When You Should Buy A Mac

A question that always comes up whenever you reach the end of your laptop cycle and decide it is time to make a new purchase is: Should I buy a Mac? Or should I just buy a regular laptop running Windows?

There are a number of key points that you need to pay attention to whenever you’re about to invest in a new laptop. Generally speaking, the following are the advantages of a MacBook (regardless of specifications):

1. Mac OS: There’s no doubt that, when compared to Windows, the Mac Operating System is extremely powerful. It’s much smoother, much more intuitive, and impressively faster. In basic terms, the hardware and software are much more compatible and work harmoniously, causing fewer crashes and problems
2. Battery: You can never trust the lifetime that is listed amongst the specs of a given laptop – it is always exaggerated – but you can trust the fact that Mac’s batteries last significantly longer then the equivalent PCs
3. Size & Weight: MacBook owners never need to worry about how big or how heavy the laptop is. Simply put, it is extremely portable. Also, although relative, many would agree that its looks out-do its competition with ease
4. Lifetime: Depending on how you use your laptop, it will last for fewer or more years than the standard 3-4 years one would expect. However, the exact same use would give you more time on a Mac, than on a PC

Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? That’s because I haven’t laid out the disadvantages yet:

1. 

   Prices of MacBooks

   Price: Fewer products are as over-priced as the MacBook. Starting at $1,000 for the most basic model, money has to be something you don’t worry about too much if you are to invest in Apple’s laptops. A regular MacBook Pro with standard specs will cost you no less than $1,700.
2. Mac OS: Even though it has been listed as an advantage, it is still something of concern for the crowd that are used to Windows or Linux. Working with a Mac requires time for you to get used to it, and while many users overcome the hurdle and become satisfied users, some find the change too much to handle
3. Software: If you’re a hardcore gamer, or work with specialized software, then you’re out of luck, as most of those applications are not made for Mac OS. Of course, you can always install Windows on a virtual layer on top of the Mac OS, but don’t try to fool yourself into thinking that the performance is the same

So whenever someone asks me for my recommendation for a new laptop, I always say: Purchase the cheapest hardware, and install Ubuntu. But then when I get the condescending looks associated with blasphemy, I say: If you do design or multimedia, you already know that Mac is better. If you are a regular user and have $1,500 available, get a MacBook Pro. If you’re a regular user with a regular budget (under $700), get a PC and install Ubuntu. But whatever you do, do not use Windows, and for God’s sake, do not buy a MacBook Air.

MAMP: Your Needs, On Your Local Mac

As a web designer, finishing up is always a long way’s away. In fact, it’s safe to assume that in most cases, there is more work done on the remote server, than on your local machine. While this will always remain a vital aspect of any website or online application, we can help minimalize time wasted communicating with the remote server, and produce websites much more efficiently.

MAMP Logo

This can be done by installing the technologies you need locally (assuming you work with free, open-source technologies, as you SHOULD). While some tech nerds wouldn’t mind installing Apache, PHP, MySQL and all of the other open-source technologies manually, for most of the web designers and developers, this is something you do not want to waste your time on. That is why there are applications that provide you with your needs and an administration panel with just a few clicks. WAMP, for one, is an amazing tool for PC users to turn their computer into a server with everything they need. For mac users, there’s MAMP.

MAMP stands for Mac Apache, MySQL & PHP, and it does precisely that. Add MAMP to your applications just like you would with any other, and you can start placing all of your websites under the “”htdocs” folder in the application’s directory. After that, you can add the dashboard widget that gives you the ability to start running the server with a single click – it’s as simple as that.

The MAMP dashboard widget

MAMP comes packed with phpMyAdmin allowing you to add databases and create users and administrators. If you don’t want to deal with such an extensive user interface, you can always opt for the also-available SQLLiteManager, although I don’t see why anyone would have issues with the former.

So the next time your working on a website, especially CMS-driven ones, you can install everything locally, and access the files through the Finder, avoiding long tedious hours wasted between uploading and downloading files to and from the remote server. And there’s no better way to test out a CMS that you’re not very familiar with, than to install it locally, and try everything that comes to mind, knowing nothing too serious can happen.

One feature I would’ve really enjoyed, is an automatic listing of all of the folders in the “htdocs” directory on the MAMP start page. This way you could always start with MAMP page, and then click on the website that you are going to be working on. However, I think I’m just being picky, because MAMP is a life-savor that all Mac designers and developers should be using.