Need quick reassurance before I buy a MBP

I'm a PC developer ... big time. The development language I use does not run in OS X, so I need to run Windows XP now, and Vista when it comes out. I've done a search (blog search) and found some other developers who are working on a MB or MBP and running either Parallels or Boot Camp.

Money is NOT an issue, but reliability is!

There is a lot of things I like about the MBP... screen resolution, LCD brightness, small and lightweight form factor for a 15.4" LCD (not sure if anyone else can match the size and weight). I also want to do some experimenting with OS X. Hey, if it's that good, I'd like to find out for myself.

I would use OS X primarily for the multimedia features... I do a lot of photo and video editing, some web development, lots of word processing.

Is Office for MAC file compatible with Office for Windows?

Somebody tell me buying a MBP is a good idea so I can place my order ASAP.

 

I'd say that Office for Windows is sometimes quite incompatible with Office for... Windows. Well, I mean it. But Office for Mac is as compatible as it can be.

 

Working on a Mac as a PC Developer works just fine. I code C# exclusively for work and for personal projects. When I work from home its always on my iMac. I work in two envionments, Parallels when I am doing local development (websites and small projects ) and I use Cisco VPN and Cord for conecting to the Office when I need to access larger enterprise apps (multi-tier and SQL Server stuff). Honestly, I prefer to do a large amount of development in VPC's regardless of where they are hosted since I can more easily move environments and keep them clean. I keep separate environments at work for each version we support and it works very well. In fact, I have never had a need to even install BootCamp but might soon in order to have a full speed Vista installation.

While I have heard of the occasional issue with Office, I haven't had any issues with the light duty documents I work with. I have found that I like Entourage much more than Outlook. In fact, due to our corporate firewall, it can connect to our exchange server even though Outlook can not since it supports WebDav.

I like my iMac (and previously a Mac mini) so much that I just broke down and ordered a Macbook Pro to replace my "old" Sony SZ160.

 

I agree with Jake there a lot.
I'm in my senior year for software and database development and I also develop software for the University. I have to say that having a machine that can so easily run multiple OS's is so extremely handy...
I know can easily check to see if my pages developed in ASP.Net or PHP properly render in all major browsers. Not something you can do with a normal PC.
Unfortunantly I don't have a license for Parallels (I was using a demo) anymore. I'll buy one as soon as I can, but at least I can do stuff in boot camp. I think if you ask around, you'll find that most people find OS X to be a much more stable environment than Windows. It is based on a Unix kernal after all.

I also use our VPN sometimes, and use Mail to connect to our exchange server.

I think you'd probably dig a mac. They're great. I think the environment really helps support software development. It's just such a clean environment. I'd also suggest checking out a program called TextMate. This program is SWEET. I can do syntax checking of a lot of different programming languages (unfortunantly doesn't have an ADA syntax checker) and can even allow you to execute script code and SQL queries. It's a VERY nice editor. the best I've ever used.