Forgive me for I hath sinned.

I’ve switched base OS from Linux LTS to Windows 11.

It’s not as bad as you may think [WSL2 + debian, native X11, shared wslenv, cuda-wsl, docker-wsl, vscode-wsl, WSA(!), native monitor calibration + inversion + text superres].

Also combining win + linux commands.

Windows running Linux:

PS C:\Users\Casper> wsl ls -l | wsl grep " -> " | Select-Object -First 1
lrwxrwxrwx 1 cas cas    35 Sep 30 17:03 Application Data -> /mnt/c/Users/Casper/AppData/Roaming

Linux running Windows:

~$ which winget.exe
/mnt/c/Users/Casper/AppData/Local/Microsoft/WindowsApps/winget.exe

Also bonus OEM battery charge limits + AI noise cancellation + less reliance on hacks.

And companies actually fix even my most obscure esoteric issues (my AMD CPU has a built-in low-power GPU):

Finally, MS PowerToys:

• text-extractor to OCR literally anything
• always-on-top from Linux
• no need for screenshots+image editors:
  • color-picker to get hex codes
  • screen-ruler to measure pixels
• file-explorer add-ons to preview *.md, *.pdf, …
• keyboard-manager easier remapping
• powerrename replacing my old trusty Python regex-based bulk file renaming script
• run like HUD in Linux or Spotlight on Mac

The only real cons so far are minor; I’m willing to live with them:

• lack of full unified memory support
• taskbar unlocking
• AppData indirects
• virus false positives (win-defender scans linux mounts lol)
• common utils like file need manual apt installation
• conflicting updates between msstore-vs-winget-vs-windows update-vs-OEM updater
• lack of X11 fonts support

• not-quite fully compliant WSL shell utils:

  ~$ cat ./-
  cat: ./-: No such file or directory
  ~$ echo foo | tee -
  foo
  ~$ echo bar | cat -
  bar
  ~$ echo bar | cat ./-
  foo
  

• difficulty selecting text (only some apps have work-arounds)
• select-copy & middle-click-paste isn’t a thing
• pro: there are lots of nice keyboard shortcuts. con: they keep changing between windows versions

Haven’t found any comprehensive guides online from ‘nix powerusers taking win seriously (e.g. this has surprisingly little info).

idk if I should write a post about this - “Why I switched to Windows after 2 decades of Linux” U++++>+++w-->+++@

even the surprisingly performant IDE tech stack is worth an under-the-hood exposition (vscode -> containers extension -> docker -> wsl driver -> mounted virtual disk).