I tried Windows 10 Pro and Windows 2019 Server about 2 months ago on a self-built computer (my first in ~15 years). What I found was:
- driver support was atrocious for Windows server, and also for Windows 10. Almost every component from a fairly standard Ryzen build installed some form of custom skinned crapware to get basic functionality
- spyware and advertising was everywhere.
- the UI is a mess of old and new. It's unforgivable that this far from Windows 8 there is still such a mix of metro and older UIs.
- mixed DPI support is poor leading to screens where elements are quite different sizes
These are not specific to coding, but in particular the advertising and spyware removes Windows as a contender for _any_ use from me.
After a brief foray into desktop Linux, I returned all the parts to Microcenter and went back to OS X.
On the spyware part it can be all turned off. They give the Group Policy tools to do it to 'Enterprise Customers' but it is all there in the settings/registry and tools like this will flip it all off for you quickly and easily. https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10
- driver support was atrocious for Windows server, and also for Windows 10. Almost every component from a fairly standard Ryzen build installed some form of custom skinned crapware to get basic functionality
SDI Tool Origin. Don't waste your time with everything else.
Command line navigation and support was awkward and painful unless you go through a complicated rigmarole of figuring out which combination of package managers and power shell scripts lets you run something that sort of approximates Linux.
Python and virtual environment a were bizarrely difficult to get working across my + my teammates computers.
Many useful packages weren’t on Windows, or if they were were awkward to install or just weren’t as fast.
Sure I can install WSL and just use that for everything, but then you get to a point where everything is kind of duplicated, and I’m doing everything in Linux anyways, so why not just use that and be done with it?
Windows never felt as fast as Linux, and using it just perpetually annoyed me.
Some of these are fixed or there's progress being made:
- IMHO PowerShell is not that bad, but the newer PowerShell Core works better and with WSL you can use your favorite linux shell (and mix and match Windows and Linux binaries)
- WinGet is in preview
- No search results: my experience is 50/50 on that
- second class citizen: I wouldn't say most, definitely for Golang
- Docker now runs on WSL2 (which is still a sort of VM, but in my experience it's night and day with the old VM and especially compared to the default Docker experience on macOS)
- Why? You can use Python, and scripts are where Powershell really shines as a language
PowerShell is horrible and confusing to use. Maybe I’m just dumb, but it was confusing to learn and super unintuitive.
If I’m running everything in WSL/2 why not just run Linux? I don’t remember the last time I had to use something windows specific - and word is available online for the sporadic times that needs to be used.
What I've found to be most alien to people used to bash is that Powershell is fundamentally different because of its object-passing style instead of dealing with text streams, usually once someone gets a grasp on this their experience using powershell improves significantly
About WSL, you're right: if you only use WSL it doesn't make sense to use Windows, but it's a good compromise for anyone who needs both at the same time (at least it's a better compromise than a VM)
