Wanna be Macbie

Mac Dream
MacBook has been on my 'Desire List' for sometime now. Everytime I think of indulging myself with the sleek user interface that Apple offers, I push the idea out thinking that its going to be a difficult shift for a ASP.NET developer. Is it really that difficult?

ForeWord: This blog post comes out with no PC vs. Mac argument.This is just research on things needed for a ASP.NET developer treading into Mac waters.

Questions Galore
How can I compile C# code on Mac? Will I have to learn to write code on Objective-C? Should I start using the Cocoa Framework instead of the .NET Framework? Will I still be able to use AJAX.NET on Mac? These are the questions that ring loud and clear in any .NET programmer's mind.

I try to seek answers to these and wish for a Mac soon! :)

BootCamp
BootCamp comes packaged with Mac OS X. This software assists users to install Windows XP and Windows Vista while leaving all the Mac data in place while it creates a separate partition on your drive for Windows. BootCamp even lets you start up the Mac using either of the operating systems.

Parallels and VMWare
Parallels and VMWare are virtualization softwares that help break down the wall between Mac and a PC. Both these products offer a seamless desktop environment between Mac OS X and PC applications.

These virtualization softwares do come with certain performance penalties. See Jeff Atwood ponder problems and discuss solutions.

Decide between Parallels/VMWare and BootCamp

Mono
Mono is a open-source development initiative to develop an open source, UNIX version of Microsoft.NET development platform. Mono includes a CLI (Common Language Infrastructure) virtual machine, a class library that works on CLR and a compiler for C# language.

Everything seems okay, but aren't we still missing something that .NET programmers cannot live without?? Yeah, the Visual Studio has got you hooked onto it - you will not know how much you love this tool until you start missing it! I see the Microsoft guys smiling :)




Here comes MonoDevelop. MonoDevelop is a IDE designed for C# and other .NET languages. Developed code can also be ported on unix machines. Take a look at Screenshots for MonoDevelop, they are really promising.








Mono and AJAX.NET?
Microsoft's ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit works on Mono, and is open source (Ms-PL). That doesn't preclude the use of jQuery, though. There are actually several third party AJAX libraries and control toolkits that support Mono, and many are compatible or work in conjunction with ASP.NET AJAX.

You .Net developers, ready for a Mac? :)