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I was a beta user of WSL1. It was interesting, but the very slow file system performance from Windows to Linux and vice versa was a deal breaker for development

I was a beta user of WSL1. It was interesting, but the very slow file system performance from Windows to Linux and vice versa was a deal breaker for development use. I haven't even bothered to use WSL2 because I hardly use Windows anymore, and I was forced to use VMWare with Linux on Windows for a few years of development work. It was always a pain, too, and once I switched to MacBook, I never looked back. Since then, I assumed WSL2 wasn't going to be used much by 'real developers' as it also had many of the same problems that plague VMWare and VirtualBox, which haven't been adopted by enough developers to pose a threat Linux native and Mac users. But I really feel MS is throwing a lot of resources into this. It's not just a quick fix for those users who need a command line but wouldn't ever consider Linux or Mac anyway, as I initially thought. And if this gets 'good enough' then imagine even more trouble for Linux and especially Mac's grip on engineers and scientists. Ubuntu, Redhat, and the rest have utterly failed to work with Dell or Lenovo or HP to concentrate on just one or two very well supported laptops - everything including suspend, battery life, ACPI, fonts, etc. It's a chicken and egg problem - workstations aren't profitable because most users won't put up with the hardware and driver problems. And without paying users, the distros ignore potential pro users to concentrate on enterprise. As for Mac, while I'm happy they've finally fixed the keyboard and allowed 32GB+ ram, that configuration looks absurdly expensive at $3500 compared to a similarly configured $1700 Dell Precision or Thinkpad. And MacOs has gotten worse over the years, not better. There is nothing really compelling me to stay except for it's Unix compatibility. WSL2 may eventually be the final nail in the coffin for a viable Linux Desktop, and Apple should be worried too, though they appear to have forgotten about pro users years ago anyway.

m01 6y ago
Dell have developer edition laptops that come with Ubuntu preinstalled and I saw a link on HN not long ago about Fedora coming to Lenovo laptops (I think it was https://fedoramagazine.org/coming-soon-fedora-on-lenovo-laptops/ https://fedoramagazine.org/coming-soon-fedora-on-lenovo-lapt...). I've not used them myself but I'd hope the situation isn't as dire as you describe, at least for those selected models.
- hiram112 6y ago
  Dell has put out Linux laptops (XPS and Precision) with both Redhat and now Ubuntu for years. The problem is that they don't keep up with updates, and so you buy an XPS in 2017, and then decide to update to the next non-LTS version of Ubuntu, and eventually more and more of your hardware no longer 'just works'. And since moving to Mac, I just can't get used to my Dell Precision anymore because certain things like fonts and touchpad are just so inferior to a Macbook from the same year. And this is probably half the problem: If they concentrate on only one or two models, then they either have to pick their top-end line (Precision or Thinkpad) to compete for pro users who'd go with $3000 Macbook Pros, or instead target the lower end budget users on Inspirons or Lenovo Yogas who'd otherwise just use Windows. So instead, it just seems like Linux is mediocrely supported on most of their laptop lines, but not a single one is 100% supported long term like it would be with a Mac or any Windows box.

m01 6y ago

Dell have developer edition laptops that come with Ubuntu preinstalled and I saw a link on HN not long ago about Fedora coming to Lenovo laptops (I think it was https://fedoramagazine.org/coming-soon-fedora-on-lenovo-laptops/ https://fedoramagazine.org/coming-soon-fedora-on-lenovo-lapt...). I've not used them myself but I'd hope the situation isn't as dire as you describe, at least for those selected models.

hiram112 6y ago
Dell has put out Linux laptops (XPS and Precision) with both Redhat and now Ubuntu for years. The problem is that they don't keep up with updates, and so you buy an XPS in 2017, and then decide to update to the next non-LTS version of Ubuntu, and eventually more and more of your hardware no longer 'just works'. And since moving to Mac, I just can't get used to my Dell Precision anymore because certain things like fonts and touchpad are just so inferior to a Macbook from the same year. And this is probably half the problem: If they concentrate on only one or two models, then they either have to pick their top-end line (Precision or Thinkpad) to compete for pro users who'd go with $3000 Macbook Pros, or instead target the lower end budget users on Inspirons or Lenovo Yogas who'd otherwise just use Windows. So instead, it just seems like Linux is mediocrely supported on most of their laptop lines, but not a single one is 100% supported long term like it would be with a Mac or any Windows box.