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alexkon

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 8, 2017
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Hello i m new to this forum and i hope this is the right place for this question.
I want to buy my first mac book and the 2017 models i think are the right ones.
My use case scenario is this.
I m doing a master in software engineering and i want a laptop for doing development outside my work-space.
I have a good PC in my office but i need something to study,code or use it for a potential job where i have to go to a client and do some work there.Currently i m doing java and android studio but i ll would like to start developing ios apps. From all the stuff i do the most heavy procedure is android emulator so i would need a mac to run it smoothly (i would really need an answer based on that). Also, do u find touch-bar useful in development? can u put some shortcuts there or something else ?
I m gravitating towards the 13inch with reduced price but i find 128gigs to be really small . so maybe 13inch with 256 8gigs of ram i5cpu nontouchbar ? Also i m really worried about screen size would 13" be enough? also what about new 12"macbook smaller form factor is always tempting even though screen is 12"

thanks in advance
 
The 13 inch 256 GB would have been my choice. The touch bar is not really useful if you're used to windows PC anyway. You might also like the Apple Magic Mouse.
 
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Yup, you'll be fine with the 13" MBP and whatever hard drive size best fits you. The 13" screen is pretty usable (used one for web design/dev for several years) but the 12" feels kinda cramped IMO.
 
Hello i m new to this forum and i hope this is the right place for this question.
I want to buy my first mac book and the 2017 models i think are the right ones.
My use case scenario is this.
I m doing a master in software engineering and i want a laptop for doing development outside my work-space.
I have a good PC in my office but i need something to study,code or use it for a potential job where i have to go to a client and do some work there.Currently i m doing java and android studio but i ll would like to start developing ios apps. From all the stuff i do the most heavy procedure is android emulator so i would need a mac to run it smoothly (i would really need an answer based on that). Also, do u find touch-bar useful in development? can u put some shortcuts there or something else ?
I m gravitating towards the 13inch with reduced price but i find 128gigs to be really small . so maybe 13inch with 256 8gigs of ram i5cpu nontouchbar ? Also i m really worried about screen size would 13" be enough? also what about new 12"macbook smaller form factor is always tempting even though screen is 12"

thanks in advance
I know many that use a MacAir13 for development for both Android and iOS. Not sure how smooth, but I haven't heard them complain.

I currently use a MBP15 with the touchbar. In the past when looking at the 13" the screen it was a little too cramped for my old eyes. While the touchbar is cool, it does not help with development. Mostly the learning curve is getting the right needs in the touch bar and me learning when to use it. Right now I just do not reach up for it when coding, except to turn the volume up or down.
 
Since this was asked in the Web Design and Development forum, I assume you're talking about Web site development - NOT software development. That makes a big difference.

Specifically in Web site development, I'd recommend as large a screen as you can get because you'll often be working with multiple windows: the page's HTML code, an external style sheet, a WYSIWYG or browser view of the page, and perhaps something like a W3Cschools.org page to refer to how a particular element or property works. A 13" screen will make this unnecessarily difficult. However, Web development won't stress your processor or RAM. (It shouldn't, anyhow, because you'll be developing pages that have to work on much slower computers than any current Mac.) Storage won't be a big factor, unless you use lots of video and graphics, because HTML/CSS/JS are all quite compact.
 
Since this was asked in the Web Design and Development forum, I assume you're talking about Web site development - NOT software development. That makes a big difference.

Specifically in Web site development, I'd recommend as large a screen as you can get because you'll often be working with multiple windows: the page's HTML code, an external style sheet, a WYSIWYG or browser view of the page, and perhaps something like a W3Cschools.org page to refer to how a particular element or property works. A 13" screen will make this unnecessarily difficult. However, Web development won't stress your processor or RAM. (It shouldn't, anyhow, because you'll be developing pages that have to work on much slower computers than any current Mac.) Storage won't be a big factor, unless you use lots of video and graphics, because HTML/CSS/JS are all quite compact.
While I agree with getting the largest screen you can, Mac OSX workspaces and an iPad really speeds up testing / development.
  1. Workplace = Chrome Browser with developer
  2. Atom IDE
  3. Terminal (x2) for browser-sync and terminal development commands

I navigate to localhost:3000 on the iPad to get an iPad view of the development while I type. Browser-sync immediately updates the iPad with the changes as I make them. Super speedy..
 
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While I agree with getting the largest screen you can, Mac OSX workspaces and an iPad really speeds up testing / development.
  1. Workplace = Chrome Browser with developer
  2. Atom IDE
  3. Terminal (x2) for browser-sync and terminal development commands

I navigate to localhost:3000 on the iPad to get an iPad view of the development while I type. Browser-sync immediately updates the iPad with the changes as I make them. Super speedy..

I have an older 13" and it works just fine for development but the screen can definitely be cramped. With browser + developer tools, IDE, terminal(s), even with multiple spaces. It's manageable, but when I'm not mobile I connect to an external display and use bluetooth mouse and keyboard. 15" would probably be more manageable, but I do think I would still hook that up to an external display since I tend to use both screens.
 
13 inch would be good, the 12" maybe if portability is very important. I always run at higher resolutions so there is enough on screen space, but things do get small.
 
if you're still on the lookout, get the 13" and if possible an external monitor. The Dell Ultrasharp Series is pretty good and having an external monitor makes things so much easier.
 
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