Mac/Xcode/Objective-C Thoughts for a Longtime Windows/Visual Studio/Visual Basic User

I used an Apple II in high school and then had a Mac when I ran the computer center at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base in the early 1990’s. But other than that and my iPhone, I have been on the Windows/Microsoft stack. However, creating iOS applications like Music Genius requires a Mac. Almost a year ago, I bought a MacBook Pro on Cyber Monday. Here are a few random observations on the journey.

• I used Apple’s Boot Camp to run Windows 8.1 as well. The process is fairly involved but the documentation is good. It required me to buy an OEM Windows license, but I’ve been very happy with the result. I can run Office 365, Visual Studio 2012/2013, SQL Server 2012, QuickBooks, etc. when I boot to Windows. I use Microsoft SyncToy to automatically back up both my Windows and Mac data to an external drive.
• I have a Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse that works for both the Mac and Windows sides, though I need to resync if I want to move from one to another. With the proper settings, I am efficient on both sides with the touch pad as well. To get right-click to work on Windows with the touchpad, you need to enable that in Control Panel – Boot Camp. With the MacBook keyboard, the Delete key works like Backspace in Windows. When I am in my office, I connect an external USB keyboard that has both keys. I use keyboard shortcuts extensively and switching between the Control key (Windows) and the Command key (Mac) takes some getting used to. When doing development, I’ll switch between my desktop (Windows) and Mac numerous times during the day. I’m lucky if I do Ctrl + C to copy on Windows and Command + C to copy on the Mac and not the reverse.
• In my work environment, I have two 29″ LG monitors for my desktop machine. I have the MacBook to the left of those two monitors. I connect it to the left-most LG monitor with an HDMI – DVI-D cable. That allows me to get the optimal 2560 x 1080 resolution on the LG monitor. I switch the input on the LG monitor to whichever computer I am currently using so that I have two monitors either way (one being the MacBook’s screen). I have two keyboards and two mice that I swap back and forth on my desk. I leave my right-most monitor showing my Windows desktop so that I can respond to email, do web searches, etc.
• On the software side, both Apple and Microsoft subsidize their development platforms. Apple’s Xcode is totally free. Microsoft’s Visual Studio has a cost for the Professional version that I use, but it is pretty nominal. Apple’s Mac and iOS Developer programs each cost $99 per year while Microsoft’s Windows Store and Windows Phone Developer programs are both free.
• I must admit to being pleasantly surprised by the capabilities and features of Xcode. Its simulators for various iPhones and iPads are awesome. You are also able to connect your iPhone and debug your code while it is executing on the phone. Some tasks that are easy for me in Windows are sometimes a struggle in the Mac environment, but considering I have been using versions of Visual Studio for 15 years and have used Xcode for less than 4 months, it has not been too bad.
• The biggest challenge has been the Objective-C language. Even on the Windows side I am more comfortable with Visual Basic and OpenScript that C#. I’ve increasingly done more JavaScript/jQuery over the years and thus am more comfortable with what I used to call “squiggly bracket” languages, but Objective-C was still a big change. I won a free month’s subscription on Pluralsight at our local .NET User’s Group and I found their tutorials very helpful. There is also a strong user community where you can usually find someone who has encountered your issue or challenge. I found a number of tutorials at http://www.raywenderlich.com quite useful as well.
• Apple has recently come out with its new Swift language, which is much closer to JavaScript, ActionScript, and even Visual Basic. I used Swift for the Slide Show Soundtrack. There are some growing pains with it and Xcode, however, and I’ve gone back to Objective-C for the Mac store version of Music Genius.

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