5 ms·

Is 2019 the year of the Linux desktop?

by tontonius 7y ago

crispinb 7y ago
Microsoft seems to think so.
- arvinsim 7y ago
  Windows would become a very serious contender to MacOS if it becomes "unixy" like it.
  - pluma 7y ago
    It's telling of HN's demographic bias that you'd think Windows "would become a very serious contender to macOS". There are far more people using Windows than macOS, even among developers, even if you only look at the US.
    - rbanffy 7y ago
      In these days when 32 gigs is the norm for developer laptops, I'd assume anything that can run a VM full screen is good enough.
    - SiVal 7y ago
      I'm pretty sure the GP meant that Windows would become much more attractive to current Mac users, and I agree. A lot of serious computer work is done on Macs, because the Mac client has so much in common with the Linux server. If MS put a Windows shell on top of a Linux kernel, Windows would suddenly become a better complement to Linux servers than the Mac ever was, while still enabling work tools such as Photoshop to still be used (unlike, say, an Ubuntu client). That would make Windows a serious contender for the market of people doing production work on Macs.
      - pluma 7y ago
        You might want to pay more attention to WSL2 then. I'm a web developer who switched from Ubuntu to Windows earlier this year and WSL has very much been a "best of both worlds" solution. Continuous improvements to VS Code and Windows Terminal have made this transition very painless and WSL2 promises to eliminate most of my remaining pet peeves (e.g. improving Docker integration). The only downside is that the filesystem is much slower but that's only a problem when compiling native software.
        crispinb 7y ago
        With WSL2, the filesystem is faster than 'native' windows (as long as you stay within the ext4-formatted image), which obviates one of the big Windows irritants for developers. The one downside of WSL from my perspective is all the small impedance mismatches, wslpath hacks, etc that result from having to work with the two filesystems. And though VS Codes's remote extension makes working on WSL entirely seamless, the situation is messier with other tools. IntelliJ, for example, has some WSL support in individual plugins, but it's patchy enough that I found running the Linux version via an X server more convenient.
      - arvinsim 7y ago
        Yeah, you elaborated on what I was trying to get at. I own both a MacBook Pro and PC desktop. If Windows is as easy to develop in as MacOS, I would move my main work there. There are developments in there that I appreciate like Windows support for Homebrew.
- tonyedgecombe 7y ago
  When you can get Office on a Linux desktop I'll believe that.
  - crispinb 7y ago
    It was a lighthearted remark, but primarily thinking of WSL. Let's face it, tiling window manager enthusiasts aside, relatively few people use Linux because of the glories of its GUI. WSL gives most people all the "desktop linux" they are likely to want.
    - Zardoz84 7y ago
      KDE experience is far better that Windows 10
      - rbanffy 7y ago
        Gnome Shell is far better than Windows 10 for me. From time to time I end up needing to figure out why someone's Windows laptop won't connect to my home wifi (where Linux, Macs, BSDs, Blackberry's and everything else connects to flawlessly) and I have to dig through the vendor-specific control panels that vary from vendor to vendor, from Windows to Windows, from OEM to OEM...
  - lunchables 7y ago
    Doesn't everyone use the online version of Microsoft office now? For non-professional use, anyway.
Jemm 7y ago
It is for me. Sold my MacBook and switched to Linux. Just need to settle on a flavour.
eddyg 7y ago
No, but 2020 is! Meet The Linux Desktop That Will Embarrass Windows 10 And macOS in 2020 [0] [0] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2019/10/18/meet-the-linux-desktop-that-will-blow-away-windows-10-and-macos-in-2020/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2019/10/18/meet-...
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
  More re-arranging of the deck chairs will not make it the year of the Linux Desktop. Linux Desktop evangelists have been getting this wrong for 2 decades now.

Is 2019 the year of the Linux desktop?

crispinb 7y ago

Microsoft seems to think so.

arvinsim 7y ago
Windows would become a very serious contender to MacOS if it becomes "unixy" like it.
- pluma 7y ago
  It's telling of HN's demographic bias that you'd think Windows "would become a very serious contender to macOS". There are far more people using Windows than macOS, even among developers, even if you only look at the US.
  - rbanffy 7y ago
    In these days when 32 gigs is the norm for developer laptops, I'd assume anything that can run a VM full screen is good enough.
  - SiVal 7y ago
    I'm pretty sure the GP meant that Windows would become much more attractive to current Mac users, and I agree. A lot of serious computer work is done on Macs, because the Mac client has so much in common with the Linux server. If MS put a Windows shell on top of a Linux kernel, Windows would suddenly become a better complement to Linux servers than the Mac ever was, while still enabling work tools such as Photoshop to still be used (unlike, say, an Ubuntu client). That would make Windows a serious contender for the market of people doing production work on Macs.
    - pluma 7y ago
      You might want to pay more attention to WSL2 then. I'm a web developer who switched from Ubuntu to Windows earlier this year and WSL has very much been a "best of both worlds" solution. Continuous improvements to VS Code and Windows Terminal have made this transition very painless and WSL2 promises to eliminate most of my remaining pet peeves (e.g. improving Docker integration). The only downside is that the filesystem is much slower but that's only a problem when compiling native software.
      - crispinb 7y ago
        With WSL2, the filesystem is faster than 'native' windows (as long as you stay within the ext4-formatted image), which obviates one of the big Windows irritants for developers. The one downside of WSL from my perspective is all the small impedance mismatches, wslpath hacks, etc that result from having to work with the two filesystems. And though VS Codes's remote extension makes working on WSL entirely seamless, the situation is messier with other tools. IntelliJ, for example, has some WSL support in individual plugins, but it's patchy enough that I found running the Linux version via an X server more convenient.
    - arvinsim 7y ago
      Yeah, you elaborated on what I was trying to get at. I own both a MacBook Pro and PC desktop. If Windows is as easy to develop in as MacOS, I would move my main work there. There are developments in there that I appreciate like Windows support for Homebrew.
tonyedgecombe 7y ago
When you can get Office on a Linux desktop I'll believe that.
- crispinb 7y ago
  It was a lighthearted remark, but primarily thinking of WSL. Let's face it, tiling window manager enthusiasts aside, relatively few people use Linux because of the glories of its GUI. WSL gives most people all the "desktop linux" they are likely to want.
  - Zardoz84 7y ago
    KDE experience is far better that Windows 10
    - rbanffy 7y ago
      Gnome Shell is far better than Windows 10 for me. From time to time I end up needing to figure out why someone's Windows laptop won't connect to my home wifi (where Linux, Macs, BSDs, Blackberry's and everything else connects to flawlessly) and I have to dig through the vendor-specific control panels that vary from vendor to vendor, from Windows to Windows, from OEM to OEM...
- lunchables 7y ago
  Doesn't everyone use the online version of Microsoft office now? For non-professional use, anyway.

Jemm 7y ago

It is for me. Sold my MacBook and switched to Linux. Just need to settle on a flavour.

eddyg 7y ago

No, but 2020 is! Meet The Linux Desktop That Will Embarrass Windows 10 And macOS in 2020 [0] [0] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2019/10/18/meet-the-linux-desktop-that-will-blow-away-windows-10-and-macos-in-2020/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2019/10/18/meet-...

AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
More re-arranging of the deck chairs will not make it the year of the Linux Desktop. Linux Desktop evangelists have been getting this wrong for 2 decades now.