Mac OS X is fun

I noticed a few blog posts on weblogs.asp.net scroll by in the last day about the new breed of Apple machines coming out and the coolness of Panther:

 

http://weblogs.asp.net/bstahlhood/a-fresh-new-juicy-apple

http://weblogs.asp.net/pleloup/archive/2005/03/15/394753.aspx

 

I agree that OS X and the latest machines are pretty cool.  I actually bought a 17-inch Powerbook G4 for home last fall and really love it.

 

[Disclaimer: I have 5 computers at home, and before anyone asks -- Windows runs on my main machines.  I just enjoy playing and developing on different operating systems and seeing what is out there.]

 

I find myself much more productive on Windows when it comes to my most common tasks (email and development – where the latest versions of Outlook and Visual Studio are hard to beat), but there is a slickness and fun factor to OS X that is really addictive.  The Unix foundation was what pushed me over the edge in buying one – since it meant I had a much larger toolchest to play with on it (note: the fact that they finally support two button mice and have Emacs preinstalled was what sealed it).

 

I spent much of this past weekend getting back into Mac GUI development (a little known fact is that I actually used to work for Apple while in college in the early 90s).  My first GUI programming exposure on any platform was actually with the Mac Toolbox as System 7 was just starting to come out (back when pretty much every coding error meant a machine reboot – ahh, those were the days…). 

 

I’m still wrapping my head around Cocoa.  I like the framework, but Objective C is an acquired taste that I’m still trying to acquire (and the Java support for Cocoa seemed cool at first, but runs out of steam as you try and do more complex things).  Carbon feels very natural to me, but is not what cool kids use (perhaps that says something about me?).  My plan is to do two non-trivial projects (one with each technology) over the next few weeks to understand each better.

 

Fun stuff…

 

5 Comments

  • Haha -- yes, I could always use the stuff I know well. But there is something fun about trying out stuff I don't know well too. ;-)



  • Setting Monodevelop, the IDE for mono, on OS X is painful though...

  • Hi David,



    I'll have to give it a try sometime.



    With regard to your questions above:



    a) We will provide intellisense when adding new properties to Profile. They are strongly typed right now -- but it looks like there is a bug with C# that the intellisense isn't picking it up (note: you can still add the properties strongly typed right now -- it is just the intellisense that is failing).



    b) You will be able to use the data adapters generated by the "New DataSet" item in the Add Item list to directly bind to ObjectDataSource (no need for an intermediate class).



    c) I believe SharePoint will ship a SharePoint List datasource with the next release. It is cool that you beat them to it though!



    Thanks,



    Scott

  • Thanks for sharing Scott. I'm a Windows/.NET developer and I've been considering getting a powerbook for my home as well. The main issue is that I have yet to find a PC hardware vendor that comes close to the quality that Apple offers. Having a Unix box at home after all these years is definitely appealing as well!

  • So I have a Panther install at home after a long and painful upgrade, and I'm looking for the definitive programming book for Cocoa - do you have a suggestion?

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