And you, what’s your operating system to code ? Me, I use Arch btw
macOS all the way.
All the comfort of a UNIX FOSS env, all the premium features of a corpo env.
One of the main issues with OSX is that docker sucks, it’s so slow even using the new fixes virtfs etc.
Windows here. And WSL. Best UI and hardware compatibility with all UNIX tools I might ever need. As a bonus I can also play games and use industrial apps for my hobbies.
Linux time.
Best UI
KDE’s UI is better, even if you don’t take the lack of ads into account.
hardware compatibility
What hardware do you use that isn’t compatible with Linux? The only time I had a problem with that was when I was sold a bootleg PS4 controller on ebay once, and it didn’t work via USB (official controllers do work tho). Connecting via Bluetooth fixed it.
I can also play games
Same.
industrial apps
…like forklift firmware?
KDE’s UI is better
KDE was good many moons ago, sadly today it’s just a useless mess.
What hardware do you use that isn’t compatible with Linux?
Printers, NVIDIA GPUs, latest Intel CPUs, WiFi, Bluetooth, DRM protected stuff, etc.
…like forklift firmware?
Apps ranging from Photoshop to Fusion 360, from TI and Evolv board firmware flashers to Chinese device apps, all kinds of CNC controllers, etc. If your hobby requires an app and it’s not a software development related hobby then there’s a 99% chance that it won’t work on Linux. And even if there’s a Linux version of the app, it might lack critical features, like DaVinci Resolve which lacks audio and video codecs on Linux.
The sad truth is that Windows today is the best Linux distro out there for desktop use. And if you can get your hands on an enterprise licence then you won’t have any limitations or ads or whatnot.
inhales
I don’t know what window you been sticking your head out of, but bring it back in and put your seatbelt back on because the Linux train is not going to stop for your ass.
The Windows desktop was good many moons ago, sadly today it’s just a useless mess.
FTFY. KDE has more features, is more customizable, and has better performance than Windows. Personal preference is one thing, but you’re just wrong here.
Printers, NVIDIA GPUs, latest Intel CPUs, WiFi, Bluetooth, DRM protected stuff, etc.
Printers!?!?! When was the last time you tried to connect a printer to a Linux machine? They all work out of the box with zero config needed, no matter what distro you’re using. The same can’t be said about Windows, where you need to hunt for drivers to install and keep an eye out for that sneaky Mcafee checkbox. Printers are a solved problem everywhere except Windows.
Nvidia GPUs work fine. Again, I don’t know what paint you’ve been snorting. My current workstation has a 4090 in it, but before that I had a 1080->980->970. I went full time Linux with the 980, and never had any problems. I think you’re confusing the complaints; the complaints about Nvidia are that their driver is not open source. The drivers do work though, and they perform much better on Linux than on Windows (ask anyone doing compute heavy work, like AI, simulation, rendering). Nvidia’s recent trillion dollar valuation has little to do with PC gaming (Windows or not).
Wifi and Bluetooth work fine. That’s a myth perpetuated online by crack heads. If you can’t get wifi and bluetooth working on your machine, that’s on you.
Idk about the latest intel chips, but I do have a 7th gen Ryzen in my workstation, and it all works perfectly. Even if the latest intel chip doesn’t work today, of course it will be fixed. Linux is a primary platform for Intel and AMD both. Choosing Windows because of that is like preordering a digital game (aka pointless and dumb).
Apps ranging from Photoshop to Fusion 360, from TI and Evolv…
I understand your point of view. You’re used to a shitty operating system, and don’t have experience with one hyper optimized for virtualization like Linux. Even if you don’t have the technical skills to run software through Wine, or with an easy wrapper, there are many GUIs you can use to run Windows in a VM, with GPU passthrough and everything.
Well, printers are completely insane bullshit carriers on Windows that take over your life if you let them. Linux don’t support them, it just makes them work.
WiFi works perfectly fine. Bluetooth works perfectly fine on Linux, while on Windows there is that bullshit of “this microphone isn’t compatible with this application” and similar stuff.
DRM protected stuff is quite a generic thing to say. The only thing “DRM protected stuff” has in common is that it’s all shit. Did you mean Netflix? Stuff like that runs on Linux just fine.
There are some issues with GPUs from manufacturers that actively destroy their compatibility. You would have to get one that doesn’t actively work against you, and yes, those aren’t many. On the other hand, you should do the same on Windows.
About the forklift firmware… There’s about as much chance random specialized software works only on Windows as it has of working only on DOS, or only on Linux, or only on QNX.
Windows had a fantastic UI but I despise the changes they have made to it.
A bottom bar showing all your windows? fantastic! windows are such a core component of the OS that it sure looks like the OS was named after them right? So why in the world would closed programs, with no windows appear there? why would multiple windows fuse into a single icon???
I was fine with just not pinning programs and setting the task bar to “never combine”, but they literally removed the option with Windows 11. I really don’t understand why Microsoft is de-emphasizing the ‘windows’ part of Windows. Apparently ‘never combine’ is coming back at some point to 11, so that’s good.
Now, I’m not going to compare the Windows UI to Linux DE’s since there are many alternatives that may or may not fit someone better.
As for hardware compatibility, I would say its a mixed bag on both directions. I moved my laptop from Windows to Linux when it started bluescreening when waking up from sleep. It works fine on Linux.
Sure, you have some WiFi cards that don’t work out of the box on Linux. But they don’t work out of the box on Windows either, you need to install the drivers on both OSs manually so its not any better.
Then you have some computers where Linux works like ass and can’t sleep, and you got some computers where Windows works like ass and can’t sleep.
The only solid arguments against Linux nowadays is
- Programs don’t run.
- The Windows display stack is vastly superior, VRR, HDR and fractional scaling all working fine for a long time already where Linux is barely beginning to figure them out.
I personally like Windows UI as it is with all the pinned buttons. It is the same way on Ubuntu and MacOS and this is what everyone is used to. Windows also has a lot of accessibility features, it’s the only OS, which can be used with keyboard only, mouse only or even a gamepad only out of the box.
As for drivers, I only install drivers if I want additional features. Otherwise everything works out of the box. I haven’t seen anything that doesn’t work since Win7 days.
All three main desktop operating systems suck for very different reasons
So many praises for Windows and Mac about ‘premium features’, ‘corporate environment’ and ‘device support’. But not enough talk about how they treat customers like crap and cash cows. Windows is replete with spyware and ads. It doesn’t respect the user’s choices, like when not to do an update or opening the links with a browser of user’s choice. Heck! Some versions don’t even allow you to register users without a cloud account. And now they are taking definite steps towards ensuring that you can’t do anything they don’t approve - with TPM and pluton non-sense. Praising windows is like being in an abusive relationship and finding justifications for it.
Mac is on the other extreme. They lock down their platform more and more in every revision in the name of security. It’s getting harder to side-load apps. Why? For security, of course! No mention of how security comes primarily from platform design. Then there is the hardware, where everything is glued, soldered, riveted, digitally locked, etc, etc. Any small issue, and it’s garbage. Not even parts from another genuine Mac can be used. Macs also have the strange distinction of needing calibration and signing of any part that can be replaced at all. It’s deliberately designed to extract more money from you and create a tonne load of e-waste (iWaste?). Mac fanbois have a habit of justifying it in the name of ‘miniaturization’ and progress. Honestly, that’s just hand-wavy and completely wrong technical argument. And Apple says it is all for ‘privacy’ and ‘security’ while their actual reason is the pursuit of double-digit growth (not just profits). So, in effect, Apple is saying to their customers “Oh honey! You’re are just too stupid to take care of it. So let me just decide for you” - all the while squeezing you for money. Does it end there? Oh no! They need developers to pay a yearly fee and want to take a huge cut from their profits. All that for “providing the engineering, platform and services”. As if the exorbitant price they extract from their customers isn’t enough.
The hardware situation on Linux distros and frankly even BSDs isn’t as bad as it is projected by some. Most devices just work even on a live installation medium. Even Nvidia works. (Have you considered the possibility that if any device doesn’t work, it’s the manufacturer’s fault and not the OS’s? There are plenty of devices for which the community maintains the drivers, just because the device manufacturer isn’t an utter trashbag). There are tonnes of games too - thanks to Valve and Proton. And as for the ‘corporate env’, you are probably just locked in or too used to them. There are users who have been on these platforms for decades now without complaints. And there are companies built entirely on them. Can you say the same about any of the company that makes your OS/devices? Is there one among them that doesn’t use Linux or BSDs?
Look! I’m not claiming that everything is rosy on the Linux and BSD side of things. Sometimes you have to find an alternative way of doing things (there are plenty of options). Sometimes, you have to configure a lot. Sometimes, you have to carefully choose your hardware so that your life is easier with Linux and BSDs. But there is one thing they don’t ask you to do- and that is to surrender your self-respect. You don’t get treated like cash cow. You don’t get spied on as if you are a thief. You don’t get restricted like a school kid. You’re not told that your choices are wrong. Your choices are not disrespected. You don’t get treated like you owe them after you paid your hard earned money on the devices they make. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide if the little conveniences are bigger than your self-respect.
Well so can you install Linux on Windows, Windows on macOS, Windows on Linux, macOS on Windows and macOS on Linux.
From that point of view, all OSs are identical (and to be fair, they pretty much are, nearly everything runs on a VM called ‘web browser’ already).
Macs are actually secure. Not as much as ios, but compared to the general linux userspace, it is like a military establishment vs a homeless tent.
Did you miss the part where I said they use the security argument to lock down the device and restrict the user? In addition, Linux distros in their default configuration may not be secure - but there are plenty of packages that can secure it down to a deep level. It just depends on the user’s threat level assessment. That military establishment vs homeless tent analogy is just pure hyperbole and FUD.
Security doesn’t work like that and I find it important to share the insecure nature of most linux distros with many people, hopefully to make it improve one day.
Currently a make install can do literally anything to your computer besides installing a video card driver (as per the old xkcd comic) and sure there is firejail… but let’s be honest, how often do you use it? Defaults matter, and thus linux is insecure.
Also, again, how is osx locked down? What’s a concrete thing you can’t do on it?
As a linux dev, this conspicuously misses mentioning Visual Studio.
True, but he mentions .NET development is Windows first, and even mentions that you have “some IDE’s that work with it, like Rider”. He kind of said it without mentioning the specific IDE.
Rider is the real MVP anyways.
My company and literally every company I’ve worked for somehow has been deeply afraid of leaving .NET framework for .NET core or .NET 6, 7, or 8.
I just want to get away from needing Windows to run my programs locally
I don’t think it is fear. We are transitioning our decades old software to .net 6 right now. It will approximately take a full year (we are about halfway done) since we use WPF, WCF and a lot of Windows native APIs. And in the end we will be on 6-windows and not the cross platform sdk since we can not get rid of WPF without major UI rewrites.
