Are Apple machines really the way forward?

It really doesnt matter too much honestly. Yes there are a lot of developers and designers out there using macs, but there are also a lot out there using PCs. I personally switched from a PC to a Mac and love it, you may not though.

If you can afford to get a mac, then I would get it. If you dont feel comfortable dropping over 1k for one, then dont. You could also go the refurbished route and get one for about $300 cheaper than brand new.

Certain development communities use macs to develop more than other (the rails community for example) and sometimes its easier to develop on one platform than the other.

Like I said I love developing on a mac and would hate to have to go back to using a PC. The interface is cleaner. I like that it is unix-like. I like the sleek design. I also like developing for iOS which is why a Mac is necessary for me. but it comes down to personal preference really. I dont feel one is better than the other at any one thing. They both accomplish the same task.

As someone who has never wanted to buy a Mac for various reasons: Macs can't play most games, restrictive compared to Windows, more expensive, I bought an iMac for myself and a MacBook for my wife in October and have never looked back. More than that, I go to work and dread having to use Windows 7.

I'm sure you have seen answers like that, so let me try to list some specifics:

+Having the OS and Hardware built by the same people means fewer (zero so far) driver problems and random crashes. +Shortcuts feel more logical. I don't have to look them up, I just guess it almost always right on 1st try. +Swiping with the mouse and/or trackpad makes navigating incredibly intuitive. +With Intel chips I can, and do, dual-boot Windows for the few things (almost exclusively games) I can't do natively. +App Store makes updates easy. +Since day 1 everything has ran lightning fast and smoothly. At the sixth month mark I am normally reformatting and reinstalling Windows to get that experience back.

Lot of anecdotal stuff I know, but I would sum it all up like this: On Windows the OS feels like another piece of software that has to be maintained to ensure the computer doesn't crash and works nicely with what I am doing and the hardware I have. On Mac the OS simply facilitates what I am doing. I installed Android Studio by dragging an icon into a folder. I opened it and everything else went away letting me work. The experience is just so much simpler and intuitive.

If you are on the fence, try to get into an Mac Store and demo a MacBook or iMac (whatever you are thinking about getting). I was really against it, but after playing around and seeing everything it could do and how nice it is to have a lot of products designed to be compatible (I got Apple TV as a Christmas gift), I left struggling to think of a reason why I would want another PC.

Last suggestion, look into education discounts if they apply to you or refurbished products (both mine are refurbs, zero problems).

Thanks for your help guys.

After much deliberation, browsing various forums and speaking to people I know, I have decided to stick with PC. I am much more use to Windows having grown up on it and you just get so much more bang for your buck.

Ideally I would have a powerful desktop PC and a MacBook Pro. I personally think that is the ultimate setup. Maybe one day... :)

OK, So I know I said I had made my mind up and I was going to get a PC, but after many more hours spent on forums and reading articles, I am swaying more towards a Mac now.

I was playing around on the Apple web site with some of the specs and adding some extra RAM is extremely expensive.

Basically I was wondering the specs of the Macs you guys use and what you use them for?

Thanks in advance, Greg,