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Comment by glimshe | Hacker News Reader

These comparisons tend to be very tedious. I use Windows 11, MacOS and Linux in different scenarios. They have advantages and disadvantages for different applications. My main computer is Windows because it works better for my needs, but Linux is great too. I like MacOS the least, but it does really well in battery life with the M2 processor.

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> They have advantages and disadvantages for different applications.

The issue with Windows is that everything is painful, clunky and not well thought. It's death by a thousand cuts.

At least with Linux you know you need some knowledge to be proficient at it. Windows tries to be simple to use but it's not, it's a hodge podge of different UI/UX patterns and philosophies, there's no way to create a mental model that you can apply consistently and effectively, you need to learn what each task requires to be able to complete it.

Windows is fine despite the occasional annoyances. I have my core workflows streamlined/memorized and I feel very little pain. I can see this being a problem to a brand new user, but that's not my case so I don't feel this clunkiness.

Windows is the the OS that keeps the family always in touch with you.

My mom is on arch, and she is as happy as if it was windows but with faster boot and faster response time. She could not tell the difference since all she needs is browser.

What about all the time she spends telling people that she's an arch user?

She knows it's some flavour of linux and she knows it's way faster than windows she had before. These are simple facts improving her day-to-day experience, no need to be negative about that.

Sorry - I wasn't intending to be negative, but making a quip about how arch users love to tell everyone about it. I've got Arch in use on a couple of machines (Steam Deck being my favourite, though I strictly use that just for games) and it's one of my favourite flavours of Linux. The best part of Arch is the wiki which has quality information on a lot of Linux tools - it's useful for all Linux wranglers (maybe not your mum unless she likes reading documentation).

I see, I agree me mentioning Arch is coming from my personal preference, I can't help it- I think Arch is the best :) But my mom could not care less, all she wants is fast boot and responsive browser without having to upgrade on RAM or buying entirely new hardware- this is what she used to do during her Windows time

I really like Arch, but my main issue is the problem with performing updates. I've been caught out a couple of times by updates where the issues were documented, but I hadn't bothered to read it. I've also managed to mangle a PinePhone installation where it couldn't update the pacman sources. I don't think it's very suitable for business servers though, due to the hands-on nature of it and the occasional surprise.

Oh you have Arch on PinePhone, can you share if this worked for you? Are you using that phone as your primary device? I bought PinePhone around 1.5y ago but did not have time to set it up

Yeah, I've got the Danctnix version of Arch running on a PinePhone original with the keyboard case. I've found the original PP is too slow for any serious use and haven't even attempted to use it as a phone. I got it with the idea of it being like some kind of cyberdeck when used with the keyboard, but the screen is too small for it to be of much use like that and it's also quite chunky with the keyboard case fitted. The keyboard also isn't very good, even after I took a dremel tool to the top line of keycaps to make them work properly.

I might well try the new UBPorts version on it as I've got an older UBPorts running on a JingPad. Basically, the original PP is very much a toy device unless you've got some very specific need for one.

https://github.com/dreemurrs-embedded/Pine64-Arch/releases

Arch is the absolute best. I’m never going back.

I got you joke and it is a good one.

Not joking, though my mom is by no means advanced user, she knows how to open FF and navigate to her fav web pages, that's where her experience ends.

If the family ran Linux, they would likely be always in touch with you. Different questions, but questions nonetheless.

Not really, because to actually be online the Wi-Fi driver should be compiled with a Kernel newer than 4.19 - so they can't really reach me to ask questions. /s

Let's be honest here, all OS do

The discussion around operating systems really is tiring.

A lot of the comments here are no better than what we are seeing on that reddit post, which is sad.

Like you I use all 3 operating systems for different things. However Mac is my preferred OS for just general computing.

Linux I have installed on quite a few VM's and Raspberry PI's.

Windows I use for gaming, pretty much just gaming.

If we leave our tech bubble there is something to be said for the average user to use an operating system that the vast majority of software just works with. Yes Windows has its problems, but for the most part if you have an issue you can get support instead of needing to post to reddit (like this person with linux did if you check their post history).

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