Hello all.

I'm starting my own company as a webscriptor soon and am looking to buy me a decent piece of hardware fit for the job.

If PHP was all I needed to script, my decision would've been made long time: i'd use Linux. Unfortunately (at least for my decision ) I also develop web applications in Flash, which only comes on windows and Mac.


Option 1 : apple dot com slash getamac.
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As cool as i think a Mac is, I find the price tag a little too high. I like to use 2 screens, so a Mac-Mini isn't an option. A MacBook has a too small primary screen (15"). A Macbook Pro hasd a bigger screen (17") but is just too expensive for what it offers me. Also I don't really require mobility.

The only 2 options I'm left woth are an iMac or a Mac Pro. They are also expensive but I think the ratio between what u pay and what u get is better there.

An advantage here is also that mac OSX allows me to run both windows and Mac which is great for testing in several browsers on several platforms.

Option 2 : Install Linux and emulate windows and/or mac.
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I have a few questions:

1: I havent got any experience with emulators (let alone emulators on linux). How do I go about it? My primary goal is to spend my time scripting. I don't want to spend a week getting this thing set up.

2: How stable and smoothly will this emulated platform run?



Based on this story above (for which I thank you to 've read it so far) what would you recommend?


Best regards,
Marvelade

Install VMWare and build your virtual Windows system, sorry I cannot tell how long this will take to setup it is Windows afterall (it should take about the same amount of time as setting up Windows and all the apps you want).

http://www.vmware.com/download/server/

Depending on the memory in the host system (at least 2-GB recommended, 4-GB is better) and the amount assigned to the guest (virtual) OS (at least 1-GB here) this virtual system is very stable and runs as smoothly as Windows does (which is not really saying much IMHO).

I'd suggest wine, its very easy to setup and then you just run the installer for flash. I use flash a lot in wine and it works perfectly. I also use a lot of other software like Sothinks SWF decompiler (I had to install that on windows then copy the files over) and even games like Portal and WoW.

True- Wine works just fine for me, as well.

Marvelade~ Check out the link in my sig, "Running Windows Apps on Linux". Frank provides in-depth details for using Wine. Any problems or questions? You can contact Frank directly, he'll be glad to help.

Good luck with your system. Do come back and let us know what you decide and how it works.

Cheers

Hey everybody. First of all a Happy new year.

I've set up a machine at work with Kubuntu 6.10. I installed WINE and got a few apps running.

I tried to install the 30-day Flash CS3 trial, but the installer failed. It suggested me to download the file again from adobe.com

This same file, however, worked fine on my windows machine so I can't believe the installer file is corrupted.

So much for my adventure here. I will soon be going to the nearest Mac-store to get me a new 20" iMac I guess.


c u later,
Marv

Do you have to use the newest version of flash? I can report Flash 8 Pro works in wine perfectly. I as far as I know Flash CS3 doesn't have any new ground breaking new features that make life more worth living, though I'm not gonna argue if you really want to use that version ;P. Might I suggest dual booting windows if all else fails? Its what I do for games that don't work in wine, etc.

You can do most of the same development and use the same tools on the mac that you can on linux. Why not get the best of both worlds?

Most graphics/media shops are mac shops so it's easier to deal with them using a mac anyway. I usually don't favor macs because I think the hardware is overpriced, but in your situation it might be the best thing when the overall picture is considered. You can use the proprietary apps you need to do your job and send the project files off in a format any shop understands.

The mac wins in this case.

-Viz

You might want to make sure the iMac does dual screens if you are needing that.

@xkero : I'd like to start using A.S.3. Keeping track of the latest techniques is a must to be competitive in the scripting business.


@rg.viza : Hardware is on the expensive side, yes. However because I use it for my company I can deduct VAT (which is 21% here in Belgium) which makes some difference (everything is 17.3% cheaper ). I even think I'm gonna go for a 24" iMac. The specs are better and if i want to customize a 20" to fit my needs, it's only 200€ or so cheaper than a 24" iMac that has everything I want.
(total price would be around 1400 or 1500€)


@dtmbmw325i : I called the aple store here in Antwerp and they assured me that attaching a second screen is no problem. Connecting DVI, it supports up to 1920x1200px (same as the max. resolution of the iMac's 24" screen). When I get an adaption piece from DVI to VGA i can go as high as 2048x1536px if I want. (thought it was knida odd that I can get higher resolutions vga than dvi, but i suppose they know best)




Big thanks to everybody who participated, comments/considerations are always welcome.


best regards,
Marv