cybereality I use makemkv for blurays. It's technically paid software, but it's been in beta-test for over a decade, so it's free to use. The part that decrypts the disc is distributed in binary form.

      Windows' ease of use and popularity makes it a nice target for viruses. That's the only real downside I notice, other than that it constantly updates with unnecessary things. A developer would be better off with more space for their games over the extras.

      I have used all three operating systems at one point or another as my daily driver and my opinion is that they all have their strengths and weaknesses.

      Linux is great for allowing you to customize and tailor things exactly as you want it, and is quite nice for C++ and C development. Biggest downside is that you have to compile almost everything (pro or con) and Linux support is almost always an afterthought in many applications. Generally if there is a Linux version, it has bugs and/or is not as well supported, though there are exceptions.

      MacOS is great for mobile development on iOS (though it is the only way to do it, so...) and great for developing C/C++ while also having greater OS support with major applications. It also has a nice flow and generally is very stable. The biggest downside is that you are locked into the MacOS ecosystem and sometimes MacOS has specific oddities due to how their libraries are compared to Linux or Windows, which can be more predictable due to their open nature.

      Windows is great for almost everything, but I would argue for statically compiled languages like C and C++, it is much more painful to develop for. What Windows has going for it though is great support for almost all applications, the "it just works" factor is higher than MacOS and WAY higher than Linux. You might find an application that mostly works on MacOS or Linux, but on Windows, it generally works like it is supposed to out of the box. It also has the best support for games and game development, as the majority of game players are on Windows. The biggest downside is Windows is kinda heavy for an OS (though it has gotten better with Windows 10, not sure on 11). I'm not a fan of the Windows specific C/C++ libraries, which can cause some issues if you are doing OS related stuff, but admittedly if you are not programming in C/C++ then you're unlikely to notice.

      Of the three, I have consistently returned to Windows. The factor that it just works for the majority of the applications I need to run and use, as well as for games I want to play, are big draws. MacOS and Linux are great too though, especially for non-game development work.

      duane I use makemkv for blurays.

      Yes, I am able to rip Blu-Ray discs, but not just play them. And it takes like an hour or two, by the time it finishes I wasted the window I had to watch the movie. I just play discs on my PS5 as that is easier and it works.

          No those tutorials are old. I guess someone got in trouble a few years back so they removed the feature.

          Just a few days ago I had an experience with MS Soaftware that reminded me why I switched to GNU/Linux. I tried the Unity Game Engine, which wants Visual Studio as an Editor. Other editors work as well, but then there is no type-ahead or class reference lookup. Both Unity and Visual Studio Code can be installed in user space alone, so that was a good experience, but then I realized that Visual Studio had redirected all editable file types to Visual Studio. Had to skim through them and set them back manually, and there where a lot of them. So I keep tinkering on Linux :-)

          All development environments imaginable are available on Linux, many like Python, C, C++, ... come with it actually. With a plethora of software to choose from. For someone who wants to get into coding it should be a no-brainer to opt for Linux these days. It also doesn't get in the way, or distracts with ads or forces updates or virus checkers on us, if that's a criteria.

          I have heard that some Blue-Ray decodings doesn't work, out of legal reasons. But that's no problem for me.

          My 6700XT runs smoothly with the open source driver RADV and full Vulcan support.

          Until last september, I had to keep a Windows PC for drivers to control a telescope mount and connected cameras. There was no native Linux port avaibale when I bought them.

          The ideal system for the past and this millennium is NT. The closest thing to ideal is Win 7. All good things are in the past. Win 11 is a step from 10 to 7, in the opposite (right) direction.

          Is it possible to make an operating system based on Godot?

            Linux is fine. There are very few apps that don't work, but even then sometimes there are work arounds, such as with WINE. Plus there are tons of free software that probably does as good a job or better (like is the case with Blender). Gaming is in a pretty good place. For a while you needed Windows to game, but nearly everything works on Linux now (or a good 90% of single player games). Multiplayer is an issue because of anti-cheat, but this isn't a Linux issue, this is an issue of anti-cheat (and DRM) makers using hacking techniques to install themselves in the kernel when they should never have that kind of access in the first place. The fact that it works on Windows is a bug, not a feature.

            Mac sucks for gaming, as it always has. You can do some emulation or VM stuff, but it's nowhere near as robust or performant as Linux. You just really limit yourself with Mac. With Windows at least you get all the software and some guarantee things are going to work. With Mac you get a small subset of the software available, things do still work, but you can't play games. Though I guess if you are some trendy hipster, that Apple logo makes you look cool (or so you think). It's mostly a brand thing, like spending $300 on Beats headphones when you can get $60 ones that sound just as good.

            So the Mac users I understand, they just want to feel rich or something. But the Windows users I don't get. They spend all their time complaining about Bill Gates, about ads on the desktop, getting hacked, spyware, having to reinstall every 6 months, and it generally not being a good OS. But they won't even give Linux a chance. Makes no sense.

              Sitting here with 2 visual studios currently open in windows 10 and not regretting it in the least, despite multiple linux boxes nearby. I was using linux as my main PC OS back in the early Slackware days. I even rent a VPS linux box in Singapore for network game server hosting (as part of the classes I teach on low level network programming).
              I MUCH prefer Windows and Visual Studio for development.

                So far, I'm gathering that nobody prefers Mac. Interesting.

                So it's the usual "I use this and I'm happy for whatever reasons", diversity, I love it, and I hope it stays so !

                Back in the day I had an Apple ][. But apart from that I never owned an Apple product any more. In the beginning they were too expensive, then they got too proprietary for my taste. Recently read a benchmark where a 8000 Euro Apple M2 was beaten by AMD and Intel setups that cost a fourth. In this life I'm probably not tempted to try one.

                Kojack I MUCH prefer Windows and Visual Studio for development.

                That is what I thought for a while, but I switched to CLion, and it's vastly superior to VS (and works cross-platform). While JetBrains do make plug-ins for VS, their IDEs are top notch. For C++ it does so much more in terms of refactoring, real time error highlights, suggestions on problems that won't get caught by the compiler, way better auto-complete, better themes, etc. It does cost money, but it's fairly cheap, I think like $10 a month. Not that Visual Studio is bad, it still is pretty nice, but it's not the best anymore.

                    As I mentioned in the other (locked) language thread, anyone used QNX for development?
                    QNX has it's own network system (costs extra for TCP/IP support, the client didn't want that). Each computer has a node number. When you install the QNX (for around $4000au+ per copy) it asks you for the node number (must be unique on the network). We had one box running QNX, we set it to node 1 iirc.
                    The client then sent us a test machine already installed with their setup. It was node 200. We connected it to the network.
                    It wouldn't work.
                    The second QNX box refused to network BECAUSE IT COULDN'T FIND COMPUTERS NUMBERED 2-199 ALSO ON THE NETWORK!
                    You can't change a node number without reinstalling either.

                    I hated that OS.

                    @Nerdzmasterz , if you have an old PC around just install a Linux with a desktop you might like and get going.

                    Just suggesting wildly, try Debian and XFCE if you like it easy, Ubuntu ("the Windows among the Linuxes", hehehe) if you just want it running with as much hard-/software support as possible, or any of the countless others. Mint with Cinnamon is another light and easy one, KDE desktop for instance if you love as colourful as possible. You can also just run a window manager without a full blown desktop. No distractions pls :-)

                    If you're unfamiliar with the command line, I'd recommend "The Linux Command Line" lates edition from No Starch press.as bathroom reading.

                    Edit: QNX, never heard of before, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QNX.

                    I run Debian Sid (bacause full Vucan support for the RX6700XT without having to install the proprietary driver), various editors for my tinkering with C/C++, from Nano to Eclipse CDT. I don't mean to really recommand or insist, it fits my needs and ... agenda :-)

                    Nerdzmasterz Most Linux distros are fairly similar in terms of functionality. There are a lot of flavors in terms of the look of the windows and the options, but they can generally all do the same things. My personal favorite is Ubuntu. It's easy to use, looks great, it's popular so most of the tutorials and info will include Ubuntu first, and it's generally pretty stable.

                    https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop

                    I would recommend live booting rather than doing a VM. VMs are slow and can't access the graphics, so you won't be able to test Godot or Blender or anything serious. With a live USB you can test the whole OS but not overwrite anything on your machine. Try it for a few hours, and if you like it you can dual boot on your machine with Windows as well. I did this for about 3 years before I was comfortable enough to switch to Linux full time.