combine that with xCode and it's iOS-specific toolkit, Final Cut (which I'm finally used to) and I get this really shitty realization that I'm going to be stuck with this software for a long, long, time and am basically just at the mercy of Apple's business decisions.

Re: Surface Book – It’s Easy to Switch from Mac to Surface

#15
post #5

Unless you are a mobile developer and your clients always want iOS apps.

Well, you kinda pegged your fate and future to Apple by choosing to worked into their locked ecosystem right? It's not like it was an accidental choice, you knew that you'll have to buy whatever Apple serves you in whatever form they want as long as you want to service that platform.

Sounds like he chose to work as a mobile developer, not an iOS developer.

A Mac let's you write for iOS and Android. Windows doesn't.

Re: Surface Book – It’s Easy to Switch from Mac to Surface

#16
I like that Microsoft is making an effort to capture the audience that wasn't impressed by Apple's MBP launch, but I can't get over their comparison chart.

They compare the main screen of the Surface to the lower screen (touch bar) of the MBP. That's just a shady comparison. At least be honest.

Re: Surface Book – It’s Easy to Switch from Mac to Surface

#18
I'm a frontend dev who worked on Windows for 4 years, and switched to Mac in the last 2.

The biggest hurdle I had with switching was the muscle memory of cmd-[char] vs. ctrl-[char], and tangentially the Windows-specific productivity keyboard shortcuts (mainly win-[char]) and Mac-specific ones.

The second-biggest hurdle is the different mouse movement kinetics on each platform.

These are still "hurdles": I have a Macbook at work, and a Macbook Air and Windows desktop at home. I basically can't do external keyboard + mouse at work for fear of screwing up my muscle memory for when I use my Windows desktop.

All this to say, it's not the camera, graphics card, detachable screen, or whatever is highlighted on this page that makes the switch hard. It's the low level stuff.

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