I used Linux for 6 years, but switched to OS X 2 years ago. It's much more comfortable, I have access to the command line tools and the UX is much better. I just get things done now and haven't to care why pulseaudio doesn't work anymore after an update etc.. I'm really satisfied with my MacBook and OS X Lion :)
Poll: What is your primary operating system
131–140 of 472 posts
Re: Poll: What is your primary operating system
#132Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would just like to add that there is a valid reason why Linux or the *BSDs are superior to Windows or OS X - they are Free. As in Speech. And I'm sad this doesn't even warrant a mention.
I agree with you. That's certainly a 'pro' on the side of Linux. I stated that every OS has it's pros and cons, but my goal wasn't to list what those are. To say unilaterally that it's better for all people at all times in all use cases is, at the very least, an overstatement. While being free is a top concern for you and many others, for some (perhaps many) usability might be their top concern and they may be willin…
I don't feel like these are a major issues today, or that they have been for some time, but back in the day I know a lot of hatred toward Windows/Microsoft stemmed from Linux users feeling slighted by the lack of support from ISVs and hardware manufacturers, the relatively immature state of Wine, and above all Microsoft's constant FUD / aggressive (and often illegal[1]) politics / lawsuit threats / etc.
Throw debacles like Silverlight, OOXML, IE, and Vista into the mix, and it's not hard to justify a lot of the resentment toward the "Evil Empire" from back then.
Today (though Microsoft had to be dragged here kicking and screaming), Microsoft actively supports open source (CodePlex), open standards (ODF is officially supported by Office), and the open Web (they're clearly genuinely trying with IE9+); on top of that, they're rolling out some pretty solid products (Kinect, Win8, MSE, WP7, Azure/AppFabric, all the random stuff MS Research does, etc.). Mind you, I still wouldn't be caught dead using Windows or any other Microsoft product, but it's nice to such an influential tech company changing for the better.
[1] http://www.wired.com/software/coolapps/news/2007/08/ooxml_vo...
Re: Poll: What is your primary operating system
#133Say whaaat? OSX leading? (I too clicked it.) And more Linux than Windows? PG should show the traffic statistics to contrast that.
Re: Poll: What is your primary operating system
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have run ALL on Windows, no cygwin necessary :-)
How do you run Bash scripts on Windows?
MinGW is awesome:
http://www.mingw.org/wiki/MSYS
It's not Cygwin "MinGW, being Minimalist, does not, and never will, attempt to provide a POSIX runtime environment for POSIX application deployment on MS-Windows. If you want POSIX application deployment on this platform, please consider Cygwin instead."; there's no emulation layer at all.
Re: Poll: What is your primary operating system
#135I've been using Windows pretty much since version 3.1 (though will some time on OS/2 as well) as my primary OS. I have, of course, used Linux, though mostly for servers and not a full-time primary OS. I also have a Chromebook running Chrome OS. Recently, I switched jobs and my team uses Macs so over the last few months my primary work OS is now Mac OS X, while I still use Windows at home. One thing I have discovered…
In my experience I've found OSX somewhat better suited for development and Windows somewhat better suited for gaming but otherwise the main differentiator is hardware polish. The unibody Macbook Pros/Airs is just levels above anything I've experienced in the Windows world.
I've just switched back to Windows and its the hardware I miss more than the software. I bought a fairly expensive Dell but it isn't a patch on the old Macbook Pro.
Re: Poll: What is your primary operating system
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree with you. That's certainly a 'pro' on the side of Linux. I stated that every OS has it's pros and cons, but my goal wasn't to list what those are. To say unilaterally that it's better for all people at all times in all use cases is, at the very least, an overstatement. While being free is a top concern for you and many others, for some (perhaps many) usability might be their top concern and they may be willin…
>usability might be their top concern and they may be willing to sacrifice freedom for usability While some argue that this is the current situation, I want to point out that's a false dichotomy. Freedom and usability aren't orthogonal concepts like some make them out to be. I fundamentally disagree with the idea that we need to lock everything down to make it "usable". Also, Freedom of software (and hardware) ultima…
> While some argue that this is the current situation, I want to point out that's a false dichotomy. Freedom and usability aren't orthogonal concepts like some make them out to be. I fundamentally disagree with the idea that we need to lock everything down to make it "usable".
Nobody is making this claim, so why are you trying to refute it?
Re: Poll: What is your primary operating system
#137I've been a Linux user since kernel 2.0.30 was new.
I have used Windows at work for 6 days total. I used it at a Java shop where the build system was Windows only. After 6 days I needed to get my job done and I installed Linux to get better dev and network diagnostics tools, hacked the build system to not include .bat-scripts, got my job done and never looked back. That was my first 6 days as a professional software engineer and my last 6 days of using Windows for non-gaming purposes.
Re: Poll: What is your primary operating system
#138Say whaaat? OSX leading? (I too clicked it.) And more Linux than Windows? PG should show the traffic statistics to contrast that.
It's probably correct, actually. In the past there have been a few links from HN to my own site, and I was surprised to see that a LOT of people were using OSX.
Re: Poll: What is your primary operating system
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
Actually, I'd be curious what Nix people are using other than GNU/Linux and BSD. Solaris? Unix proper - does anybody still really use that?
I doubt anybody on HN uses any of {solaris, HPUX, AIX, Xenix, ...}.
Ahem. I've got an OpenSolaris PC standing right there in the corner, thank you very much. ;)
Re: Poll: What is your primary operating system
#140Nothing can get me away from my Arch Linux with XMonad as a Windows Manager. I love it.