Ask HN: Would you use (or recommend) Windows as a developer laptop?

#1

Post by kapad » Fri, Aug 30, 2024, 3:16 PM UTC

Ask HN: Would you use (or recommend) Windows as a developer laptop?

There have been a number of new features added to Windows over the past few years that make it a more developer friendly operating system. (WSL2, improved developer tooling, package managers, etc)

That being said, mac is still the answer I get most often when asking this question. (And I almost never get Linux as an answer).

Imagine, someone new to professional programming, or someone that's looking to learn, also needs to buy a new laptop (for a totally unrelated reason), and asks you for a recommendation based on their need to use the laptop for programming/development.

What would you answer? And WHY?

PS: Yes, mac software can only be developed on a Mac (and Windows needed windows, but that may be changing with Parallels on Mac, or other virtualization software). Please consider any generic web project for this question. (eg: a Node.JS webapp).

Re: Ask HN: Would you use (or recommend) Windows as a developer laptop?

#2

Post by Bostonian » Fri, Aug 30, 2024, 3:19 PM UTC

I create internal software in Python, and the boss likes results in an Excel spreadsheet, which I create from Python pandas dataframes. Much of my work has been translating business logic in Excel spreadsheets to Python. So for me Windows is a natural choice.

Re: Ask HN: Would you use (or recommend) Windows as a developer laptop?

#3

Post by PaulHoule » Fri, Aug 30, 2024, 3:20 PM UTC

It's what I do. You get more for your dollar with a Windows machine than a Mac. Historically I felt Linux distributions had problems with the fit and finish of the UI but in the last few years I feel better about Linux.

Re: Ask HN: Would you use (or recommend) Windows as a developer laptop?

#4

Post by PaulHoule » Fri, Aug 30, 2024, 3:20 PM UTC

Bostonian wrote: post #2

I create internal software in Python, and the boss likes results in an Excel spreadsheet, which I create from Python pandas dataframes. Much of my work has been translating business logic in Excel spreadsheets to Python. So for me Windows is a natural choice.

There are scripts to make Excel files from Python w/o having a copy of Excel.

Re: Ask HN: Would you use (or recommend) Windows as a developer laptop?

#5

Post by pavel_lishin » Fri, Aug 30, 2024, 3:26 PM UTC

If someone is new to programming, I would recommend using the operating system they're already familiar with.

Switching from Windows to OS X felt like stumbling around a pitch-black room full of shin-height coffee tables & spilled legos, and now that I've been a Mac user for over a decade, using a Windows machine feels the same way.

There's no reason to inflict that sort of pain on someone who's already going to be learning a difficult new skill.

Re: Ask HN: Would you use (or recommend) Windows as a developer laptop?

#6

Post by ssahoo » Fri, Aug 30, 2024, 3:26 PM UTC

Unless you build dotnet apps or apps specifically for Windows I won't use Windows for a laptop mainly due to its poor power management reasons.

Re: Ask HN: Would you use (or recommend) Windows as a developer laptop?

#7

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Aug 30, 2024, 3:34 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Would you use (or recommend) Windows as a developer laptop?

#8

Post by samier-trellis » Fri, Aug 30, 2024, 3:36 PM UTC

Yes, Windows with WSL2 is a perfectly good development machine. I use a Mac for work, Windows for personal. I prefer the Mac, but I'm not sure it's worth a price difference of over $1k between a Mac and Windows with comparable specs.

Re: Ask HN: Would you use (or recommend) Windows as a developer laptop?

#9

Post by yawpitch » Fri, Aug 30, 2024, 3:55 PM UTC

You’re talking about web development; the computer doesn’t matter at all, neither does the OS… get a very cheap used laptop and install NetBSD or any LTS version of Linux. Seriously, a decent keyboard you can type on is the only thing that matters.

Now, if your employer is paying for the damned thing, go for a Mac or, if you’re a confirmed masochist, Windows.

Re: Ask HN: Would you use (or recommend) Windows as a developer laptop?

#10

Post by lucasoshiro » Fri, Aug 30, 2024, 3:58 PM UTC

> That being said, mac is still the answer I get most often when asking this question. (And I almost never get Linux as an answer).

This is strange. Most developers that I know use Linux...

I use both Linux and Mac, and even though I like Mac OS, I can't see what it can add to a developer that Linux don't have except if you want to develop for the Apple platforms.

I really like Mac OS for other reasons not related to development. But for development it does nothing more for you that Linux already does, while Linux does a lot more that Mac doesn't.

> What would you answer? And WHY?

I used Windows 11 recently, I can't say that it was a bad experience, except for the fact that it uses a lot of computer resources for doing the same that my Linux PC from 2012 does. And I felt very limited after using Linux for more than a decade. I even feel more free in Mac, as it is also a Unix-like OS. WSL does a good job, but I don't know why I would restrict everything that I have in Linux to just a terminal that I would still run over Windows...

If you don't care about paying a little more for having a Windows laptop and you somehow want Windows for something (maybe games, office or something that really needs Windows) I would suggest to buy it and install Linux in dual-boot, so you can have the best of both worlds.