UD4 & PhAkt Users?

I'm trying to learn PHP right now for a subscription-based site that requires features such as user authentication and e-commerce (with a mySQL database) I'm using Dreamweaver 4 on a Mac running OS 9 to build the site. I'm wondering if the learning curve would be less steep if I upgraded to UltraDev and installed PhAkt. I understand the logic behind the code, but am having a hard time learning all the syntax (and I've always been a lousy typist). Would UltraDev help? Is anybody working with UltraDev and PhAkt now, esp. on a Mac? How's it going? Since I can't test locally with my current set-up, I also wonder whether I can set up remote connections to my hosting company's servers (and whether that's a pain to do) or if just uploading files and testing that way is a viable alternative. My goal is to get the site up as quickly as possible. Would UD4 + PhAkt speed things up? Thanks very much for any insight you can provide. Vicki