James Vasile's wiki

This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.
# Windows

## 2026-01-08

Last year we discovered that my kids needed non-Linux laptops to take the SAT.  At the time, I was replacing my old laptop and so I bought a new-to-me Thinkpad that came with Windows and didn't immediately replace it with Debian.  I discovered WSL2 and the modern Windows ecosystem.  I hadn't used Windows in earnest since last century and I was amazed at how much it has improved and also how much it hasn't.

My printer and bluetooth just magically work!  Except when they don't, but that could be fixed with a reboot.  On Debian, my bluetooth stack would break on an upgrade and it would be months before it maybe started working again.  

My keyboard customization works extremely well!  I want Caps Lock to be control on hold and escape on tap.  I can do that on Linux too but not reliably.  Intercept tools would sometimes control lock and it was very hard to fix in the moment.  Suddenly having your keyboard be useless was terrible as a constant risk for the computer I depend on for work.

Software just works.  Zoom works.  Signal auto-updates.  The software is less capable.  Windows users live in hobbles with one hand shackled to a mouse.  But for all that, I spend much less time administering the system than I did with Debian.  There is less to administer, true, but it's like when I gave up emacs.  I gained hours of my life back I didn't realize I was wasting.

The big downside is that Linux does it all.  I do 90% of my work in WSL2.  There is significant friction in putting a layer of Windows between me and the power of Linux.  It's like I'm typing with latex gloves on.  It works except when it doesn't.  The layer is super thin until it is an impenetrable obstruction.

The big downside to Windows, of course, is the completely bonkers UI for administering it.  It's a messy pile of incoherent clicks on random menus, none of which are properly or consistently documented.  It nudges me to do as little administration of my laptop as I can, which is perhaps the point.  Windows achieves simplicity via user-hostile interfaces.

Every day I am tempted to go back to Linux.  I do a lot of work ssh'd into a Linux machine just because it is easier.  This write-up is meant to remind me of the pain that awaits on the Debian side of the fence.  I might decide the tradeoffs are worthwhile, but I don't want to forget that the tradeoffs exist.

In the meantime, I keep discovering that the things I want to do are possible (though harder) on Windows.  I've only resorted to borrowing my daughter's Linux laptop once.  And if I hadn't been time-pressed I might have been able to finish that work on Windows.  My guess is I will keep using Windows 10 until I try to upgrade it and discover how painful that is.