I think Zack goes to great length to spread FUD by leaving out facts. First of all, you can join the iPhone developers program "FOR FREE" and download the Xcode tools for free (you just can't release iPhone apps on the app store with the free membership). And yes, a 4.5 GB download is quite large to be sure. However, as the previous poster points out, it's a few hours a year at most. Even if you download all the beta releases too. A large majority of mac users have a cable internet connections making it a non-issue. Really a small price to pay (download size) given the quality of the tool set Apple provides. And Price, have you checked the PRICE and download sizes of Microsoft's Visual Studio and SQL Server lately? And your argument about all this work to use one of your gems is ridiculous. Anyone who does rails or ruby development and Uses a mac for development already has the proper tools installed. and by the content of your article, knows substantially more than you about developing on OS X. Finally, Buying a new Mac gives you the latest tool set on DVD. I really think this post made for 1 or all of the following reasons. Some people just hate Apple because they have managed to succeed during the worst economic downfall since the depression. Not only succeed, but thrive despite the higher price of their Superior quality products and Software. The same way some hate Microsoft just because they are Microsoft. No rational, logical, or even factual reasons given, just Apple/Microsoft Bashing. More a demonstration of these peoples IQ than anything else. Bashing Apple is currently in Vogue. Those posters with a lack of knowledge, but trying build a following are jumping on the bash Apple train trying to establish credibility. Judging by Zack's article, you've achieved the opposite. You have demonstrated your LACK of ability and knowledge.
OS X Isn't for Developers
241–250 of 252 posts
Re: OS X Isn't for Developers
#242Earlier quoted context omitted.
The sox comment has been explained in numerous places. Basically because Xcode comes with a purchase of a new Mac or OSX it's considered to be part of the value delivered with that purchase. If they update it later, it is regarded as delivering additional value to the original purchase . I.e. Some of the money you paid originally is accounted as having paid for the upgrade. This means that the original transaction wa…
I don't buy the idea that SOX prevents 'loss leaders.'
Who said it did?
Re: OS X Isn't for Developers
#243Earlier quoted context omitted.
Per your point #3: I spend a lot of time in both Windows 7/VS2010 AND OSX/XCode (along with a smidgen of time in Ubuntu as well) and crashes are just about a thing of the past in all three environments. That said, Xcode/OSX gives me the spinning beach ball of death at least as much as I get a crash to desktop in W7 and far, far more often than I get a BSOD in W7. The idea that windows crashes a lot is a myth hanging…
Quality is in the eye of the beholder. That being said, my Windows 7 workstation crashes at least once a week, as does Visual Studio 2010. I just checked my uptime in my OSX workstation and it has been up for 52 days and I've just had one instance where Xcode crashed. In my eyes (and in my experience), Windows is just not as stable as an OS for development, although it's a lot better than the past crap they've releas…
I usually don't defend Microsoft, but I don't think your unstable workstation is the fault of Windows 7. Most likely it's a problem with one of the drivers, or maybe even a hardware issue.
Re: OS X Isn't for Developers
#244Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't buy the idea that SOX prevents 'loss leaders.'
Who said it did?
If XCode can't be 'given away' then I would say that SOX is preventing loss leaders, because that is essentially what XCode is. They are giving away the developer tools in an effort to attract developers to their platform. At the most basic level, it's not much different than advertising 'free after rebate' items in order to attract customers into your store.
Re: OS X Isn't for Developers
#245Earlier quoted context omitted.
Friend of mine who loves VIM recently switched from Ubuntu on PC clone to OS X on MacBook Pro. He doesn't use a mouse for anything, ever. Just because the icons are there doesn't mean you have to click them. Sounds like you just need someone to show you how Mac keyboard customisation works.
VIM is an editor. I'm talking about the whole desktop environment, especially the windows, also tried to set some keyboard shortcuts while I was using the Macbook Pro my company gave me. I know what I am missing (a useless, pretty looking hipster GUI) but have never seen an Apple user who knows what he misses.
I'm talking about the OS, not an editor. If you have to touch mouse or trackpad ever, you're doing it wrong.
As noted elsewhere though, you do need to turn on keyboard accessibility. And as for what's missing--window sizing. That's a free or $10 add on depending on how slick you want it.
Re: OS X Isn't for Developers
#246Earlier quoted context omitted.
Friend of mine who loves VIM recently switched from Ubuntu on PC clone to OS X on MacBook Pro. He doesn't use a mouse for anything, ever. Just because the icons are there doesn't mean you have to click them. Sounds like you just need someone to show you how Mac keyboard customisation works.
You do have to change some keyboard accessibility settings, though, for the interface to be usable without a mouse (dialogs etc.). Out of the box, you can't use OS X with the keyboard alone.
Out of the box means without third party add on. Changing a pref is available in the box.
Re: OS X Isn't for Developers
#247Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was more reacting to the common argument that "$5 is not expensive". My apologies if that's not what they were addressing in this comment. That said, Xcode 3 doesn't satisfy the requirement of being easy or quick to install for a casual user.
What isn't easy about installing from the disc given when you bought the mac? Don't have a your mac discs anymore? Download it or borrow someone elses. If you don't want the extra crud of iOS firmwares, disable it. To be honest it's quite "easy" to install for any user. Quick on the other hand, how many 4.5gb installations are quick?
I think the point wasn't that a 4.5gb installation should be quick. It was that it shouldn't require a 4.5gb installation if all you want is gcc. More like a 50MB installation.
Re: OS X Isn't for Developers
#248Earlier quoted context omitted.
Who said it did?
If XCode can't be 'given away' then I would say that SOX is preventing loss leaders, because that is essentially what XCode is. They are giving away the developer tools in an effort to attract developers to their platform. At the most basic level, it's not much different than advertising 'free after rebate' items in order to attract customers into your store.
But they did't give it away. It was part of the Mac people paid for. They are perfectly entitled to give stuff away. What they can't do is retroactively claim that part of what they sold you before was free.
Re: OS X Isn't for Developers
#249Earlier quoted context omitted.
Quality is in the eye of the beholder. That being said, my Windows 7 workstation crashes at least once a week, as does Visual Studio 2010. I just checked my uptime in my OSX workstation and it has been up for 52 days and I've just had one instance where Xcode crashed. In my eyes (and in my experience), Windows is just not as stable as an OS for development, although it's a lot better than the past crap they've releas…
I usually don't defend Microsoft, but I don't think your unstable workstation is the fault of Windows 7. Most likely it's a problem with one of the drivers, or maybe even a hardware issue.
Well, my other coworkers (some are windows fans, linux fans, osx fans, and one is a total freeBSD nazi) all agree that out of all our workstations, the Windows machines fail the most. Even the Windows fans acknowledge this. All other operating systems almost every time recover from errors (be them our errors or random errors on the OS side) without much trouble, while the Windows machines generally just blow up and need to be re-started.
Don't get me wrong, I do almost all my programming these days in VS2010 and I think it's a pretty decent piece of software (as is Windows 7), but it crashes more than any IDE I've ever used and the UI is just totally subpar. Windows 7 is a huge step up from Vista an XP, but I find it's nowhere near as stable as XP was. Our situation is not a hardware or driver issue, everyone had their preferences on which machines to buy, so they're all different machines.
Re: OS X Isn't for Developers
#250Earlier quoted context omitted.
Per your point #3: I spend a lot of time in both Windows 7/VS2010 AND OSX/XCode (along with a smidgen of time in Ubuntu as well) and crashes are just about a thing of the past in all three environments. That said, Xcode/OSX gives me the spinning beach ball of death at least as much as I get a crash to desktop in W7 and far, far more often than I get a BSOD in W7. The idea that windows crashes a lot is a myth hanging…
As for the polish comment, it's really a matter of what you're used to and strictly a matter of opinion, but I find Xcode a nightmare to navigate compared to VS2010. Sure, Xcode is shinier and looks better, but the UX is far superior in VS2010 (again, just my opinion). I'm very much looking forward to a single window interface in Xcode 4.3. Oh dear - you haven't been using the multiple-window layout in Xcode 3, have…
Xcode 4's single window interface is a huge improvement, IMO, even though I haven't been able to get my old project to package up yet... "schemes" and "run destinations", oh my.
But I know once I figure it out, it will be better.