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Can anyone comment on how effective WSL is for normal web developer tasks in Windows? I'm a longtime Mac user who is really disappointed in the latest Macbook P

Can anyone comment on how effective WSL is for normal web developer tasks in Windows? I'm a longtime Mac user who is really disappointed in the latest Macbook Pro. At this point my decision is essentially a coin flip between a 2015 Macbook Pro and a Razor Blade.

eridius 10y ago
You're a web developer, right? Why are you disappointed in the MBP? It's not like web development needs more than 16GB of RAM, or the absolute latest GPU.
- anthonybullard 10y ago
  I'm a web developer / front-end engineer, and I work on a 2014 MBP with 16GB. It can slog. With multiple Chrome instances running, Atom with 12-15 documents open, sometimes IntelliJ looking at BE code, and our dev server(running on the JVM), Slack, and sometimes Sketch(and/or gimp). If you are just a "coder" that designs static sites or edit a WordPress theme, maybe that works for you. But my company is right now looking for a upgrade path out of MBP. No 32GB option, no Kaby Lake, substandard GPU, AND $500 more? No thanks. We have about 15 machines that were locked into auto purchase for Mac, but now we want to move not only the Eng/Data Science teams away from Mac, but our entire company(through Linux and ChromeOS most likely). Our ~60 person company's IT budget won't cause any pain for Apple, but I wonder how many other similar teams will consider a similar path forward.
- quantumhobbit 10y ago
  I'm a web/full-stack/whatever developer and I can make use of all the RAM you give me. I use to do scientific computing, computational chemistry, and was just fine with only 3gb of RAM. No need for more even running on virtual machines. Partly this is because of the tools and projects. The chemistry software was super lean and written in C++ or even Fortran. It had to squeeze every drop of performance out of a supercomputer but scaled down to my laptop for small problems with no trouble. What I wanted was a faster cpu not more ram. The web tools are bloated by comparison. Multiple jvms that will take all the ram they can get. Software is written to add features fast. Who cares about performance when we can throw more ec2 instances at the problem. Also as micro services get more popular, you might be running several bloated services at once maybe in separate containers. Many of these services are mostly sitting idle, so CPU isn't a limitation but ram certainly is.
- jdpedrie 10y ago
  Largely the large price increase for a small improvement in specs. I've been waiting for the new machines to upgrade, and want a 15". Prices starting at $2400 are hard to stomach. I also consider the touch bar to be a wash or a slight regression.

eridius 10y ago

You're a web developer, right? Why are you disappointed in the MBP? It's not like web development needs more than 16GB of RAM, or the absolute latest GPU.

anthonybullard 10y ago
I'm a web developer / front-end engineer, and I work on a 2014 MBP with 16GB. It can slog. With multiple Chrome instances running, Atom with 12-15 documents open, sometimes IntelliJ looking at BE code, and our dev server(running on the JVM), Slack, and sometimes Sketch(and/or gimp). If you are just a "coder" that designs static sites or edit a WordPress theme, maybe that works for you. But my company is right now looking for a upgrade path out of MBP. No 32GB option, no Kaby Lake, substandard GPU, AND $500 more? No thanks. We have about 15 machines that were locked into auto purchase for Mac, but now we want to move not only the Eng/Data Science teams away from Mac, but our entire company(through Linux and ChromeOS most likely). Our ~60 person company's IT budget won't cause any pain for Apple, but I wonder how many other similar teams will consider a similar path forward.
quantumhobbit 10y ago
I'm a web/full-stack/whatever developer and I can make use of all the RAM you give me. I use to do scientific computing, computational chemistry, and was just fine with only 3gb of RAM. No need for more even running on virtual machines. Partly this is because of the tools and projects. The chemistry software was super lean and written in C++ or even Fortran. It had to squeeze every drop of performance out of a supercomputer but scaled down to my laptop for small problems with no trouble. What I wanted was a faster cpu not more ram. The web tools are bloated by comparison. Multiple jvms that will take all the ram they can get. Software is written to add features fast. Who cares about performance when we can throw more ec2 instances at the problem. Also as micro services get more popular, you might be running several bloated services at once maybe in separate containers. Many of these services are mostly sitting idle, so CPU isn't a limitation but ram certainly is.
jdpedrie 10y ago
Largely the large price increase for a small improvement in specs. I've been waiting for the new machines to upgrade, and want a 15". Prices starting at $2400 are hard to stomach. I also consider the touch bar to be a wash or a slight regression.