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602 Comments
- frontaxle, on 06/11/2009, -34/+453How can you look cool at Starbucks with a Toshiba?
- joshcollie, on 06/11/2009, -14/+391To be fair, nobody really needs a Mac. Windows/OS X/Linux all do the job. If one is quicker for you, good for you. There are ample amounts of programs for each platform, not just the ones listed here.
- kinseyincanada, on 06/11/2009, -4/+338how about you just buy whatever computer you want to and everyone can just shut the ***** up.
- ba5e, on 06/11/2009, -42/+259No one NEEDS a Mac, you WANT one.
- jakem1, on 06/11/2009, -5/+170I didn't know that Macs were considered a requirement for web development.
- quamb, on 06/11/2009, -26/+128"A lot of people love to talk about their Macs, but despite the “elite” status of the Apple computer, is there any need for a Web developer to splash money on one?"
I'm a mac and pc user and have never once felt "elite" "cool" "special" or any other ***** feeling when using a mac. Hear this all the time about macs and mac users. I'm pretty sure 99% of mac users are pretty damn normal people who just like to use macs. Nothing more. - SPThom, on 06/11/2009, -20/+114Dugg for the "developer tools" section, and for stating the obvious fact that you don't, actually, need a Mac.
But as the rest of the article seems to point out, you may *want* a Mac. And while you can go to great lengths to make your Windows machine act like a Mac... You could also just buy a Mac. ;) - avatarpalin, on 06/11/2009, -5/+88Shop owners close their shops, children are ushered firmly but calmly inside. Shutters on windows are closed.. The town braces for the flamewar coming over the horizon.
- inactive, on 06/11/2009, -5/+76One, two, three, four
I declare a flame war - ih2000, on 06/11/2009, -1/+69I sit in the corner with the other Asus users...
- AzzX, on 06/11/2009, -15/+79You could apply the same topic to virtually anything:
Why Web Developers Don’t Need A Mac
Why Gamers Don’t Need A Mac
Why Video Editors Don’t Need A Mac
Why Movie Stars Don’t Need A Mac
Why Criminals Don’t Need A Mac
Why Steve Jobs Don’t Need A Mac
Why Mac Owners Don’t Need A Mac..... - eatinshramps, on 06/11/2009, -4/+66I do all my web design on a commadore 64....16 colors...that's all I need.
- Chewie67, on 06/11/2009, -4/+62Wow.
I know Digg is decidedly anti-Microsoft, but this is just plain wrong. Visual Studio 2008 is a fantastic web development tool *IF* you're developing complex, database driven web sites. If you're just building a blog or a fan site for your cat, don't bother. If you need a complex site though, VS and .NET are fantastic.
I've been doing web development for 15 years now. In that time I've used Perl, Java, ASP, PHP, JSP, ColdFusion, C++ and VB.NET. By far the best system I've used is .NET.
Granted, it's not for everyone. I come from a traditional C/C++ desktop coding background. .NET makes the web act just like a typical GUI desktop app with page and control events, so it's a natural transition.
It also has THE BEST debugging of any web development system I've tried.
Look, I use a Mac. I generally don't like Windows, but I installed VMWare Fusion just so I could use Visual Studion 2008 Professional for my web development business. It's that good. - avatarpalin, on 06/11/2009, -33/+81We don't need light bulbs either, candles, kerosene lanterns, pig fat torches all do the job.
- orangelounge, on 06/11/2009, -0/+42That's not a laptop, that's a space station!
- derekerdmann, on 06/10/2009, -17/+58I would also recommend PSPad Editor instead of Notepad++. It's very similar, but I prefer its variety of supported languages and syntax highlighting.
- joemofo214, on 06/11/2009, -1/+42How could you look cool in starbucks period?
- nilicule, on 06/11/2009, -8/+49Dugg for "the operating system is a means to an end, not the end itself"
- Iwantawii, on 06/11/2009, -7/+41I don't know what version of VS some of you people are running, or how it's configured. But calling a spade a spade I don't think there's a better IDE out there than Visual Studio 2008 Professional - especially with ReSharper and VisualSVN integration.
I haven't used Eclipse or Beans in 2+ years but they were so slow, clunky, and fugly, I would rather just use a simple text editor and compile scripts.
I'm interested in learning to develop for OSX/iPhone but XCode seems strange to me. I want to double-click a button to jump to it's action in the visual interface designer, please don't make me control drag anything onto another thing. - alpha88, on 06/11/2009, -3/+33Why would anyone NEED a mac for anything? Or a Windows? Or Linux? They all do the same job, but it's a personal preference of which to use.
Web development isn't even associated with Macs generally though. Graphic design, yes, but web development? - simX, on 06/11/2009, -7/+36It's a myth that Mac OS X is somehow more a "closed platform" than Windows is. It's just not true. In what possible way is that statement true? Mac OS X is UNIX; you can do all the UNIX hackery you want on it, you have free developer tools to make your own applications if you want, there are plenty of operating system skinning utilities, and a lot of functionality -- even in code that Apple itself produces -- is exposed via the command line, or via preference files, etc., etc.
If you're talking specifically about the *iPhone* OS, then yes, you'd be right. But Mac OS X for Macs is just as open as Windows is for PCs. - MacParrot, on 06/11/2009, -2/+29Worst album Led Zeppelin made
- inactive, on 06/11/2009, -3/+30Are you sure they are web DEVELOPERS and not web DESIGNERS?
- Elranzer, on 06/11/2009, -1/+27Multiple-personality syndrome is not schizophrenia...
- dave122, on 06/11/2009, -2/+28if you're doing things the same way you did 15 years ago, you're doing something wrong.
- tomjowitt, on 06/11/2009, -13/+38I'd find it really hard to do my job as a web developer without a terminal for ssh/rsync/etc. That pretty much rules out Windows unless you want to run through something like Putty which is a complete pain in the arse.
The Linux desktop is probably the perfect OS for web development ... running Netbeans on Fedora does everything I need. Server packages are easy to install (if you need to run a localhost server) without jumping through hoops with something like Macports. Plus I think it's important for web developers to have a good understanding of Linux seeing as most people end up developing for Linux servers. - thefurion, on 06/11/2009, -14/+39I vote for Linux/OSX.. I don't understand how people can code without access to a command line. Windows command line is utter garbage and cygwin doesn't quite do the trick for me. Maybe I'm missing some magical tool in windows that can replace the console ^_^
notepad++ is nice but I can't leave good ol vim. I always find :w's lying around when I write in notepad lol. - CraigReed, on 06/11/2009, -9/+34You could probably say that about computers in general in all fairness.
- opitica, on 06/11/2009, -11/+35o fo sho, here let me find the specs for web development:
Mac OS X
iTunes (7.7+ or else you're only running in Web 1.0 mode)
iCal (you know, for all those meetings at starbucks)
iPhoto (the REAL way to catalog 2x2 corner pngs [gif or bmp if you're smart])
Gloss. Lots of it. Really make that page POP.
Frontpage express (either running in bootcamp or on a local machine, but make sure you got gigabit on both ends. you're pushing some big traffic) - Amazetbm, on 06/11/2009, -4/+27Unfortunately the most vocal mac users are the ones who apply "elite" status to owning one.
- Elranzer, on 06/11/2009, -1/+23Well, it keeps you from being distracted from those bothersome games, so you can keep working.
- DavidTurnbull, on 06/11/2009, -12/+34I stick with my Mac because it offers the best experience for me, not because I "need" it. I used a PC for 10 years, and it did everything I needed it too, but if I'm going to be working on a machine for a good portion of the day why wouldn't I try to make it a near perfect experience for myself?
- cJw314, on 06/11/2009, -1/+22@norman: Pot, meet kettle.
- gamepr0, on 06/11/2009, -8/+29Why Gamers Don't Need A Life
- MacParrot, on 06/11/2009, -3/+23True, but the story was about web developement. Any platform (Linux, OS X, Windows) has all the tools (many or most free) a web developer would need. So it still comes back to preference/ price
- tama00, on 06/11/2009, -41/+60Are you drunk?
- chrispen, on 06/11/2009, -5/+24I don't prefer using .NET to develop web applications, but it can be great for some rapid prototyping.
- hustl3r, on 06/11/2009, -24/+43Q: Why Developers DO need a Mac
A: Coda. - MOJIRA, on 06/11/2009, -2/+21Why is it *****? I considering which language to try to learn and .NET was on the list. Is it Visual Studio or is it .NET that's ***** (when was the last time you used either)?
- ajsmth, on 06/11/2009, -12/+30But can it play Crysis?
- strictnein, on 06/11/2009, -3/+21@MOJIRA: It's cool to hate Visual Studio, even though it's a great product.
/Eclipse user - rolf, on 06/11/2009, -3/+21Pretty much. I have the rest of my family on Macs - not because of status, but because when I come home for the holidays or whatever, I don't have to wrestle with a hundred computer problems. I would have gone Ubuntu, but then I get someone inevitably trying to run some boxed software. I'm sure I could tweak it with Wine, but then I'd have to do it. Instead, they get to run their quickbooks, rosetta stone, or tax software come april 15th as happily as on a PC. And for games, consoles are probably the cleaner solution for them anyway.
If Windows 7 is really secure, as my Windows Vista is (not running root all the time), I may switch them to that although I hope Linux comes along by then. - Balanced, on 06/11/2009, -6/+24Windows has to 'authorize' installs and may cripple itself if you don't. Mac OS X just asks to send registration info for warranty info, vut you can cancel it and the OS doesn't really care.
I think that's a big point towards Windows being more 'centrally controlled' right there.
Linux is even less so, but has the opposite problem in that there's often no one entity responsible for things. - wolfing, on 06/11/2009, -3/+19you're confusing web developers with web designers
- GregFD3S, on 06/11/2009, -42/+58I do web development on Mac OS X, Ubuntu and XP.
Mac OS X is by far the best.
Digg me down. - dborgir, on 06/11/2009, -7/+23Web developer here. I have an Acer running XP.
Use Kubuntu at work.
Consider your mind blown.
EDIT: Oh yeah, also a 2 virtual XP machines installed at work, one for IE6, one for IE7. - Nanoha, on 06/11/2009, -11/+26I can play crisis max at 1610x800 something I forgets, all maxed high ^_^ on my toshi laptop(quad4x +dual sli). Tend to play diablo II on it though.
- inactive, on 06/11/2009, -54/+69Visual Studio is *****
- ZippyV, on 06/11/2009, -6/+21I think it's a lot better and faster than Netbeans or Eclipse.
- bdbr, on 06/11/2009, -4/+19"No one NEEDS a Mac, you WANT one."
No, I don't want one. To be honest, I've never ever felt the desire to own a Mac. -
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