Tuesday 5 May 2015

Why developers who use Windows should buy a Mac


Let me say firstly, I dislike Apple as a company. I think that the fanaticism that it drives among the sheep who line up to throw away their money is ridiculous. I kind of respect their ability to do that though. But I still don’t want to be caught with an Apple logo.

Anyway, this article is about why developers who use Windows should buy a Mac.




Reasons for NOT buying a Mac

- I hate Apple
- I’m happy with Windows
- I develop on Windows, so I don’t have any use for a Mac
- The function key is in the wrong place
- I have 20 years of muscle memory, and don’t want to re-learn what the Alt/Ctrl/Apple key does.

They are fair enough reasons if you are: 
- Pig headed
- Complacent
- Want to bury your head in the sand because you don’t want to learn new technologies. 

I’m here to tell you that I used to be all of those. But then I realised that I was just being a douche. I also came to the conclusion that even though I think that I’m adaptable, I had never properly used to Mac OSX. I could probably the total time I used a Mac in terms of minutes. So how adaptable was I really?

Reasons to buy a Mac

- It will force you out of your comfort zone
- You’ll inevitably learn some Linux/Unix command line stuff, which is good for you
- You can run Windows in a VM or Bootcamp
- It will expose you to a tone of new technologies
- Frontend technologies are driven by developers using Macs. If you’re using Windows ports of these technologies, then you’re behind the curve.
- The Apple Mac Book Pro is a premium quality laptop. It is by far the best laptop I’ve ever had. Nothing else comes close.
- Every technology you learn will help you learn new ones in the future. 
- Learning to use a Mac will help keep your mind flexible



That all said, there’s ways to make the transition easier. Before I even got the Mac, I spent a month watching Youtube tutorials for Mac newbies. I also Googled for Mac equivalents of everything I do in Windows - keystrokes, applications, optimisations, customisations, personalising etc. Once you’re mentally prepared for the learning curve, it’s not as bad as you dreaded. It’s actually just learning. If you don’t want to learn new things, then why are you a developer? You’re probably still using Cold Fusion, Classic ASP, or WebForms in VB.Net. ***I just threw up a little in my mouth***

To Summarise

So whether you’re an Apple hater, complacent, or just afraid of change, I’m going to say this… Get over it, and stop being a dick. If you want to be any good at your job, then you need to play with all types of technologies - even ones you hate! 



ps. Yes the first thing I did was put a sticker over the Apple logo. Yes I did that before I even powered it on the first time.



1 comment:

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