I was curious what the Linux people think about Microsoft and any bad practices that most people should know about already?

  • smileyhead@discuss.tchncs.de
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    36
    ·
    5 months ago

    Windows is the worst thing that ever happened to computer science.

    And I don’t exaclly mean the product itself, but the mindset and habits that came with it.

    • thingsiplay@beehaw.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      5 months ago

      The worst thing is, that Windows (and DOS) is the only main operating system that is not POSIX compatible, or Unix like. Besides not being open source…

      • bamboo@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        5 months ago

        As someone who primarily uses Unix-like systems and develops cross platform software, having windows as a weird outlier is probably best for the long term. Windows is weird and dumb but it forces us to consider platform differences more explicitly. In the future if a new operating system becomes popular, all the checks that were implemented for windows will make it a bit easier to port to newer systems.

      • thingsiplay@beehaw.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        7
        ·
        edit-2
        5 months ago

        I don’t agree. (Edit: Read the replies, he is actually right.)

        Using Xbox controller since 360, now the One and Series S controllers as my preferred gamepad for modern emulation systems (meaning I have a Snes like pad for older systems). I have no idea why you think that a Xbox controller is bad for emulation.

        • jsomae@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          11
          ·
          edit-2
          5 months ago

          Oh they’re very good controllers! The problem is that they took Nintendo’s button names (ABXY) and transposed their positions. It’s utter chaos, and very hard for me at least to remember that A is B and B is A.

          Playstation, by contrast, came up with entirely new button symbols, so it’s much less confusing that O -> A.

          The APIs for gamepad interfacing are a total mess now, with some based on button names and some on position (south/east/west/north).

          • AlolanYoda@mander.xyz
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            4
            ·
            5 months ago

            I agree with you, but Xbox just took the Dreamcast’s layout, which means SEGA is the original culprit

          • thingsiplay@beehaw.org
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            4
            ·
            5 months ago

            I’m from the 80s and totally understand what you mean. That’s a valid point, yes, its a total mess, especially for emulation where the button names collide. This was actually an “objectively” bad choice by Microsoft.

          • LeFantome@programming.dev
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            5 months ago

            Ironically, they were probably afraid of the very explicit litigiousness of Nintendo.

            Two solutions:

            • different names ( like Sony )
            • different positions ( like Microsoft )

            Third solution:

            • get sued by Nintendo

            Maybe they did some early testing and got feedback that people liked the button names being the same as Nintendo. Or maybe they read criticism about Sony using different names.

            Maybe they were originally the same and then the legal dept depended a swap too late to change the actual names.

            Maybe none of this stuff.

            As you can see, I find the legal system to be a bigger threat and generally more frustrating than Microsoft.

            • jsomae@lemmy.ml
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              5 months ago

              Yes of course, I agree this is the rationale for sure. Still I blame Microsoft (and Sega as I’ve just discovered) for this.

      • Voytrekk@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        5 months ago

        How so? It’s just a controller that is just the most standard for PC because Microsoft fully implemented the drivers in Windows.

        • jsomae@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          5 months ago

          See the other comment.

          The problem is that they took Nintendo’s button names (ABXY) and transposed their positions. It’s utter chaos, and very hard for me at least to remember that A is B and B is A.

          • Voytrekk@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            5 months ago

            Almost every emulator lets you remap buttons on your controller. There is nothing that stops you from mapping the buttons based on position instead of what the face button says. There are also plenty of controllers you can use on PCs that have the Nintendo layout.

            • jsomae@lemmy.ml
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              5 months ago

              Yes, I know I can remap, but I’m just too stupid to be able to remember that the confirm/cancel buttons are swapped so I’m constantly messing that up. It’s especially a problem on the steam deck, which has Microsoft’s layout.

              Somehow, when I’m holding an xbox controller, my brain just knows that the A button has to be the south button.