Good question and I imagine many others are having similar thoughts.
How's bash on Windows 10?
I still find when using cygwin/babun and to a lesser extent WSL that these solutions leave gaps/quirky annoyances. There are still some issues to iron out. It will depend on usage, but the command line on a Macintosh or Ubuntu machine for me is still preferable.
Is it possible to dual boot your Mac and setup a Windows development environment to see how you like it? That might be the best test before you buy.
Surface Laptop is a very nice looking machine, but I think there are better alternatives in Windows land for a pure laptop. Even within Surface land I think the Book or Pro offer more ergonomic setups/positions when working with the pen or touch.
The 8th generation Intel chips are a noticeable step up performance (for a change). So I'd either wait for a refresh or look at one of the alternatives. I would also wait for WWDC (not long now) to see if Apple addresses the keyboard (and other areas).
I am not clear on which proportion of your work is design and which is development. You mention the command line (bash), VS Code and Docker. For this usage I would also consider Ubuntu or another linux distribution (dual boot). Wouldn't recommend linux at all for design, but it is very well suited for development.
There are positives and negatives and it is possible to get stuff done on all operating systems - but it isn't that close. On balance in spite of Apple making some annoying, questionable decisions for most developers (particularly web/client and mobile) macOS still offers the best mix of stability, compatibility and application support.
Thanks for the thorough post. Between dev and design, it's 80% dev and 20% design work so I'm much more worried about the dev setup and flow than the design part.
Do you collaborate with other designers using Sketch - or just use it yourself?
I don't do design work myself but I need something to view/modify sketch files and do basic edits on SVGs.
Do you need/plan to use Sketch plugins (like Material Theme Editor)?
Not myself directly. I use Sketch to do basic wireframing but I'd do an equivalent job with any wireframing app. I'm a poor designer.
Do you do/plan to do mobile development?
Yes, via React Native. Which does raise the question of testing the iOS version of the app. Great point.
My preference would be to get another MacBook and I really hope that Apple raises the bar again. Just getting myself ready in case my current machine collapses unexpectedly and I have to find a replacement rapidly.
Microsoft say it is their mission to make Windows the best dev box "for you" - which is inspiring/commendable and I hope they achieve this goal.
It is also an admission that for most people Windows isn't currently the best dev box. Of course it is an open secret/blindingly obvious to anyone who has attended or watched any talk from a developer conference in recent years, so they aren't losing too much face admitting it.
As you are opening sketch files and working with react native then I agree at the moment it tips the balance in favour of macOS.
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Good question and I imagine many others are having similar thoughts.
I still find when using cygwin/babun and to a lesser extent WSL that these solutions leave gaps/quirky annoyances. There are still some issues to iron out. It will depend on usage, but the command line on a Macintosh or Ubuntu machine for me is still preferable.
Along with Tower options include GitLens (as you are using VS Code), GitKraken, Sourcetree and of course GitHub Desktop.
Alternatives to Sktech and Figma are InVision Studio (although beta is for Mac - Windows coming soon) and Adobe XD (now free).
A couple more queries/things to consider:
Some other thoughts:
Is it possible to dual boot your Mac and setup a Windows development environment to see how you like it? That might be the best test before you buy.
Surface Laptop is a very nice looking machine, but I think there are better alternatives in Windows land for a pure laptop. Even within Surface land I think the Book or Pro offer more ergonomic setups/positions when working with the pen or touch.
The 8th generation Intel chips are a noticeable step up performance (for a change). So I'd either wait for a refresh or look at one of the alternatives. I would also wait for WWDC (not long now) to see if Apple addresses the keyboard (and other areas).
I am not clear on which proportion of your work is design and which is development. You mention the command line (bash), VS Code and Docker. For this usage I would also consider Ubuntu or another linux distribution (dual boot). Wouldn't recommend linux at all for design, but it is very well suited for development.
There are positives and negatives and it is possible to get stuff done on all operating systems - but it isn't that close. On balance in spite of Apple making some annoying, questionable decisions for most developers (particularly web/client and mobile) macOS still offers the best mix of stability, compatibility and application support.
Thanks for the thorough post. Between dev and design, it's 80% dev and 20% design work so I'm much more worried about the dev setup and flow than the design part.
I don't do design work myself but I need something to view/modify sketch files and do basic edits on SVGs.
Not myself directly. I use Sketch to do basic wireframing but I'd do an equivalent job with any wireframing app. I'm a poor designer.
Yes, via React Native. Which does raise the question of testing the iOS version of the app. Great point.
My preference would be to get another MacBook and I really hope that Apple raises the bar again. Just getting myself ready in case my current machine collapses unexpectedly and I have to find a replacement rapidly.
Thanks again for your great feedback.
Not a problem - I am glad it was of some benefit.
Microsoft say it is their mission to make Windows the best dev box "for you" - which is inspiring/commendable and I hope they achieve this goal.
It is also an admission that for most people Windows isn't currently the best dev box. Of course it is an open secret/blindingly obvious to anyone who has attended or watched any talk from a developer conference in recent years, so they aren't losing too much face admitting it.
As you are opening sketch files and working with react native then I agree at the moment it tips the balance in favour of macOS.