Ask HN: What is your Dev OS in 2022?

[mikewang]

I have been some bad times this year on my dev machines. First was ubuntu 21.04 which was out of date that I have no idea. I tried to update it later manually and it went bad. And another was my centos which use py3.6 as system python and I can not update it because I need new version for some work. These are bad feelings that I got this year. I just want a long live dev OS.

what is your opotion?

[slater]

You'll get a hundred different answers, but yeah, just get a Mac.

Yesyes, it'll cost more upfront, yesyes it has its own quirks, yesyes Apple bad boo hiss etc. etc., but still - to your last point: a long-lived dev OS, combined with nigh-untouchably-good hardware integration (note: integration, not 'the fastest thing nvidia/amd pushed out of the factory last week')?

Get a Mac. M2 Macbook Air is amazing:

https://www.apple.com/macbook-air-m2/

[GartzenDeHaes]

I saw Miguel de Icaza, the founder of GNOME and GTK creator, using a Mac on a podcast about Terminal.GUI.

[runjake]

Since at least 2005[1] part-time and 2012-ish full-time: https://tirania.org/blog/archive/2013/Mar-05.html

1. I saw him at a conference in the mid-2000s using a Mac.

[ChuckNorris89]

When Gnome is so bad, even its creators won't dogfood it. :) /s

[shrimp_emoji]

Well, of course. That's the DE GNOME copies. ;D

[scrapheap]

You do know that you don't have to use the system version of python don't you? You can always install a newer version and then select which one you use for which task.

If you want the system packages on your OS to jump up to new versions as time goes by then you want to look at a Rolling Release distributions (e.g. Arch).

Alternatively you can use Debian with either Stable, Testing or Unstable as the source rather than a traditional named version (Note: research this before trying it so you understand the risks that you are taking).

[GianFabien]

I abandoned Ubuntu several years ago. I'm finding Debian 11.5 (Bullseye) robust and reliable. Python is v3.9.2. which new enough for my purposes. You can of course, download and install v3.10 or v3.11 and configure pyenv.

I would love to use a Mac, but I'm wary of Apple's consumer oriented locking down of features. When I worked for some large corps, was issued with Windows laptops - compared to Debian it was a nightmare.

[mellowagain]

Crystal Linux. It is a arch based OS which means you get to take advantage of the huge amount of packages in the AUR with the added benefit of being easy to install and sensible defaults.

It comes with amethyst (`ame`) as AUR helper pre-installed, which is also in my opinion the best AUR helper out right now (and it's written in Rust!).

Automatic BTRFS snapshots before package upgrades have saved my butt once already and I couldn't live without them.

100% recommended

[in9]

I use manjaro with my on DWM build (very small changes and a few usefull patches). I'm not liking it because for some reason pamac (AUR helper) cli behaves differently from the UI. So now and them, when I need to update a package, the cli wont do it because of some signature issues, and the UI can handle it. So now and then I go back to cinnamon because I can't lauch pamac correctly from the terminal from DWM. Very weird setup going on.

Crystal Linux did catch my attention :D

[n8henrie]

https://getcryst.al/site is a little light on details -- is there something that talks about the philosophy of crystal Linux, or whatever makes it special / unique? If you're happy with your DE on Arch, is there any reason to consider switching rather than just installing amethyst? (EDIT: forgot to mention I'm already on BTRFS root with snapper for auto snapshots.)

[klardotsh]

I personally use a combination of Void and Alpine Linuxes on all of my systems, which I realize is a perhaps far-off-the-beaten-path nerdery option, but I thrive in power user environments that invite me to tinker, and couldn't see myself using much else (short of Gentoo, which I left to reduce my tinker time a bit, or a BSD)

[abdrehman]

KDE Neon. I love KDE Activities I setup a sperate activity for my main job, freelance work and Personal Usage(Non work related). I have seprate Desktop Folder for every activity and Wallpaper. Each Desktop have shortcuts to applications I use for that envirnment.

Also I love Debian 11. Thinking to install KDE with it but I dont have time...

[sergiotapia]

Moved from an M2 Mac to using a Windows 10 Desktop beefcake PC and use VM Ware Linux Mint 22 cinammon install. Works flawlessly and I have zero patience for linux jerking around so you know it's good. Everything just works out of the box including resolution etc. I have two monitors and it just works.

I don't miss Mac at all.

[ksaj]

Theoretically you should have an identical experience with VMWare on the Mac. So in that case, I'd just go for the faster machine or the one with better hardware options. Whatever gives you the most options for productivity. Which may very well might be the Windows desktop, but it should "just work" in either place just as well.

[fulafel]

You are heading for a dead end if you are looking for long lived releases and updating the system Python. Stop using the system Python, or use a distribution with frequent short lived releases.

[vasirian]

Fedora i3 spin.

My i3wm config has survived over a decade and has provided a consistent UI/UX across various distros. Fedora is stable across version upgrades and stays out of the way, just like i3 does.

[akulbe]

Windows 11 w/WSL 2

[ksaj]

What you have running under WSL is more inline with the question, since it is about OSs and not "what virtualization do you use". Although at least it's half an answer if you use Windows as part of your dev stack.

Although I do use it on my laptop, I wouldn't consider WSL stable. If the boot loader or anything involved with the boot process goes kaput, there is nothing you can do but delete it and reinstall. There isn't even a rescue mode, and you can't just fiddle with the partition tables. At least on a physical Linux partition, you should still be able to mount the drive and get to your data, and you have a gazillion rescue options.

[akulbe]

Actually, you're not stuck here, if you run into issues. You have both:

--export

--import

options available to you for your WSL instances. You can get your configuration just so, then export it to a tarball that you can use for a baseline for later, that you can import it later.

Or you can use Store apps to handle that operation for you. I'm thinking of the subscription-based app called "Raft WSL" that handles that for you.

"…I wouldn't consider WSL stable." - It's not perfect, but it's sufficient to get me off of being a Mac user for 15+ years. Other than the polish of iTerm2, it gave me everything I had on Mac, without all the Mac-isms that I didn't like.

Windows Terminal has proven to work very well for my dev-on-Windows needs.

One of the BIGGEST factors in making this setup my choice is that Microsoft actually works on stuff, AND listens to their customers.

Do you get everything you want? Certainly not.

Do you get feedback when you report stuff? Very often, yes. Even if it's just to say "Yep, we know about this, we're working on it."

Where, when you'd report a bug to Apple - you get nothing. Ever.

Microsoft actually seems to CARE about making theirs the premier dev platform, where Apple only seems to care about new shiny, gives lip service to open source, and gives no responses to feedback.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[unintendedcons]

QubesOS with the right VM for the dev job at hand.

Feels good, feels right.

[AOsborn]

MacOS Monterey. Rock solid, does everything I need.

[smackeyacky]

For C#, android or embedded development debian 11 or sometimes Pop!OS.

For my paid job doing node and python, windows 10. But I wish it was debian.

[rubyist5eva]

Alma Linux 9.0 for development, Ubuntu for day to day stuff. I have 2 different workstations with dedicated purpose.

[kasperlitheater]

I’m using Fedora 36 KDE. It’s a custom image I built myself that has all the things I need installed and configured.

[tsingy]

Is it open sourced? I'm interested in learning how to do that.

[4t8dds]

Yeah, I use Mac locally. But remotely, I use some, ubuntu, centos. But mostly, I found FreeBSD is so stable.

[tsingy]

I use a minimal installation of Fedora with i3 window manager. My 10 year computer can not thank me more.

[jareds]

Windows 10 with WSL2.

[wara23arish]

Ive been using PopOs, no complaints thus far.

[ParetoOptimal]

NixOS unstable and flakes for everything.

[josephcsible]

Kubuntu 22.04.

[yonisto]

Windows 10.

[aprdm]

Ubuntu !

[xavier_]

Buy a Mac

[PaulHoule]

Windows 10

[fbrncci]

Windows 10 + WSL2