Life on a Mac - the Grass is Greener
A couple of weeks ago, I acquired a new MacBook Pro. The old saying goes, "The grass is always greener on the other side". However, I was unaware of just how green it could be.
My primary motivation for getting the new Mac was hardware. There is simply nothing else equivalent on the market today. My previous machine was a Dell XPS M1210, which was a very nice machine and the new 13 inch version is even nicer, but still a big step behind.
When it came to OS X and other Mac software I was not so sure how much I would really like it. I figured worse case, I could always boot directly to Windows and with a 5 month old daughter I saw some potential in using iLife. In a nutshell, my expectations have been so far exceeded, that with the exception of Visual Studio, I find my self using OS X and Mac applications for just about every other task.
A couple of the real gems:
- Transmit - This is how FTP software should work.
- Fusion - I have never been a fan of desktop virtualization software. In the past, I have used a backup machine and Norton Ghost for testing new software, but not anymore. Wow! Although I can boot directly into Windows at anytime, I have yet done so (note: I am not an avid gamer). I have an XP image that I use everyone once in a while and have been using Windows 2003 for development work. This has been nothing but pure joy.
- ZigVersion - I still use Tortoise on Windows, but I wish I had this as an option.
- TextMate - Good God, is there anything TextMate cannot do. Case in point, I am writing and publishing this blog post with it.
- iLife - there is nothing even remotely close to iLife available on the PC.
Put all of this together with the killer hardware and you have an incredible user experience. It is still too early to tell for sure, but so far, it has been a joy using the new machine.
My only regret has been waiting until November 2007 to take the plunge.
Comments
Rob Bazinet on on 12.12.2007 at 12:20 PM
I did the same thing about 6 months ago and feel the same way. The Mac is so much nicer than anything on Windows.
I do development on the Mac for Ruby on Rails as well as C# in my Fusion/XP VM.
Did you notice there are more and more converts now? How does Rob H. like his?
Jeff Putz on on 12.12.2007 at 4:29 PM
First Rob, now you. Well done. Welcome to the cult, er, club.
I switched way back in April of last year. I followed it up with a Mac Pro for home. The MacBook Pro is probably my favorite computer ever. Parallels lets me do the development stuff, and everything else I do is in OS X. I've come to loathe Windows.
Chris on on 12.12.2007 at 11:30 PM
How well does development with VS work with the Mac? Is it exactly the same as running on a Windows box or were there special considerations that had to be made? What does your development environment look like? Are you running all the tools (SQL Server, subversion, etc.) on the mac without issue?
Jeff Putz on on 12.13.2007 at 12:01 AM
I have zero issues. Just make sure you have 2 gigs of RAM or more so Parallels doesn't suffer. Learn about two-finger tapping to "right click" and two-finger dragging to scroll, and you're pretty much there. Sometimes it'd be nice to have a dedicated home and end key on the laptop, but it's not a huge inconvenience.
Scott Watermasysk on on 12.13.2007 at 2:43 AM
@Chris,
I am able to run multiple instances of VS.Net, Subversion, and SQL Server all on the same image.
I have not noticed any performance difference between this process and previously working directly on my desktop and laptop.
Also, as Jeff mentions, the more the RAM the better (I have 4 gigs). I also have a 7200 RPM drive which I am sure helps the virtualization as well.
Thanks.
Christopher Frazier on on 12.14.2007 at 2:14 AM
caseapps.com/.../sofacontrol.htm
Seriously. Allz I gotz ta say is - control vlc with your remote. Yea son. It's like dat.
Kirby Turner on on 12.18.2007 at 2:13 PM
I made the switch to the MBP in July and I couldn't be happier. Like you my primary motivation was to get the hardware. If I didn't like OS X I could always install XP or Vista. Turns out I love OS X. And thanks to VMWare Fuson I can still do my day job as a Delphi / C# programmer on my MBP.
Sean Baugh on on 12.18.2007 at 5:42 PM
.... one of us .... one of us .... one of us .....