Mac OS and why for dev work?

HI folks…
I"m currently working on a pc laptop, with solid state drive, i3 processor, blah blah blah… But, I’'m considering buying a refurbished all in one Mac with a twenty seven inch screen, and I5 or I seven processor, solid state drive, etc, etc,.
So, I’m going to develop for sure on one of the two for fun… Maybe later when I get really good at xojo I might do it from home for money, but I’m currently studying for my SQL / Microsoft certification, and maybe after that… Anyway, I can also use the mac for my gutiar stuff… I’m trying to setup a small studio. I can use either computer, and I’m only missing an interface for the computer. The mac will also let me do video’s because I plan on maybe starting a channel on youtube for guitarists. Are there other reasons to own a mac besides they work properly and the interface is so damn beautiful compared to a PC or Linux. I used to have a Mac Pro Laptop. But, I don’t want a laptop in a Mac… Too easy to break for me and I doubt I will ever really work outside of home. I can make my own coffee… :slight_smile: The only advantage to a laptop is if I ever do work or money I can meet clients.
BTW. I used to be Microsoft certified back in the 9o’s and I had to quit in 2k because of health problens, but I’m old… Fifty eight now as of July, but still catnip to the ladies… :slight_smile: :wink:
Someone tell me what you think? I hope this is the right place to ask?
Are there lot’s more plugins for macs vs pc’s?
Thanks in advance. This forum rocks. I’m having a blast with the examples. The documentation is the best.
BTW. I’ve also been playing with VIsual Studio and my god it’s complicated now… Geesh… Microsoft is trying to be everything to everyone. Geesh. What bloatware…
Thanks in advance.
Lee

I primarily use a mac for Xojo because :

  • the Xojo IDE just works nicest there
  • with Parallels or other VM software I can build & test for mac, Windows, Linux all on the same machine quickly & simply (there are some things that require actual hardware though)
  • I still run everything right up to the very latest macOS on a bloody ancient machine and I can easily test macOS 10.10 through macOS 10.15, Windows 7 thru to Windows 10 and multiple versions of Linux (at one time I had about 15 versions set up)
  • and I prefer working on my Mac even if I have to write code for Windows

The iMac has a really good monitor. Retina actually works. Try to get the i7 because compiling is faster with a faster processor.

In former times macOS meant less cursing than Windows. But nowadays with the security craze macOS is just differently awful than Windows. If you can get the computer on High Sierra and not Mojave.

if customers are on Mojave, Catalina etc then you just have to deal with it
not saying I like it
thats just thats reality

The iMac is a fantastic tool for developing. I have a 21.5 inch screen, and frankly, I easily spend ten hours a day on average without eye fatigue.

Like Norman, I find the Mac IDE faster (MUCH faster in compile) and more refined.

I have been producing both Mac and PC software ever since I had access to both platforms, around 1983 or 4.

I discovered Xojo (RealBasic then) in late 2000, just to develop for Mac. But I generated software for PC, and forgot Visual Basic and its cohort of files and folders.

While I have VMWare Fusion to quickly launch Windows, I do not test Windows apps on the Mac. Because of the Mac hardware double buffering, apps do not flicker and what looks smooth on Mac can be terrible on a genuine PC.

I always do the last mile on a true PC, and have been finding myself maintaining two sources for my big apps, one for Mac, one for PC, which I find a lot easier rather than having tons of conditional compilation. Besides, sometimes the structure of the UI has to be modified.

The most extreme example is Watermark, an app destined to quickly watermark pictures dropped on it. The Mac version worked flawlessly and was in the Mac App Store. When I tried to run it on PC, it was downright unusable because of intense flickering. I had to start over, and do everything in a Canvas for the Windows Store version.

Thanks everyone. I think I may just get a refurbished mac. I’ve heard somes kind of bad things about mac lately from business people I know that used to be Mac crazy and very devoted to it, but now some are actually changing to things like Android Samsung phones, etc, because of their disdain for newer Mac products. I think Apple misses the old CEO who passed and help start the company. The new guy doesn’t seem to be near as good from what I can tell. That said, I do like what I see still better than the PC. The graphics of course are always good, and the OS is just not near as clumsy in my opinion.
I also think I mentioned before I am trying to put together a home studio as time and health allow, and a Mac would be a very welcome addition because of better software for the same. Garage band, video editing, etc. I also plan on starting a Youtube channel.
Thanks again folks. I really really appreciate it.
Tim

The PC remains unrivaled to develop for Android. But that may change, as Xojo’s roadmap has Android slated at some point.

While I have been using both Apple Mac and PC ever since they came to be, I have to confess Mac bigotry never ceased to annoy me.

However, I love Apple’s hardware, have used iPhones since day one, and enjoy the 2015 MacBook to develop on the run.

Nothing is worse than early converted zealots. The people you talk about seem to burn what they have loved without much more reason than lover’s dismay.

Mind you, Android phones can be just as endearing as iPhones. I use a Huawei P Smart to develop, and frankly, that machine has little to envy from the other side.

Michel Bujardet.

I probably didn’t explain very well about my friend who used to love Macs, (meds) and now has a Samsung. He came to mind when I wrote my question, as well as others, and is a graduate of Stanford although a German national. He has a degree in psychology and uses it to help his clients as a predictive marketing consultant to some very big companies all over the world… (Yes, I’m jealous of his travels) :wink:

I hope I didn’t leave you with the image of someone who is / was an Apple early zealot. :slight_smile: … I have seen those though, when I worked in classic ASP, VB, SQL server, etc, doing lot’s of web work back in the 9o’s. The graphics developers and designers seemed many times to be very much unreasonable in their support for Mac’s OS over others… :-)…

Regards kind sir.
Tim

The Mac was absolutely unparalleled for graphics work back then. I recall switching from GEM|Ventura Publisher on a Heathkit PC to Quark Express on a Mac SE/30. Thought I’d died and gone to heaven. :slight_smile: