Mac or stick with Windows

IamtheWalrus

I am on the market for a new laptop. I am currently using a Windows machine but am considering buying a mac.

I will be using the machine for the internet, streaming shows, and possibly for recording my own music.

I am a software developer and would like to occasionally use the machine to do some development tutorials etc for my work. I won't be writing any large applications.

I know Macs are expensive but they are cool. I find good Windows laptops to be very big and heavy.

Can anyone give me advice on whether a Mac would be good for me and if so, the Pro or Air?

Thanks,
Walrus

R3al

I often ask technicians that I work with who have switched to Mac and they mostly say they wouldnt go back to windows, I think the main benefits with Mac are the speed especially for things like video editing, also much more secure than windows os

IamtheWalrus

R3al wrote: »

I often ask technicians that I work with who have switched to Mac and they mostly say they wouldnt go back to windows, I think the main benefits with Mac are the speed especially for things like video editing, also much more secure than windows os

If I don't do video editing, or graphic design, is a Mac a waste?

5uspect

Well the Air is nice and light but difficult to upgrade, the RAM is soldered to the logic board but you can swap out the SSD for a better one.

Rumour is that there are new Pros out in June with Ivy Bridge which should boost the already great battery life.

I use Windows, Linux and OS X. They all have their pros and cons. IMHO Apple make excellent laptops. Compared to some creaky plastic Dell machine they're a joy to use.
Microsoft is king for Desktop gaming. Linux for a desktop workhorse.

5uspect

R3al wrote: »

I often ask technicians that I work with who have switched to Mac and they mostly say they wouldnt go back to windows, I think the main benefits with Mac are the speed especially for things like video editing, also much more secure than windows os

Modern Windows is pretty secure in fairness. OS X benefits from relative obscurity but this is rapidly diminishing. Video encoding is not faster on OS X especially with GPU or quicksync accelerated apps. Traditionally OS X has been popular with creative types but nearly all of these apps are available for Windows.

While OS X isn't numerically faster than windows the whole user experience is more streamlined and refined. Finder is superior to Explorer, the Win8 inclusion of a nasty Ribbon in Explorer is perhaps the most awful thing I've seen MS do. OS X is also a fully POSIX compliant. You don't have to piss about installing PuTTY or anything to use SSH for example.

IamtheWalrus

I think I'm going to give Mac a go. I'd like to try it at some point so I can afford one now so.

Question now is, Pro or Air?

Do any of you developers out there know what spec I'd need to run Eclipse, Tomcat etc? As I said, I won't be building any huge applications but would like to do tutorials etc..

Is music production computationally heavy?

Also, is screen size an issue? I think that if I am developing, the bigger screen the better. So would it be wise to buy a 13" laptop and supplement it with a large external screen?

Thanks all for the advice. Much appreciated.

stick-dan

I made the switch to MAC in november last year. Got a nice 13" macbook pro. I'm a software developer by trade too, but don't really use my mac for development of any intensive purpose. I do utilise photoshop and lightroom on it for my photography hobby and they are fantastic to work with on macs. I find image processing to be much quicker than on my Windows machine.

despite not having done anything worthwhile from a development point of view on my mac I don't find it a waste having it. Sure they are expensive but physically they are solid. I tend to take better care of it too because I recognise it was more expensive so it will hopefully last a long time due to good care.

Don't fall for the whole Macbooks are secure and safe malarky anymore. Mac's popularity has been on the rise the past 3-4 years, and with that brings an interest to people who develop malware as they now have a new market to exploit which is relatively unprotected due to the fact that apple didn't pay a massive amount of detail to anti-malware security features.This is something which is changing though. In recent updates they have begun to include security mechanisms to counteract malware in their updates, although they have kept the publicity around this quite so as to keep their safe machines image intact. Mac security is about to get very interesting in the next few years and there will be a lot of changes in this area. I'd nearly say I'd feel safer on the windows machine security wise nowdays. But don't let that sway you. I love my mac and i'd never switch back either.

yoyo

No Mac vs Windows threads. Go with whatever suits you.