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Comment by MrFantsyPants | Hacker News Reader

I do a fair bit of coding on Mac, Windows and Linux (usually ubuntu) If you switch, be prepared that it will take you a bit of an adjustment, as many of the basic actions that you do without even thinking about it will change.

However, I think over time you'll find that it is not a change you'll regret. I find that in general, you'll get things done faster, and learn new things quicker. It's definitely the platform that I have tended to gravitate to for most of my work.

Plus, the new macbooks are solid.

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Important point here: you WILL have an adjustment period.

You'll have to learn the quirks of the OS. (Where's the damn menu bar!)

You'll have to find similar apps to the ones you've used in Windows. (Assuming you don't want to VM everything -- and if you do -- maybe you should question why you're moving to Mac.)

I found equivalent apps for everything except TortoiseSVN (Versions or SCPlugin seems like a fit). I would only use the VM for testing on IE and a few Windows-only apps.

Keyboard shortcuts are one of my big concerns -- I'm a big Ctrl key user on Windows.

Depends on how urgent your development is at this point. If you're trying to bang out some code for a goal or deadline, don't bother switching now.

You'll only frustrate yourself when your flow is constantly being interrupted by having to figure out how something works on a Mac when you know exactly how it works on a PC.

That's not to say don't try out a Mac, I'm all for new perspectives because I believe more perspectives are the foundation for creativity and successful problem solving.

> Keyboard shortcuts are one of my big concerns -- I'm a big Ctrl key user on Windows.

You get used to it pretty quickly - and I swap back and forth a fair bit.

OSX will let you remap important keys any way you like - but I think it's generally easiest just to stick with the native mapping (otherwise you jump on another machine and get lost).

I found OS X applications generally seem to have slightly fewer keyboard shortcuts than Linux/Windows.

They're there, but for example I think menus are easier to access on Windows (still possible on both though!).

Would svnX fit your needs? Does wonderful for me.

One more data point. I switched and found it very painful to internalize keyboard commands while still having to do Windows work (i.e. switching back & forth). Once I went "mac-only", it got much easier, but now I suck at using Windows again.

Was it worth it? No. You can be fully productive in which ever platform you choose: Windows, Mac, or Linux. Each platform is fully mature. Productivity comes from your commitment to learning your tools and practicing.

There is an advantage to Linux as it allows you to truly learn (freedom). But you do loose time tweaking and yak shaving.

My day job has me coding on Windows for 9 hours a day. My home computer is a Macbook Pro. I don't have any trouble switching between the two every day, except for the occasionally accidental keyboard shortcut (e.g. hitting alt-t in Windows Firefox instead of Ctrl-t).

But then, I use a dvorak keyboard layout and run into qwerty all the time, so maybe I've trained myself to easily switch gears.

I too run different platforms between work and home. Linux at work (Since id prefer to use linux over windows and I have the choice where I work) and a Macbook Pro at home.

I found my biggest annoyance was the keyboard shortcuts, and i solved that problem by remapping my Control Key on my linux work machine to be the alt key (next to the space bar), in the same place as the mac, and it is SO much easier to switch between platforms reguarly. It also makes emacs less painful as an added bonus

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