Programmer Humor

Mac has a Unix-like command line, but is otherwise shitty to use.

Windows can add some complications as a dev, especially in the corporate environment when really strict group policies are implemented that stop Devs from installing or configuring systems as they need.

One company I worked at remained on Windows LTSC for security reasons, and a lot of Devs that were working with Java hit a snag if for whatever reason an IDE they were using really wanted a system environment variable configured a certain way and it would straight up ignore user environment variables. They would be restricted from basically being able to configure anything without getting IT to remote on and make the changes for them.

I was forced to use a Mac for the first time years ago for work, I still hate working on a Mac but I can't deny how much more flexible it can be compared to working in a Windows environment that is locked down.

Dude, that's like hiring a truck driver and telling him his lorry will be pulled by 4 horses.

"Minor" inconvenience is not having a coffee machine in the dining room, it's nothing like the culture of incompetence that permeates organization that are that severely vendor-locked.

If you've currently got a decent job, then you can afford to be suuuuper picky.

I can say also as a senior engineer, I would never turn down another o ly because of this. It's not my software I'm making, it's the company. It's not my things. If they want me to code on a pentium 3 I'll happily do it, it's their money. They want me to waste it on that, that's on them.

I mean, it could make a difference if you had to use OS specyfic tools, but if you're going to just code, use whatever you want.

We had a new joiner quit on his first day because of this. Didn't even get to eat the burrito he ordered :( So it definitely happens.

Not IT, but my dad said they lost a chemical engineering hire over this once, like 25 years ago.

Its posted in a humor sub soooo no

Never understood that mindset. Yes, it's not my machine, but I will need to bring my own brain to the job and expose my own sanity to that oppression[^1] system.

[^1]: not a typo

Fully agree. The company also has stuff they have to deal with like compliance, fleet management, device trust etc that I admit is easier to comply with if you just say fuck it windows it is.

As long as I get local admin and WSL. If not I’d probably quit too

If they trust me to manage company and other companies server infra but not to manage my fucking laptop, they can get fucked.

Windows 11 has been a nightmare for me. Every time I leave the file browser open my fans start up like I'm doing something insensive. Mssms freezes constantly, visual studio freezes constantly. Switching between virtual desktops? Not without waiting 30 seconds. And finally, idk if this is a dell thing or a win11 thing but the "low power mode" that activates if my battery is at or below 10 percent, despite me turning off all battery saving settings I can find, makes my computer functionally useless. Programs don't load, I can't close or open anything. Like the whole point of low power mode is so you have a little more time to wrap up things before you can get to a charger. There's no point to that if you set my PC so low power that it literally can't even run the bloated ass OS on it. I hate it so fucking much.

Personally I also would not quit/back out just from that, but “it’s not my machine” misses the point, IMO. It’s a device I’m expected to use ~40 hours a week. Windows fucking sucks. Using that trash for half of my waking hours sucks. Been there, done that, I hope to hell I never have to again.

Windows isn't fit for software development unless you're doing Windows specific stuff. Maybe you can get by with WSL or cygwyn or similar, but that's just a bandaid to make the machine less windows. You'll probably still have problems with like case folding and line endings.

I have to use Windows 11 on my work laptop. So I just put it in its own DMZ and don't worry too much about it.

I think that depends a lot on what you're expected to do. I'd write an email like this if I were expected to be an effective developer on a Windows system. I use Linux because I use vim, not the other way around. I can't WSL for linux to use tmux or something and be nailed to one laptop screen, it just isn't worth it. Besides the whacky clipboard problems, it's just not sustainable to be permanently containerized in your host system IMO.

Now if you are using an "I"DE like vscode or something it's maybe not so bad because it at least plays on windows. Gvim is trash, and the whole reason to really lean in to vim/nvim is to sew your development environment right to any other program you need.

IDK, there's a dollar value beyond which I would not care, but it's a gross amount.