Recommended specs for Windows Development computer.

[Curry Kenworthy]

For anyone truly interested in the original question of "Recommended 
specs for Windows Development computer"

(... as opposed to any OS-partisan virtue signaling, or avoiding Windows 
hardware, or maintaining a single computer as the rule, etc ...)

here's my take, from many years of often "Windows first, but not Windows 
only" experience:

- Biggest OS difference/biggest factor: anti-virus. I've literally seen 
a Mac running with software techniques similar to today's PC antivirus, 
and similar results.

- I don't trust my PC to run Mac, nor my Mac to run PC. I get my hands 
dirty on both, with dedicated hardware for each. You notice more....

- PC doesn't require a huge investment. I use a budget (but not bottom) 
laptop with as much hard disk and RAM as possible. Currently an i5 chip 
and 8 GB memory, 1 TB RAM.

- The specs I listed are quite adequate for professional LC dev. Any 
extra power feels great, but remember that it also could cause you to 
overlook issues affecting some of your end users. I intentionally use 
budget hardware to make sure software is snappy for everyone.

- Again, with Windows 10 it's all about managing antivirus and various 
other software/settings to be allowed to use the inherent performance of 
your machine. The power is in there, but you have to remove the ball and 
chains.

- Any OS-partisan biases (in other words reliving the 80s and 90s, which 
felt so good) will tend to be confirmed by their own cognitive influence 
on your perception of your limited experiences on another OS. Using a 
system efficiently takes experience and learning, built into habits. 
(There once was a system called MacOS that for a number of years pretty 
much broke that rule. And during those bygone years, I was proudly 
"Mac-first, but not Mac only.") Whatever OS you use, just realize that 
many everyday users are equally efficient on the other operating systems.

I like having and using both almost daily, as long as I'm developing for 
both. And developing for both is specifically how I ended up right here! :)

Best wishes,

Curry Kenworthy

Custom Software Development
"Better Methods, Better Results"
LiveCode Training and Consulting
http://livecodeconsulting.com/