A few people here know how my week has been- regarding my computer. Laptops have been my main machine for about 15+ years now. My first was a 486SX and it cost about $2500, without a modem, without CD drive and without LAN. My latest laptop was a an HP Tablet PC- it was a great little machine for an artist at around $1000. I could draw directly on the screen. This last week, my USB ports started failing. Which means I can't connect ANYTHING- my external drive(s) nor my iPhone. I can't do any work. Yesterday my Wifi failed intermittently. About 30 minutes ago, I walked by my open computer (it was doing some diagnostic) and my coat caught the edge, throwing the laptop face down onto the floor. I picked it up and the screen is COMPLETELY SHATTERED. A looked at it and started giggling. I would have laughed out loud if everyone in the house wasn't sleeping. So now, I'm using an older laptop from a couple years ago. I think it is time for a Mac.
saw ur tweet, but after reading, i got the feeling that you destroyed ur laptop on purpose . anywya macbook is great, abit overpriced but still a great machine to work with
A Mac running Windows in VMWare solves all problems. I don't dual-boot though - just launch the Windows part when I need something specific. It runs well enough, and when Windows gets clunky I'll just revert to my saved copy of a clean install. Perfect.
Sorry to hear about your laptop Flickitty, that's awful! I myself have destroyed a laptop in a very similar fashion a couple years ago. Fortunately it was a Dell with Accident Damage Protection and was replaced within days at no charge. I've since given up on PCs/Windows and gone Mac. As another poster mentioned, Windows in VMWare is a great way to get what you need from windows and still run a Mac. Also, if you need significantly better performance out of windows than a VM will provide, you can always bootcamp install Windows and boot directly into it. In the end, I think you'd be happy you got yourself a Mac. They are a bit pricier, but so worth it IMHO. After nearly 20 years running Microsoft OSes, switching to Mac was probably the BEST computing decision I've ever made! Q
what about the Mac Air for development, is worthy? The other day I saw one on a local commerce...and is a really sweet notebook, but is pretty expensive (I'm in Argentina). Anyway Flickitty you did that on propose (probably unconscious) to buy a mac
I promise you that the Mac will also fail if you throw it face-down on the floor . I have an old Panasonic ToughBook that might be OK; it's on boat chartplotter duty now. I wish I could use my Asus laptop for iPhone development.
I dropped my 13" aluminum MacBook from 3' onto a concrete floor and it sustained only minor cosmetic damage. It has run like a champ. Granted, the screen could have cracked of course, but it didn't. Let's see a plastic genero-PC laptop withstand the same trauma. I always swore up and down that I'd never buy a Mac. I bought one to develop iPhone games on and I couldn't be happier.
Naw, it definitely wasn't on purpose. I do need a machine to get any work done, and unfortunately I really can't afford a new computer right now. So I am effectively screwed- kinda. The glass is what shattered, the screen is actually okay and it still boots up. I really can't see through the broken glass very well, so making graphics or coding would be difficult. I've always wanted a Macbook Air- I'm pretty sure that contains everything I need. I really don't use a DVD/CD drive much. All I need is USB. VMWare is pretty good, so is BootCamp. I've used Crossover to play Guild Wars on a Macbook Pro, and it was just as fast as my PC. I can also use a Thumbdrive to boot into Windows (Portable WindowsXP Live USB). So at this point, there really isn't any reason my next computer won't be a Mac. Whenever that will be.
If it's just shattered glass and otherwise the laptop is fine the next question is does the laptop (tablet in this case) happen to have VGA or DVI out? if so, just use an external monitor until you can afford a new computer. If not, sorry. I just hate stories like this and wish I had to resources to just send you a new machine. Good developers should never be without a way to code! Q PS- I get the impression you prefer a laptop, but a good alternative solution until one is affordable might be a Mac Mini. They go for "only" $500-$600 as opposed to the prices of mac laptops. Might also be a potential interim solution for ya.
I looked at the Air, but the price was too high for the specs. In the end I went for a normal Macbook (non-pro) with an external Dell monitor. Dual screen is great for running dual OS.
My girlfriend has a Macbook Pro, and it is a nice machine. The Air is expensive, but very light and portable- perfect for my needs. Our house is very small, so I don't even have a place to put a monitor right now. I don't even have a desk- I actually sit on the couch and work. The motherboard is failing on the Tablet PC. So it isn't just a screen issue. I may look into seeing if those can be replaced relatively cheap. I'm not without a laptop right now- I have a couple older ones at my disposal, but they have been abandoned for a reason. The Vaio I am using right now doesn't charge, so if anything happens to the power, it shuts down immediately. In fact, the cat just walked by and kicked out the power cord as I was typing this, causing me to reboot and retype.
Thats what I have, a MB Pro [13 inch] I love it. Thought about the 15" but they looked weird..since the screen is bigger there's a huge gap under the keyboard and to the sides of the touchpad..I didn't like it.
Aw that sucks >.< its the perfect size imo [that's what she said] very portable, big enough screen, all the good stuff
I guess I'm one of the ones who, after buying a Mac, still prefer the Windows OS. I bought a Mac Mini several months ago to develop iPhone stuff. I have it and my PC hooked up to the same monitor, keyboard, mice, and speakers via a KVM switch. With the flip of a switch I can use one or the other. THAT is very cool! But i just can't get used to OSX. I like Windows explorer much better than Finder. I like the fact I can resize a window on my PC from anywhere, not just the bottom right corner. I don't like the shared menu bar across the top. As a power user, a lot of seemingly little things like these add up to a frustrating experience. I did configure my keyboard to be Windows styled for my Mac...remapped the Ctrl key, etc. The one thing I like about the Mac is that it will make me money in the Appstore. That's about it. I don't see the advantage of using one otherwise. Price, software availability...all killers to me. I'd consider a Mac with Windows installed though...haven't tried that yet on the Mini. Uh...anyways...
Just to compare Apples to Apples (to coin a phrase), I think the polycarbonate Macs are probably tougher than the aluminum ones. Aluminum is pretty frail. The Toughbook I mentioned earlier, which was not cheap when new, is plastic.
I SO hear that. My wife and I sit side by side on a loveseat, her with her trusty Dell running XP (a gift) and me with a 15" Macbook (provided by my employer). The one monitor we do have set up is used as a TV instead!
