I’ve been developing an application for a few months now on my windows 10 PC. I’m new to coding and Meteor has been fantastic. During this period, compiling times, have been the most frustrating part. This might be the age of dell XPS laptop I’m using, its about 5 years old and it’s time to update.
I’ve had PC’s my whole life and I’m a big fan of windows 10 however as I’m getting more into coding, I have found compatibility problems with windows. It seems most coders use macs or Unix and as a result there’re more options out there for mac users. I have been playing around with a mac and I’m fairly comfortable with it.
This isn’t a question of what’s better mac or PC. It’s a question around where things are going with meteor and NPM etc.
Am I going to be disadvantaged getting a new PC instead of a new Mac as I delve more into learning to code?
I think the answer is basically yes, you are at a disadvantage with Windows.
In general most “trendy” web development tools work better on Mac/Linux, even though theoretically you can do everything on Windows. This is independent of Meteor. In fact we put a lot of effort to keep Meteor on Windows running at all, working around a lot of problems in the underlying tools from the wider ecosystem.
So I’d suggest getting a Mac, or Linux if you are OK spending some time installing it on your new computer and learning how to use it.
You’ll always be able to use Windows, but Unix based systems make life so much nicer. Terminal experience is just better. I moved to Mac a few years ago, never looked back. I like the fact I’m using the same terminal on both my desktop and the server. Plus you have tools like brew, lots of native features that windows misses. You also find a couple npm modules that are mac/unix/linux only, such as ‘n’.
Though don’t feel like you need a mac. Windows will always work fine, and the cases where there isn’t supported stuff, there is always an alternative. However if this is going to be your chosen profession going forward, I’d advise a Mac or Linux. If you’re simply learning and not sure, if you can afford it, great go for it, it’s a great computer either way, but if it’s a stretch for you, maybe stick with Windows for a little longer. Alternatively, try running an Ubuntu VM on your windows machine.
Thanks for the info I guess I’ll start to look at purchasing a mac as I’ve tried Unix and that is a little too complex for the time being.
From a hardware perspective, when talking about a Mac, I assume I should look at the Macbook Pro. Should I be getting a I5 processor with 8mg ram or should I really be looking at the I7 processor with more than 8mg of ram.
Price is a concern, I don’t have an unlimited budget but I will spend the money if it really makes a big difference.
A lot of my coworkers use macbook airs, so I think there is really no concern with which model you use. Of course things might be faster on the pro, but it’s not a big deal.
You could replace your current windows with ubuntu it will be super fast comaped to windows 10, I did the same and i dont understand why I used windows before. The new ubuntu desktop is really friendly in fact i installed it for my parents as well no more fan noise.
Interesting suggestion. I did try that a while ago and I had trouble with it. I should check it out again. I’ve gone with a Macbook Pro, basic model, as we need a new computer for the house anyway. Thanks for all the help.
In fact, it feels great to purchase a new Windows computer then format to install Ubuntu just for the heck of it , and not even keep the license!
Windows … is so (Windows) 98 – who uses that any more?
[Edit] While MacBooks are trendy, there are differences in the terminal and programs vs. a Ubuntu server (not to mention cost). It’s very easy to spin up NGinx or Apache and test a local server. I also like the fact that I have the exact same OS as the server, so can build and push onto servers in less time than it takes to make a coffee.
no more fan noise.