Thoughts on Desktop Operating Systems in 2024
Thoughts on Desktop Operating Systems in 2024
This is tbolt's weblog about ui design, computer programming, and other topics
You only need Windows for gaming if you're playing games that are installing malware rootkits. Normal gaming is fine on Linux.
and even then we are talking about games written for windows. gaming on linux is fine
Most games are written for windows (or build the binary for windows), and many (if not still most) games with Linux builds run better through proton than the native build. It's worth noting that it's at least as common for games to run better through proton than natively on windows as it is to see any measurable hit from using proton.
Your limitation is almost entirely companies doing shit that should be jail time.
Not true, many games still don't work well on Linux, see any Forza game, and even CS2 doesn't play nice on Pop
Warframe has been rated gold for years now - it's still quirky despite allegedly supporting steam deck
My SteamVR games run poorly on Linux. They do run, but it's a much rougher experience than running them through Windows.
It's frustrating, because otherwise Linux is my primary gaming system!
Or if you mod game.
Pretty superficial article for this audience imo.
I can summarize for this that don't want to read.
Windows - bad, getting worse
Macos - still kinda cool, not for gamers, enshitification in early stages
Linux - y'all are cool with Linux right?
While I agree with this article from a user perspective, it's completely wrong from an admin perspective.
Admin for Windows is leaps and bounds better than Mac. Having to wait weeks for ABM to be connected by Apple, plus the fact that once you have ABM setup it requires third party systems to connect to it to actually do any administration (JAMF, Addigy, etc) is frustrating and laughable all at once. Then on top of all of that, getting devices into ABM means you have to wipe the device. It's so antagonistic to management it's insane.
As I've said many times: I don't hate Windows, I hate Microsoft. If Windows were owned by a not-for-profit, or a consortium or some other democratically run organization of interested groups, I don't think I would have any need for Linux. But, as it is, Linux is absolutely necessary. I hope some day that Windows is replaced by a Linux distribution that is owned and maintained by an organization that gives all stakeholders, including and especially end users, a tangible voice in its management.
Hmm, I hate Windows and Microsoft.
Windows has one major thing going for it: it’s best-in-class for gaming. It might even be the greatest gaming platform of all time. Linux and even Mac are gaining ground, but they’ve got a little ways to go.
...is Mac gaming actually gaining ground? From listening to a friend of mine who has a Mac, it sounds like Mac gaming is going steadily backwards. Wine and similar doesn't work very well for them, and Mac compatibility is happening with fewer and fewer games. Game Porting Toolkit isn't really for end users, is it? Is there something else my friend is missing?
As a Mac user who enjoys trying to get games working, I’ve played Talos Principle II recently, and am able to play Fallout 4 (to some degree) when I get a chance.
On the one hand there are graphical glitches and things aren’t perfect. But on the other, I’m playing games that have had literally no optimisation for macOS, on a fanless M2 Air.
If nothing else, it’s a useful example of the direction things could take if devs had the impetus to do so.
Oh yeah, to be clear I don't think Macs can't be good gaming machines, it's just that it doesn't seem to be heading that way right now.
Game Porting Toolkit can be utilized by end users. "Whisky" application can download and use GPTK to play Windows games. https://getwhisky.app/
Software development, particularly web development, on Windows is pretty good now. Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL/2), Windows Terminal, and VS Code make for a strong and complete environment. On a recent project it was easy to clone a repo in Terminal, run it in a docker container, and use VS Code’s Remote Development extension to edit directly in WSL or Docker Containers.
So basically it's "good" because it can feel more like Linux? Linux terminals are way better, VSCode works fine on Linux, and Linux doesn't need a VM to run Docker containers (provided you avoid Docker Desktop, which sucks anyway).
MacOS itself has best-in-class UI Design
Disagree, but I'm apparently in the minority here. I absolutely do not like macOS, and this is after more than 3 years of using it every day for my job. I dislike pretty much everything about it, but at least it has decent third party package managers (I use MacPorts, coworkers use Homebrew).
If you like Apple's design ethos, you'll probably love it. I don't.
Ubuntu with GNOME
Gross. GNOME seems to try to be the macOS of Linux UIs, with everything being simplified to the absurd. It's fine, but mostly because I ignore the GNOME bits most of the time.
I'm quite happy with KDE on openSUSE. I'm very much not a fan of Ubuntu (snaps is a major reason), so I think the author should try something else.
I used to like mac OS when I used it on a macbook as a daily driver, years ago (haven't owned a mac in a decade now). But recently I helped my mom set up a new macbook and I found it unwield.
I'm also with you on the Ubuntu and gnome front, although a buddy of mine swears with it. I just don't like it. Not sure why, I have tried to work with Ubuntu + GNOME several times and I always end up switching to a different build.
I don't mind GNOME and switched to it when KDE had buggy Wayland support, but I don't prefer it. It's just.. okay.
I agree with you about macos design. I'm not a fan of it either. It's garish with over the top animations. The window manager is dreadful. Track pad gestures are great though as is spotlight search.
Eh, I'm not a fan of the trackpad gestures either. I much prefer a keyboard-driven workflow, and the Rectangle app has been way better than anything builtin to macOS, and that just recreates features in Linux and Windows.
Spotlight search is way better than Linux and Windows equivalents, but it's also solving a problem I don't have. When I launch it, 99% of the time I want to launch an app, and the rest is just noise to me. I've tried just using the app drawer search thing, but that's an extra step.
It gets out of the way better than Windows, but it still gets in the way more than I'd like.
I stopped using macports when one of the first packages I downloaded for a popular program was broken.
it’s the most elegant and cohesive system. My favorite example of this is when you send an email with Mail.app. Pressing send plays a whoosh sound effect and it’s in stereo! Discovering these details over the years has been a delight
Omg an app is able to play a sound!
Apple and MS are playing "good cop, bad cop" with them and they are happy. What can you do.
Not mentioned in the article, but I wish there were a (simple) way to get Microsoft Store apps to run on Linux. Some do by jumping through technical hoops, but many don't.
That's by design... screw Microsoft...