Okay so I'm gonna explain my situation a little bit:
>be me
>comp sci major with one year left
>been using windows all my life and some linux.
>want to start learning object-c and making ios apps (already working on android apps)
>has an asus ux32vd with 10gb ram and a 256gb ssd.
>desktop with 8gb ram (2008 Gateway)
So programming with a laptop at school or somewhere other than home is a problem because when i write code at home I have to send it over to my laptop somehow (box.net or dropbox is what i use - but annoying)
So I thought of buying a new rMBP with 16gb ram and 256gb ssd so when I need to get on windows it can handle it. Also would have an external HD for backups.
But then I want to setup 2 external monitors to the macbook to replace the desktop this way I can code at home and just unplug it and take it to school or whatever.
Is there any reason this would be bad? - Would
Also why do you guys hate macs so much? I'm not really a gamer and if I was my laptop probably wouldn't even handle good games anyway. I love my iPhone and always admired macbooks because windows laptops always seem to lack something I think it's design. I also use all programs that will work on a mac mainly: chrome, eclipse, itunes, photoshop, utorrent, vlc...
I do like game design, mobile app design, and programming.
Only major downside is costs. We tend to hate macs because absurd pricing and profit margins, and Apple's politics (they are patent trolls). There is also less flexibility on Mac OS and iOS, but it's probably not bad for programming. Ignoring politics and pricing, their computer's aren't inherently bad - they are actually pretty good, especially if you aren't a power user.
My question is why can't you just hook up the monitors to your ASUS notebook? it seems plenty powerful and has mini-VGA and HDMI.
I may get hate for this, but I use a 15" rMBP for class/work/media, and I love it. It's an amazing laptop. The display is super crisp, the keyboard is great for typing, and the battery life is outstanding. I will concede that it's expensive, but if you're fine with OS X I recommend it (or a 13" rMBP). Xcode runs really smooth, obviously.
Also, if you do decide to go the Mac route, check out:
The main reason is because I want to do mobile app development on the side and the app store is a great market for me to be on even though i can use google play which i am I can work for both markets on one machine.
The asus us great and would work but it doesn't feel as snappy as my 2008 gateway desktop for some reason. When I right click it takes like 4 seconds to respond... On a fresh install of win7.
So programming with a laptop at school or somewhere other than home is a problem because when i write code at home I have to send it over to my laptop somehow (box.net or dropbox is what i use - but annoying)
I do programming on a laptop and a PC and BitTorrent Sync works flawlessly.
But then I want to setup 2 external monitors to the macbook to replace the desktop this way I can code at home and just unplug it and take it to school or whatever.
Is there any reason this would be bad? - Would
It depends. I think that if you are fine with the performance of a macbook, having one device instead of two has a lot of advantages. For example, even when for me synchronization of project files works seamlessly, whenever I need to install and configure an IDE, I have to do it on both devices manually, which is kinda dumb in 2013, if you think about it.