> I don't have a MS Windows system for me to run WSL2 but I don't think that I am missing out.

For context, I’ve worked with C64-TRS-VAX-DEC-SUN-SGI-DOS-WIN and maybe a couple of others, but primarily Windows.

WSL probably kept me on Windows longer than I should have stayed. I switched to Fedora this year and now only boot to Windows if I need to find something I forgot to migrate. I would never go back except maybe to a stable developer configuration of XP, 7, or 10. I haven’t even had the need to virtualize Windows on Linux, which should be the proper OS layering.

I probably miss Microsoft Word most; LibreOffice Writer is great, but not quite as polished.

I honestly miss Windows Terminal almost as much. It was the best terminal I’ve ever used.

While they were necessary for my needs, I won’t miss things like wslpath.

So really, there’s not much to miss; the cost is in discarding the legacy knowledge and habits. Luckily, Microsoft always changes everything, meaning that the halflife in the usefulness of any information about Windows is relatively short.

I hope that exposure to WSL can encourage Windows users to move to Linux. Unfortunately, I don’t think most people use WSL at all, and those that do probably see it something more like PowerShell than a potential operating system.

Maybe killer GUI apps that run under WSL but not Windows alone could suggest complete migration to Linux.

I don't understand why this wiki for code concept is not more prevalent. It seems obvious and easy. Is it a tooling issue? Docusaurus with markdown in a GitHub project. Developers sometimes have an idea that docs are hard. They're not, and they're essential. Make it easy for everyone to contribute.

> The eternal question is
> how can an operating system
> be so damn brittle that after all these years,
> it still isn't very good?

This really is the eternal question, because Windows will never stop changing. I've been using it since DOS.

Having used it since some text-only version that ran over DOS, that really is the eternal question.

From my perspective, the operating system mostly manages resources including processes and provides some API. This should probably be pretty stable code by now ;-). Drivers are critical but allow vendors to provide “less-tested” code.

Then there’s the shell. Some iterations are almost good, like XP and 7, or even 10 (relative to 11), and can be stable for years. But then Microsoft discards their own code and force an upgrade rather than open-sourcing the legacy software.

There is not really any reason to build a new shell, but that seems to be all they do. I feel like any time I figure out how to do something in Windows, Microsoft is about to change it, and any time I configure something, Microsoft is about to change my configuration. Any "system update" risks changing anything.

One shouldn’t have to maintain a lengthy PowerShell script to configure all of the different versions of Windows for developers.

Microsoft doing the smallest thing for developers in 2025 is too little, too late. I made the switch this year. I would never go back. Linux is so much better, and so much cheaper, and LLMs can really help in resolving challenges.

I care. I had some experiences this year that force me to care. Others should care. You don't realize the need for privacy until you realize the need for privacy. I wasn't doing anything wrong when I suddenly realized the need. It's impossible to find privacy today. I'm not a huge zealot for anything. I don't care that you don't care.

Yeah, but 87% of statistics are made up on the spot.

I was trying to make a point, that google search has been dying for years. I don’t have time to provide a more complete analysis, nor do I have research to provide numbers.

In any case, you summarized long-term totals, but did not describe current trends. What percentage of current LLM is use actually basically just complex query? I question what these statistics would actually measure today. If they’re only including things like bing and DDG, then maybe the numbers remain accurate in that respect, but would be inaccurate considering LLM.

Personally, I’ve found google search maddening for a few years. I only use google by accident now, or sometimes when other search fails. I’ve seen many articles about the decline of google search. That cannot possibly indicate a positive usage growth curve.

I never really understood how google got so popular. There were plenty of good search engines before google. While some have gone, others have come, and all have improved, often providing a UX much better than google's spamdex. Maybe their approach and scale was a bit better, but there really wasn’t any moat providing a barrier to competition. And while they’ve given us incredible things like maps, at least search has largely been downhill since then.

I don’t understand how google, or the App store for that matter, can intentionally show me competitors when I search for a specific company. I’m tired of the spams and scams.

I’ve only recently realized the importance of getting off of big tech completely, and I’m finding it almost impossible. Worse, very few people appear to be aware or concerned about the risks.

Is JARVIS something like Ask Jeeves?

People don't seem to realize that in countries that don't have English for all, Facebook and its ilk basically are the Internet.

Google still has a search engine? Who cares.

Best of thread

Chinese people are not about to buy up all those unsold cyberdumpsters. Especially after what Trump tried and what Vance said. These children need a nap.

The checks will only go to red states.

> we can use an AI Code Inspector.

Please do not summon Armageddon again. World had enough crap software before LLM, IMHO.

I didn't mean use; nobody has time to *review* the code.

I'd rather discuss how we mitigate. Like, don't use npm. Minimize dependencies. Use only major trusted libraries. Evaluate their dependencies. Nobody has time to use the code. Also look at any build tools and scripts in the dependencies.