Hacker News Reader

Comment by Leftium | Hacker News Reader

I have a laptop that dual-boots into Linux Mint. I haven't logged into the Linux side for ages.

I like the Linux command line, but I get what I need via Git Bash for Windows. Also there's Windows Subsystem for Linux.

Windows generally has better compatibility with hardware with less fuss. Especially on laptops. My friend tried to use Linux-only for a while, but he said trying to video conference just sucked. Sure, there might be some programs that work, but often the client dictates the video conference platform, and he simply couldn't do anything but tell clients he couldn't video conference. So he switched to Mac, which is like Linux with better multimedia support.

Finally, I'm just more used to Windows. And I personally don't have a big incentive to switch.

There are two Linux things I wish I could have on Windows:

- Proper X-Mouse

- Tiling windows manager

View on HN

> My friend tried to use Linux-only for a while, but he said trying to video conference just sucked.

As an FYI, for folks reading this, I spend at least half of every day in video conferences and this is largely a non-issue these days. The vast majority of platforms have web-based clients that work great, and many have native clients that are quite good as well. The biggest issue is probably screensharing on Wayland, which can be fiddly to get working and is subject to client issues, so stick with Xorg if you can.

In terms of hardware, I just end up buying gear designed to work with Linux rather than trying to make Linux work on a random piece of equipment. That means typically Dell or Lenovo, though newcomers like Framework are also prioritizing Linux support.

If you're using just random gear, older is better, as Linux support comes eventually but it often lags.

Edit:

By the way, I have to say, I've appreciated a lot of the comments in this thread. While I don't myself have the deep affection for the mac trackpad, and so can't really comment on that experience, everything else in this comment thread absolutely rings true to me.

And I say that as a person using Linux as a daily driver!

Yes, this was a couple years ago; good to know Linux has better video conference support, now.

I use ThinkPads, so I probably could use Linux if I wanted to. But other people might not want to prioritize their OS choice over their hardware choice.

And this is probably really niche, but I forgot to mention anything in Korea like online banking/shopping required Active-X for secure transactions. I think this is getting better now, but a few years ago you couldn't even use a Mac or the Chrome browser on Windows.

> I use ThinkPads, so I probably could use Linux if I wanted to. But other people might not want to prioritize their OS choice over their hardware choice.

Yup, absolutely true, and I'm no evangelist or Linux maximalist. People should use what works for them. It's not like Linux needs the desktop to succeed. The reality is, it's already taken over the world. In the grand scheme of embedded devices, phones, servers, infrastructure, etc, the desktop is just another niche...

I solved that with a Virtualbox'ed Windows 10 where I install all the stuff required by my company (Forticlient, Zoom, etc.) that can't be safely installed in Linux. No issues so far.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com