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Comment by arca_vorago | Hacker News Reader

> being able to run a full linux userland on top of the NT kernel is fucking cool.

I could do that before with virtualbox. What kind of benefits besides slight speed increases would we see using the posix WSL?

>It's not about controlling the user. It's the complete opposite. It's all about choice.

If I create a prison for you, but then let you choose your cell, do you consider that a valid choice? That's what this is, and I know what you mean but the reality is that windows is a walled garden prison for the user.

>I like a linux style development environment more than I like Windows style.

Then why not dev on GNU+linux?

Also, notice the emphasis on GNU.

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It's more than a speed increase. There's memory usage benefits -- because it's not a VM, you don't need to dedicate a fixed amount of memory, regardless of what you're doing. The media situation on Linux is much worse -- the audio stack resembles a jenga tower, the media apis are worse, the media drivers are worse. Windows tends to have better backward compatibility for older but still useful programs.

Furthermore, most of the useful parts of nix tend to come from places other than gnu-based APIs. Languages like python, for example, are nicer under nix, but use few if any gnu-isms. Web frameworks and applications by extensions are more *nix friendly, but it's a rare example that restricts itself to Linux only. Sticking with just gnu and/or linux ends up being much more of a burden than it's worth.

> Then why not dev on GNU+linux?

So I can have sleep and wifi working properly and working 3D acceleration for Apps and Games.

> So I can have sleep and wifi working properly

Those have worked for properly for as long as I've been using GNU/Linux (5 years or so).

> working 3D acceleration for Apps and Games.

I believe those also work, but I don't play games that often so I wouldn't know.

come on, there's no need to be disingenuous here - having the linux userspace run atop the windows kernel is much closer to docker than virtualization.

Fair point here, but in reality it changes none of my other arguments. If anything, replacing the linux kernel with the windows kernel and then giving the user half the userspace programs is still bad in my book.

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