4 ms·

While this MBA turned out really well, current Windows featuring WSL2 is quite impressive though. Having a full Ubuntu or Debian on your machine is priceless. O

by solat 7y ago

While this MBA turned out really well, current Windows featuring WSL2 is quite impressive though. Having a full Ubuntu or Debian on your machine is priceless. Or you develop on a remote server, then you just need a good terminal. So currently both macOS and Windows are good for JS dev. It's a matter of taste and price.

snemvalts 7y ago
i think most people prefer to not sell their souls for advertising when it comes to their desktop environments.
- api 7y ago
  Yeah, the presence of ads on anything I've paid for instantly classifies it as "junk." Windows is now junk.
  - kaibee 7y ago
    https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu
  - abacadaba 7y ago
    Shame, really. Not even a viable option for personal use.
  - FpUser 7y ago
    I am curious where do you people see ads. I do not have any on my windows computers. All hold latest official updates.
    - api 7y ago
      Last fresh Windows install I did came pre-loaded with a bunch of loot box style gaming crap, Candy Crush, Xbox stuff, Netflix, Amazon Prime, loads of other foistware that should not exist on a fresh install. A new Windows install requires at least an hour of de-cluttering and shit removal, while for a new Mac full setup to my liking takes about 5-10 minutes and I generally don't have to uninstall much of anything. The only thing I sometimes remove are apps I never personally use like Garage Band to save a bit of disk space, and that takes like ten seconds. Then there's the almost Android level of obviously spyware telemetry going on. Yes I know Apple has telemetry but I trust them quite a bit more than Microsoft both not to do anything deliberately sketchy with my data and to be competent with their security. They also do a lot less and a lot less invasive telemetry. Redirecting local search, sending file list dumps, etc. to the mothership is unforgivable unless I have explicitly opted into that kind of behavior e.g. for tech support or debugging. That's the kind of stuff I associate with borderline malware, not an OS by a supposedly reputable company that I paid for. Microsoft's recent behavior is pegging them in the low end of the market and ceding the high end of the market to Apple. Then of course there's Linux. If Apple did something barking stupid that forced me to ditch the platform that's where I'd go. I'd miss the Apple degree of trouble-free operation but at least I'd keep my privacy and security and lack of foistware.
      - FpUser 7y ago
        I asked specifically about ads as I do not have those so curious why others do. I do not need generic Windows criticism as I am using it without any problem for like eternity, so do not really give a hoot if somebody else does not like it. I have whole bunch of Windows and Linux computers (laptops and desktops/servers) and am happy like a clam. "Ceding high end of the market to Apple". I would not go into much details but for example my gaming grade laptop runs circles around Mac that costs twice as much. So sure I'd rather be a "low end" peon with the decent hardware.
- solat 7y ago
  Do you mean the start menu? I never open it, just use Win + number for pinned apps. Windows is not perfect but it excels in many regards nowadays and the last years, Macs were really expensive and risky. They were too expensive to just have a fall-back machine lying around (if you make serious money with you gear, every hour counts). I have 3x 2.5lb notebooks here, if one needs to be sent in, so what. Edit: just opened it but there are no ads... what do you mean?
  - snemvalts 7y ago
    Regardless of using the start menu or not, there's a lot of background tracking (for user behaviour and ads) that needs to be disabled by registry edits. In addition to those, there's probably more that cannot be disabled.
    - qayxc 7y ago
      Replacing /Windows/System32/Drivers/etc/hosts isn't black magic and truly works wonders even for the more paranoid ;) What I don't understand about this, however, are people being paranoid about W10 while they're happily accepting Google and friends to infiltrate their lives ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ You are of course exempt if you don't use any cloud-based services that you don't host yourself :D
    - catalogia 7y ago
      > Regardless of using the start menu or not, there's a lot of background tracking (for user behaviour and ads) that needs to be disabled by registry edits. That stuff also has a nasty tendency to ""accidentally"" get re-enabled after updates from many reports I've heard.
- FpUser 7y ago
  I just looked at mine, no ads. In anyways I do not use start menu to launch apps. I just do Ctrl+Esc or Win key and proceed to type name of the app. 2-3 latters is normally enough to auto-fill result and off you go. I can't remember last time I used mouse to hunt apps in a menu
homarp 7y ago
Ubuntu works too. cf https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22492223 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22492223
AgloeDreams 7y ago
Even Chrome OS is pretty great. I found Crostini to be wonderful (esp in v82) and the Pixelbook Go has fantastic haptic impressions to me. The Keyboard is perfection.

by solat 7y ago

snemvalts 7y ago

i think most people prefer to not sell their souls for advertising when it comes to their desktop environments.

api 7y ago
Yeah, the presence of ads on anything I've paid for instantly classifies it as "junk." Windows is now junk.
- kaibee 7y ago
  https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu
- abacadaba 7y ago
  Shame, really. Not even a viable option for personal use.
- FpUser 7y ago
  I am curious where do you people see ads. I do not have any on my windows computers. All hold latest official updates.
  - api 7y ago
    Last fresh Windows install I did came pre-loaded with a bunch of loot box style gaming crap, Candy Crush, Xbox stuff, Netflix, Amazon Prime, loads of other foistware that should not exist on a fresh install. A new Windows install requires at least an hour of de-cluttering and shit removal, while for a new Mac full setup to my liking takes about 5-10 minutes and I generally don't have to uninstall much of anything. The only thing I sometimes remove are apps I never personally use like Garage Band to save a bit of disk space, and that takes like ten seconds. Then there's the almost Android level of obviously spyware telemetry going on. Yes I know Apple has telemetry but I trust them quite a bit more than Microsoft both not to do anything deliberately sketchy with my data and to be competent with their security. They also do a lot less and a lot less invasive telemetry. Redirecting local search, sending file list dumps, etc. to the mothership is unforgivable unless I have explicitly opted into that kind of behavior e.g. for tech support or debugging. That's the kind of stuff I associate with borderline malware, not an OS by a supposedly reputable company that I paid for. Microsoft's recent behavior is pegging them in the low end of the market and ceding the high end of the market to Apple. Then of course there's Linux. If Apple did something barking stupid that forced me to ditch the platform that's where I'd go. I'd miss the Apple degree of trouble-free operation but at least I'd keep my privacy and security and lack of foistware.
    - FpUser 7y ago
      I asked specifically about ads as I do not have those so curious why others do. I do not need generic Windows criticism as I am using it without any problem for like eternity, so do not really give a hoot if somebody else does not like it. I have whole bunch of Windows and Linux computers (laptops and desktops/servers) and am happy like a clam. "Ceding high end of the market to Apple". I would not go into much details but for example my gaming grade laptop runs circles around Mac that costs twice as much. So sure I'd rather be a "low end" peon with the decent hardware.
solat 7y ago
Do you mean the start menu? I never open it, just use Win + number for pinned apps. Windows is not perfect but it excels in many regards nowadays and the last years, Macs were really expensive and risky. They were too expensive to just have a fall-back machine lying around (if you make serious money with you gear, every hour counts). I have 3x 2.5lb notebooks here, if one needs to be sent in, so what. Edit: just opened it but there are no ads... what do you mean?
- snemvalts 7y ago
  Regardless of using the start menu or not, there's a lot of background tracking (for user behaviour and ads) that needs to be disabled by registry edits. In addition to those, there's probably more that cannot be disabled.
  - qayxc 7y ago
    Replacing /Windows/System32/Drivers/etc/hosts isn't black magic and truly works wonders even for the more paranoid ;) What I don't understand about this, however, are people being paranoid about W10 while they're happily accepting Google and friends to infiltrate their lives ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ You are of course exempt if you don't use any cloud-based services that you don't host yourself :D
  - catalogia 7y ago
    > Regardless of using the start menu or not, there's a lot of background tracking (for user behaviour and ads) that needs to be disabled by registry edits. That stuff also has a nasty tendency to ""accidentally"" get re-enabled after updates from many reports I've heard.
FpUser 7y ago
I just looked at mine, no ads. In anyways I do not use start menu to launch apps. I just do Ctrl+Esc or Win key and proceed to type name of the app. 2-3 latters is normally enough to auto-fill result and off you go. I can't remember last time I used mouse to hunt apps in a menu

homarp 7y ago

Ubuntu works too. cf https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22492223 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22492223

AgloeDreams 7y ago

Even Chrome OS is pretty great. I found Crostini to be wonderful (esp in v82) and the Pixelbook Go has fantastic haptic impressions to me. The Keyboard is perfection.