Why does it seem like most Web Devs use Macs?

[ALwin]

1 minute ago, Dredgy said:

snip

Ok will when I have my setup, I will test it out.

[Dredgy]

1 minute ago, ALwin said:

Ok will when I have my setup, I will test it out.

 

Does EIZO have a sales rep in your country? They loaned me a monitor for 2 weeks. I didn't really have plans on buying it, just thought it'd be interesting to play with, but...dayum girl. 

[alpenwasser]

1 hour ago, ALwin said:

This is one of the reasons, amongst many, why I switched from Windows based laptops to a MacBook.  Initially I was able to buy laptops with 16:10 displays, but they became rarer at the usual consumer price levels.  When I wanted to replace from my old ASUS laptop a few years ago, the only Windows based machine with 16:10 displays were HP Elitebook Workstations which cost as much as a MacBook Pro, and where I lived I couldn't get the custom configuration I wanted whilst for those living in the US, the HP website offered "configure and buy" options.

 

Other reasons included the cheap plastic composite materials used in the case, the thickness, the useless touchpads, etc.  After switching to a MacBook for portability, I have never looked back at Windows laptops.  My desktop workstation is Windows though and that's fine.

 

I got a 1920x1200 display on a laptop in 2004 or 2005. Then 1080p came along and screwed everything up.

And 4K, while offering some beautiful images, is also 16:9, sadly.

 

1 hour ago, Dredgy said:

I've been using a 10 bit 1:1 monitor for the last 10 days. 16:X is dead to me now.

 

I have been looking at getting new monitors for my desktop, but I don't think a bunch of 1:1 displays would be within my budget for the time being (EIZO 1:1 is the only 1:1 display I could get around here, and it's 1K per piece for the 8bit one). On a laptop I'm not sure I'd want 1:1, I think it'd be a bit of an awkward form factor (assuming you build the laptop around the display's dimensions).

[ALwin]

2 hours ago, Dredgy said:

 

Does EIZO have a sales rep in your country? They loaned me a monitor for 2 weeks. I didn't really have plans on buying it, just thought it'd be interesting to play with, but...dayum girl. 

I don't know, am considering a Dell UP2715K 5K monitor.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=up275k3

[loganryan99]

This is a good question. I use Macs for web development because they're built and designed extremely well, and because OS X is UNIX based. IMO with the MBP Apple has found the perfect balance of power, battery, display, thinness, etc. Apples trackpads are still second to none. More important to me is the fact that OS X is based on UNIX (FreeBSD specifically) which means that Apache and PHP run natively in a Linux-like environment. It's much easier for me to predict how code will run on our Linux based servers when developing on OS X. IMO OS X's interface is also much better. There's no weird mix of modern and desktop UIs, no registry, no drivers to mess with, etc. OS X lets me get straight to work and not worry about maintenance - very important when working with a deadline.

 

But mainly you should use what works for you. IMO my MacBook was an expensive investment that pays off by allowing me to work much more efficiently and when I'm out of the house. This doesn't mean you can't necessarily accomplish the same things with a Windows PC but Macs just fit my needs much better

[Guest]

It's because some employers pay for the programmers to pick a laptop. While it's not that powerful a macbook is still a decent choice because of the nice screen, it's quiet, and it runs fairly cool. With web design there isn't much compiling (except SASS/SCSS) so just picking the most comfortable machine is top priority.

[Gachr]

Okay, I will explain, which few people did partially before.

As a developer, I view Windows as a complete nightmare. I tried to have a Windows-based setup for my development some time ago... I ended up using Cygwin (Linux terminal emulator) for most things. It's not really about OSX being special, but about Windows being a nightmare for developers, unless you use an IDE. The only reason for me to pick OSX over Linux is stability.

Otherwise, Linux is just as good for me as OSX. For front end webdev, the OS doesn't really matter, but if you had to install servers, frameworks and different tools, Windows would be a no go. I'm using Linux for my development, and like I said before, I don't imagine working on Windows. Unless of course it's stuff like game dev (engines without SDK support on Linux) or .NET stuff.

Talking about macbooks, I was shopping for an ultrabook few years back and I'd end up with a MacBook Air if it was available in black. Their laptops were very competitively priced last I checked.

[AlTech]

On February 9, 2016 at 9:45 AM, Syntaxvgm said:

Macbooks are very mice machines to develop on. However, only developing on OSX is not a good choice as the font rendering is different. Since most of the audience is on windows, you need to at least run parallels. 

Since i do believe Safari is no longer updated on windows, there's an advantage there, but it is just webkit. 

I agree with developing on OS X but ONLY alongside Windows on PC

 

 

On February 9, 2016 at 11:25 AM, Cat :^) said:

This is a good question. I use Macs for web development because they're built and designed extremely well, and because OS X is UNIX based. IMO with the MBP Apple has found the perfect balance of power, battery, display, thinness, etc. Apples trackpads are still second to none. More important to me is the fact that OS X is based on UNIX (FreeBSD specifically) which means that Apache and PHP run natively in a Linux-like environment. It's much easier for me to predict how code will run on our Linux based servers when developing on OS X. IMO OS X's interface is also much better. There's no weird mix of modern and desktop UIs, no registry, no drivers to mess with, etc. OS X lets me get straight to work and not worry about maintenance - very important when working with a deadline.

 

But mainly you should use what works for you. IMO my MacBook was an expensive investment that pays off by allowing me to work much more efficiently and when I'm out of the house. This doesn't mean you can't necessarily accomplish the same things with a Windows PC but Macs just fit my needs much better

There is a registry, you just don't see it. Just like how macs have a Bios that nobody but apple sees.

Drivers are something that also you don't see but apple does. And as @LinusTech said, people serious about work use Mice not trackpads.

 

I agree with that last bit about using what works for you. So long as it lets you be productive and allow you to do some great things.

19 hours ago, Gachr said:

Okay, I will explain, which few people did partially before.

As a developer, I view Windows as a complete nightmare. I tried to have a Windows-based setup for my development some time ago... I ended up using Cygwin (Linux terminal emulator) for most things. It's not really about OSX being special, but about Windows being a nightmare for developers, unless you use an IDE. The only reason for me to pick OSX over Linux is stability.

Otherwise, Linux is just as good for me as OSX. For front end webdev, the OS doesn't really matter, but if you had to install servers, frameworks and different tools, Windows would be a no go. I'm using Linux for my development, and like I said before, I don't imagine working on Windows. Unless of course it's stuff like game dev (engines without SDK support on Linux) or .NET stuff.

Talking about macbooks, I was shopping for an ultrabook few years back and I'd end up with a MacBook Air if it was available in black. Their laptops were very competitively priced last I checked.

not competitive enough for me. But that's why PCs are "failing". nobody has the money for these things anymore. Buy a device of any sort and use it for years.

 

I agree. Windows is a load of BS. If you don't game or do programming or video editing then don't use Windows.

 

The fact that I need to run maintenance and have programs clean out the registry because windows can't do it is absurd.

 

If I wasn't a gamer (or if game devs gave a crap about Linux) and if  I wasn't a programmer (or if Microsoft played nicely and made C# cross platform and the regular visual studio) then I would use Linux.

[SysVoid]

16 hours ago, Minibois said:

I have NEVER heard a web dev say they prefer OSX over Windows for development. I rather always hear the opposite.

I am mainly a web developer. I prefer a Mac any day over Windows. The only reason I use Windows is because I wanted to get into C#.

[AlTech]

3 minutes ago, SysVoid said:

I am mainly a web developer. I prefer a Mac any day over Windows. The only reason I use Windows is because I wanted to get into C#.

Try out MonoDevelop. It's an open source implementation of C# by Xamarin. They are  partners with Microsoft. You may not get all of C# functionality but it's ok.

 

I also like C#. I know a bit but I have a lot more to learn.

[SysVoid]

Just now, AluminiumTech said:

Try out MonoDevelop. It's an open source implementation of C# by Xamarin. They are  partners with Microsoft. You may not get all of C# functionality but it's ok.

 

I also like C#. I know a bit but I have a lot more to learn.

Wanted Visual Studio.

[minibois]

2 hours ago, SysVoid said:

I am mainly a web developer. I prefer a Mac any day over Windows. The only reason I use Windows is because I wanted to get into C#.

Hmm, weird.. Me and all my colleagues who do web dev too prefer Windows, but that may be because we do game and other software development too.

What makes you prefer it though? (Genuine question, not trying to hate)

2 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

Try out MonoDevelop. It's an open source implementation of C# by Xamarin. They are  partners with Microsoft. You may not get all of C# functionality but it's ok.

 

I also like C#. I know a bit but I have a lot more to learn.

You LIKE MonoDevelop? I use Unity3D a lot which standard comes with Monodevelop (I dont think anymore though.. not sure) and I have nothing but bad experiences with it.

I would rather use NotePad++, Sublime Text 2 or if I want something more advanced Visual Studio (And I think Unity is now recommended to use with Visual Studio Community)

[alex_read]

Most of the decent graphics packages like PhotoShop started their life out on the Mac OS/platform... graphic designers, typesetters etc. got used to using the products & shortcut keys & single mouse button clicks etc. just stayed with this being their preferred platform. It's more of a historical thing as the same software is on Windows nowadays & the Mac hardware isn't necessarily any more specialised or beefier in any way. Most front end developers are more arty & designer-y & have probably been on this "sticking with the familiar ways of working track" though even having said that, to be honest I'd be surprised if that statement that most web designers prefer the Mac OS is still true.

 

 

 

 

[ALwin]

4 hours ago, Minibois said:

Me and all my colleagues who do web dev too prefer Windows

When I was working as a Software Engineer/Developer using Visual Studio, I had no other choice besides using a Windows based machine.  Which was just fine.

 

But for my Web design and development projects, since I use tools like Dreamweaver, I find working with OSX easier only because I find the trackpad of the MacBooks more user friendly and productive.  These days when I go back to using a mouse on my desktop workstation my thumb is twitching and I feel slow.  This doesn't happen on my MacBook.

 

I run Adobe CC on both my MacBook and Windows desktop at home without any issue for video editing/production.

 

People prefer to use whatever they are comfortable using.  I can just as easily install Windows and Linux as a VM on my MacBook and use them if I need to run applications that will only run on those OS.

 

So in essence, it's NONE of anyone's business what platform people prefer to use.  If you feel people are wrong for choosing to buy an expensive MacBook/Mac Pro/iMac and use OSX for their work/productivity... well the problem lies with you for feeling that way.  People can choose to buy whatever they can afford.

[LukeTim]

I reluctantly use Windows for gaming and when at work. I really don't like development on Windows. I really don't like using Windows. It's an unpleasant experience that feels sort of hollow to me.

 

I use a Mac for development because I genuinely enjoy using it. It is a great experience and I feel like I can get a lot more done with it.

It's all just personal preference though. I guess Web Developers just happen to have an unusually high preference for Macs.

[You_are_a_cunt]

At one point I was doing web development on my... phone. All you really need is a webserver (local or remote), a text editor and a way to send the files to the server (if it's a remote server)

[LukeTim]

Just now, revsilverspine said:

At one point I was doing web development on my... phone. All you really need is a webserver (local or remote), a text editor and a way to send the files to the server (if it's a remote server)

 

I use my iPad sometimes when it's all I have to hand. Coda is a nice app for it.

[SysVoid]

6 hours ago, Minibois said:

Hmm, weird.. Me and all my colleagues who do web dev too prefer Windows, but that may be because we do game and other software development too.

What makes you prefer it though? (Genuine question, not trying to hate)

You LIKE MonoDevelop? I use Unity3D a lot which standard comes with Monodevelop (I dont think anymore though.. not sure) and I have nothing but bad experiences with it.

I would rather use NotePad++, Sublime Text 2 or if I want something more advanced Visual Studio (And I think Unity is now recommended to use with Visual Studio Community)

It feels higher quality, and the user experience is just on point.

 

Plus, I'm a UNIX guy.

[Blade of Grass]

13 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

There is a registry, you just don't see it. Just like how macs have a Bios that nobody but apple sees.

Drivers are something that also you don't see but apple does. And as @LinusTech said, people serious about work use Mice not trackpads.

There isn't actually a registry. OSX, like Linux, has no central registry for program config, instead programs store their config in their own files as they like. 

 

Linus's quote isn't applicable everywhere and for everything. If I bring my laptop to a meeting, am I going to also bring a mouse and keyboard? If I'm programming in my IDE, do I really need a mouse when I have keyboard shortcuts? Also, since when did one persons preference for working become a law on how everyone should work?  

[LukeTim]

On 2/10/2016 at 3:36 AM, AluminiumTech said:

Drivers are something that also you don't see but apple does.

 

That's not entirely true. Since it is UNIX-like, you can access drivers directly using "/dev/<device name>"

 

/dev/urandom, /dev/null, /dev/zero etc. are all essentially kernel drivers. You can communicate with them by piping data in and out with a FILE* pointer.

[impure]

Because Windows is terrible for anything but gaming and Linux does not have enough good software.

 

Also OSX is built on unix and you can easily run Windows on OSX.

[loganryan99]

On 2/10/2016 at 9:36 PM, AluminiumTech said:

There is a registry, you just don't see it. Just like how macs have a Bios that nobody but apple sees.

Drivers are something that also you don't see but apple does. And as @LinusTech said, people serious about work use Mice not trackpads.

 

I agree with that last bit about using what works for you. So long as it lets you be productive and allow you to do some great things.

OS X does not have a registry. OS X applications handle their own configuration and data storage and are generally self contained. 

 

As for trackpads, I think Windows users should never even touch a trackpad because they all suck. Mac is an entirely different story - if you're using OS X with a mouse you're doing it wrong. For some reason Apple puts no effort into making mice efficient to use in OS X, especially for things like Spaces and Launchpad. However, the trackpad on my macbook is amazingly efficient. It's so close to the keyboard that I don't have to move very far to use it, swiping with three fingers lets you quickly switch between desktops, etc etc etc. The most important thing is that Apple knows how to make trackpads that actually work well  

However, if you're doing a lot of video editing or anything that requires you to frequently click-and-drag, a mouse is still better.

[alpenwasser]

1 hour ago, Cat :^) said:

OS X does not have a registry. OS X applications handle their own configuration and data storage and are generally self contained. 

 

As for trackpads, I think Windows users should never even touch a trackpad because they all suck. Mac is an entirely different story - if you're using OS X with a mouse you're doing it wrong. For some reason Apple puts no effort into making mice efficient to use in OS X, especially for things like Spaces and Launchpad. However, the trackpad on my macbook is amazingly efficient. It's so close to the keyboard that I don't have to move very far to use it, swiping with three fingers lets you quickly switch between desktops, etc etc etc. The most important thing is that Apple knows how to make trackpads that actually work well  

However, if you're doing a lot of video editing or anything that requires you to frequently click-and-drag, a mouse is still better.

While I must say the trackpad on my MBP is very nice, I actually find it to be too large. I keep accidentally activating it with my palms when I type (yes, I have fiddled with all kinds of palm detection settings, and I've had it happen both in Linux and OSX, it just seems that I hold my hands in a way the designers did not intend when they made that machine).

[loganryan99]

1 minute ago, alpenwasser said:

While I must say the trackpad on my MBP is very nice, I actually find it to be too large. I keep accidentally activating it with my palms when I type (yes, I have fiddled with all kinds of palm detection settings, and I've had it happen both in Linux and OSX, it just seems that I hold my hands in a way the designers did not intend when they made that machine).

I use an 11" macbook air so I don't have that problem  (I know the screen is tiny, but portability is important)

[mikat]

On 12-2-2016 at 2:00 AM, Cat :^) said:

I use an 11" macbook air so I don't have that problem  (I know the screen is tiny, but portability is important)

same, 11" macbook air is ideal for school and programming

not full hd, that's my only complaint

 

(i tried to do web dev on my windows machine and it works, but it's alot more work to set up a simple http server, this is really easy with terminal, not so easy on windows because you have to install a program and such :/)