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Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

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Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#241

Post by redvenom »

fctorial wrote: post #7

It lists file system case sensitivity as a pro, which it isn't. Case sensitivity is the default you get when you don't think about the users, and windows chose the opposite because it's better.

I find case sensitivity to be a pro. Once on a case-insensitive OS I tried to rename a file by changing the case on a character and it didn't work...I think it might have been MacOS. Anyway, I simply don't understand how case-insensitivity has any benefit. It's actually quite annoying and a pet peeve of mine.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#242

Post by redvenom »

For me the greatest thing about Linux is that I am not at the whims of Microsoft or Apple about when they decide to change the UI. I have been using XFCE for years and it is basically the same as fifteen years ago.

If I want to change something, I can do it fairly easily, like add a dock or even change Window managers. I don't have to do things the Microsoft way or the Apple way...if I don't like something I can just change it.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#243

Post by Anon4Now »

scarygliders wrote: post #228
Anon4Now wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because then you have to use C++. That alone is a big turnoff to a lot of developers.

Nope, you can also use Python, like I do with my 3rd party Elite: Dangerous application: https://captainslog.scarygliders.net/captains-log-2/ All written in Python, recently moved to Qt5 and PySide2, runs on Windows and when I figure out packaging for Linux (probably AppImage) will release it for Linux as well. I believe there are Qt bindings for other languages too. So you're not stuck with C++ :)

Nice. I didn't know that there were bindings for other languages now.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#244

Post by damnencryption »

im3w1l wrote: post #122
StavrosK wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you need web apps wrapped in their own window, though? Just open a browser. Relatedly, Electron is a problem because desktop apps nowadays require a huge browser just to display a window, not because web apps are packaged in a browser to get slightly better desktop integration.

Electron app: works offline has more permissions can use udp separate alt-tab, tray display is not throttled because it's in the background (on desktop) unaffected by browser settings unaffected by clear cookies unaffected by extensions less confusion over who handles keybinds

I mean, few if not most of those things are available in PWA and via plugins (containers?), maybe not on apple but they are on windows and Linux.

There is a new filesystem api: https://web.dev/file-system-access/

Electron still provides more freedom but I would argue many of the existing electron apps don't need it.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#245

Post by 3PS »

aeyes wrote: post #211
davrosthedalek wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...or just run WSL2, which is absolutely amazing.

Shared filesystem performance on WSL2 is anything but amazing and pretty much everything I want it for depends heavily on the filesystem. Native I/O performance is good but without shared files, WSL2 doesn't have any benefits over a VM.

WSL2 has lots of benefits over a typical VM. It's a lot faster than your average type 2 VM (e.g. VirtualBox), it cold boots quickly, and you can run servers on localhost out of the box and access them through a regular Windows browser. I enjoy using it for Jupyter notebooks.

Plus WSL2 has way better tooling integration than most VMs - Windows Terminal, VSCode, etc. work well. I've found the experience compelling enough that I don't see much reason to dual boot Linux outside of CUDA applications (which are also supported now on Insiders.)

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#246

Post by edgyquant »

Osiris wrote: post #223
rubyn00bie wrote: post #214

I just moved to Linux as my primary OS; been fucking great. 11/10 Overall, everything seems to "just work" at least as well as on MacOS and is not quite (for me) as endlessly frustrating as Windows. Gaming has also been effortless and honestly just the most delightful surprise about the whole thing. I can write code AND play games... on the same machine... and it's running Linux?! I would've lost that bet ten years a…

I'm using PopOS (with i3 instead of Gnome) on a System76 laptop. I have some serious issues with resume from sleep. All browsers and electron apps have significant rendering issues after I resume and I have to close them down and restart them. I was able to fix Chrome and Firefox by enabling Vulkan, but Slack still requires a restart after every resume. My external monitors periodically stop working due to an NVIDIA…

Yeah outside of Lubuntu I’ve had bad luck with resuming sleep on laptops. My desktop doesn’t ever go to sleep (Nvidia 1660x) but that’s because over the years I’ve just had so much trouble. I’d still take Fedora or Ubuntu over Windows any day as that’s my only complaint. Then again I’ve been a Linux users since 2006 so to I’m amazed at how great driver support is now even compared to a few years ago.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#247

Post by leetrout »

Osiris wrote: post #223
rubyn00bie wrote: post #214

I just moved to Linux as my primary OS; been fucking great. 11/10 Overall, everything seems to "just work" at least as well as on MacOS and is not quite (for me) as endlessly frustrating as Windows. Gaming has also been effortless and honestly just the most delightful surprise about the whole thing. I can write code AND play games... on the same machine... and it's running Linux?! I would've lost that bet ten years a…

I'm using PopOS (with i3 instead of Gnome) on a System76 laptop. I have some serious issues with resume from sleep. All browsers and electron apps have significant rendering issues after I resume and I have to close them down and restart them. I was able to fix Chrome and Firefox by enabling Vulkan, but Slack still requires a restart after every resume. My external monitors periodically stop working due to an NVIDIA…

I am using pop on an oryx and my external monitor doesn’t wake up from sleep. Most flat pack apps don’t work right - especially anything electron based.

Zoom is a hot mess and fractional scaling still doesn’t work right.

I just tried disabling the hidpi daemon in hopes my monitor wakes up correctly. We’ll see.

All that said I am addicted to the speed of the OS compared to windows or Mac OS. I feel like I’m using the full power of the laptop.

I’ve not tried plasma but I miss a lot of my Mac shortcuts like super + left or right going to the end of the line. Still don’t have that working.

It’s so much better than it used to be but I would love to see one of the desktops reach the same level of polish as Mac or windows 10.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#248

Post by edgyquant »

TylerE wrote: post #230
sergeykish wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As Linux user the article does not resonate with me. The actual points are discarded points # Linux is more stable and reliable. I've reinstalled Windows so many times, never reinstalled Linux. System is separate from the user, I can remove all user configurations and it would work like new. # Linux is more secure and private. I have so many packages, they are free and safe. I've tried Windows recently, have to insta…

I have literally not needed to reinstall Windows in close to a decade. You couldn't pay me to put up with the massively inferior environment of any of the Linux DEs at this point. They are all, in varying ways, completely miserable to use. Windows 10 is actually a really solid OS, and virtualization makes it so easy to spin up a Linux VM if I really need it.

And I’m the opposite, always running into annoyances on Windows. It’s that our brains are trained on two different systems not that either is superior. I live in the terminal anyway except for VSCode, Chrome and Steam: so the DE doesn’t really concern me I use the default on Fedora and Ubuntu.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#249

Post by smichel17 »

tcbawo wrote: post #165
alphachloride wrote: post #132

I am a sample size of 1. For me, the inconveniences of using linux are far greater than the inconveniences of using windows. This article is targeted at the developer community mostly. As a programmer, I cannot recall being hindered by file name conventions, un-resizeable dialog boxes, bug trackers etc., as much I have been inconvenienced on linux by poor driver support, and regularly dropping to command line for con…

I recently spent 30 minutes figuring out why the Bluetooth pairing process wasn't giving me the pin number I needed to pair my new wireless keyboard. Ugh. Eventually, after searching through forums, I updated the right modules to get it working. I want to use Linux as my daily driver, but I am frustrated by little things that don't work or go wrong.

Funny how these things work. For many years while I was dual booting I had a bluetooth receiver that I used regularly with Linux, where it just worked, but was never able to get it working reliably on Windows.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#250

Post by forgingahead »

rubyn00bie wrote: post #214

I just moved to Linux as my primary OS; been fucking great. 11/10 Overall, everything seems to "just work" at least as well as on MacOS and is not quite (for me) as endlessly frustrating as Windows. Gaming has also been effortless and honestly just the most delightful surprise about the whole thing. I can write code AND play games... on the same machine... and it's running Linux?! I would've lost that bet ten years a…

+1 to this -- invested in a desktop earlier this year to tinker more with ML projects, and dual-booted Windows and Linux (Ubuntu 18 LTS) on separate SSDs with separate HDs for data storage for each system.

I have spent 95% of my time in Linux, and only get into Windows for a game or two that I haven't bothered to figure out a Windows VM setup for.

Definitely recommend Linux for those looking for dev machine alternatives to a Mac. There are certain finiticky things when setting up, and it doesn't have the immense MacOS polish, but I would say it's 80-90% of the way there to a good, intuitive dev machine that gives you a very similar experience to a Mac programming setup.

Note, I'm referring to a desktop setup, no idea about how it works with laptop hardware and I have a MBP for my portable needs.

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