Maybe I would like owning a Mac

I’ve been partial toward Windows, and not because I agree with and love all of the abundant and cluttered features, but because I’m familiar with it. I know the file system, I’m used to “hacking” when I need to hack, and so on. I’ve alwasy been reluctant when it comes to getting something else. But lately, I’ve been pondering the thought of owning a Mac. I think I would like it. It would take some time to get used to, sure… but in the end, I think it’s a small price to pay for what I would get out of it.

Apparently OS X allows you to run LAMP (+L+inux +A+pache +M+ySQL [+P+erl, +P+HP, +P+ython]) solutions locally on the desktop. Other things will work well, too, but that’s a comforting move in itself since (I think) globally around 64% of web servers run Linux/Apache. And it has available tools, such as shell scripting, FTP, SSH, CVS, (WebDAV?), etc., built right in. It looks like they have the design tools covered as well: Adobe, BBEdit and Macromedia all come with the package. I use Photoshop extensively when I’m designing something, so that’s a major plus. It get’s better. The last few projects I’ve done have been in Ruby on Rails. Well, it looks like the next edition of Mac OS X (10.5) will ship with Ruby on Rails. The advantage, here, isn’t the fact that Ruby and Rails will come pre-installed, it’s the welcoming effort that Apple provides toward all the things I see crucial in web development. Ruby on Rails is relatively new, and Apple is already taking steps to integrate this into their package, because they realize it’s potential and growth. I think it’s impressive.

Just like a lot of other things I do (and have done), if I did make the conversion to Apple, I think I would look back and wonder how I ever handled developing on Windows. There is one downfall to this whole idea, and that’s money. I can’t justify the money, or the reasoning, to go out and get a Mac. Maybe the issue will work itself out. For now, I’ve still got some researching to do, as I know very little about the true benefits and consequences of leaving Windows.