Let’s say that today, I was going to buy a new Mac. (Yes, I use a Mac, even though I work in a development shop. It drives those dev’s crazy.) What tools would I need to get in order pick up life where I’m at right now? Well, I’m glad you asked (or didn’t) because I’m going to tell you.
If I’m going to design things I’m going to need the proper software for that. You don’t go work on an old Honda without your trusty 10mm ratchet and so too, you don’t design with out your trusty Adobe products. First on the list would be the Creative Suite. CS version whatever-I-don’t-care. I like to have the latest version if I can manage that but I’m not picky because the basic functionality is all I need.
It’s great if I can design a site or a t-shirt or something. But, it’s useless unless I can turn those static images into Syntactically Awesome Stylesheets (SASS). Therefore I need TextMate. Yup. I used to be a Coda guy but TextMate’s simple UI, snippets, and the fact that it supports pretty much any programing language I’ll ever touch means I’m going to shell out the big (or not so big) bucks to get this guy.
Since I’m in the business of making things that live on the inter-google-tube-nets I’ll need a proper browser. I’m not knocking Safari but i just don’t like that Inspector. That’s why I’ll get Chrome and Firefox. Why debate about which one’s better? Crap. Seriously people. Just get them both. Along with that there’s some add-on’s that you’ll want to pick up. FireBug, SASS Bug, and the developer’s tool kit are a must.
There’s a slew of other goodies that I’ll need. Like Git and Ruby on Rails. I’ll head over to the terminal for those. Whilst I’m at it I’ll make sure I’ve got Compass & SASS as well. Speaking of Git- I’ll want GitHub’s GUI too. Why? Because it makes using Git fun.
So now things are starting to come along. I’ll need to be hooking up my hard drives and moving some files around. Well, that would be much easier with TotalFinder! Heck yea, make Finder like Chrome. Why not? That’s totally useful to have one window with combined tabs. I’ll pick that guy up. While I’m in the Finder world I’ll grab Growl too. The free version mind you, not the new one that costs 4 bucks.
Speaking of moving files, I’ll be installing CloudApp and DropBox. Why both? Because I use cloud to share screen shots with designers and coders that are way better than I am. I use DropBox to take files home. I use the free version of both since I’m cheap.
I like to jot down my thoughts as well, and since I live in the computer age I’ll be downloading Day One from the App Store. I’ve been using it for some time now and I really love it. The UI is great and easy to use. That said, the desktop app needs to hurry up and support Mark Down and images.
Speaking of writing, I’ll be wanting a copy of Microsoft Office (2011 only) or the Apple equivalent. These are super powerful. They are also expensive when I’m wasting my whole paycheck on Adobe Creative Suite so i might be just using Google Docs from now on.
— (I seriously just copied this from Pages & Pasted it into a Google Doc) —
I really like listing to music while I work. I like to own my music because I like to put it on a CD because my truck lacks any kind of input for my iPhone. That means I’ll go get the free versions of Spotify, Rdio, and I’ll even use Grooveshark. But my mainstay will be my iTunes collection until I can figure out a way to fund a Rdio or Spotify account.
Now that all the work stuff is out of the way it’s time to install the greatest game ever. MineCraft. I’ll go download the latest version now. While I’m thinking about games I’ll probably rummage around and find my Age of Mythology and Command & Conquer: Generals discs. These are great! Too bad they aren’t on Steam. (I won’t be putting Steam on any new Macs unless I want to play Torchlight. Not likely.)
Well, that about wraps it up. Oh, yea. Social Media. how could I ever forget? I’ll just install the basic free Twitter app from the App Store. I’ll use the snot out of that thing. But 99% of my social media-ing (Tweetbot & Instagram) happens on my iPhone.
Ok. So that covers about everything. Of course there are things that I’ll have to go install, like fonts. But those are safe on my hard drive, perhaps I’ll do a post about what fonts i would install on a new mac.
Did I forget anything? If i did than let me know! Leave a comment or tweet me @stewarthines
You want my stuff? This is what it’ll cost you:
1.) Adobe Creative Suite. CS Whatever – $firstborn.child
2.) TextMate – and all the wonderful bundles I’ve created/installed (CSS3 & SASS) – $70.00
3.) Chrome / FireFox – FREE
4.) Git & the Git GUI from GitHub – FREE
5.) Ruby on Rails – FREE
6.) SASS & Compass – FREE
7.) Drop Box & Cloud APP – I use the free versions
8.) Rdio / Spotify / GrooveShark / Itunes – I use the free versions — for now
9.) TotalFinder – $20.00
10.) Growl – free version
11.) MineCraft – $26.95
12.) Age of Mythology – $79.00 (wow!)
13.) Command & Conquer Generals – $50.00
13.) Twitter – Free app store app.
14.) I made the switch to Google Docs while writing this post – FREE
15.) Day One – $10.00 in the app store
