Why should I switch to Mac ?

HI,

Im not new to computers but am new to this forum. So if you possibly can, be patient.

Im also not new to computers, started on mainfames . . . . . .

My grand daughter has a new Mac, showed it to me the other day and I must confess, I was impressed.

I use both desk top and lap top, both Microsoft Windows 7.

I have a background of programing, started with Cobol.

In my retirement I use my PC as others would use a book, rather than settling down with a good book for the afternoon or when ever, I settle down with Microsoft Visual Studio.

If I change to MacBook, will Ms .net stuff run on it ? Would I be able to continue development of my own Jpeg catalogueing software ?

If it won't, then what's the Mac equivelant ?

Or is it that if you buy a Mac you just use it and dont do program stuff ? (Im sure this is not the case)

So ! this is my first post to this forum.

Have a great day !

There is no native .NET support in anything other than Windows, but people do use .NET-based applications (and develop them) using Mono for Linux and Mono:OSX on OS X..

Applications on OS X are natively coded against the Cocoa framework using Objective C and XCode is the IDE that is used to do that development.

If you are doing your JPEG software entirely in .NET/C# or something, I imagine it should largely work within the Mono:OSX environment. You can even test it out right now with Mono on Windows to see what issues you might run into..

We have a lot of people here who buy Macs just for web browsing, e-mailing and other things. There are others who buy it primarily for photo/video-editing work and there are people like me who bought a Mac for development..

@FredZmith: To be honest...I see nothing in your post that should compel you to switch to a Macintosh computer. You didn't mention having any problems with your current system.

So like they say..."If it ain't broke...don't fix it!"

Now on the other hand if you just want to give it a shot just for fun...go for it!

Word to the wise! Just be sure you are familiar & comfortable with the Mac OS before you "spring" for a $1000-$1500 Macintosh computer. Otherwise you will just be another Windows computer person complaining about how the Mac OS is not like Windows (we've heard it here many times before).

Good luck,

- Nick

Nick,

Wise words, indeed.

My current system, and hardware, indeed ain't broke. If the hardware failed I would pull it to pieces and replace the failed component. If the software crashed, I would either fix it or reload it.

I just saw a Mac the other day and watched my granddaughter use it, briefly, and saw something I liked.

My foray into this Mac forum is my first attempt to find a starting point of learning one or two basics about Macs. I guess most is available by searching and reading but now you have responded as you have I wonder If I may ask about my main interest.

Can I write code and compile an exe file on a Mac ? (obviously yes)

What Mac software would I need to do this ? Do I need to buy it or is it part of the operating system ? If buy, what price ?

Will an exe file I created on my present PC using MS VB run on a Mac ?

There are two fan clubs of which I am not president. The first is most emphatically Telstra in Aus. A close second is Ms.

I really appreciate being able to post here and access response as I have.

FredZmith said:

Can I write code and compile an exe file on a Mac ? (obviously yes)

What Mac software would I need to do this ? Do I need to buy it or is it part of the operating system ? If buy, what price ?

Will an exe file I created on my present PC using MS VB run on a Mac ?

Click to expand...

Sorry man...not my area of expertise!

I was primarily responding to your question about why you should or should not switch to a Mac. I have seen many many folks post on Mac-Forums who were previously lifelong Windows users...and most of the time they fall into three categories:

1. Those that are TOTALLY happy with their switch...and they usually say..."Why haven't I done this sooner"!!!

2. Those folks that are tired of the various issues/problems/hassles they face using Windows hardware & software.

3. Those folks who don't do their homework ahead of time...such as:

- becoming familiar with the Mac OS (how it is similar & how it is different from Windows)
- spontaneously spending $1000-$1500 on a Macintosh computer before they are ready
- finally...being totally ticked-off with Macintosh hardware, the Mac OS, and anything to do with Apple (which circles back to them not doing their homework ahead of time)

Like I mentioned...if you're totally happy where you are with your Windows computer...stay there...no reason to switch. If you're curious...and want to try the Mac experience...buy yourself an 2-3 year-old used Mac...and give it a try. I suggest buying a used Mac...since if you don't like it...the money spent won't be as painful!

HTH,

- Nick

Will an exe file I created on my present PC using MS VB run on a Mac ?

Click to expand...

It will run if you install Windows on your Mac. You can install Windows either using virtual machine software or from the Boot Camp assistant. Otherwise executable Windows files (*.exe) will not run in OS X.

There hasn't been VB support for Mac in a long time. If you want to create cross platform applications, you'll have to look to other frameworks like Qt and program in C++. The IDE to develop apps is Xcode and its free. It includes the GNU compilers you need to get going..

Hi again.

Im impressed with responses from you good Mac people. 'tis an excellent refernce for the product.

May I close on this.

I dont want to cross platform or anything like that.

Just want to know if an exe program compiled with ms vb will run on a Mac.

And if it wont, as I expect it would not, then can I write the code on a Mac, and compile it on a Mac,in the same was I wrote it on my Microsoft Pc and compiled it on my pc.

I gather the program Mac environment is part of the Mac operating system. If this is so then that is excellent. Bill Gates made the likes of I pay big bucks for his stuff.

If it will handle C++ then that's all I need.

Have great day !

Take care.

FredZmith said:

If it will handle C++ then that's all I need.

Click to expand...

Give these two links a read...and see if this meets your needs:

Macintosh Programmer's Workshop - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Xcode - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HTH,

- Nick

May I offer an alternative option?

It sounds like you're having a fine experience with your PC for the programming work you do. So have you considered the idea of instead buying a "leisure" device -- like an iPad, or perhaps even a Mac mini -- for non-programming purposes?

The iPad is compatible with Windows PCs but introduces two "new" concepts: the bypassing of the traditional file/folder paradigm, and a device that is largely (but not exclusively) for consumption rather than production. For someone adept at programming as you are, these two ideas may seem very foreign!

You might be best off -- at least for now -- with a separate "fun" device from Apple. I know when I got the iPad, my MacBook almost immediately became a "work" computer and all the things I would do to relax shifted over to the iPad. I now use the iPad almost exclusively to answer email, edit photos, take notes and plan my travel (along with purely leisure stuff like read books, play games, watch videos etc). I didn't plan it that way, it just happened.

It was mentioned a few posts ago, but not elaborated that a virtual machine running Windows could be useful. Parallels and VMWare are the two best choices for that solution. Both run well on my MBP, and I've not seen any issues with any software I run on the vms. If you want to develop software on OSX and then test it in Windows, that approach might be a solution.

The other approach is to run WIndows on a Mac, natively, using Boot Camp. It's a part of the OSX environment and allows you to dual boot a Mac into either OSX or Windows. WIth that approach you get the hardware of a Mac with the features of WIndows you need.

FredZmith said:

Hi again.

Im impressed with responses from you good Mac people. 'tis an excellent refernce for the product.

May I close on this.

I dont want to cross platform or anything like that.

Just want to know if an exe program compiled with ms vb will run on a Mac.

Click to expand...

No a Windows executable will not run on Mac, just like it won't run on Linux and so on..as a programmer, you probably already knew that..

FredZmith said:

And if it wont, as I expect it would not, then can I write the code on a Mac, and compile it on a Mac,in the same was I wrote it on my Microsoft Pc and compiled it on my pc.

Click to expand...

Yes, you would use the freely available XCode IDE that includes the necessary toolchains to write and compile your own applications.

FredZmith said:

I gather the program Mac environment is part of the Mac operating system. If this is so then that is excellent. Bill Gates made the likes of I pay big bucks for his stuff.

If it will handle C++ then that's all I need.

Click to expand...

Yes, XCode can handle C, C++ and Objective-C. Know that the native OS X framework is written in Obj-C, so if you write straight C++, you'd have to still interface to the Obj-C framework for native functionality..

If you are happy with C++ in general, then you can use Qt as your framework and it will deal with the OS X framework at the Obj-C level while providing you the C++ interface..