macOS Select/Premier ADC discounts/benefits...

technocoy said:

• With the premier do you get access to OS developer builds, such as 10.5?

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http://developer.apple.com/products/

technocoy said:

• How deep are the discounts on say MBPs and MacPros, and are they deeper on either membership?

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Go to http://developer.apple.com/membership/usa.html and click on "ADC Hardware Purchase Program Store"

technocoy said:

• Since I'm really just getting started programming for OS X I would like to be sure there are ADC forums etc, where you can talk with other developers. I assume there are apple sanctioned ones, but I wanted to be certain since they are often the best way of learning.. Access to tons of docs is fine, but sometimes you just need someone to talk you through it. Ha.

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Public mailing lists: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/listinfo - nothing private AFAIK

technocoy said:

• Do you recommend one over the other for any other reasons than already mentioned?

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Depends if you're going to WWDC next year or not and how often you will need to talk with an Apple engineer.

technocoy said:

Thanks for the links! That was a big help. I'm thinking I might just go with select. Not sure if I'd be able to head out for WWDC and I don't buy THAT many computers in a year. Haah.

Thanks again.

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Premier membership is aimed at mid-to-large companies. They don't aim it at the individual, and I wouldn't recommend it.

If you are just starting out, I am not sure how useful Select will be. Pre-release software is actually one of the worst ways to get used to an OS, and it doesn't give you any better access to the docs, mailing lists, and whatnot with the exception of the technical incidents and hardware discounts.

With how close Leopard is, my recommendation is to skip the Select membership (for now). Go for the student membership if it applies (which includes a mailing membership), or the mailing membership if you like having docs and notes delivered, but at the very least sign up for the free online membership. Sign up for the mailing lists you are interested in, and leverage the helpful people there.

I would wait until 10.6 starts getting seeded before buying a Select Membership, as it will save quite a bit of money in the short term, let you get accustomed to the platform in general with released builds (there is no ADC list for those under NDA to discuss with each other, sadly), before delving into the world of beta OS builds. Once you get into that territory, you have yourself, the bug report form, and Apple's engineers (which you only get a couple uses a year out of)... and it isn't a friendly place from my experience, because you just simply don't have the resources and people available to help. Get comfortable with the water, first.