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Wish Google had mostly used Linux on desktops; would be a strong motivator for the rest of the world to get better hardware certifying for Linux.
by diminish 14y ago
Wish Google had mostly used Linux on desktops; would be a strong motivator for the rest of the world to get better hardware certifying for Linux.
- jrockway 14y agoGoogle does mostly use Linux on desktops.
- icco 14y agoIsn't that exactly what this is about? Seems like Google uses Linux on everything according to the video.
- brown9-2 14y agoI suppose it varies between office/department but when I interviewed there 2 years ago I saw nothing but MacBooks.
- gmcabrita 14y agoPossibly because all of their products also have to work on OS X. Giving every developer a MacBook makes testing those products easier.
- packetslave 14y agoYou get a choice when you join: Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, or a couple of varieties of Thinkpad running Goobuntu.
- luser001 14y agoHow about Macbook Pro running Goobuntu?
- packetslave 14y agoFrowned upon for supportability reasons, even if you made it work with all the corp management stuff. But like drbble said, laptops for engineers are mostly for Chrome, terminals, and NX/VNC sessions, since you can't code on them directly.
- drivebyacct2 14y agoSo they're exclusively thin clients presumably for security reasons? Is that the take away? Sorry if I'm being thick.
- packetslave 14y agoI wouldn't say they're exclusively thin clients; you can run more or less whatever apps you want (I use Omnifocus, Graffle, bunch of other stuff). But source code isn't allowed on laptop HDD's, so most engineers develop remotely on their workstations via SSH/remote-desktop.
- EmployedRussian 14y agoMost Google engineers use Linux on desktops. For a laptop, you get to choose between a Mac and a PC Laptop (running Linux as well).
- Drbble 14y agoThose are laptops, which are dumb terminals running Chrome, not workstations. Workstations are Linux.
- brandon 14y agoMost of the big name hardware vendors are starting to get more serious about supporting Linux on their professional product lines. The bigger problem is that no attention is given to Linux on consumer gear and the components within are refreshed on such a frequent basis that keeping up is tough even when you try. (Context: I'm the lead on hardware qualification for Goobuntu)