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  • Hacker News
  • They should go do version 9 like a fork with hindsight
    by conorcleary
  • Developers, developers, developers.

    Your dream developer experience is already here; since I've switched to Linux, I feel like I'm experiencing Linux psychosis. It's such a breath of fresh air. I've reconfigured my entire workflow around terminal programs and every action feels instant, even with maxed out power saving settings. There's an upfront time investment, sure - a weekend or two to set things up and figure out how you want the basics configured - but I've found myself immediately productive, and after that it's all compound interest, baby. Over the next few months, I've pushed my muscle memory to a point that's completely unachievable on Windows.

    Another big advantage of the platform is that some Linux distributions will come bundled absolutely no software, saving you from having to uninstall and disable annoying bloat you have no use for. Additionally, you don't even need to install WSL, because you've already got the L.

    by throwuxiytayq
  • Have they considered providing unconditional support to WINE and releasing a Linux distro?
    by vazark
  • They could stop hogging so much memory. My work laptop was fine on Win 10 and on Win 11 it began swapping to disk.
    by 2OEH8eoCRo0
  • Unused RAM is wasted RAM. And swap usage is not an issue either unless there's a lot of swap in/out happening.
    by floro
  • If I can install Linux on these unified-memory PCs, then it sounds quite cool.

    I wouldn't wish any developer to be forced to use W11 though. I'm already miserable enough at work, I just use a VM with Fedora and W11 is just a bootloader.

    by sznio
  • So what is it, concretely? Default settings and bundled software? Like Lenovo bloatware but from Microsoft?
    by internet2000
  • Maybe the main feature they are not telling anyone is that it slurps your valuable code bases faster in order to feed their AI? I guess usurping github ain't enough.
    by amlib
  • I refuse to use windows at home. I'll use it at work, but it's either Xubuntu or MacOS at home. I couldn't be happier.
    by abirch
  • Same. ArchLinux and macOS for me.
    by LoFiSamurai
  • Same here. I would love to go Linux exclusive though, but need to keep a mac around for data/file management, since Linux STILL doesnt support creation/provenance/birth time on any FS. It really sucks that linux is still so far behind on that compared to the two mainstream OS options, hope the kernel devs will change that someday.
    by throwaway270925
  • I have no choice but to use Windows at home due to 200+ Steam games I own. Many work only on Windows only. Emulation don't work for most on Linux.

    I got a separate PC just for linux btw, so no biggie

    by yipinwong
  • When I read the headline of the announcement article, I thought it would be in the spirit of https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dev-drive/, instead it's just advertising a series of device that most devs won't ever buy.

    Devs might be bad at marketing to general public, but if the target market are devs, run the ads through them first. Even if they're in a building with no dev at all, surely one can be reached through an internal email.

    by martheen
  • It's just cover to justify the future claim: "See? Nobody wants a distraction-free, decrappified Windows. Nobody bought it..."
    by ryandrake
  • Do they mean like, a version of Windows where I don't have to go into folder options and click "show file extensions"?
    by ptrl600
  • Actually, yes.

    That is one of the primary points in the list of advantages.

    >File Explorer shows file extensions, hidden files, the full path in the title bar, and the details pane, with long-path support enabled.

    https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2026/09/04/announ...

    If this is intended for developers who aren't that good at quickly setting these simple options by now though I don't know what to think :\

    by fuzzfactor
  • Windows does care about file extensions but is mildly embarrassed about it, hence the "show" default that has existed from Win 8 (?) onwards.

    Linux and co generally work with magic bytes which is just another way of doing file formats. Is it better to signify your file format with a .ext or otherwise?

    I find myself turning on file extensions if I have to use Windows and on Linux, I don't care and it just works.

    I think the UIs for Linux are better. I think that MS are hung up on trying to suggest their stuff so it gets in the way a bit. On Linux, you just get the best option based on what is installed.

    by gerdesj
  • > If Project Zenith is a "distraction-free Windows experience," does that imply that everyone else is using nerfed experiences with needless distractions?

    Yes.

    by tempodox
  • Well, I mean, no. It could mean that regular Windows has things that could be distracting for developer workflows but might have other legitimate purposes.

    Like when a Porsche 911 trim strips out the AC and stereo to provide a "distraction free driver experience" that doesn't mean that those things are "needless" to everyone else.

    (Though in truth Windows 11 is full of dumb crap, but that doesn't mean we have to try---and fail!---to play clever lawyerball word games to make the point.)

    (And honestly, I don't think MS's idea of a good developer experience is going to be the same as mine or most of HN's. There are entire other worlds of 'development' out there.)

    by majormajor