- Published on
Is it a good time for developers to migrate from OSX to Windows?
- Authors
- Name
- Carlos Baraza
- @carlosbaraza
- Bio
- I write software and other philosophical stuff.
Lately, I am particularly interested in Machine Learning. GPUs are used for training the ML models quickly. However, MacBooks don’t have good GPUs and therefore, I am considering a change of laptop.
But that means switching from OSX to Windows or Linux. Some proprietary software (Adobe Suite) is only available for Windows/OSX, and it forces me to chose Windows. However, I would miss so much the UNIX shell and the GNU ecosystem.
However, I think it is a good time for the OS switch. Two major pieces of software allow developers to enjoy a native GNU experience under Windows:
- WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux), which is a compatibility layer for running Linux binary executables natively on Windows 10. This means that the original set of tools coming from Ubuntu/Debian can be run natively in Windows. Node can be run natively as well on top of WSL.
- Docker allows containers to be run on Windows.
The time of Cygwin, Powershell (and all of those API imitating libraries) is over. The WSL ecosystem is mature and allows running native GNU/Linux software in Windows.
In a few weeks, I will buy a new laptop, and I will let you know my experience, the good and the ugly.