Funny I just realized that by the title above this post gives you the impression that going Apple to make one or break it! Well depending on what side of the window you are on, it could fit that that situation. If you have been around computers as long as I had, that argument of Windows (now Win10) vs Apple (Macs) has always came up as it did for me.
It started out always Win10 because it is all over and cheap. Software for everything is out there, so you never have a hard time finding a type of software you are looking for. And for public domain software (free) is also all over the place. Building a Windows computer from scratch is easy and also there is a wide selection of features available to build a computer from scratch. The reason for this is Windows was originally based on Intel processors like 80286, 386, 486, pentium, pentium pro, etc, etc, etc.
So if you want development software for Windows, it goes from simple freeware to the big daddy called Visual Studio. Most developers go with Visual Studio and since it is made by Microsoft, you have every feature and a wide selection of programming languages to choose from. I used to use it in the past and I would start with Visual Basic to Visual C to Visual C++. One problem I found is you spend a lot of time trying to learn a programming language but because one language is good for simple easily programed programs to a specialized language for game development like Visual C++. But the cost for the full development package is very expensive.
Now for the other guys, Apple. It started out that the early models of Macs were designed so you had to buy a Mac to get a Mac. That was because they used a power pc processor(?? or something like that) in all their computers. That was how it was for a long time. Then several years ago Apple decided to design a Mac using an Intel processor, and it opened up a new way to build a Mac with basically the same components that were used on a Windows computer and gave a bigger selection of processors. Then Mac found out it was far easier to build a Mac as a single board computer. And they also got smaller. This in turn tended to make a Mac with new designs as used in a Mini, tablets, iPads and Macs. They got to where instead of having a computer, cables, monitor, etc. which needed a lot of space to a monitor with all the hardware built in as the whole computer. One thing I was always impressed by is Apple was always thinking outside the box. They had created a computer with features that were always steps ahead of Windows like high speed serial ports in the gigabit range, super high resolution displays, etc.
Now to develop for Apple computer you have only X-Code for coding. It is a complete developer's package which up to recently was only for Objective C and now Swift. As stated in the last post, X-Code is a complete development package for all Apple platforms from desktop Macs down to the iPhones. The library is all standardized so you run the same language for all platforms. The only thing you change is the device platform by selecting the model for example iPhone 4s to iPhone 6s. You write once and generate for others which is pretty cool. One thing Apple saw was that Objective-C has a long learning curve and it takes a long while to learn it. So what Apple did is took the features of Objective-C and made it super simplified and called the language Swift. The feedback for Swift as a development language was designed to speed up programming in less time and was simpler for even non programmers to learn to use. It was a big win for Apple to the point where Apple is now suggesting its use for all Apple programming, and it is free to all Apple developers as is X-Code.
Now for platforms, Win10 computers tend to be cheaper in price than is Apple computers. The first thing I noticed is Apple computers quality is considered high class. You can tell from the way it is built to the accessories are top of the class. A lot of thought has been put into the design of all Apple devices. So if you want a computer that will last for a long time then Apple is for you. Because the processors are built from several companies, the ICs are super customized depending on the device. iPhones and iPads because of the size of the device are super customized. One model for example gives you a complete computer in a package which is 7" x 7" x 1". My customized Mac has a quad core processor with 2 1TB hard drives and 16 gigs of memory in that small package. It also has super high speed serial ports, USB 3.0 and high speed port capability for different display adapters. For me this computer is capable of running as a Apple Mac Server or an Apple Mac. And it is fast. But also this computer is more expensive than a Microsoft PC. And this is true for all the Macs and other devices.
Now this is what I would call the make or break of going Apple. For me after looking at what the computer is capable of doing, the quality of the product, the free development software and the great developer support that comes from Apple, it was expensive at the start but I will never go back to a Windows PC! By the way I can also run Win10, Vista, Linux, Android and Crome op-systems in the Mac environment on this same Mac with no problems! So I know I made the right choice.
Happy computing!
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