3 ms·

Do you have to run OSX? Having spent years working in both OSX and Linux I've found the latter is much more usable as a developer - in terms of customisation,

Do you have to run OSX? Having spent years working in both OSX and Linux I've found the latter is much more usable as a developer - in terms of customisation, scripted setup, flexibility, UI[1]. If you're going to the bother of changing OS, I suggest trying Linux (I use Linux Mint) as well, and see which you prefer. My setup is here: https://github.com/duncan-bayne/mint-setup/wiki https://github.com/duncan-bayne/mint-setup/wiki Using a tiling window manager like StumpWM[2] is a major win as you can almost entirely give up using the mouse. Plus a programmable window manager (again, like StumpWM) gives you the flexibility to tailor your environment to suit exactly the way you work, and keep changing it as your style develops. OSX is miles better than Windows, I'll grant you, but it's still primarily a consumer-focused OS. Be a producer, not a consumer ;) [1] The OSX GUI is great for discoverability. But as a developer, you might benefit more from a powerful, flexible, trivially programmable GUI. [2] https://stumpwm.github.io/ https://stumpwm.github.io/ ... see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do0DVxy4HBc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do0DVxy4HBc for an intro

iends 12y ago
Most people moving from Windows need some applications that are not available on Linux but are available on OS X. If this is the case, then virtualbox on OS X with Linux VMs is a reasonable way to go.
- duncan_bayne 12y ago
  ... or dual-boot if you've the hard drive space. Mint starts up in literally a few seconds on my hardware (a several year old ThinkPad L520). Personally, I found that going cold-turkey worked for me when I switched from Windows for C development back in the day. Every time I ran into the "oh, I need a Windows app" problem, I'd stop and learn the Linux equivalent. Fortunately there were no road-blocks; literally everything I needed to do as a developer could be done on Linux, and that was back in 2001 or so from memory. These days there's little I can't do on a Linux box. There's an old Windows laptop knocking around the office to run Niagara Workbench; I suspect it'll work on Linux through Wine but due to licensing complexities I haven't tried. Probably will when that laptop finally shuffles off this mortal coil.
  - iends 12y ago
    For development yes, but for the consumer apps you might be used to using (or have paid for) it could be difficult switching. YNAB, Fluenz, & iTunes are things you might want a mac for.
    - duncan_bayne 12y ago
      I'd have assumed that people would flee from iTunes given the chance :) Perhaps it's improved in the years since I last used it (bought an iPhone when they were the New Hotness here in Australia) but I doubt it. When I migrated off iOS I encoded my iTunes music to .ogg, which was a pretty good experience. I don't know what the state of the art is now though. According to the forums, YNAB runs in Linux on WINE. Also people have reported some success with Fluenz on WINE as well. For music I run Spotify, which has a good Linux client these days. I'll grant you it isn't always easy, or even possible, but there are usually alternatives.
      - iends 12y ago
        I use iTunes mainly for podcasts. I don't know of a good alternative to that. I also hate ruining a good linux installation with WINE. =)
        duncan_bayne 12y ago
        :) My podcast workflow is a little odd - I subscribe to RSS feeds with Newsblur, and as new podcasts come up, I save those I'm interested in to a directory that I synchronise with my home NAS with Unison. I imagine gPodder (http://gpodder.org/ http://gpodder.org/) might be a more normal solution :)

iends 12y ago

Most people moving from Windows need some applications that are not available on Linux but are available on OS X. If this is the case, then virtualbox on OS X with Linux VMs is a reasonable way to go.

duncan_bayne 12y ago
... or dual-boot if you've the hard drive space. Mint starts up in literally a few seconds on my hardware (a several year old ThinkPad L520). Personally, I found that going cold-turkey worked for me when I switched from Windows for C development back in the day. Every time I ran into the "oh, I need a Windows app" problem, I'd stop and learn the Linux equivalent. Fortunately there were no road-blocks; literally everything I needed to do as a developer could be done on Linux, and that was back in 2001 or so from memory. These days there's little I can't do on a Linux box. There's an old Windows laptop knocking around the office to run Niagara Workbench; I suspect it'll work on Linux through Wine but due to licensing complexities I haven't tried. Probably will when that laptop finally shuffles off this mortal coil.
- iends 12y ago
  For development yes, but for the consumer apps you might be used to using (or have paid for) it could be difficult switching. YNAB, Fluenz, & iTunes are things you might want a mac for.
  - duncan_bayne 12y ago
    I'd have assumed that people would flee from iTunes given the chance :) Perhaps it's improved in the years since I last used it (bought an iPhone when they were the New Hotness here in Australia) but I doubt it. When I migrated off iOS I encoded my iTunes music to .ogg, which was a pretty good experience. I don't know what the state of the art is now though. According to the forums, YNAB runs in Linux on WINE. Also people have reported some success with Fluenz on WINE as well. For music I run Spotify, which has a good Linux client these days. I'll grant you it isn't always easy, or even possible, but there are usually alternatives.
    - iends 12y ago
      I use iTunes mainly for podcasts. I don't know of a good alternative to that. I also hate ruining a good linux installation with WINE. =)
      - duncan_bayne 12y ago
        :) My podcast workflow is a little odd - I subscribe to RSS feeds with Newsblur, and as new podcasts come up, I save those I'm interested in to a directory that I synchronise with my home NAS with Unison. I imagine gPodder (http://gpodder.org/ http://gpodder.org/) might be a more normal solution :)