Mac vs. Windows: Best laptop for software developers
As a software developer, I always look for the best tools, software and hardware to help me make my work more efficient and beautiful. The most important tool for software development is the computer itself, and each developer chooses a computer based on the software they are developing, or, as is the case with many unfortunate developers, they simply use all the material that comes from theirs Employer. I publish a blog, I share my opinion about the Mac and Windows notebook and I allow you to decide which is the best laptop for software developers.
For many, software development needs to be performed on a powerful desktop machine, and that could be true when what is required requires it. However, if you are a software developer who creates web applications or phone applications, you really do not need this hardware power. After many years of software development for Windows, iOS and the Web, I can not get a reason why a laptop is no better than a desktop machine. A laptop now gives you more power to run the most demanding IDE applications such as Visual Studio, Aptana, etc. … and today’s laptops can even run a database server and virtual machines.
Laptops also offer you the ability to write or review code along the way, and you do not like to write software on the train or plane … I know. For those who need more power than a laptop, it is still possible to have a powerful host host of your code and other applications that you might need, then just use a laptop for you to connect to the remote of the remote Desktop calculator and make all the encoding you need on your laptop from anywhere. It works really well, for example I have a Windows machine in my home office that serves as the main software repository and it is also the construction machine. If I need to connect to it, I only use Remotedesktop to connect from my MacBook.
Choosing the right laptop usually comes at the price and the only personal preference. I’ve posted and viewed many articles with titles like “the best laptop for software development”, etc. on websites like StackOverflow and many others … Many answers are detailed why a laptop is better than the others, which is easier, faster, less noisy, better written, etc. .. The biggest disagreement seems to be between people using MacBooks and those who use laptops on Windows.
I have many Windows-based laptops from Toshiba, Dell, HP and IBM, and two years ago I bought my first MacBook because I wanted to learn and develop an iPhone application like everyone else. I remember seeing a vast search to see if I could use my Windows laptop to develop software for the iPhone. Yes, there are ways to do it, but in the end I decided that it was probably a good learner experience, not just to learn more about xcode, OS X, and easy on the Apple experience on my fingerprints … and you can not deny that MacBooks are just awesome.
One of the main things I’ve discovered is that I love the simplicity of the MacBook. Lack of tags, small flashing lights, lack of ports, etc. is actually one of the things that I like the most. Many of you do not agree with me: I prefer the Windows 7 OS on OS X. I can be biased about my opinion as I’m using Windows for a long time and I’m also mainly one. NET developers and unlike many other Windows users, I find that Windows is a pleasure to work with. For real
One of the great advantages of MacBook is that you do not have to compromise yourself, you can use OS X and Windows 7, no problem. I found VMware Fusion an excellent tool to do it. With VMware Fusion, you can run both operating systems in parallel and it’s going well.
When choosing a laptop for software development, you want something flexible and powerful enough to get all the software and operating systems you need. If you have one. NET developers are developing an iOS, so a MacBook is probably the laptop that you need. It’s easier to run Windows on a MacBook as the opposite, just try.
Another thing to consider is the total cost of ownership and the new factor, yes, it is also important. A recent CIO article showed that Macs typically have lower operating costs than PCs. This is worth considering because the cost of a computer is not just the first purchase price, but the cost of upgrades, support, maintenance, software, etc. I personally had no more than $ 200 on my MacBook after buying it for two Years, and could probably sell it now for a lot more than every two years Windows-based laptop.
In the end, if you are a developer and you are looking for a new laptop, you get something that fits your needs and preferences, if you want something small and fast, you should pay attention to the MacBook Air. And remember, you’ll probably end up with the laptop for other things than software development, I know how much fun it is to code, but you should also consider a laptop that you can enjoy even if you do not Encrypt, more importantly, a laptop with an excellent keyboard, it will write a lot! I also need to add that if you have no need or interest in developing iOS, you can probably completely forget MacBook … this is your choice.
