[jmcphers]

You can in fact get something "pretty close" to Positron by adding and configuring a whole bunch of VS Code extensions, adjusting the layout, etc. However it's fiddly and time-consuming work (and quite challenging for novice users); the resulting UX can be pretty disjointed, too.

Positron provides a batteries-included experience that lets you work with Python and R out of the box; it's easier to get started, everything's already set up for data work, and the tools all work together smoothly. At least, that's the goal. :-)

(disclaimer - I work on Positron)

[NeutralForest]

I honestly don't think it's enough of a value proposition but I wish you the best, more competition is good!

[samuell]

I'd go out on a limb and say the rock-solid out-of-the box experience is what is keeping many people using R-studio (and even R itself), rather than the messy ecosystem of Python. I'm seeing this tendency in myself for some tasks.

Also, my impression is that that is also a big part of why MATLAB still exists, despite outraging prices.

I think the common theme among these tools' main user groups is that they are not developers. They are not comfortable fiddling a lot with a dev environment, but can be productive in an environment where everything just works.

Thus, if Positron can get the same smooth and rock-solid out-of-the box experience, it will be able to reach a lot of these non-developer user groups.

At least that's my 5c.

[RamblingCTO]

Jup, that's 100% it. Even tho I build productive systems in anything but R, whipping up Rstudio and having it all included or easily installable without any package manager fuckery or anything makes it a non brainer.