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Comment by sevensor | Hacker News Reader

As a WSL user at work, this addresses exactly zero of my problems with running Windows. Windows Defender is still going to randomly spin up and bring my machine to a halt. The Windows Start Menu with its ads is still there. There are still 15 pieces of device driver desktop experience crapware running in the background. The RAT required by our IT department is still resident. Adding GUI support doesn't move the needle: the missing feature is freedom.

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> The RAT required by our IT department is still resident

This sounds like organizational problem, not a technical problem. Have you considered applying a new position for another employer that allows to run Ubuntu/Red Hat/etc. environments?

While I do get the "dirty" feel running Windows and I fully agree that having crapware installed by device drivers is shady - the start menu ads seem to be gone (along with awful tiles) in Windows 11. I also rarely use start menu (powertoys launcher, although it's been crapping out on Win 11 recently with focus and such).

I recently built a desktop since my MBP would turn in to a jet engine if I try to spin up a non trivial docker compose and I went for windows because I wanted to game - started on Windows 10 and was appalled at the ammount of crap they had preinstalled and there with the OS. Windows 11 beta has been much better in this regard.

What's a RAT? I've never heard of it, and I'm afraid it's an not a googleable word. Remote Administration Tool? Something like Intel vPro?

They’re likely referring to a remote access trojan (malware) which likely shares many features of whatever administrative tool the IT team uses at that company.

Is there a fundamental difference between a remote administration tool and a remote access trojan?

Seems like roughly the same difference between a malware keylogger and say, X11. They both intercept all your keystrokes, but you wanted the latter one to do so and didn't want the former.

("But I didn't want the remote admin tool on my computer!" It's not your computer, it's the company's computer. And they wanted it there.)

It sounds like you really just need Linux and can skip Windows.

FWIW, all this WSL stuff is mostly Microsoft trying to Extend, Embrace and Extinguish Linux.

> It sounds like you really just need Linux and can skip Windows.

My point exactly! I've been making that case for a while and I think I'm gaining some traction.

I've had to work with macOS in the past, and I was simply honest about where my time went. If I wasted all day trying to make something basic work in it, I'd just say so in standup.

Eventually, my manager proposed paying for a VMware licence and I could run Linux on that.

I still had to suffer with multiple displays (the macOS host had to detect them before the VM could use them), but I finally stayed getting work done.

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