I’ve been supporting Mac, Windows and Linux for years. I find I can only truly keep up with two at a time, so every couple of years I switch windows -> OSX.
I remember the first time I got to work on a Mac (for fun). I was about 9 years old and I just wanted to learn. I seen an option for a ram disk and made it fail to boot.
Luckily my aunt had System 7.5 for Dummies. She was so mad at me.
I had a Quadra not long after that and I loved it.
There is a lot of software that only runs on Windows that has no viable alternatives. For private use, the vast majority of people would be fine without Windows, but so many professional applications require it.
I used to bounce between them for the same reason, but nowadays the right tool, for me, is always a Debian variant, anyway. (or Arch, counting SteamDeck).
My gaming is on SteamDeck now.
My Office bullshit works fine on Android, and Linux. There’s always been a community for this. There’s a learning curve to get professional results, but it’s so much less hassle once mastered.
Remote management is so much nicer with Linux. I still deal with some of that crap on Windows, and the Windows admins go on about how they need Windows to be able to remotely manage. I bite my tongue, but I feel embarrassed for them every time they do so. Remote management is about 20 years more mature on Linux than on Windows.
Artistic stuff, interestingly, also Linux, for me. (I never got into Adobe suite, I felt wary of their monopoly early.) But GnuIMP and Krita get the job done, for me.
Edit: And I can still collaborate. Office cloud tools work on Linux in the browser, nowadays.
Yea for personal professionals it’s fine, but my career is in IT, so staying flexible is important for multiple fronts lol I’m just as comfortable in a Linux heavy position as I am in a Windows or MacOS and being able to do all 3 makes mixed environments a hell of a lot easier.
Remote management is so much nicer with Linux. I still deal with some of that crap on Windows, and the Windows admins go on about how they need Windows to be able to remotely manage. I bite my tongue, but I feel embarrassed for them every time they do so. Remote management is about 20 years more mature on Linux than on Windows.
For terminal stuffs, for Remote Desktop, all the Linux solutions are…not that great, they work. Microsoft’s RDP otoh is fantastic, high quality, low latency and easy to pass through USB devices, Webcams, mics etc. right out of the box
Not sure what your Windows guys mean by needing Windows to remotely manage Windows, there’s plenty of cross platform RDP clients. The only time I’ve needed Windows to manage Windows is for very enterprisey Windows-specific things, like Active Directory or group policies
so staying flexible is important for multiple front
Yeah. I do work to stay current in the big 3, for the same reason. That used to mean alternating my home setup as well, but now I only do it on my employers dime. I think the reason is mix of my having less patience for proprietary interoperability issues at home, and of Linux just being able to do everything I care about.
for Remote Desktop, all the Linux solutions are…not that great, they work
Agreed. I recently bought a nice little portable monitor for home, for exactly this reason. If Linux RDP was a better experience, I might not have bothered. That said, I even do my grandparent’s remote IT support from my Debian machine now, regardless of whether they’re on Windows or Mac. So I’m pretty satisfied with it where I absolutely need RDP.
Not sure what your Windows guys mean by needing Windows to remotely manage Windows,
Yeah. Many of them are point and clickers. Some of us are mentoring them on expanded tooling available. Their interest varies, which is fair. I don’t want their job, anyway, so it’s not my problem how efficiently or inefficiently they do it.
This is why I always bounce around between all 3 major OS’s (Yes yes, I know Linux distros complicate thongs)
Keeps me flexible, an OS is a tool and you need to use the best tool for the job at hand
I bet that if you stepped away from the computer while removing said thongs they wouldn’t seem so complicated.
I know, right? Gotta take the hands off the keyboard or at least take your eyes off the monitor for a second if you use your teeth.
Don’t tell me what to do, you’re not my Dad!
I’ve been supporting Mac, Windows and Linux for years. I find I can only truly keep up with two at a time, so every couple of years I switch windows -> OSX.
I remember the first time I got to work on a Mac (for fun). I was about 9 years old and I just wanted to learn. I seen an option for a ram disk and made it fail to boot.
Luckily my aunt had System 7.5 for Dummies. She was so mad at me.
I had a Quadra not long after that and I loved it.
I kind of skipped the time in between the Apple TV and the first Mac minis :)
I sold a few quadras, They were really advanced for their time.
I was still using my Quadra in 2002. I didn’t stop using it until 68k software stopped being made.
It’s crazy but I remember it being a 640. Those apparently don’t exist so it must have been a 630 or a 650.
It was not a tower, it sat flat so it couldn’t have been the 640av.
This is driving me nuts lol.
But Windows is never the best tool for any job. Unless of course you only know that one tool like most people do.
There is a lot of software that only runs on Windows that has no viable alternatives. For private use, the vast majority of people would be fine without Windows, but so many professional applications require it.
You don’t work in IT do you?
How about for Digital Audio Workstation duty?
I used to bounce between them for the same reason, but nowadays the right tool, for me, is always a Debian variant, anyway. (or Arch, counting SteamDeck).
Edit: And I can still collaborate. Office cloud tools work on Linux in the browser, nowadays.
Yea for personal professionals it’s fine, but my career is in IT, so staying flexible is important for multiple fronts lol I’m just as comfortable in a Linux heavy position as I am in a Windows or MacOS and being able to do all 3 makes mixed environments a hell of a lot easier.
For terminal stuffs, for Remote Desktop, all the Linux solutions are…not that great, they work. Microsoft’s RDP otoh is fantastic, high quality, low latency and easy to pass through USB devices, Webcams, mics etc. right out of the box
Not sure what your Windows guys mean by needing Windows to remotely manage Windows, there’s plenty of cross platform RDP clients. The only time I’ve needed Windows to manage Windows is for very enterprisey Windows-specific things, like Active Directory or group policies
Yeah. I do work to stay current in the big 3, for the same reason. That used to mean alternating my home setup as well, but now I only do it on my employers dime. I think the reason is mix of my having less patience for proprietary interoperability issues at home, and of Linux just being able to do everything I care about.
Agreed. I recently bought a nice little portable monitor for home, for exactly this reason. If Linux RDP was a better experience, I might not have bothered. That said, I even do my grandparent’s remote IT support from my Debian machine now, regardless of whether they’re on Windows or Mac. So I’m pretty satisfied with it where I absolutely need RDP.
Yeah. Many of them are point and clickers. Some of us are mentoring them on expanded tooling available. Their interest varies, which is fair. I don’t want their job, anyway, so it’s not my problem how efficiently or inefficiently they do it.