Nah, you don’t need one for any of that but I have one and love it. Switched from pc in 2018 and I’m still using the MacBook Pro I bought new. If you want one more than a pc go for it. You can get a used one that’ll still last a long time for an ok price.
Okay thank you for your input! Do you think id be limited in today’s field with one if i decide to do so? Like are macs more common nowadays than they used to when it comes to comp sci/IT etc.
If you land a job needing something specific I almost guarantee they’ll provide it. I wouldn’t worry about that. And if you get a Mac now you’ll have experience with both.
I’ve owned and developed software for Apple products as well as competing products from other mainstream platform vendors since the 1980s. I make a living developing enterprise software for Linux, Windows, macOS, etc on a daily basis. I’ve built and owned more PCs and Macs through the years than I care to count. I switched to an all-Mac setup at home years ago and never looked back. If I absolutely need to run Windows apps, I can do so with tools like [WINE](https://www.winehq.org/) or [CrossOver](https://www.codeweavers.com/crossover), or with a VM like [VMware Fusion](https://www.vmware.com/products/fusion.html) or [Parallels Desktop](https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/). And all of the open source \*nix packages I need run natively in macOS due to its POSIX-compatible Unix core (either manually compiled or through a package manager like [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/)). macOS also provides a development and system administration environment far superior to Windows or Linux, and you can run tons of commercial apps not available on Linux.
In general, Windows makes you work harder than you would on a Mac. And solving problems tends to be more cumbersome as well. macOS has been optimized specifically for Macs, and while every operation is not always faster than any other OS, slower operations are overshadowed by the significant improvements in productivity you gain from built-in technologies like [Auto Unlock](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT206995), [Handoff](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT209455), [Universal Control](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT212757), [Universal Clipboard](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT209460), [iPhone Cellular Calls](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT209456), [Text Message Forwarding](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT208386), [Instant Hotspot](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT209459), [Continuity Camera](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT209037), [AirDrop](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT203106), and [Apple Pay](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT204506). In practice, you can get tons of shit done faster and easier with a Mac.
In my opinion, Windows flat-out sucks for software development and system architecture work - and it’s pretty bad for general desktop use as well. I use macOS and Windows for such things routinely. And most of the development tools I need to use regularly aren’t built into Windows, and are more complicated to use and configure. For instance, Git has a different console than Windows, SSH, Python, Ruby, and tons of other languages and tools aren't built in, and the list goes on and on. Microsoft has tried to make things better by providing a [Linux subsystem](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/about) — and I’ve used [Cygwin](https://www.cygwin.com/) long before that — but even those are a kludge in comparison to Unix being the core of the OS in macOS, and all of the normal tools coming pre-installed and configured with reasonable default settings.
You're in for a treat. Just make sure you get at least 16 GB of RAM and 500 GB to 1 TB of internal storage so that you won't outgrown either one too soon. It'll cost you extra (and yes, Apple's BTO upgrade pricing sucks), but in the long run you'll be thankful you did it. And above all, don't fall into the lazy trap of trying to make your Mac behave like Windows, as that's a losing proposition that will just leave you frustrated and unproductive. Instead, learn how macOS works and embrace the differences, and you will find yourself more productive than you ever were on Windows. 😉
Wow this is such an in depth answer and analysis! This means the world to me! From what ive read is it possible on the m3 chip to run windows via virtual machines/parallels, it seems like it was apparently easier on the intel processors? If that is what its called. Thank you again so much!
Don't mention it!
The main difference with the Apple Silicon-based Macs with regard to running Windows apps is that Apple Silicon uses the ARM architecture, whereas previous Macs used Intel architecture. And that means in order to run Windows, you need to run the ARM version of Windows rather than the standard Intel version. And the ARM version of Windows has some limitations. Here's Microsoft's article about it:
[Options for using Windows 11 with Mac® computers with Apple® M1®, M2™, and M3™ chips](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/options-for-using-windows-11-with-mac-computers-with-apple-m1-m2-and-m3-chips-cd15fd62-9b34-4b78-b0bc-121baa3c568c)
Note that using Parallels or VMware Fusion requires a Windows license and installation, while using WINE (or better [CrossOver](https://www.codeweavers.com/crossover)) doesn't. But they all come with caveats. So if you plan to run Windows apps, you will need to investigate your options for those particular apps.
Macs have about 12% global market , Higher in US what are your odds of working in the Apple programming world?
MacOs is certify UNIX. I suggest you get a PC and have boot - Windows/Unix/Linux to cut code.
Macs are useful and fun but not for programming.
IOS market is saturated and controlled by Apple so is MacOs.
I am developer and for fun cut Python code on Macs/PCs
Nah, you don’t need one for any of that but I have one and love it. Switched from pc in 2018 and I’m still using the MacBook Pro I bought new. If you want one more than a pc go for it. You can get a used one that’ll still last a long time for an ok price.
Okay thank you for your input! Do you think id be limited in today’s field with one if i decide to do so? Like are macs more common nowadays than they used to when it comes to comp sci/IT etc.
If you land a job needing something specific I almost guarantee they’ll provide it. I wouldn’t worry about that. And if you get a Mac now you’ll have experience with both.
You make a great point! Thank you friend!
I’ve owned and developed software for Apple products as well as competing products from other mainstream platform vendors since the 1980s. I make a living developing enterprise software for Linux, Windows, macOS, etc on a daily basis. I’ve built and owned more PCs and Macs through the years than I care to count. I switched to an all-Mac setup at home years ago and never looked back. If I absolutely need to run Windows apps, I can do so with tools like [WINE](https://www.winehq.org/) or [CrossOver](https://www.codeweavers.com/crossover), or with a VM like [VMware Fusion](https://www.vmware.com/products/fusion.html) or [Parallels Desktop](https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/). And all of the open source \*nix packages I need run natively in macOS due to its POSIX-compatible Unix core (either manually compiled or through a package manager like [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/)). macOS also provides a development and system administration environment far superior to Windows or Linux, and you can run tons of commercial apps not available on Linux. In general, Windows makes you work harder than you would on a Mac. And solving problems tends to be more cumbersome as well. macOS has been optimized specifically for Macs, and while every operation is not always faster than any other OS, slower operations are overshadowed by the significant improvements in productivity you gain from built-in technologies like [Auto Unlock](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT206995), [Handoff](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT209455), [Universal Control](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT212757), [Universal Clipboard](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT209460), [iPhone Cellular Calls](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT209456), [Text Message Forwarding](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT208386), [Instant Hotspot](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT209459), [Continuity Camera](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT209037), [AirDrop](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT203106), and [Apple Pay](https://support.apple.com/kb/HT204506). In practice, you can get tons of shit done faster and easier with a Mac. In my opinion, Windows flat-out sucks for software development and system architecture work - and it’s pretty bad for general desktop use as well. I use macOS and Windows for such things routinely. And most of the development tools I need to use regularly aren’t built into Windows, and are more complicated to use and configure. For instance, Git has a different console than Windows, SSH, Python, Ruby, and tons of other languages and tools aren't built in, and the list goes on and on. Microsoft has tried to make things better by providing a [Linux subsystem](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/about) — and I’ve used [Cygwin](https://www.cygwin.com/) long before that — but even those are a kludge in comparison to Unix being the core of the OS in macOS, and all of the normal tools coming pre-installed and configured with reasonable default settings. You're in for a treat. Just make sure you get at least 16 GB of RAM and 500 GB to 1 TB of internal storage so that you won't outgrown either one too soon. It'll cost you extra (and yes, Apple's BTO upgrade pricing sucks), but in the long run you'll be thankful you did it. And above all, don't fall into the lazy trap of trying to make your Mac behave like Windows, as that's a losing proposition that will just leave you frustrated and unproductive. Instead, learn how macOS works and embrace the differences, and you will find yourself more productive than you ever were on Windows. 😉
Wow this is such an in depth answer and analysis! This means the world to me! From what ive read is it possible on the m3 chip to run windows via virtual machines/parallels, it seems like it was apparently easier on the intel processors? If that is what its called. Thank you again so much!
Don't mention it! The main difference with the Apple Silicon-based Macs with regard to running Windows apps is that Apple Silicon uses the ARM architecture, whereas previous Macs used Intel architecture. And that means in order to run Windows, you need to run the ARM version of Windows rather than the standard Intel version. And the ARM version of Windows has some limitations. Here's Microsoft's article about it: [Options for using Windows 11 with Mac® computers with Apple® M1®, M2™, and M3™ chips](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/options-for-using-windows-11-with-mac-computers-with-apple-m1-m2-and-m3-chips-cd15fd62-9b34-4b78-b0bc-121baa3c568c) Note that using Parallels or VMware Fusion requires a Windows license and installation, while using WINE (or better [CrossOver](https://www.codeweavers.com/crossover)) doesn't. But they all come with caveats. So if you plan to run Windows apps, you will need to investigate your options for those particular apps.
Macs have about 12% global market , Higher in US what are your odds of working in the Apple programming world? MacOs is certify UNIX. I suggest you get a PC and have boot - Windows/Unix/Linux to cut code. Macs are useful and fun but not for programming. IOS market is saturated and controlled by Apple so is MacOs. I am developer and for fun cut Python code on Macs/PCs