new job choice of mac book pro or thinkpad 500

Question

I'm going to work as java developer backend web developer at my new company. They have very generously given me the option of a mac book pro or a wintel machine.

I'm a windows / ubuntu guy and havent really played with Mac OS at before. I'm kinda curious what you guys might recomend ? Obv there will be a slight learning curve with the Mac but is it worth the change? Im not overly concerned with the pretty widgets etc..

I might add I dont think this is a common thing to get the option I think most get thinkpads. Is it worth incurring the potential wrath of my soon to be non mac weilding co-workers ? I'm a little wary of pi$$ing them off.

Answer 1

If you're used to Windows and Linux, I'd stick with that.

My personal opinion is that Macs are nice for a few things, but in general I find some of the key features I use on Windows to be lacking. For development, I personally like Windows (.NET, Java and web) and Ubuntu (Mono and some Java), OS X just does not cut it for me personally.

Specifically these things bug me:

• Shift + Home / End key to select an entire line [Works on Windows, not on Mac]
• Right click w/out a mouse is a PITA
• Flat file issues CrLf, Lf, Cr, etc makes trading flat files less than simple
• Outlook -- if you use it and love it you'll be sad with out it
• Office -- IMHO the Mac version is watered down, this may be different with 2011

Heres a link to another blog post from a person who switched to a Macbook -- http://jonathanmalek.com/wp/?p=214

Answer 2

I have recently started using OS X myself after years of Windows and some Linux and I can say the transition was extremely smooth. I am also a Java developer and found that almost every program I used before is available on OS X and if you are familiar with Linux then you will also find that the OS X terminal is much the same so using command line tools such as Java or MySQL will be easy for you.

OS wise I can't really say OS X is much better or worse than windows but the one thing which I have found beautiful to work with is the multi touch track pad. I have a mouse but I don't use it at all, i much prefer the trackpad now even though in the past I have found track pads a pain to use.

I would say, if you fancy a change, go with the Mac

Answer 3

Hmm, If it were me (and i have similar experience of being a window/*nix guy), i would be very tempted to get a mac pro just for the experience. Can you check around and see if there are some people you can turn to in case you need mac help/advice? You're in a situation where you have a big learning curve of the new job and you risk compounding that if you are the only person with a mac. Again, were it me ... if you can make some new mac friends and know you'll get help from them, then get the mac. otherwise stick with windows (at least until you learn the ropes).

Answer 4

I just started a job where I have both an iMac and a Windows box. (I've also got Windows running in a VM on the Mac.)

I'll just say that after an month or two it has not made me want to switch, not even a little; while other of my acquaintances now do all their dev work on a Mac.

Answer 5

The draw to the Macbook Pro for me is and has always been, the EXCEPTIONAL HARDWARE (I promise you, I TRIED to find a notebook other than a Mac for $2k+ that even remotely rivaled the strength and quality found in the MBP...and it just isn't out there.

& the ABILITY TO WORK IN BOTH WINDOWS AND OSX ENVIRONMENTS. Why choose? Up until recently I ran Windows 7 EXCLUSIVELY on my MBP and it ran it better than any other machine I've used Win7 on.