[thelist] Web Development Machine

Ian Anderson ian at zstudio.co.uk
Fri Jun 2 09:48:39 CDT 2006


Chris at globet.com wrote:

> Now that the new Apple MacBook Pros are dual-bootable with Windows, I'm
> leaning heavily in that direction. Is anyone running a Windows dual boot
> on an Apple MacBook Pro? Does anyone have any (constructive) comments
> regarding the idea of developing .NET applications in Windows on a
> MacBook Pro?

I would suggest you hold off. The new Firmware update 1.0.1 for the 
Macbook Pro, required to stop the processor running at dangerous 
temperatures, breaks Boot Camp rendering it unusable. Boot camp is not 
officially supported and could go away any time. It's just a technology 
preview of part the next OS, really, not a suitable platform for 
development.

Meanwhile, the Macbook Pro has incompatibilities with Virtual PC - as in 
it is completely impossible to run Virtual PC; there is no Universal 
binary of Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite or the Macromedia 
Studio. Which means that the performance is less than the 1.5Ghz G4 
powerbook running the same apps, in my opinion.

Macbook Pros are also susceptible to display card failures; we just got 
two and one is now dead after just seven days of use. There are many 
similar cases reported on the Web in user forums.

Avoid them until they are more robust and until the Windows support is 
part of supported product offerings, is my advice. Once the main web 
design and office apps are updated in 2007 to Universal binaries by 
Adobe and Microsoft, they will be more attractive machines.

In the meantime, it sounds like you need to remain on the PC given your 
chosen tools.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Ian

-- 
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