My dad unexpectedly uses my Linux laptop to get real work done

Re:My dad unexpectedly uses my Linux laptop to get real work... by hnriot on Sunday October 27, 2013 @12:12AM (#6620727)

I think this, and the rest of the comments have missed the point, It's not linux or windows really that's going on, but that "computing" for the masses has shrunk down to the browser and Office (or it's clones) - the operating system these days has become marginalized for most people. the File Open dialog is about as far as they interact with it, along with CTRL P and the dock. Linux is perfectly capable of this.

I run linux on my laptop, I run hadoop, a virtualbox for some VM's, a dozen terminal windows spread over two monitors and python. When I go home I have a similar setup on a MBP and most of the time I can't tell one from the other. The operating system, even for development has become quite irrelevant. I havnen't tried windows in decades... have they fixed the C: nonsense yet, or (stupidly) using the wrong slash in file paths!

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:My dad unexpectedly uses my Linux laptop to get real work... by ilyanep on Sunday October 27, 2013 @02:12AM (#6620987)

Nope, and (to contradict your point a little bit) I pretty much refuse to do development tasks on Windows because it's the one remaining OS on which I find it impossible to be productive. Have you ever tried working in a Windows command line compared to a UNIX terminal? Yes, I can install cygwin, but I really feel like I shouldn't have to.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:My dad unexpectedly uses my Linux laptop to get real work... by itsboring on Sunday October 27, 2013 @05:59AM (#6621445)

I tried using cygwin for a while too, but I finally gave up and tossed windows out the...uh...window. The cygwin folks have made a heroic effort, but it still feels like putting lipstick on a pig.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:My dad unexpectedly uses my Linux laptop to get real work... by bnolsen on Sunday October 27, 2013 @10:04AM (#6621964)

start up SSH server in cygwin and life gets much better.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:My dad unexpectedly uses my Linux laptop to get real work... by undergroundhero on Tuesday October 29, 2013 @03:57PM (#6637040)

If you're doing any work at all with .NET, Visual Studio is the greatest IDE in the world. Believe it or not, people can be productive without a command line--especially if you can use VS to automatically generate thousands of lines of code.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:My dad unexpectedly uses my Linux laptop to get real work... by special on Sunday October 27, 2013 @06:49PM (#6623995)

Do you know Powershell? I admit it's not quite as good as the real thing but at least you can 'ls' on Windows.

[ Parent | on HN ]