Programmer Humor

It very much depends on what you're developing for.

Back when I did server-side development (which almost invariably is targetting Linux servers), having Linux as my dev environment was much better if only because I could run parts (or even all) of our server code directly in my machine configured as a Dev Environment.

However, for example, for Game Dev running Linux is much more of a problem because some tools are for Windows and you have to jump through hoops to make it run in Linux, if at all.

If you're doing development on internal frontend systems for use by the Business side of a non-Tech company, then Windows is almost certainly the best dev OS because the software is meant to run in Windows machines (as that's what the Business runs, unless we're talking about creative companies, in which case it will be Mac) so the very same reasons why Linux is better for server dev apply here for Windows - it way more straightforward to develop in a machine where you can directly test at least parts of the code within the OS it will be running in.

Yeah, you can run virtual machines or deploy to a dev server, but that just adds extra steps and hence extra overhead for frequently done things like running small snippets of code whilst developing just to check it's working as expected.

Then there's the whole big company vs small company side of things: big companies have dedicated IT Support people and those will naturally try to standardize things for the obvious reason that it's way more effective (same thing in dev, by the way, good Technical Architects try to keep the number of programming languages used low because its generally more efficient to have libraries, frameworks, maintenance and hiring practices around a smaller number of languages than it is to do it for many languages) which in turn means that in large companies "everybody gets the same" is an almost unassailable policy except for top-level management.

You have to install extra crap to get the terminal to work like unix and I always had to fight with it to install things. Not worth the time. Maybe if you don't need a terminal though?

Teams has recently decided to stop working on any browser except edge. I don't know if this is intentional (at least chromium should work similarly) or if it's a wayland thing, but I'm just assuming malice since webrtc works fine in all other instances.

Fuck all of microslop on principle.

Windows can add some complications as a dev, especially in the corporate environment when really strict group policies are implemented that stop Devs from installing or configuring systems as they need.

One company I worked at remained on Windows LTSC for security reasons, and a lot of Devs that were working with Java hit a snag if for whatever reason an IDE they were using really wanted a system environment variable configured a certain way and it would straight up ignore user environment variables. They would be restricted from basically being able to configure anything without getting IT to remote on and make the changes for them.

I was forced to use a Mac for the first time years ago for work, I still hate working on a Mac but I can't deny how much more flexible it can be compared to working in a Windows environment that is locked down.

It's slow, it's unstable, it's slow, it's hard to customise, it's slow, it's bloated, it's slow, it's counter intuitive. Did I also mention that it's slow?

I think a lot of it comes down to the build team.

We have a very strict build, and while there is bloatware I could do without, they've always been great about handing out new machines, so we generally stay ahead of it.

The issue I run into is that at our company, I'm very much "That guy", who needs all the exceptions and special software.

While they've created some AD groups for me that provide most of what I need, transferring to a new laptop is a major procedure as I never know what new restrictions have been put in place that I'll need exceptions for. It's a constant battle between security and having the tools I need to do the job. I always have at least three laptops, one that I'm using, one I'm working on setting up, and the old one I can't let go of.

All that being said, yes, win 11 is an absolute pig compared to other options, once my machine is dialed in, I really don't mind the environment.

Course, it helps that my lab shares space with the end user IT support team, so all I have to do is call over my shoulder to have something fixed.

God damn powershell. I use my terminal daily! More than daily even!