Because nobody made a Steam Deck until 2020. Everyone plays video games now and have for years, and unless you have a console, the only way to play 99% of video games is using Steam’s windows version or a specially adapted Linux .
Don’t get me wrong, the moment that Windows 11/12/etc. outright requires logging into a Microsoft account (Protip: As of this writing, using the email “no@thankyou.com” and submitting a blank password forces Windows 11 to let you make/log into a local user account) to use it, I’ll be installing Steam OS on my OneXFly, and it’s why I don’t use my “free” upgrade to 11 on my Windows 10 gaming desktop. I just don’t think you realize how big a deal compatibility really is for gaming.
Don’t take me wrong, there’s some truth to this. But the way it’s written screams “Windows users are drones because of evil Microsoft”. That level of bias is not really constructive. There are more reasonable/rational ways to expand upon this phenemonon that doesn’t end up in a circlejerk. Since it’s quite a big wall of text, I will give one example.
The author makes a broad generalization that, because of Windows’ mystification of its inner workings, Windows users can’t even imagine the thought of becoming a programmer. And well, I know plenty of programmers that to this day have not even touched anything but Windows. Some of them never use the terminal, but some are quite good at it.
And, yet, most of them exhibit this exact behavior: .NET is what Microsoft blesses, and this is the only reasonable language to use.
Don’t get me wrong. There are exceptions; but they are exceptions. And most of those can navigate a Linux terminal reasonably well, even if they prefer Windows.
What the author describes is not learned stupidity, but learned avoidance of diversity. Tell me this doesn’t describe most of the Windows .NET devs you know.
I might need to read it again to be sure but I don’t think that’s what they were saying. I believe they’re talking about something which has been Arch Linux’s philosophy from the beginning which is “know your system”. The process by which you do that is first understanding that Arch is modular and highly configurable. You then choose every component from your Window Manager to your File Manager. The demystification is from you taking the initiative to learn about your options before deciding “I like this one” and then installing it and then configuring it suit your preferences. You don’t have to be programmer to do this, you can follow the ArchWiki or watch SomeOrdinaryGamers install Arch from scratch to a usable system in 45 mins.
The reason the “know your system” philosophy is important is that you, the user, are in control. You are simultaneously the end-user and the sysadmin. You know what you’re installing so if something breaks, there’s this handy terminal to tell you what happened. If that’s not helpful, rollback your changes and try again. Computer too slow? Throw open htop and watch your processes. Trying to kill a stubborn process? F4 to search for it. F9 to bring up the command menu. 9 to select SIGKILL and pres enter.
You’ll probably say “that’s a lot of steps to kill a process” but with routine use, it becomes muscle memory. The more the use it, the more efficient you become at using it.
Your mindset is that if you use any pre-built solution it’s always worse? Do you take this approach to the rest of your life? Do you not eat out ever and cook every meal from scratch, that way if you have a reaction you can eliminate ingredients. That way you know exactly what’s going into your body. Yah that seems like a lot of steps for every meal, but with routine it becomes muscle memory and you get efficient. I’m also assuming you build your own cars.
I mean the concept is silly on its face. It’s not a bad option for people, but it is by no means required. And there is no problem with it. Using a pre built solution is fine. Anyone who has ever worked in tech knows the concept of build vs buy. This falls right into that. Using a best on class black box solution or building your own, there are pros and cons to each.
My partner got into programming because of learning how to mod games on her Windows PC. The idea that Windows can’t be a path to wanting to program is just a little silly.
