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MAC for CS

Hello,

In Septembre, I am moving to the UK to study Computer Science (Bsc) at Strathclyde University in Glasgow. I want to buy a new laptop and I really need your advice guys.

So, I am thinking about buying a Mac...Why ? Because I want also to do some dev' on Xcode.

Please note that I won't use my laptop to play video games, I prefer to play on my PS3.

So I would like to know, which Mac should I buy ? And If buying a Mac is a good choice?

Thank you to everybody who is going to take from his/her time to answer ! :h:

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1

ahpadt

You can get through a CS degree with any laptop. Coding doesn't require fancy hardware. Get what you want.

Reply 2

mmreal

I want a MAC because on windows, I can't use Xcode...
Should I get a MacBook Air or Pro ? As there is a big difference in the price, I don't know what to buy...

Reply 3

subject_delta

You could buy a laptop and Hackintosh it if you really need Xcode. Else you can just install a GNU/Linux distro of your choice on any normal laptop.

Reply 4

presidential_

for heavy programming i would recommend the macbook pro.

Reply 5

gbuchanan

I'm a lecturer who does quite a bit of iOS development for my research.

The Airs are surprisingly good for the money - my regular laptop is the 11.6" Air. It's fine for some iOS coding, but if you're working (as I often do) on code for Retina iPads, the screen estate can be an issue.

If you can stretch to it, the 13" Pro with Retina - esp. the middle model - is a good pick. Do remember that as a university student you can get a c. 10%+ discount on Apple hardware. I'd ensure you use that discount! For coding, I'd duck a spinning HD these days: it is noticeably slower when compiling.

As an aside, Mark Dunlop, who is one of the Senior Lecturers at Strathclyde, is a pretty strong mobile researcher too, by the way.

Good luck with your studies!

George

Reply 6

Damask-

I just finished first year with a 13" Macbook Air, which was never an issue and met all my needs. I'm about to buy an iMac though, because I really miss having a huge high-resolution display and I don't really want to leave OS X.

Reply 7

fat_hobbit

Original post by mmreal

I want a MAC because on windows, I can't use Xcode...
Should I get a MacBook Air or Pro ? As there is a big difference in the price, I don't know what to buy...

Macbook pro.

Reply 8

fat_hobbit

Original post by subject_delta

You could buy a laptop and Hackintosh it if you really need Xcode. Else you can just install a GNU/Linux distro of your choice on any normal laptop.

Hackintosh is terrible.

It's slow and the mac os is cloud based, so all the cloud features are disabled. You need it when distributing iPhone apps to the app store.

Reply 9

subject_delta

Original post by fat_hobbit

Hackintosh is terrible.

It's slow and the mac os is cloud based, so all the cloud features are disabled. You need it when distributing iPhone apps to the app store.

It's not slow at all -- I　ａｍ　ａ　hackintosh user myself. I didn't use any cloud stuff because I don't like being part of the botnet so eh, I didn't know it was disabled.

Reply 10

fat_hobbit

Original post by subject_delta

It's not slow at all -- I　ａｍ　ａ　hackintosh user myself. I didn't use any cloud stuff because I don't like being part of the botnet so eh, I didn't know it was disabled.

ah well, was slow for me - used VMWare

Reply 11

mmreal

Thank you very much guys! Thank you for all your advices!

I just have 2 more questions, at CS will I have to use softwares that are not available on MAC ? So if I buy a MAC would I have to install Boot Camp ?

Reply 12

subject_delta

Original post by fat_hobbit

ah well, was slow for me - used VMWare

Virtualisation =/= Hackintosh

Original post by mmreal

Unlikely, but if you do then Boot Camp is easy enough to get working.

Reply 13

mmreal

Thank you very much for your answer!

Reply 14

fat_hobbit

Original post by subject_delta

Virtualisation =/= Hackintosh

Unlikely, but if you do then Boot Camp is easy enough to get working.

how does the hackintosh work?

i.e. how do you set it up?

I still feel that for anyone seriously considering to do iOS dev they need to not be a cheap skate and get a real mac...as a matter of fact that is what I am doing right now!

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 15

subject_delta

Original post by fat_hobbit

how does the hackintosh work?

i.e. how do you set it up?

Depending on your hardware it can be as simple as creating a bootable USB stick. Most hardware will require a few driver patches and stuff and if you've got driverless hardware you're SOL. But if you buy a laptop with the specific intention of Hackintoshing it you can have a really nice machine with very little setup effort. Since they moved to x86(_64) in 2005 it's just another PC OS.

I still feel that for anyone seriously considering to do iOS dev they need to not be a cheap skate and get a real mac...as a matter of fact that is what I am doing right now!

Likely true, but OP is a student, and Macs are absurdly expensive.

Reply 16

fat_hobbit

Original post by subject_delta

Likely true, but OP is a student, and Macs are absurdly expensive.

Yeah, I was pissed off at the price tbh.
1300 pounds for a decent macbook pro - which hardware wise is inferior to a PC.

Saying that, he can always just do dev for androids.

Reply 17

Frank the Tankk

You don't really need good hardware to code...although many use Macs. I've a 13" 2013 MacBook Air and it's really great. If you have the extra cash then go all out and get the retina Pro or wait until they announce a retina Air this year; which I think they will. The only criticism I have of the Air is the display and although the 1.3 GHz chip in the base version doesn't seem powerful, the Air is snappy enough for my liking. Not to mention the 12 hour battery life with the Haswell chip.

Reply 18

ahpadt

I wouldn't worry about what OS your laptop runs. A decent CS lecturer will be able to recommend you software for your platform of choice imo.

Reply 19

dave2245

Im considering buying a MAC just because of the shear life performance and customer support if anything goes wrong.
But i think i'll predominantly developing software for android, Not iOS, would this be a problem?

At the end of the day, i want something small, reasonably light weight and something that's going to last me more than 2 years!