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Development Tools

Shen JIE LIN
Shen JIE LIN
10,612 Points
Posted by Shen JIE LIN
Shen JIE LIN
10,612 Points

What laptop should I get for Software Development?

Hi, There

I have been using Windows OS for most of my life, and I have really started to realize just now the reduction of headaches on Framework setups by using Linux based OS

I am deciding to purchase a MacBook Pro, but can't decide on whether to get the 13 inch display (dual-core) or 15 inch display (quad-core)

I want to use the computer mainly for software development such as Web development, Android Development, iOS

I do develop some games once in a while using engines such as Unity, Cocos2d, GameMaker Studio, or libGDX just out of self-interest, and perhaps may get into bigger projects in the future, that don't know yet.

I want a computer that on the long run would be worth it for me.

Since I never owned a Mac before, I just want to hear from some developers who uses Mac to let me know whether is it really worth it to get the quad-core, or will the Dual-Core be enough for me. If there is a model that you want to suggest to me, that would be great too.

Thanks Guys!

2 Answers

Justin Horner
STAFF
Justin Horner
Treehouse Guest Teacher
Justin Horner
Justin Horner
Treehouse Guest Teacher

Hello Shen,

Congrats on purchasing a new MacBook Pro! I think you'll love it :)

I've never had a problem coding on my 13" MacBook... but I would certainly love a 15".

My advice is simply to spend as much as you possibly can to get the latest model you can afford. I know that may be an over-simplification, but especially for any Mac/iOS development, you'll need to stay up-to-date on the OS for as long as possible.

I hope that helps!

Shen JIE LIN
Shen JIE LIN
10,612 Points
Shen JIE LIN
Shen JIE LIN
10,612 Points

Hey, thank you for your response Justin.

I went to Apple and they suggested me the 13inch base model, saying that it'll be enough for web application and simple mobile game development.

my first day using it, and I already love it.

specifically because the framework Laravel that took me 3 days to try to setup and troubleshoot on windows, only took about 10 minutes to set up on a mac and with no complications at all.

gotta re-learn a lot of the short-cut keys, and still getting used to it. But I know it'll be worth it in the end.

Thanks

Justin Horner
Justin Horner
Treehouse Guest Teacher
Justin Horner
Justin Horner
Treehouse Guest Teacher

You're welcome!

You'll love the dev/design experience on the Mac. You'll finally be able to use the computer, not babysit it :)

Happy coding!

Jaap Steenis
PLUS
Jaap Steenis
Courses Plus Student 1,977 Points
Jaap Steenis
Jaap Steenis
Courses Plus Student 1,977 Points

Hi Justin, Lin,

I am the proud owner of a new mac book pro 13 too :-) Currently running the web dev track so I need to switch now into Mac order although for the courseware it doesn't make a lot of difference using the online Editor.

My queston to you is which dev tools are you using on the mac for Web Dev tracks ? I want to go for Ruby development in the future (near future :-)

For examploe I noticed that tools like CyberDuck (ftp tool) are really expensive and they were free on Windows platform.

Just curious how your development desktop looks.

Thanks and yes Lin, after a good 5 min I was already used to CMD (= Windows CTRL) C/V )

In one of the last editions of Mac Magazine you will find a good list of mac short cuts Cheers Jaap

Justin Horner
Justin Horner
Treehouse Guest Teacher
Justin Horner
Justin Horner
Treehouse Guest Teacher

Hello Jaap,

Congrats on your new MacBook! :)

I try to keep tooling very simple.

I'm currently using Atom as my text editor and UXPin as my Design/Interactive Prototyping tool.

I use FileZilla for FTP.

I hope that helps. If I can answer any more questions to help you on your Mac/Rails journey, please feel free to ask!