Why are Macs seen as developer machines?
What is it about them? The screen, the keyboard?
Are they more professional or something, or are there just some IDEs/other applications which are far superior to Windows alternatives?
Are they more professional or something, or are there just some IDEs/other applications which are far superior to Windows alternatives?
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In my experience the back-end developers are always using Windows PC's and the front-end developers use mac's. I'm a front-end developer and prefer macs simply based on preference. I don’t need my machine to be a mac as there’s nothing I couldn’t do on Windows, I simply find myself more productive on a mac. For some perhaps its because design ties a lot into front-end development and designers use macs a lot even though they dont need to anymore.
Linux is for developers. Why? Because it's ****.
Work it out.
front end development - possibly because of the long standing (i.e. since 1984) use of macs in the creative industries, add in IOS current in vogue nature ...
as for those suggestion wintel for serious developers and coders - like heck unless it;s for wintel - *nix on a workstation more likely
as for those suggestion wintel for serious developers and coders - like heck unless it;s for wintel - *nix on a workstation more likely
Original post by UniMastermindBOSS
What is it about them? The screen, the keyboard?
Are they more professional or something, or are there just some IDEs/other applications which are far superior to Windows alternatives?
Are they more professional or something, or are there just some IDEs/other applications which are far superior to Windows alternatives?
Well, Mac's are seen more as a developer tool in the Graphics User Interface industry. They won't run most of the research environments without major firmware hacks as scientists simply don't develop environments/ simulators for Mac's. In fact they are limited to some versions of Linux. One example I can think of is when we were required to program robots and used a Player/Stage simulator to program in Linux.
On the other hand they are great for App Developers, simply because they are awesome machines and there is not really anything that prevents Macs from doing the required job.
there not seen as developer machines. There seen as developer machines in terms of design, such as web design, photo's, music and so on. This is simple because years ago Mac represented a tiny percentage of the pc market and you where kind of seen as a bit of an individual if you had a Mac- creative people liked this. Apple still try and build there brand on this kind of ideaology today - including rubbish like "..ohh and there unhackable - can't get virus"
But if you where a developer for software you'd uses Windows as thats likely your mind market. Many developers like Linux.
But if you where a developer for software you'd uses Windows as thats likely your mind market. Many developers like Linux.
(edited 11 years ago)
I think it stems from the fact that Creative Suite and other creative applications began on the Mac OS platform. These days there are no major differences between Mac and Windows however as a developer I prefer a *nix OS (Mac or Linux) purely because the servers I deal with are Linux based.
At the end of the day it completely depends on your target of development. For iOS you're going to need a Mac and going with a Mac gives you the most flexibility (or at least having a computer that can run OS X). I'm a Mac guy but in the modern day it really doesn't matter that much. Most software is Mac and Windows but even if it isn't there's always an alternative.
At the end of the day it completely depends on your target of development. For iOS you're going to need a Mac and going with a Mac gives you the most flexibility (or at least having a computer that can run OS X). I'm a Mac guy but in the modern day it really doesn't matter that much. Most software is Mac and Windows but even if it isn't there's always an alternative.
Probably because they run on a Unix architecture but have the support of Apple and tonnes of good software. It helps that the screens at very good as well, makes them good for design.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Posted from TSR Mobile
Really depends on the kind of development you're doing. For languages like C++ or C#, you're unlikely to want to pick a Mac. OS X has excelled as a platform for web development though. The apps available for webdev are extensive, well-designed and easy to use. The selection of IDEs is considerably better than Windows, and Terminal is a billion times better than PuTTY. Not really surprising that web developers choose it over Windows.
Because they give them out for free to people in the industry. That's genuinely all there is to say.
Original post by Hal.E.Lujah
Because they give them out for free to people in the industry. That's genuinely all there is to say.
Since when does Apple give anything away for free?
Original post by rjm101
Since when does Apple give anything away for free?
They're the kings of product placement!
Random google article on it no 1
Random google article on it no 2
Original post by Hal.E.Lujah
They're the kings of product placement!
Random google article on it no 1
Random google article on it no 2
Random google article on it no 1
Random google article on it no 2
Fair enough but you mentioning Apple giving them away to "people in the industry" I thought was reffering to web developers rather than product placement in movies and tv shows.
It's more down to adoption from the creative industry in my opinion and now although designers no longer need a mac most designers see macs as the default OS option. The increasing adoption from web developers is a bit strange in my opinion. I can understand why front-end developers would use them because of close ties with designers but I havent come across any back-end developers using macs. It could just be brought down to increasing popularity in Apple products. A web dev might of bought an iPhone and likes to use it, his old PC needs replacing so he/she takes a dive and buys a mac. It doesnt really matter whether if that person is on a mac or not so it doesnt really matter either way unless they are developing for apple devices.
Original post by CheeseMunchies
This is simple because years ago Mac represented a tiny percentage of the pc market and you where kind of seen as a bit of an individual if you had a Mac.
That is not at all the reason. The reason is because leading proprietary graphic design software such as Adobe Illustrator were exclusive to Macintosh systems. Because of this, there was a time when Apple computers were superior machines for graphic design and other such creative endeavours. This is now an outdated perception, though it is still largely retained.
Generally people develop on what they're going to be running the code on, at least for the most part.
For web development it doesn't matter so much (unless you're doing stuff outside of standard web dev) so you can use whatever. I'd prefer a Mac as it's like linux, only polished.
For GUI for software, people will use Windows if the client is going to be using Windows.
For web development it doesn't matter so much (unless you're doing stuff outside of standard web dev) so you can use whatever. I'd prefer a Mac as it's like linux, only polished.
For GUI for software, people will use Windows if the client is going to be using Windows.
Original post by Dez
Really depends on the kind of development you're doing. For languages like C++ or C#, you're unlikely to want to pick a Mac. OS X has excelled as a platform for web development though. The apps available for webdev are extensive, well-designed and easy to use. The selection of IDEs is considerably better than Windows, and Terminal is a billion times better than PuTTY. Not really surprising that web developers choose it over Windows.
In addition to this, the impact of the iPhone can't be understated. When the biggest(ish) app market in the world requires a particular OS to develop for it, people are going to use that OS.
For most back-end work, services work, data work etc, Linux works just as well, and frequently better. The difference is the tight iOS - OSX link and, as Dez mentioned, the sheer availability of useful tools for doing specifically web work, many of which are OSX-specific. While I wouldn't say that Macs are seen as developer machines anymore than Windows PCs are, there are certain kinds of development houses where you'll find them much more frequently these days, and they have some very big backers in that area (Facebook, for one).
Interestingly, Apple are starting to lose their tight grip on the more creative industries - ask sound or video professionals and you'll find a good number who are switching away from Apple to Windows. Apple's shift towards the mass market has led to an increase in price and perceived decrease in quality of the creative software offered, particularly as recent hardware changes have been aimed exclusively at casual users, and it's alienating the creative professional market just as quickly as it's picking up the mobile market.
Original post by longsight
In addition to this, the impact of the iPhone can't be understated. When the biggest(ish) app market in the world requires a particular OS to develop for it, people are going to use that OS.
For most back-end work, services work, data work etc, Linux works just as well, and frequently better. The difference is the tight iOS - OSX link and, as Dez mentioned, the sheer availability of useful tools for doing specifically web work, many of which are OSX-specific. While I wouldn't say that Macs are seen as developer machines anymore than Windows PCs are, there are certain kinds of development houses where you'll find them much more frequently these days, and they have some very big backers in that area (Facebook, for one).
Interestingly, Apple are starting to lose their tight grip on the more creative industries - ask sound or video professionals and you'll find a good number who are switching away from Apple to Windows. Apple's shift towards the mass market has led to an increase in price and perceived decrease in quality of the creative software offered, particularly as recent hardware changes have been aimed exclusively at casual users, and it's alienating the creative professional market just as quickly as it's picking up the mobile market.
For most back-end work, services work, data work etc, Linux works just as well, and frequently better. The difference is the tight iOS - OSX link and, as Dez mentioned, the sheer availability of useful tools for doing specifically web work, many of which are OSX-specific. While I wouldn't say that Macs are seen as developer machines anymore than Windows PCs are, there are certain kinds of development houses where you'll find them much more frequently these days, and they have some very big backers in that area (Facebook, for one).
Interestingly, Apple are starting to lose their tight grip on the more creative industries - ask sound or video professionals and you'll find a good number who are switching away from Apple to Windows. Apple's shift towards the mass market has led to an increase in price and perceived decrease in quality of the creative software offered, particularly as recent hardware changes have been aimed exclusively at casual users, and it's alienating the creative professional market just as quickly as it's picking up the mobile market.
this post is from 2013
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