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Poll: What is your primary operating system

• deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
• kisom 15y ago
  I've got a macbook air and a thinkpad. I use the air much of the time but quite often I just need to get my FreeBSD fix on in spectrwm. (Yes, you can run spectrwm on OS X but it's a pita and XQuartz makes it much more difficult). Most of what I do on the thinkpad is C hacking. I tend to approach operating systems with a BSD mindset: use what works for you, and if you have a complaint - put up with some code.
  • cmeiklejohn 15y ago
    traitor! :) thought you were obsd for life?
    • kisom 15y ago
      hah, I unfortunately need some better compat with the lunix stuff. Loongson soon! (How soon? not long!)
• apgwoz 15y ago
  I choose other because I use GNU/Linux
  • apgwoz 15y ago
    Since when did it become not OK to side with the FSF? This, (i.e. the "Hacker" News crowd) has really set a new low bar.
    • gjm11 15y ago
      Saying "I use GNU/Linux": OK. Saying "I don't use Linux and am going to distort your poll results because you didn't use the terminology I prefer": not OK. And, honestly, if getting a few downvotes for some random thing is "setting a new low bar" then something's wrong with your calibration.
      • apgwoz 15y ago
        > "I don't use Linux and am going to distort your poll results because you didn't use the terminology I prefer" Well, first of all, I didn't "distort your poll" because I didn't actually choose other. In addition to hacker news users hating the FSF, we apparently are also immune to sarcasm and humor. Second, I'm sorry, I didn't know that polls on Hacker News were so serious and scientific. Do you police rules like "pick only one" with words like, "Come on guys! I'm trying to run a scientific poll here and you're ruining it!"? Please.
    • sbuk 15y ago
      "Since when did it become not OK to side with the FSF?" I'm sorry, but when did it become obligatory to agree with your world view. You were down-voted presumably because your comment was fatuous. Being a 'hacker' is not synonymous to exclusively using F/LOSS. Ideological fallacies are just the same as all the other fallacies...
      • apgwoz 15y ago
        I don't think there is anything nice to say about your comment. You call me foolish for having an opinion you disagree with. Pot, say hello to kettle.
• tutnix 15y ago
  Mostly using Linux for day to day work. Sometimes with vms for windows or other linux installs.
• olalonde 15y ago
  You should replace Linux/Unix by Linux and add a fourth option "Other Unix-like OS" or "Other *nix". It would be more clear since both OSX and Linux are Unix-like OSes. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Unix_history-simple.svg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Unix_hist...
  • deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  • reidrac 15y ago
    Then I guess Chrome OS is a Unix-like too. So it would be Unix-like or Windows. Eh, and other. EDIT: I don't agree with your classification. Sorry, Monday morning before my first coffee.
    • andreime 15y ago
      Chrome OS is a browser in a linux box ....
      • reidrac 15y ago
        Yep, what I was trying to say is that the poll is about what is your primary operative system and not about the OS family. The classification is arbitrary, definitely. I'm not using "Linux" but Ubuntu, in the same way Chrome OS is a valid answer instead of just "Linux".
    • olalonde 15y ago
      When I posted this there was only 3 options: OS X, Windows, Linux/Unix
• mappu 15y ago
  A choice between the 'big three' is rapidly becoming an uninteresting decision. No concessions for the rare people who use Haiku, wrote their own OSes, or use their phones/tablets as their primary device?
  • jordhy 15y ago
    I agree and also vote for adding iOS and Android/Chrome OS to the poll, some people are heavily using their tablets today.
    • usablebytes 15y ago
      iOS? primarily for development? would like to know more
      • terhechte 15y ago
        http://yieldthought.com/post/12239282034/swapped-my-macbook-for-an-ipad http://yieldthought.com/post/12239282034/swapped-my-macbook-...
• deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
• yangyang 15y ago
  It'd be really interesting to hear what people answering "other" are using.
  • anonymoushn 15y ago
    I've previously seen some people here who use Plan 9.
• deleted 15y ago
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• javert 15y ago
  Probably should have allowed an option for *BSD. I suppose "other Unix variant" is sort of approximately the same thing, but the former would be more clear.
  • chimeracoder 15y ago
    Actually, I'd be curious what Nix people are using other than GNU/Linux and BSD. Solaris? Unix proper - does anybody still really use that?
    • jrmg 15y ago
      Doesn't really answer your question, but it's an interesting fact that OS X is officially a 'UNIX proper' (see http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_UNIX_Specification http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_UNIX_Specification).
      • deleted 15y ago
        [deleted]
    • javert 15y ago
      I doubt anybody on HN uses any of {solaris, HPUX, AIX, Xenix, ...}.
      • thebluesky 15y ago
        I rather like Solaris. Use Linux at work, would love to have DTrace, ZFS, Zones.
      • hobin 15y ago
        Ahem. I've got an OpenSolaris PC standing right there in the corner, thank you very much. ;)
• cperciva 15y ago
  FreeBSD. Only desktop I've used since 2004.
  • bobobo1618 15y ago
    I'm curious, how difficult is it to set one up? Do you encounter many issues performing your day to day work? I've been eyeing it for a while and I had it running on my home server for a time but I didn't think it was quite ready to be my primary OS. I generally use Arch Linux at the moment, mainly because I like the configurability and frequent package updates.
    • pavanky 15y ago
      I tried out pcbsd, which I think is based off FreeBSD. The only issue I had was everything being built from source. Considering that userspace is pretty much the same for BSD and Linux, I am guessing there wont be many issues. Coming from an Arch Linux back certainly helps I think. The drawbacks have to be the lack of certain binary driver blobs available in Linux. Some may call it a feature though.
    • cperciva 15y ago
      There's a few glitches -- I don't have the latest Intel graphics drivers, and as a result the video doesn't work when I resume from S3, for example -- but aside from those, it's really quite straightforward. For a long time there were problems with flash, but with linux emulation enabled it "just works" under Chromium; it's been years since I had OpenOffice fail to open a Microsoft Office document. Java is a bit of a nuisance to build, but for licensing reasons, not technical reasons. Obviously you need to be comfortable at a command line -- the most common "maintenance" you'll be doing is updating ports, and every couple of months you'll find that /usr/ports/UPDATING says "the foo port has [done something weird] and you need to run the following commands before/after updating" (often it's a matter of deleting a port because its contents got merged into something else) -- but if you've got Arch Linux experience I can't imagine that you'll find much difficulty using FreeBSD.
    • dfc 15y ago
      Colin is the security officer for FreeBSD. I doubt he encountered many problems setting it up;)
• Spyro7 15y ago
  Every day, I start up a computer running OS X. Then, I proceed to fire up virtual machines for two Linux distributions, Windows XP, and Windows 7. I occasionally play around with a headless system that I have running FreeBSD. Then I may power up my iPod Touch to test recent changes to my mobile site. I also do a significant quantity of work while I am logged into a remote debian server via ssh. I doubt that I am the only developer with this type of daily routine. I actually do think that this poll is pretty nifty (and I checked off OS X), but I think that it is still worth observing that the term "primary operating system" just doesn't quite carry the same weight as it used to.
  • Argorak 15y ago
    I use something like: "OS X is my host operating system. I develop on Linux."
    • girardy 15y ago
      Depending on how you use it, OS X can feel a lot like Linux. If you're spending most of your time in Terminal and Emacs, usually ssh'ed into a server, then your technical answer will diverge pretty far from your "real" or metaphysical answer.
      • Argorak 15y ago
        I work for multiple clients. After messing a few years with "I need a postgres for this one, a mysql for this one and sometimes, things just break on the live server because Mac OS X is almost linuxlike", I switched to a fully virtualized development stack and haven't looked back since. So the answer is not metaphysical, but true.
    • jiggy2011 15y ago
      I have tried similar to this but always find the experience of running desktop software on a VM to be lacking. Just things like resizing windows or minimising things becomes clunky enough that I prefer to just native boot into whatever I plan to use.
• pavanky 15y ago
  I am not from the valley and it is heart-warming to see Linux beat out OSX. Especially considering the number of mac books I have seen engineers carry about, the couple of times I have been there.
  • stanleydrew 15y ago
    Some of us run Linux on our MacBooks.
    • skore 15y ago
      It is clearly the best of both worlds.
      • pavanky 15y ago
        Aren't the macbooks over-priced ? Personally I'd rather buy a laptop and a tablet (something like the transformer) rather than get something that costs twice as much or offers lower return on hardware for the same price. Disclaimer: I am from a parallel programming background, so I am biased towards performance rather than form factor or battery life.
        • masklinn 15y ago
          > Aren't the macbooks over-priced ? No? I mean is a Panasonic Toughbook C1 "overpriced"? It'll always depend on what you value and what your qualitative and quantitative metrics are.
          • deleted 15y ago
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            • masklinn 15y ago
              > I mentioned my criteria Not really. > Return of hardware on the money investted. That's not a criteria, it's not even fuzzy it's empty. > To me people using macs are using them because one of the following: Ah, so you were not actually asking a question and did not have any interest in answers. Noted.
• maxbernstein 15y ago
  Mac OS X only because I refuse to use Windows and I need Photoshop.
  • aidos 15y ago
    That's the major stumbling block for me; slowly I'm moving towards Linux but I still need photoshop. I look forward to the day when design teams produce their work in something other than that monolithic software. Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing tool, but there's no need for anything that complex in web design.
  • Jem 15y ago
    Exact situation but in reverse. (Windows but only because I refuse to use Mac OS and I need Photoshop.) I tried GIMPing it under various Linux distros for a while but it's just not comparable.
• ComputerGuru 15y ago
  I use all 3 100% interchangeably. At the moment, I'm posting this on Windows 7 64-bit (my main software development machine), with a 64-Bit Debian for Linux development and a 32-Bit SliTaz for Linux testing running in VMware Workstation at all times and actively used (along with a XP image that I'll spin up once every couple of days for testing). My MacBook Pro is on the other "side" of my body (my desk is an L), so by simply re-swiveling my chair, I'll be on OS X where I can do more coding, check my email, etc. I think the OS wars are over. Web apps address the needs of many people (I actually don't use too many), but by and large, all three platforms have seen enough usage and statistics and have been around long enough that there's (GOOD) software to do X (whatever X is) on any of the 3.
• zheng 15y ago
  I run windows, but always run a Linux VM in which I do all of my dev work, and have an OS X laptop which would be a linux laptop, but Logic/Final Cut Pro keep it that way. Right tool for the right job, IMO.
  • pavanky 15y ago
    Any particular reason you have a Windows host + linux VM instead of the other way around ? Personal experience has been Linux hosts + Windows VM performs better than the other way around.
    • zheng 15y ago
      Windows handles media much better than linux. I have a linux media server as well, and while I like it for somethings, getting Blu-Ray/DVD/MP3/CD/Netflix/etc. working in it is not one of those things. Windows just works in that sense. Also games, although this is more of a theoretical bonus as I rarely play anything.
    • etcet 15y ago
      I virtualize Linux under Windows too. My primary reason is gaming. I can use Linux without any hardware acceleration. My dev environment is entirely virtual and there are advantages to being able to throw it on a thumb drive and carry it around. Or I can be staying with a friend for a week and setup my ideal working environment on their computer in a few commands. Another advantage is it's much smaller than a Windows VM so I can store more Linux VM's/snapshots on my puny SSD.
  • cageface 15y ago
    The two apps keeping me from running Linux full time are Ableton Live and Adobe Fireworks. Unfortunately it doesn't seem likely that the high-end proprietary content creation tools or anything comparable from the OSS world are likely to come to Linux any time soon.
    • zheng 15y ago
      Never used Ableton, but I've been dabbling in Reaper[0]. I can't make a full switch yet, but am hoping to be able to at some point in time. From the little I've seen it isn't missing anything major. Final Cut Pro is another story, but I really don't use it very often anymore, and I'm well-versed enough in Adobe Premier that I could probably drop it. I'm not holding my breath either, but I do dream of a world where most software is OS-independent. I guess we're closer now than we have been for a while. EDIT: I just remembered that Reaper is Win/Mac. I hear it runs under Wine, but I'd be worried about latency there. Alas, we are captive to our tools. --- [0] - http://reaper.fm/ http://reaper.fm/
• staunch 15y ago
  The day is coming when Chrome, Firefox, Safari will be the poll options.
  • hasenj 15y ago
    I highly doubt this. Not even tablets will run on top of browsers. Developers will never give up a real operating system. You just can't develop on consumer devices like the iPad; these are designed for consumers, they come with many limitations to make the consumer's experience easy and smooth, but at the cost of hackability.
    • stanleydrew 15y ago
      "Developers will never give up a real operating system." I always hesitate to use the word never. Things can change very rapidly. What developers need now may not be anything like what we need in 5 years. But more importantly, what a "real operating system" is will probably change in the next 5 years.
      • hasenj 15y ago
        Right, but whatever directions things go towards, do you really think that developers will use "browsers" as the operating system? Look at photographers. Despite all the consumer level digital cameras that have flooded the market, professional photographers (and even hobbyists) still buy the more expensive (and more complicated) cameras that a consumer would probably never buy.
        • nkassis 15y ago
          Looking at the direction Windows 8 is making or what HP tried with WebOS. Where the browser starts and the OS begins is starting to become very fuzzy. Some people use to cling to assembly instead of using C. Now days it's rare to find someone who will use Assembly over C.
          • hasenj 15y ago
• youngsterxyf 15y ago
  I like debian and archlinux
  • pavanky 15y ago
    Debian for server arch for desktop ?
• Mamady 15y ago
  I was running on linux for a couple of years. Then I got tired of my laptop battery being destroyed, the fan on my laptop being in overdrive at all times, and also having everything run slow even though I had paid for top hardware. So I switched back to Windows. I WISH I could use linux as my primary, but I really can't justify all the flaws just for a bit more security.
• tkahn6 15y ago
  I use OS X on my personal laptop and Ubuntu on my computer at work... And Ubuntu for the servers I run. So I upvoted both OS X and Ubuntu.
• Osiris 15y ago
  I've been using Windows pretty much since version 3.1 (though will some time on OS/2 as well) as my primary OS. I have, of course, used Linux, though mostly for servers and not a full-time primary OS. I also have a Chromebook running Chrome OS. Recently, I switched jobs and my team uses Macs so over the last few months my primary work OS is now Mac OS X, while I still use Windows at home. One thing I have discovered in this transition is that I find the fanboism illogical and pretty much pointless. I've found that I can, for the most part, do about the same sorts of things in one OS as another, though the process is different. Yes, there are some applications available on one but not the other, but I have not found anything that forces me to believe that one OS is superior in all ways to another. I can appreciate the differences and pros and cons to various operating systems, but I honestly get annoyed by people that attack or bash another OS with broad statements like "Well what do you expect from Microsoft?" or "Well I can do that on Mac why can't I do it on Windows?" Worse, it's never appropriate to associate an OS choice with a personal character flaw of an individual as often happens in flame wars. Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux varieties are all tools and should just be seen as such.
  • teebot 15y ago
    totally agree with this. The OS is becoming more and more irrelevant.
    • Joeboy 15y ago
      I'm not sure that's actually the case, but if it were then deliberately using one that was locked down / charged for / oligopolistic would be a bad choice, not a neutral one.
  • pjmlp 15y ago
    Could not agree more.
  • slowpoke 15y ago
    I would just like to add that there is a valid reason why Linux or the *BSDs are superior to Windows or OS X - they are Free. As in Speech. And I'm sad this doesn't even warrant a mention.
• traxtech 15y ago
  Debian to work, OSX to procrastinate
  • navs 15y ago
    Heh exactly the opposite for me. OSX for work and Linux to customize all day.
• RenaKunisaki 15y ago
  Linux on three machines. I have an Android phone, but I rarely use it really.
• shanehudson 15y ago
  My main system runs Mac, since I need access to Photoshop. I love linux and I own a chromebook.
• wildtype 15y ago
  I use only slackware linux for everyday use. Since i use computer only for internet browsing, typing, and sometime data analysis, it just works.
• minikomi 15y ago
  At home : OSX / Arch in a VM (awesome window manager is very simple and nice). I want to go Arch all the time but photoshop / illustrator hold me back. At work : Windows XP. Yes. Welcome to Japan.
• ravloony 15y ago
  Gentoo here, since 2003. At work, until a couple of months ago I was using Windows Server 2008. I'm looking for a new job, not entirely coincidentally.
• bitcracker 15y ago
  Happy Linux user since 1992. Sometimes I also use Windows in VM for customers.
  • bnegreve 15y ago
    I'd rather say Linux hacker then, Linux in 1992 was pretty basic.
    • bitcracker 15y ago
      Yes, but it was fun to configure the modem and to calculate monitor modelines to get X11 working :-)
  • ing33k 15y ago
    OMG, I was just 3 when you began to use Linux. I would like to know if its some sort of addiction to use Linux ? the reason I am asking is, I am using Linux since 6 years and I think I am getting addicted to it .
    • bitcracker 15y ago
      The awesome thing about Linux is that I got a Unix like system for free (Windows 3.1 was mainstream at that time), and that I can do in Linux whatever I want to do because it is open source. Linux hasn't lost its fascination although I am a bit disappointed about the current misleading too much tablet oriented developments (Gnome 3, Unity).
• d4v1dv00 15y ago
  i am living in Linux for work. home and now with Android without Microsoft/Mac OS X since 3 years ago
• mikiem 15y ago
  Ubuntu desktop, Ubuntu laptop, iPad, 95.5% of our servers are Linux or BSD. In our office, we have one old windows xp box on P4 hardware to remote desktop into for various stuff that cant be done on Linux or is significant easier on WinXP....rare.
• richbradshaw 15y ago
  OSX is the only operating system that can run iTunes, Office, Photoshop/Fireworks, Ruby, Python, bash scripts, Apache, Mysql without virtualization or any weird and unfun hacks (yeah, cygwin, I'm looking at you!).
  • mahmud 15y ago
    I have run ALL on Windows, no cygwin necessary :-)
    • insertnickname 15y ago
      How do you run Bash scripts on Windows?
      • reidrac 15y ago
        MinGW is awesome: http://www.mingw.org/wiki/MSYS http://www.mingw.org/wiki/MSYS It's not Cygwin "MinGW, being Minimalist, does not, and never will, attempt to provide a POSIX runtime environment for POSIX application deployment on MS-Windows. If you want POSIX application deployment on this platform, please consider Cygwin instead."; there's no emulation layer at all.
  • dagw 15y ago
    I Run all those on Windows without any problems.
    • gnaritas 15y ago
      If he'd have said portable bash scripts, then Windows can't do it without cygwin.
  • emidln 15y ago
    You seem to imply that running iTunes and Office are good things. That seems...odd.
• giis 15y ago
  For more than a decade,Its Linux for me
• kolev 15y ago
  For pure development (unless you're developing an iOS or OS X apps), Linux is definitely the top choice. For office work (Microsoft Office, Visio, Outlook, Lync, etc.) unfortunately Windows still bests (OmniGraffle and Office for Mac are decent, but still no match), for everything else - OS X is definitely the best choice.
• chigs 15y ago
  Linux : Pinguy
• mironathetin 15y ago
  Since 1998, my primary private system is Mac OS. In 2000 I gave my last Windows Notebook to my brother (A 9000$ Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook E6560 - he used it until a few months ago and I'll get it back soon). At work, I used Linux exclusively until 5 years ago. Since then, my Notebook is Mac OS. But large processing jobs still go to our grid that consists of several 172 GB RAM linux machines. I am an astronomer and I process quite a bit of data. I fought for Mac OS at work and since I don't have to use linux on my notebook any more, life is much easier. But Lion and Apples cloud integration bs makes me fear, linux has to come back someday.
• wavephorm 15y ago
  I primarily use a web browser. To me an "operating system" is just that thing I need to use to access the internet and run my web browser.
• korginator 15y ago
  MacOS on the primary notebook and desktop, a little x86 box on Mint Linux with LXDE for a lightweight and complete Linux, Windows 7 on Parallels, on those occasions when I feel life's too smooth.
• jchughes 15y ago
  Use OSX, Debian Linux and Windows 7. OSX for work, debian for my testing server/some programming and windows 7 for everyday use but that is slowly changing as I use my mb pro more and more. In the past I have had several windows laptops and none of them hold a torch to the mb pro. size, weight, hardware & battery life are all far supperior than anything I have ever experience on a windows based laptop. The price in my eyes is justified.
• dfc 15y ago
  I am really surprised that people voted android/ios as your primary device. What type of work do you do?
  • canop_fr 15y ago
    I'm surprised they're on HN but I have a (geeky) friend who do most of his work on an Android tablet so that his "computer" is always on and ready. That makes a difference when you run more than one time in more than on place and you spend a lot of time with your customers too.
  • SCdF 15y ago
    At work I use Windows / linux, but about a week ago I switched from using a MBP as my primary computer at home to a Transformer Prime. Impressions so far: it's awesome. Consuming is much better, which is most of what I do at home. Most producing I've done lately has been of the pure text nature (emails / blogs etc). The onscreen keyboard is mostly find for this, and if I need to bang a lot of text out I can attach the keyboard. I'm a bit overwhelmed with work work atm, but when that calms down I'm keen to try AIDE[0], as well as look for a more light weight editor for python / html hackery that can connect via ftp/ssh or similar, and play with developing web apps that way. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aide.ui https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aide.ui
• jstepien 15y ago
  I've been running various flavours of GNU/Linux on my laptop for a couple of years now, with Arch being the most recent one. I find it perfectly adequate for an IDE-less, Vim-centric coding which takes a significant majority of my time spent in front of a keyboard. I wonder what are experiences of members of the HN community who run Linux on their MacBooks, especially in case of a development-oriented environment. Could you share your opinions about such a setup? Is it worth the price of the machine?
• chavezgu 15y ago
  So it's true, Microsoft is dying: http://paulgraham.com/microsoft.html http://paulgraham.com/microsoft.html
  • steve-howard 15y ago
    This is obviously an excellent representative sample to make that claim literally.
• dostrow 15y ago
  I can't hope to answer this question. My home desktop is a Windows 7 box, my laptop is a Macbook Air running Lion, I own both a Xoom and an iPad and use both regularly and my work machine is a Linux box...there needs to be another option on this Poll...YES!
• stephenhandley 15y ago
  LAKES
• joshryandavis 15y ago
  I gave Chrome OS a vote, just because I felt bad for it.
• rshm 15y ago
  I could not leave Windows for photoshop and Excel. Now that the photoshop runs smoothly in VM and Calc is comparable, made a switch to ubuntu.
  • jurre 15y ago
    OSX also has both of those, although I'm not sure if you have VB support in osx, but I'm guessing that if you're using calc you don't need it anyway. If this set up works for you that's great of course!
    • bliss 15y ago
      VBA on OSX is fine, a little slower than on windows (yes, it can get slower!) - couple of funnies around file system access, but well written code will work with no changes
      • jurre 15y ago
        Thanks, yeah I just tried one of my old projects (a counter to display how much money one/multiple people are wasting) and it worked!
• richardk 15y ago
  Debian Stable since 2009, before then I used other Linux distros and Windows. I'll admit I was quite a fan boy in my teens, but now I really just use Debian because it's what I'm used to, or most comfortable with. I think GNU/Linux in general is a fantastic development environment.
• terminhell 15y ago
  Arch Linux. Been a fulltime nixer for a few years now. No reason to use anything else. I'd miss the freedom too much.
• CWIZO 15y ago
  I use Win7 at work (servers are FreeBSD). I also had a personal WinXP laptop until 4 months ago when I switched to air and I'm now using OSX at home for fun and sometimes also for work.
• mahmud 15y ago
  Ubuntu, as far as the eye can see.
• sakthig 15y ago
  Community Effort Always Wins - Unity is Strength -> Linux ;)
• sakthig 15y ago
  I don't see value for money in osx other than ui awesomeness ...
  • troels 15y ago
    It's the only unix that you can run Microsoft office on.
    • TazeTSchnitzel 15y ago
      WINE works too ;)
• hrktb 15y ago
  I spend blocks of hours every day in front of a dev machine, but aggregating all the hours I spend in private or inbetween work, including weekends and all using my phone or the ipad, iOS is my actual primary OS.
• deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
• HackR 15y ago
  I use OSX and love it. For personal use its awesome and feels a lot like linux when I need it to, but when I actually need linux for work, I can just ssh through the terminal and its awesome! I love how its very easy to develop on OSX because it comes with a lot of dev tools preinstalled. Not that it takes any effort to get your own personal environment set up, but its just nice how they package that all together.
• drblast 15y ago
  For desktop use I'm migrating back to Windows after having used Ubuntu almost exclusively for the past five years. It's a shame, because Ubuntu was soooo close to surpassing Windows from a "I just want to get stuff done without mucking with the machine" standpoint. But then Windows got much better with version 7 and Ubuntu took a nosedive into crazy UI fantasy land. The final straw was when text started randomly disappearing and reappearing in emacs and xterms in Unity. I don't know why it happened, just that it was too much trouble to diagnose some weird bug for the millionth time. If I can't trust my desktop to run emacs(!) without glitching, see ya. I'm getting older, and after about 15 years playing around with config files, I just want something that's stable and consistent, and OS X was never to my taste. Windows is leaps and bounds better than when I heavily used it last. And Linux runs fine using Xfce in a VM where you can count on the host to have all the hardware working.
  • BerislavLopac 15y ago
    Our experience must have been quite different, since I have finally ran away from Windows after four years of using Ubuntu in parallel. Windows 7 is nice, but I still find Ubuntu easier to use and much less resource intensive. True, I was also at first thrown away by Unity, but have adopted Gnome Shell and had no need to look back since. Each time I reboot in Windows I feel like in one of those nightmares when you're running the best you can, but are barely moving.
  • foxit 15y ago
    I'm getting older, and after about 15 years playing around with config files, I just want something that's stable and consistent[.] .. Windows is leaps and bounds better than when I heavily used it last. This is why we use Windows. When we buy a new computer, it's a former corporate business class laptop sold on eBay, it comes with some version of Windows preinstalled, and we don't mess with it. As with the recent Gmail discussion, the reason we use it is that it simply works and we need it to do work.
    • esolyt 15y ago
      I use Windows too. But I found it interesting that someone on Hacker News considers installing an OS as "messing with the computer".
• jk 15y ago
  Linux user since 2002. Now I have multiple machines running linux. I use linux at work too. I am an embedded developer and use Linux in most of the projects. Using linux machine makes life a lot easy.
• nosugar 15y ago
  Which Linux distro are you using? And: Is it a real alternative to a Mac for a developer?
  • fingerprinter 15y ago
    Ubuntu. Depends on the type of dev, but anything short of iOS is probably easier on Ubuntu. And, just an FYI, I know people that do iOS on Ubuntu as well (virtualized OSX instance).
• BerislavLopac 15y ago
  I was a MacOS user from 1992 (version 6.8!), and started using Windows along with it in 1995. In 2001 I have switched to Windows completely, and in 2009 I have started using desktop Linux (Ubuntu) in parallel with it, switching completely to it as my only desktop OS in December 2011. Wandering what will be next... :)
• shellox 15y ago
  I used Linux for 6 years, but switched to OS X 2 years ago. It's much more comfortable, I have access to the command line tools and the UX is much better. I just get things done now and haven't to care why pulseaudio doesn't work anymore after an update etc.. I'm really satisfied with my MacBook and OS X Lion :)
• ralfd 15y ago
  Say whaaat? OSX leading? (I too clicked it.) And more Linux than Windows? PG should show the traffic statistics to contrast that.
  • hobin 15y ago
    It's probably correct, actually. In the past there have been a few links from HN to my own site, and I was surprised to see that a LOT of people were using OSX.
• exDM69 15y ago
  I've been a Linux user since kernel 2.0.30 was new. I have used Windows at work for 6 days total. I used it at a Java shop where the build system was Windows only. After 6 days I needed to get my job done and I installed Linux to get better dev and network diagnostics tools, hacked the build system to not include .bat-scripts, got my job done and never looked back. That was my first 6 days as a professional software engineer and my last 6 days of using Windows for non-gaming purposes.
• nickik 15y ago
  Nothing can get me away from my Arch Linux with XMonad as a Windows Manager. I love it.
  • mansoor-s 15y ago
    I tried to set it up.. I actually did but it appears you need to know Haskell to do even the most basic of customization :( back to Gnome3 for me
    • nickik 15y ago
      Really? Common most stuff you copy from somewhere (you can find tons on github for example). For the rest the only have to know that the list syntax is like the python one [1, 2, 3]. I don't no haskell either.
  • yangyang 15y ago
    I run the same. That - plus tmux, Emacs and Chromium - is just about perfect. If I wasn't tied to Lightroom for photography I'd get rid of the mac.
    • nickik 15y ago
      I use firefox and urxvt with client/server
    • apgwoz 15y ago
      Have you tried darktable? It's definitely not Lightroom, but it's getting better and better all the time.
      • yangyang 15y ago
        Interesting, I will take a look, thanks. The trouble with digital photography apps is the lock-in - I've got tens of thousands of photos processed with LR, so I'm basically stuck with it. Glad that I didn't go with Aperture - at least I have two platforms to choose from rather than one.
• gosub 15y ago
  Linux at work, Windows + virtualized Linux at home
• richurd 15y ago
  I was forced to choose "other" since my operating system (GNU) was not listed. What you're referring to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX. Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called "Linux", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project. There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called "Linux" distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.
  • deanproxy 15y ago
    My car engine is a Volkswagen and the entire vehicle consists of parts made by various other companies, but do you see anyone going around saying "I have a Brembo/Volkswagen" just because Volkswagen used some Brembo parts to build the car? Look, GNU is super important and they have done amazing things for Free software. I heavily support them and the work they have done. However, I don't force people that use my Open Source software in their products to put the name of my organization at the front of their product name or label just because they use it to develop their product and neither do most other manufacturers of other products in the world. Using Linux as a generic label to represent all the Linux based Distros out there is not unreasonable just as using "Volkswagen" isn't. There is no need to cram GNU down peoples throats and force them to write and/or say "GNU/Linux" anytime they refer generically to Linux. If you feel that way, at least be consistent with everything you own and start refering to it by both the components its built from as well as the product itself.
    • 15y ago
• ringe82 15y ago
  I switched to Linux around 2001 because I wanted to know more about what went wrong than a BSOD could tell me.
• twinturbo 15y ago
  I assert that you can't be a programmer (Read anything unofficial MS) with Windows. If you try, that just tells me you don't care about your tools. Which tells me you need to level up.
  • prodigal_erik 15y ago
    I don't use crappy unportable tools, which means everything I care about also runs fine on Windows. I'm not writing Win32 apps right now, but when I was I certainly had no good reason to add work just to avoid Windows on my dev box. Win32 isn't a very tasteful API, but it at least has the virtue of being intended for what people want to do with it, unlike the World-Wide Web (which is being destroyed so that we can have an astonishingly ham-fisted and inefficient application platform instead).
  • khyryk 15y ago
    What do you assert I'm doing right now, then? I think you turned the point on its head -- I don't care about the operating system as much as I care about the tools.
• asjo 15y ago
  I have been using Linux as my only operating system since Yggdrasil Fall 1994. Before that I was a happy Amiga user. After Yggdrasil I took a short turn to Slackware (downloaded a lot of floppies), and then switched to Debian which I had heard nice things about - and I have been running Debian ever since. I always get surprised at how complicated other systems (Windows, Mac OS X) seem to me, when I briefly encounter them. I guess it is the power of habit. Here is a bar chart of the votes: · http://koldfront.dk/misc/hn/os/data.png http://koldfront.dk/misc/hn/os/data.png (Updated hourly currently.)
• ing33k 15y ago
  I am a Linux user and I feel more secure when using it. Desktop : Linux Mint ( Was using Ubuntu until 10.4 ) Laptop : Linux Mint and Windows 7 Dual boot. The reason I have windows is that laptop battery lasts for 4 hrs on windows and only 1.5 hrs on Linux when not on charging mode. also I use windows when I need to use dual screens.
• sathishmanohar 15y ago
  Wow! OSX first, Linux Close second. There are not many places, that will draw this kind of result. I use windows and Ubuntu, I use Ubuntu for almost everything nowadays, My only reason to boot into windows to get something done with photoshop.
• chrisveto 15y ago
  I'm sitting on Windows 7 machine and quite frankly I don't get the hate about it. It's beautiful, it runs programs and with those programs you can do work and view media. Heck, it even plays games (WOO, who knew right?). While there are parts that aren't really thought-through when it comes to UI design, it's still the best thing I can afford. Some day when I win a lottery, I'll try out a mac, but till then it's all Windows. And to those lovely linux freaks, the day you can run Adobe Fireworks / Illustrator / Photoshop without the hassle of Wine emulator, do let me know.
  • canop_fr 15y ago
    It seems to me that if you can buy Fireworks + Illustrator + Photoshop, the difference of price between a Mac and a PC shouldn't be a problem. Not working on graphics enough to buy those softwares, I'm happy on linux.
• jamesflorentino 15y ago
  I've also been a Windows user for more than 10 years but just recently switched to OSX (May 2011) because I was migrating from Flash Development to HTML5/JavaScript. It seems that most of the tools for web development in general are more conveniently available in OSX.
• frou_dh 15y ago
  OS X has software by third parties that take design and UI seriously. That does not seem to generally be the case on Windows or especially Linux. If OS X disappeared, I'd probably spend a huge amount of time tweaking an Arch Linux install and would use less GUI software.
  • hackermom 15y ago
    Couldn't agree more. The whole mentality in the OS X developer world glows of such a strong focus on usability and UI design, while, for some reason I cannot understand, the Windows and Linux world is mostly the diametrical opposite. This was the first thing that I noticed when I moved over to OS X; the difference was incredibly clear, and it struck with great impact. I think people in general gravely underestimate how much in good software lies in a good interface connecting the user with said software.
• 3ds 15y ago
  At work: Linux At home: OSX
• fastviper 15y ago
  So... this is not a hacker news, but hipster news, right? I mean, OSX majority? You must be joking...
  • 4ad 15y ago
    Using what best works for you is hipster now? Count me in.
• lifeisstillgood 15y ago
  I'm giving up FreeBSD today. I've built Departments and platforms on the old faithful OS, I even blog about it - but my contracts demand skype or even Oracle and whilst you can sort of get those things working I no longer can afford the extra time to make it work Ubuntu just managed to auto install X on a chipset I could not get working manually, and so I am going to Linux land for my workstations. The contracts will require Linux and windows servers so Freebsd will run my in office DNS for now the network effects of things like dropbox skype and so on are having their effect. I have gone from feeling my OS choice is a secretweapon to a drain on time and effectiveness it's not a good feeling for diversity Anyone else?
  • emidln 15y ago
    You might try PC-BSD for a Ubuntu-like experience with a FreeBSD base. I know it autodetects graphics/sound during its installer and can setup stuff like Skype/Flash for you pretty easily. That said, I did the same thing and now use Ubuntu on my laptop and workstation. The only apps I really want are a terminal and Skype since I can run Konsole+tmux/Firefox/Chromium/Okular/etc remotely displaying locally via X.
    • lifeisstillgood 15y ago
      Thanks. I may be giving up too easily. I think I will upgrade to core i7 laptop and run virtualbox soon too.
• fingerprinter 15y ago
  My main machine is Ubuntu host and I run virtualized Ubuntu dev instances. Frankly, nothing can beat it. Unity in 12.04 has been a god-send to me using Linux and I don't think I'll be going to anything else for quite some time. Seriously, if you haven't tried Ubuntu 12.04, you owe it to yourself. BTW. I used Slackware for years but had to use OSX at a job for like 4 years. When I left that job I went and bought a MacBook Pro out of habit and I realized I just didn't feel natural using it, even after 4 years. That is when I put Ubuntu on the system and felt the "ahhhhhh" feeling. Nice to be comfortable again. Unity really is an awesome interface. First real innovative interface I've used in years.
  • dpacmittal 15y ago
    This is the first time I've seen someone praising Unity. As soon as I tried unity I shifted to Kubuntu, but now that you mentioned, I will try 12.04 with unity.
• buster 15y ago
  Myself using Debian/Ubuntu as work OS since i started studying 11 years ago. Dualboot for gaming. All my (IT) colleagues are using MacOSX. My pro/contra list: Contra: - gaming - want a proper desktop search engine/crawler (that doesn't eat up my CPU every day when indexing (and thus, creating far too much noise)) Pro: - everything else, never looked back edit: When i think back so much has improved in regards to Linux, it's awesome. No more kernel compiles, no more X11 configuration editing, no driver hassles. I'm curious what the future brings :)
• hythloday 15y ago
  Pretty much the entire games industry runs (for historical and practical reasons) on Windows. I used a Linux desktop at home for ages but eventually the rebooting and impedance mismatch got too strong.
• andypants 15y ago
  I use Windows, but the only work I do on it is in visual studio with C#. For other programming work, I run linux in a VM. Can't work without the terminal!
• pica 15y ago
  I use NetBSD exclusively for three years now (desktop system), and it is a very comfortable experience so far.
• kartikrao 15y ago
  Being a programmer, I want an OS that gets out of my way and lets me focus. I find the 'busyness' in some of the OS's distracting and a drain on productivity. Availability of tools and one's aesthetic preferences are also important, for me once I switched to OSX there was no looking back. That being said Windows or Linux may be better choices for people with other needs or preferences.
• soyapi 15y ago
  Did anyone regularly using OSX, Windows and/or Linux vote OSX just because it was listed first?
• mikeandrews 15y ago
  linux
• RexRollman 15y ago
  I switch between Windows and Linux, with some OpenBSD thrown in as well, but I am considering switching back to Mac OS X.
• Apreche 15y ago
  Windows, but all my programming work is on Linux servers and Linux VMs.
• edanm 15y ago
  Windows (7, mostly). I also run Ubuntu on servers and in a Virtualbox for development. I've been meaning to move over to a MacBook for a long time now, since I love the iPhone, love the look-and-feel of the MacBook Air, and because so many programmers are moving to them. The problem is, I've been so reliant on Windows for so long, and have so many modifications and workflows that I set up, that I honestly think it would take me months of work to get to the same comfort level in OSX, assuming that I even could get all the features working there. Is it really worth it?
  • horv 15y ago
    I don't know anything about how heavily you've modified Windows, but I just switched to OS X from Win7 a month ago. This is after only ever using Windows. I was surprised by how easily I made the switch. I know Lion gets mixed reviews from long time Mac users, but I'm a huge fan.
    • edanm 15y ago
      Well, I have autohotkey modifications which give me a vim-like keyboard everywhere, add all sorts of shortcuts to switch to my most-used windows (browser, editor, etc.). Plus I have programs for everything I need to do, etc. Honestly, the two biggest problems I have with switching are my AutoHotKey customizations, and Total Commander, which afaik doesn't exist for OSX.
• m0skit0 15y ago
  I clicked Linux despite using Windows for more time because I only use Windows for non-relevant stuff (gaming mostly, also studying chess since good software only exists in this platform, sadly...). For research/programming/reverse engineering/security/important work I use Linux, specially Debian GNU/Linux or based distro (except Ubuntu), but I guess any open-source OS will do fine as well (FreeBSD and OpenSolaris did very well last time I tried them).
• ParadisoShlee_ 15y ago
  I really want to use linux as my primary OS. but I keep falling back to Windows XP/7 of late for pure usefully. Linux desktop is boned, and not getting any better. KDE should be killed with fire and gnome is the moes tavern of WMs.
• edu 15y ago
  On my laptop/desktop: Mac OSX on servers, Linux.
• hackermom 15y ago
  I took a leap of faith from Windows to OS X as my main desktop OS back in late 2004, before it was "trendy" to use products by Apple - and long before users of Apple products began being referred to as "Applefags". I haven't looked back once. Besides OS X and Windows, I've been using the *BSDs (mainly OpenBSD) since around 1999.
• methodin 15y ago
  Does spending most of your time in a Putty terminal using vim count as Windows or Linux?
• hef19898 15y ago
  Windows, all the way back to windows 3.11. Main reason was being a PC gamer, so you are pratically stuck with it.
• lv0 15y ago
  once you go black (and yellow) you never go back.
• exch 15y ago
  Linux warrants a distribution choice, I think. Not nearly every distro out there is worth my time. While under the hood, they are all pretty much identical, the way a given distribution sets itself apart is what makes or breaks the operating system. I've been an avid fan of Arch Linux for a few years now and I can't imagine wanting to switch to Debian or any other setup any time soon.
• thought_alarm 15y ago
  AppleSoft BASIC/ProDOS: 1983-1990 MS-DOS/Windows: 1990-1997 Windows NT: 1997-2005 OS X: 2005-2012 Honorable mention goes to the Commodore 64, OS/2 Warp, various Linux distros, and VMWare.
• dgaaaaaaaaaa 15y ago
  dual boot windows and linux
• silasb 15y ago
  I think the most important thing is that you should be able to cope with what ever operating system you might be in. Understand where to get tools to do development with LAMP on windows, or how to cross-compile windows applications on Linux, et cetera.
• manuscreationis 15y ago
  Windows, but I'm trying to make the switch to using Linux. Primarily a .NET developer, the lure of Node and Ruby have been calling to me lately
• statenjason 15y ago
  Arch Linux with Awesome Window Manager is my preferred setup. I appreciate that each screen has its own virtual desktops.
• plant42 15y ago
  Primarily I use Linux (ubuntu flavour), not for any specific reason other than it is what I am most comfortable using. I sometimes I do despair at the fanatical and near religious arguments going on over a god-damned operating system as if it truly matters. Pick your system, use it, enjoy it, get to know it. Just don't be a muppet about it.
• sukuriant 15y ago
  At home, I'm in Linux about as much as I'm in Windows. What's that mean? I use both and enjoy them equally. There's not really an option for that.
• mindcrime 15y ago
  I run Fedora Linux on the laptop I use for all my day to day stuff. All of the servers I maintain are running some RH related distro; either Fedora, CentOS or - in the case of one really old server - Red Hat 9.
• jasonkostempski 15y ago
  Windows at work, Linux at home. I voted Windows but if I weren't working on .NET I wouldn't be running Windows at all. I wouldn't have said that a month ago, I really like what's been done with Ubuntu 12.04. Windows is basically just a Visual Studio host for me. Once I figure out how to get paid to work with node.js Linux will be my primary OS and Windows will just be a virtual machine running VS. Unless I start working on iPhone apps.
  • OriginalSyn 15y ago
    I'm the opposite. Linux at work. Windows at home. Windows is a gaming and HTPC with Netflix support platform for me.
• cicero 15y ago
  I use Windows at work, and OSX at home.
• dasrecht 15y ago
  Longtime Windows Admin, switched to OSX in 2008 and working on OSX since end of 2011.
• moystard 15y ago
  I use OSX at work with a Virtual Machine running Windows 7 for corporate tools (such as mail, instant messaging, etc.). I also use that OS on my laptop, mostly because I bought a macbook pro a couple years ago and still want to get the best of its hardware (battery life). At home, I use Windows 7, simply because I don't want to reboot to switch back and forth from one OS to the other. I exclusively play Starcraft 2, and if it was possible to play it under Linux with excellent performances, I would switch and never go back again to Windows.
• yangyang 15y ago
  Windows 7 at work, which isn't too bad (coding Python and .NET stuff). Mac OS and Arch Linux at home, with an OpenSolaris storage server and OpenBSD firewall.
• JimmyL 15y ago
  Windows 7, but all my personal development/work happens inside a Ubuntu VM (through VirtualBox).
• e40 15y ago
  Primary is hard to define. Desktop? Windows. Server? Linux (Fedora 16). Both are crucial to my home operation.
• relates 15y ago
  Ubuntu 11.04
• Killswitch 15y ago
  Long time Windows user, went to Linux because Windows just wasn't good anymore... and recently to OS X.
• runjake 15y ago
  Windows 7. With a Linux VM always running. It used to be OS X, but Lion was a curveball out of nowhere. Enough things don't run on Snow Leopard anymore to make that viable.
• weilawei 15y ago
  What primary operating system? I use whatever fits the bill at the moment, and I have enough computers to run 'em all. Operating systems are a tool. All problems are not nails.
• rdl 15y ago
  OSX on laptops, OSX or Linux on desktops, Linux or FreeBSD on servers, iOS on mobile/tablet. I don't know you you define "primary"; outside of a web browser, I spend more time at a command prompt on a linux machine than at the command prompt on OSX.
• Nux 15y ago
  GNU/Linux for everything (CentOS).
• sxcurry 15y ago
  Long time Windows user and developer, switched to OSX a few years back, now can't imagine working without it. Love the terminal access to Unixy stuff. Running Windows in Parallels for the remaining Windows only software. As I tell people, my MacBook Pro is the best Windows laptop I've ever owned.
• duxup 15y ago
  Windows on the desktop. Android on the phone. I don't have the time to dork around in Linux as I once did (never was that great at it) and while I'd like to take OSX for a spin I'm a penny pitcher so I stick with Windows at home. I'm happy with it.
• ianleckey 15y ago
  ubuntu 11.10
• Symmetry 15y ago
  Linux on my home laptop. Windows 7 on my work laptop, but only because it has Optimus graphics and I want multi-monitor. I spend most of my time in a Linux VM. Windows 7 on my desktop gaming machine.
• prophetjohn 15y ago
  This is pretty hard to define for me. At work, I primarily use Windows 7. My away-from-work computing is pretty evenly split between my laptop (MBP running Lion) and my desktop (custom box running Ubuntu 11.10). I'd say my time pretty evenly split between all of these operating systems. I think I prefer Ubuntu overall, however the ease of use of OS X and Windows 7 are pretty tempting a lot of the time (try installing Spotify on Ubuntu 11.10 and get it to play local files). I'd probably prefer OS X among those 2, though since it's much better for development. However, for the most part it really doesn't matter what operating system I'm using.
• rch 15y ago
  I answered OS X in the spirit of honesty. However, I would much rather use Fedora on a laptop at least equivalent to my MacBook Pro, if I could buy such a thing. Installing it myself works at home, but not at work. I am familiar with System 76, but I personally prefer Fedora. Suggestions welcome.
• pfedor 15y ago
  OSX ahead of Linux and iOS ahead of "Other Unix variant". Can we now get the name of this site officially changed to Hipster News?
• grandalf 15y ago
  I'm curious about those using Windows. I can see four main reasons to use it: - You are a "business type" and prefer some app/workflow that you are already familiar with and don't want to change. - You used to work at Microsoft and you know it way better than other OSes. - Your target userbase has strong Windows lock-in so it makes the best business sense to use it. - You are really into gaming and don't want to dual-boot. I'm curious if any windows users have any other reasons...
  • jaxn 15y ago
    I primarily use OS X, but I do have a Windows machine that I use for some development. My reason is not in your list: I need to create Windows executables and installers as part of our product and don't know of a way to do that on OS X. If that was a larger part of my development, I would primarily use Windows.
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  • nosse 15y ago
    It's only OS that can do serious CAD. That's it. Would use linux if I could.
    • sbuk 15y ago
      By "serious CAD", what do you mean?
      • nosse 15y ago
        Serious CAD could be for example: AutoCAD, Solid Edge, pro/e, Catia, microstation just to name few. ArchiCad doesn't fit my needs as it's practically only for visualizing buildings. Last time I tried VariCad it was unusable due to bugs. And Blender isn't a CAD. I'm currently using Solid Edge.
    • 15y ago
• Spoom 15y ago
  Personal laptop: Linux Mint 12 (was running Ubuntu since 8.04 or so until recently... since Unity I've been wanting to move to another distribution) Work desktop: 21" iMac running Debian (dual-boots to OS X but I rarely need it, and I'm much more at home in Linux) Synergy works to share the mouse / keyboard across the desktop to the laptop to create a three-screen environment at work. I used OS X for a good month or two when work got the new iMacs in; it just wasn't my cup of tea. My coworkers have a mix of Windows and OS X installs mostly.
• kjajula 15y ago
  understandability by common users is a big thing and linux lacks it. A common person who doesn't know anything about computer would be much comfortable with windows or Mac rather than linux. Linux is a programmers operating system. You learn a lot using linux than windows. Programmers have different opinions so are different distros(That is my view !!). I personally use UBUNTU for my programming and Windows for gaming/netflix/other_entertainment.
• s00pcan 15y ago
  I use OSX, Windows, Linux and Android daily. Some more than others depending on where I am and what I'm doing, but I'm at work using Ubuntu for 40 hours a week, so I should probably vote that.
• evoxed 15y ago
  OS X for regular day-to-day, Windows for CAD and structures. I used to use gentoo occasionally, so a year ago I started browsing other systems and found Arch Linux. As soon as I get some extra hardware for a desktop workstation I'd love to give it a try.
• jcla1 15y ago
  My OS of choice is OSX, not because I find it the best OS ever, much more because I don't want to use Windows! I used to have a laptop with ubuntu on it but in the more recent versions the UI just isn't it.
• wildmXranat 15y ago
  To be fair, I shell into a Linux box or mount a directory over SFTP from OSX. Linux is the common server OS amongst a couple client environments I use
• borgchick 15y ago
  primary where? at work? linux, at home? windows, on the road? osx
• jsmith72 15y ago
  I can't believe OSX is the highest!
• jjcm 15y ago
  Different OS's for different modalities. For desktop environments, I usually prefer windows 7. I think that Win 7 has some really good window management control, and across multiple monitors often found in a desktop setup it works especially well. Apple hardware is top notch and robust. I don't need that in a desktop - my hardware isn't going anywhere (hell I don't even use a case for my desktops). For a laptop though, portability and build quality matters. So for those I'll buy Apple hardware, and thus use OSX as it integrates the best with the hardware provided. For servers, I like a light and lean platform, so I'll use linux. Requires very little maintenance, runs solid, and eats up very little resources. Right now I'm using Ubuntu on my two linode servers. I'm only hosting websites on them and seeding the occasional torrent, I don't need a custom setup. The out-of-the-box functionality that ubuntu provides works great for that. This is by no means and end all/be all rule, but for the most part I find that this is how I'm using my devices and OS's.
• jsz0 15y ago
  For my needs OSX is the perfect mix of a user friendly / powerful desktop OS. It's just a very elegant operating system. I feel like just about anything I need to do is very close to the surface. Anytime I am forced to use Windows or Linux, even though I am quite familiar with both, it seems incredibly convoluted to me. Not really difficult just unnecessarily complex and chaotic. OSX knows how to get out of the way and let me work. Since Lion came out I've been using full-screen apps + multi-tasking gestures extensively. I can go days without seeing anything besides my applications. The OS just disappears and leaves me alone when I don't need it.
• njharman 15y ago
  Primary is hard to define. I'm currently working on chef/sensu ssh'd into a few linux servers from osX desktop.
• Xyzodiac 15y ago
  I'd love to have a Macbook Pro for iOS development, but I'm sitting pretty with the Arch Linux install on my current laptop. Nothing matches the customization of Linux in my opinion and I could never leave XMonad.
• kstenerud 15y ago
  Not sure what to put down, since my general server runs Ubuntu, my games machine runs Windows 7, and my work machine runs Lion (for iOS dev). I use all three almost daily.
• Yaggo 15y ago
  I'm honestly little surprised about the popularity of Windows. In webdev circles, I rarely see developers using it anymore (as a primary OS).
  • nosse 15y ago
    There is other breeds of nerds here. Me for one. I do mechanical nerd-stuff and I need windows for CAD. But I guess there is not enough of us here to explain that number.
• nosse 15y ago
  I'm using Windows 7 for CAD. I now use Solid Edge, I used to do AUTOCad and I think I'm headed for Pro/E. I'd like to use anything but Windows, but guess how plentiful are my options to use CAD on other systems? Nonexistent. The economic niche of CAD systems would have room for good CAD running on Linux. The bounty is good. At the moment it's practically impossible to get a serious CAD legally for no less than 2000$/copy. I'm guessing that the 3D printing scene is held back by modeling prices. It's actually more expensive to model than to actually get that model printed. I feel like I'm saying "Carthago delenda est", but I strongly feel that this should be addressed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-aided_design https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-aided_design https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthago_delenda_est https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthago_delenda_est
• cateye 15y ago
  I tried to use OSX as my primary OS for a year but I couldn't be as productive as I am on Windows. However I would really love to be able to use Linux. MS Office is really a lot better on Windows. It is miles a head on features and stability in for example Word, Outlook and Excel. It is so much more powerful and if you are an advanced user, OSX version is just frustrating. The file management and the window manager of Windows is to me also a lot more convenient then on OSX. On Windows you also have the Adobe CS and there is no substitute for it on Linux. Running it under Wine doesn't give the same user experience. I see more and more web development tools for OSX only. I hope it is not necessary therefore to have to use OSX.
• housel 15y ago
  At work: 1. 64-bit Windows 7 displaying a 32-bit Linux VM on one of the two screens 2. 32-bit Linux running native on an HP TouchSmart (for doing embedded Linux cross-development) At home: 1. 64-bit Windows 7 running usually at least 2 or 3 FreeBSD and Linux VMs 2. Macbook for reading mail and developing while watching TV. Some programming done natively, some done SSHed into a FreeBSD VM. Also sometimes runs 32-bit Windows 7 in a VM. So... no idea which poll option to choose.
• rufibarbatus 15y ago
  Windows for work. iOS + Linode [1] for personal use / on the go. [1] h/t to yegg, http://gabriel.weinberg.usesthis.com/ http://gabriel.weinberg.usesthis.com/
• nwmcsween 15y ago
  Windows, because I just want things to work instead of wrestling with it to work .
• gsharm 15y ago
  "After all, it is no longer the purpose of programs to instruct our machines; these days, it is the purpose of machines to execute our programs." - Edsger Dijkstra By extension, I think it's more important for us to think about our programs than the operating systems they run on.
• ronik 15y ago
  I used Windows for over 10 years and moved to a Mac in 2009. There is no way I am going back anytime soon. Amazingly, I only realized the problems with Windows after using the Mac for a while and then switching back to Windows for a day to fix an urgent issue. The usability issues lit up like lights on a christmas tree. Here is what happened. I tried to install a tool on Windows, which required an updated version of the .NET Framework. So instead of doing what I wanted to do, I started doing what that little app wanted me to do. When I tried installing the .NET framework, it wanted an updated version of the MSI (Microsoft Installer). So now, instead of doing what the app wanted to do, I started doing what the .NET installer wanted me to do. You get my drift? In the 2 years I have been using my Mac, I have not once come across words like virus, anti-virus, drivers or seen any avoidable alert boxes pop up. I am no Apple fanboi. Really, OSX is my preferred OS simply because it does not get in the way and let's me do what I want to do.
  • r0s 15y ago
    Your .NET problems are my java problems on OSX. Yes it's the same, no it's not easier in any way. I get all kinds of alert boxes and inane dialogs in OSX. I develop all day on a mac and it's constantly annoying, as much or more so than windows7.
• kfcm 15y ago
  Depends. For servers, FreeBSD and OpenBSD hands down. Desktops are two different systems--Windows and Ubuntu Linux. I need direct access to the hardware for development (CUDA) on both, so I can't VM. Windows is needed simply because Linux has always failed to provide me with the business apps I need to successfully work with the outside world. Not trying to start a flame war; it's just my experience. Laptop is Windows, with Linux as a VirtualBox VM. Simply because I want to GSD.
• niels_olson 15y ago
  I waffle between OS X and Linux. They're both running at my house, more Linux than OS X, but when I got a new Verizon iPad with 4G, I finally set down my Cr-48 running Ubuntu (love Unity on that machine, btw), and picked up my old 2008 MacBook again. Hacking: I find linux more pleasant. If I bought a new computer today, it may well be a Lenovo tablet, in the old, swivel-screen definition of the word, because I really miss the high input resolution of resistive touch.
• mattdawson 15y ago
  I clicked into this thread specifically to see if someone had cheekily added emacs as an option. Color me disappointed. ;)
• notatoad 15y ago
  it doesn't matter. i use a web browser and a terminal. as long as i have those, i'm good. i use mac os on my laptop, because mac laptops are the nicest. i use ubuntu on my desktop because it's the cheapest option. i honestly don't notice a difference switching between the two. all the linux kerfuffle about window managers and whether unity is better than gnome2, it doesn't matter. you can switch between windows. you can get work done.
• stevejb 15y ago
  Using linux since Caldera Desktop Preview 2. Things really picked up with RedHat 5.1 and 5.2. I currently am running the latest Ubuntu on my dev box and my laptop. My job is mostly C++ development of finance models, statistical analysis, and creating documents in LaTeX. I couldn't think of a better fit than Linux for this.
• swah 15y ago
  Maybe I'll return to Linux when I get a tablet and can consume media, read long articles and play little games there.
• MrTibbles 15y ago
  So most hacker news readers are significantly brain dead. OSX, really? wow guys, wow
• jfmercer 15y ago
  If we simplify this poll to "Unix vs. non-Unix," then Unix wins by an very strong majority.
• boop 15y ago
  Long time OSX user. Great for web development.
• amitp85 15y ago
  OSX vs Linux vs Windows vs XXXXX, I don't care a bit about it. I'm happy to see that people here use Linux more than windows :D
• aaronsung 15y ago
  Anyone would use OS/400 like me?
• goronbjorn 15y ago
  There are probably a large number of people that should've put iOS or Android but just aren't aware of it.
• krollew 15y ago
  Linux is my OS of choice, but I have nothing against Windows 7. Unlike XP and earlier it can be normaly used from non-root account, there can be set nice POSIX-like programming environment. Maybe one day, but I need get more RAM for my machine at home. xD
• mariusmg 15y ago
  Windows forever :)