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Comment by jimbo808

3 days ago

If/when support for Linux gaming becomes widespread and easy to navigate with few configuration hurdles, Windows will die very quickly. As for MacOS, I genuinely can't wrap my head around why anyone who is technically competent would prefer that OS.

Fewer and fewer people own home computers anymore. I would not be surprised if ChromeOS laptops outpace home Windows install at some point.

The bastion of Windows installations will still be the corporate market. Outside of developer circles, Macs are only used by executives - the drones still get underspecced Windows laptops.

  • not only corporate but also many small shops still running some dedicated software for PoS. Maybe wine will work but it's a lot of hassle still and too risky for trying something that critical to work for such PoS scenarios. Also not sure if situation changed but at least 5 years ago most ATMs in asia were running windows based on talk with my friend working in this field.

    • Yeah I think my original comment was a bit overstated. I think it would have been more accurate to say Windows would die for the consumer desktop market.

Unfortunately sim racing requires Windows (that's my last holdout).

As far as macOS goes, Linux is so good but I also like my peripherals to work for my job where I don't have time to tinker all day.

> As for MacOS, I genuinely can't wrap my head around why anyone who is technically competent would prefer that OS.

Even technical users can succumb to Apple's Reality Distortion Field.

MacOS is like the best of both worlds between Linux and Windows. It's commercial software, and a major platform target for devs, and can do all the unix-y things too.

  • That's the pitch, yeah. If you're happy to use the OS in the specific way Apple thinks you should, it's okay.

Doubtful this will ever happen for the most lucrative part of desk/lap-top gaming: multiplayer and micro transaction games. They require anti-cheat to keep the money flowing. And IIUC, Linux fundamentally grants too much user control for effective anti-cheat.