Microsoft Windows is prohibited at Gitlab

Post by happyopossum » Fri, Aug 05, 2022, 5:03 PM UTC

jeffwask wrote: post #181

muttled wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most places I've worked at (Windows shops largely) had management tools that worked well on Windows but not as well on other devices. The IT staff was skilled largely in Windows, as well. The biggest argument against other OS options was that we simply did not have the tools and experience to effectively manage the other options. It's a valid argument, and seemed disingenuous to take digs at the other OS options when…

Microsoft Windows with AzureAd and Intune provides a suite of tools for managing your fleet of laptops at little to no additional cost. It's honestly so much for free that running any other suite of laptops becomes arduous and expensive. It all just works out of the box and it's easy to bolt things on. The viruses and malware argument is ludicrous if you do any amount of end point protection. Apple is a walled garden…

Post by mbreese » Fri, Aug 05, 2022, 5:04 PM UTC

Xylakant wrote: post #21

habnds wrote: post #3

>> GitLab approves the use of Linux, and Apple's macOS. Microsoft Windows is prohibited for the following reasons: Due to Microsoft Windows' dominance in desktop operating systems, Windows is the platform most targetted by spyware, viruses, and ransomware. macOS is preinstalled on Apple computers and Linux is available free of charge. To approve the use of Windows, GitLab would have to purchase Windows Professional l…

I‘m a bit surprised that they care about the cost so much - the Dell laptops and the Apple Laptops come in at a price point of 2000 - 3000 USD and the Dell they specifically recommend for Linux use comes with Windows Pro preinstalled. The price difference to the equivalent Linux version is around 70USD. That‘s a negligible difference, especially when you start comparing to the employees wage (It‘s probably about 1 ho…

Post by happyopossum » Fri, Aug 05, 2022, 5:05 PM UTC

celdon25 wrote: post #156

habnds wrote: post #3

>> GitLab approves the use of Linux, and Apple's macOS. Microsoft Windows is prohibited for the following reasons: Due to Microsoft Windows' dominance in desktop operating systems, Windows is the platform most targetted by spyware, viruses, and ransomware. macOS is preinstalled on Apple computers and Linux is available free of charge. To approve the use of Windows, GitLab would have to purchase Windows Professional l…

> Due to Microsoft Windows' dominance in desktop operating systems, Windows is the platform most targetted by spyware, viruses, and ransomware. That may be true, but a much higher proportion of downloaded Mac software lacks code signing. Opting in to that as a developer on the Mac will carry a lot of risk of kafkaesque deactivation and, and most don’t want to deal with that. On Windows, on the other hand, it’s like g…

Post by therealasdf » Fri, Aug 05, 2022, 5:10 PM UTC

Mikeb85 wrote: post #78

I mean, they use Rails, and Ruby/Rails are annoying to use on Windows. I imagine Windows is a massive headache not worth dealing with considering their stack...

Post by oneplane » Fri, Aug 05, 2022, 5:12 PM UTC

Beltalowda wrote: post #205

sneak wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another good feature of this policy is that it rules out people who explicitly identify themselves as "$OPERATING_SYSTEM user"s. Tying your identity (personal or professional) to some proprietary software brand is a little silly.

I'm a self-identified $OPERATING_SYSTEM user because I have been using $OPERATING_SYSTEM for 20 years in much the same way, like how it works, have a lot of things set up for it which is not always easily portable (e.g. scripts and programs I wrote), and have a lot of $OPERATING_SYSTEM things hard-wired in to my brain and muscle memory. Can I spend time and effort changing that? Of course. But why fix something that…