creating an ipod app

[sportsstar298]

idk if im in the right catorgory but i want to create an app, for smart phones, ipods, but inorder to code the app i need an macbook witch i dont have, i was wondering should i create an app for the android to get experience then come and try to make one for apple. plz help
also if u know ways i can make an app for applewithout a macbook plz let me know

[cjmnews]

The first requirement is to own or rent a Mac. There is no way around this.

I have contemplated the same problem. Do I want to buy a Mac just to write an iPhone App? So far the answer is no. I don't want to make the investment.

[sportsstar298]

ok another question, my birthday is coming up and my parents said i can get a laptop, are apple computers better than all the other companies, i have never used an apple and the only reason i would get an apple is for creating apps,

[Sparkee]

This is mostly a matter of personal preference. Apple computers usually have a little higher quality and they don't really make under powered machines. They may have a lower failure rate, but they still have there share of issues as well. You can probably buy similar PC's cheaper but you can still end up with under powered systems. They will work fine but I have seen some cheaper PC's that choke badly on simple flash video.

I can't speak for the latest version of Windows but I have found Apple's operating system was more stable than the Windows computers I had in the past. I have just learned to love it's simplicity while still being very powerful. Mac's also make great Windows machines by dual booting with the included BootCamp or using virtual machines such as Fusion or Parallels. Although I wouldn't pay Mac prices just to run Windows.

Basically you did answer your own question. If you want to develop iOS Apps, you need a Mac. Since you can also install Windows as well, you can develop for other platforms as well. The thing with a Mac is even the cheapest model will do what you want. You really only need to upgrade it's components or move to the high end models if you want to do some serious video and photo editing, and even then the low end models will do the job very well too.

[cjmnews]

Rich parents eh?

There are pluses and minuses to either form of laptop.

Apple Pros:
Less malware and viruses
More seamless integration with other Apple products.
More intuitive interface.
App Writing capability.

Apple Cons:
Less software available free or pay.
Not always compatible with the rest of the world (some files can't be used by the majority of computers)

[kornchild2002]

I would say that the compatibility issue is nonexistent and has been for the past 4-5 years. Macs can work with the same office files, same media files, and the same general files as Windows (except for programs written for Windows, those *.exe files will only work in Windows). Either way, file compatibility between systems should be the last thing on a Mac purchaser's mind simply because it isn't really an issue anymore.

The main reason why anyone should buy a Mac is to get Apple's hardware design integrated with their OS. Although Macs run (pretty much) the same hardware as other Windows systems, OS X has been built to run on that specific hardware. OS X (even OS X Lion) only needs to be compatible with a small amount of systems and Apple knows exactly what configurations it needs to work with. Windows is built to run on millions of different systems so it accounts for such. Do not buy a Mac if you are just going to program in OS X and then run Windows the majority of the time. You negate the purpose of buying a Mac (i.e. to run OS X) by doing so.

Macs are fine systems and I have owned two myself. I switched from being Windows only (at least for my notebooks, I had a G5 iMac for all of 5 months and ended up selling it since Apple switched to Intel and I knew that the PowerPC architecture would not be supported in the future) to my two Macs. I purchased a 13" MacBook Pro (MBP) and have since sold it as I wanted a MacBook Air (MBA) instead. The two were great machines with top notch build quality. Granted, the 13" MBP carries a ~$300 premium over other similarly equipped Windows notebooks with the (general) same build quality but it was still worth it. Ironically enough, the 128GB 13" MBA is competitively priced as other ultrabooks from various manufacturers end up charging $1400-$1500 for units with the same features as the $1250 13" MBA.

[sportsstar298]

Cjmnews my parents aren't paying for all of it, but thanks for all the replies, and I'm going to get an apple computer