MBP or Macbook for programming

Don't buy RAM upgrades from apple, it's a ripoff.

 

Eclipse will run easily on any recent Apple laptop with 2GB RAM. I ran it on a 17" G4 Powerbook for a while, and even that was OK.

I think more than anything you want to consider comfort. The MBP has a bigger screen and a better keyboard. For programming, I think that's important.

Other than that, they will both work fine.

 

That's debatable. Personally, I think the MB keyboard is head and shoulders better than the MBP keyboard when it comes to tactile feedback.

Not that it really matters...by the end of the summer, they will all have the same keyboard anyways (albeit, backlit like the MacBook Air).

 

QFT
Buy your own ram and save $300

 

Keep in mind that in order to work with VB you will need to run Boot Camp/Parallels/VMWare in order to access windows. VB won't run on anything else.

For Linux, I think you need Parallels or VMWare - I don't know if you can do something in bootcamp to get it to work.

The larger 15" screen will be nice if you are going to be programming - especially if you have an IDE like VB.

You will want as much memory as possible if you are going to run Parallels/VMWare. Go for the full 3-4GB, but purchase it separately and add it yourself. As others have said Memory from Apple is way too expensive.

If you can afford the 15" that is the way to go. I would get the 2.2Ghz, with 2GB, and then upgrade to 4GB on your own. You might want to get a larger hard drive then 120GB. Changing the drive on the MBP is difficult.

Using an external drive will resolve the disk space issue, but is difficult to deal with on the go...

 

The only real drawback to the MB is the screen resolution, but, to be honest, the 15" is also a bit lacking there for breathing room when you're in eclipse. Since you can easily buy a 20" or even 24" monitor for the price difference between an MB and an MBP, you might want to consider getting the MB and programming, when possible, with an external monitor. If you'll never use an external, I'd go for the 15" simply because of the extra pixels.

Also, note that a lot of what you're looking for in terms of linux experience can be gained within Terminal by using UNIX commands.

 

you want the largest screen you can afford. lots of things to look at simultaneously.

 

Please note that Apple's releasing TIme Capsule soon. It would seem that it's usable as a network drive in addition to just a Time Machine backup, so it would provide wireless disk access. If not, a standard AirPort Extreme with a USB hard drive would allow for wireless external storage. I would consider investing in one of those options instead of throwing a ton of money into a bigger drive unless you think you need that much space on your laptop itself, mainly because disk space is cheaper externally than when altering the laptop's drive.

Agreed 100%.

Speed only. But I think they're both 8x.

The RAM upgrade is an excellent idea, as is the external. I would personally go for a wireless external storage method instead of upping the HD space, but that's me.

 

The Macbook is a great machine, but a word of caution: I bought it figuring it wouldn't be too much hassle getting Linux on it(you use rEFIt rather than Bootcamp), this isn't the case with the latest model. While it isn't a hassle in and of itself,(i.e. getting Linux on it with wifi and everything working), it IS a hassle to get the trackpad working optimally.

It's just a trackpad with one button, while in Mac OS X there is functionality for two finger scrolling, two finger tapping for right click, and many other nice things, Linux will by default just say "LOL MOUSE" and you'll have a VERY slippery, oversensitive trackpad with left click only and no scrolling.(slippery because it's emulating a mouse, rather than acting like a trackpad) Also the Fn key and it's functions won't work, which can be crippling if you like PageUp/PageDown like me.

These can be fixed with custom kernel patches, that'll let you set up two and three finger tapping, two finger scrolling, and the Fn key will work. However to the best of my knowledge these patches are only available for 64-bit kernels(another set of minor challenges), and any kernel patches will be overwritten if you do any kind of system update, so you'll either be ignoring updates, or using a distro that sticks you with manual updating only. Last but not least, many distros, even recent ones, simply won't boot on the Macbook for some reason. I've only had luck with PCLinuxOS and 64-bit Ubuntu so far.

Bottom line is, it may be more trouble than it's worth if you're hell bent on Linux use.

 

I had a MB, it was nice but I was to cramped with it. I went from a 15" gateway, and a dual monitor setup on my powermac. I traded it in for a MBP 15". Love it. the 17 is to big for me though as I carry this around with me all the time. Though looking back on this I think I may have been happy with the MB, I got a 23" apple display about 3 months after i got the laptop. My MBP has been through hell and back and I don't know how much more of my abuse it can take.

edit: I also got rid of the MB because apple made a slight mistake and put razor blades where my wrists sat.

editedit: linux is a bitch to get on an intel apple, so you are going to be using a Virtualizer.

 

I did a lot of my programming my senior year on my 15" MBP and absolutely loved it. The screen was big enough that I could comfortably put header files on one half and the code files on the other half. It was almost like having two monitors (which I had at home for programming). The power was nice and the keyboard felt great.

For programming I would definitely recommend you get the biggest screen you can fit. The more files you have open the more windows you will want to look at.

I would also recommend you upgrade the RAM as you program's get bigger and your dataset is larger you will notice it. I did some of my programming in parallels with Windows (ugh I hate programming in that OS).

If you wanted to go with a MB and an external monitor that would also work well. Although when you aren't home you will be working on the smaller screen. Either computer and you will be happy I'm sure.