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New Distros Coming to Bash/WSL via Windows Store

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Re: New Distros Coming to Bash/WSL via Windows Store

#131

Post by lloeki »

komali2 wrote: post #35

Anybody manage to make their Bash/WSL actually look good? I've got it just running in, what, cmd I guess? I don't know. Anyway it's fuckugly. I had to just set all the fonts to white on a black background because otherwise the returns from npm installs and git status and stuff would be unreadable deep blue. Don't get me wrong, I love using it, but it doesn't beat the aesthetics of a terminal on a mac or a nicely conf…

It was a bit of a chicken and egg problem: there was no incentive to have a decent terminal since+because there was no decent shell+platform. IOW the command line was a rudimentary tool, an artefact from the past, not a central piece of the experience. PowerShell barely moved the dial, but now that there's a trend towards the Unix experience, that may very well bootstrap some more glorious CLI days on Windows, which may even benefit PowerShell in some way.

Re: New Distros Coming to Bash/WSL via Windows Store

#132

Post by electricEmu »

gigatexal wrote: post #36
electricEmu wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't realize staying on the bleeding edge kernels was such a performance boost, that it's worth shying away from an entire ecosystem. It sounds a bit elitist. Alternatively, when I use Windows now I'll get both PowerShell and a full Unix environment. For my development work so far, none of those arbitrary drawbacks have stopped WSFL from being a champ. On the plus side, I don't constantly have to edit configurati…

The win 10 experience for me has been such a disappointment between the privacy concerns and the overall UI I'd much rather not bother. To each their own, though.

For many of us, privacy doesn't exist on work machines anyways.

Re: New Distros Coming to Bash/WSL via Windows Store

#133

Post by rcarmo »

swinglock wrote: post #92
komali2 wrote: post #35

Anybody manage to make their Bash/WSL actually look good? I've got it just running in, what, cmd I guess? I don't know. Anyway it's fuckugly. I had to just set all the fonts to white on a black background because otherwise the returns from npm installs and git status and stuff would be unreadable deep blue. Don't get me wrong, I love using it, but it doesn't beat the aesthetics of a terminal on a mac or a nicely conf…

wsltty works alright. There's room for improvement for sure. https://github.com/mintty/wsltty

That's what I use too. Looks great with Fira Code.

Re: New Distros Coming to Bash/WSL via Windows Store

#134

Post by Sephr »

Some of these distros come with browsers and JavaScript engines that can run in the console (such as node.js, w3m, lynx, etc.).

Third-party HTML and JavaScript engines are banned in the Windows Store, so can someone explain how this uneven enforcement of their own rules is ethical?

Consider this quote[1] from a Microsoft spokesperson on May 9:

> Windows Store apps that browse the web must use HTML and JavaScript engines provided by the Windows Platform. All Windows Store content is certified by Microsoft to help ensure a quality experience and keep your devices safer.

[1]: http://www.zdnet.com/article/google-chrome-wont-be-allowed-o...

Re: New Distros Coming to Bash/WSL via Windows Store

#135

Post by rl3 »

ac29 wrote: post #102
Scarbutt wrote: post #87

a bit off-topic, are there cheaper ways to buy a windows 10 license than directly from microsoft for $200? (I'm not a student).

Win 10 Home is only $110 from Newegg or Amazon, and less if you get the "OEM" version. I forget the restrictions on the OEM version, but I think its intended for people building systems and reselling them -- I don't think anything stops you from using it on your own system, its just technically in violation of the licence.

Windows 10 Home doesn't include the Group Policy Editor though, so if you buy that you're basically stuck having all manner of things shoved down your throat.

While the Pro version won't necessarily save you entirely from this, it goes a long way towards giving the user more freedom (at additional cost, of course).

Re: New Distros Coming to Bash/WSL via Windows Store

#136

Post by bauerd »

corysama wrote: post #126
Mister_Snuggles wrote: post #114

The primary reason I even looked at a Mac, way back in the MacOS 10.2 days, was because there is a Unix underneath the pretty interface. I bought my first Mac and never looked back. Stuff like this is making me look at Windows machines again.

I'm betting this is the real end-goal of WSL. MacBooks were once expensive, but high-quality, grab-and-go unixy development machines. Now, they're mostly just expensive. When WSL matures, any commodity laptop will be a cheap, decent quality, grab-and-go unixy dev machine. It'll probably be easier and more reliable than installing Ubuntu directly! At that point, web and server devs will migrate en mass from Mac to Win…

I just set up a cheap Windows 10 laptop I bought for my mom. It was the first time I got in touch with Windows again since the XP days. Can't say I'm too intrigued, imho the UI is lacking in so many points. I couldn't figure out how to get rid of that Cortana-thing in the taskbar, every window is littered with ribbons, list goes on and on and on … I don't see why I would go for Windows + WSL when I can just slap a distro of choice on it?

While I wish Apple got its shit together, I have 0 incentive to move to Windows as a developer. I'd have to find replacements for a lot of small utility apps I take for granted on OS X, and I'd have to cope with the stupid UI Windows shoves down my throat.

Re: New Distros Coming to Bash/WSL via Windows Store

#137

Post by Analemma_ »

akacase wrote: post #105

why do people support this company still? sorry to be that guy, but i will never use a product from them after the jwz fiasco. and no, new leadership doesn't make up for decades of behavior.

I know who jwz is, but what is the "jwz fiasco"? That Microsoft built a better browser than him?

Re: New Distros Coming to Bash/WSL via Windows Store

#138

Post by severino »

corysama wrote: post #126
Mister_Snuggles wrote: post #114

The primary reason I even looked at a Mac, way back in the MacOS 10.2 days, was because there is a Unix underneath the pretty interface. I bought my first Mac and never looked back. Stuff like this is making me look at Windows machines again.

I'm betting this is the real end-goal of WSL. MacBooks were once expensive, but high-quality, grab-and-go unixy development machines. Now, they're mostly just expensive. When WSL matures, any commodity laptop will be a cheap, decent quality, grab-and-go unixy dev machine. It'll probably be easier and more reliable than installing Ubuntu directly! At that point, web and server devs will migrate en mass from Mac to Win…

> When WSL matures, any commodity laptop will be a cheap, decent quality, grab-and-go unixy dev machine

Well, you know, they _already_ are. We don't have to wait for anything. And even cheaper, if you can avoid paying the windows tax ;)

Re: New Distros Coming to Bash/WSL via Windows Store

#139

Post by dlp211 »

komali2 wrote: post #94
anonymfus wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>There is still one absolutely heinous crime though - your system comes preinstalled with Minecraft and Candy Crush (and a couple other bullshit softares), and if you uninstall them, Windows 10 will automatically reinstall them. That was fixed in Creators Update: it now remembers uninstalled default applications.

I'm not 100% on this, but I'm fairly certain I wiped and reinstalled Windows on my surface after the creator's update, and I still had this issue.

You wiped, how would the OS remember?

Re: New Distros Coming to Bash/WSL via Windows Store

#140

Post by posguy »

severino wrote: post #138
corysama wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm betting this is the real end-goal of WSL. MacBooks were once expensive, but high-quality, grab-and-go unixy development machines. Now, they're mostly just expensive. When WSL matures, any commodity laptop will be a cheap, decent quality, grab-and-go unixy dev machine. It'll probably be easier and more reliable than installing Ubuntu directly! At that point, web and server devs will migrate en mass from Mac to Win…

> When WSL matures, any commodity laptop will be a cheap, decent quality, grab-and-go unixy dev machine Well, you know, they _already_ are. We don't have to wait for anything. And even cheaper, if you can avoid paying the windows tax ;)

Yeah, do we really want to run an open garbage fire of an OS that is known as Windows 10 for a daily driver? I know I'd get murdery if I lost all my hot corners, multi-desktop, etc cause that is what makes me productive. Other people who don't like Gnome 3 take pleasure in using i3 or AwesomeWM, which both are major steps up over Win10's UI.

At this point, the Windows platform is a rotting cesspool, the devs focused on it know its growth has stopped (but often are clueless about how to move forward), package management is not a thing, and Microsoft has added so many anti-features that it is a pain in the ass to live with.

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