Bye bye PC... Hello Mac!
Friday 6th November 2009
I've always been a Windows guy. I say that, but many years ago I was a Commodore/Amiga guy (although mainly for playing games!) - but when I started using computers for work I just fell into using PCs. Not because I was a fanboy, but just because that's what was available.
When I moved into web development, I simply used the tools I had available - which was a PC. It was comfortable, familiar and above all - cheap - as I already had all the hardware and software I needed.
Over the last few years though, I've been working almost exclusively with design agencies. Ninety-plus percent of which are Mac users. It was for this reason that I decided it was time to bite the bullet and move over to the dark side. It was the only way I was going to truly experience the website I was developing through the eyes of the designer.
So around a month ago I ordered a brand-new shiny 24" iMac. It was like Christmas come early when the huge box arrived, and the set up was a really nice experience.
The best thing is - I still have Windows running in Parallels - so I have the best of both worlds! I quickly dispensed with the laptop, desktop and linux server I was using, and now run everything from the mac. This means it's much quicker for me to set things up - and I'm saving a chunk of money on the electricity bill (1 computer instead of 3!).
The biggest stumbling block from the migration from PC to Mac is the keyboard shortcuts. I was a big user of the keyboard on the PC and it feels like I'm having to use the mouse more at the moment, but that might change.
So, now I'm fully on the Mac, I'm using Coda for PHP Development, Transmit for FTP - and the inbuilt web server, MySQL and Subversion for testing and version control.
So far so good - and learning something new every day!