Just today, while I was working on our apps, I realized how much I'd rather work on another platform than the one I was using.
I came to think of, most of us must have some sort of bias.

-Or a preference based on experience. I have, but I won't mention it right away, I'd rather see what you guys think.

Note: This is not about target platform, but development platform.
And it's strictly about the experience of using IDEs, file managers and other applications related to everyday development.
Price and hardware is not in the picture.

I'd like to apologize if this belongs in the lounge. It's pretty casual, -and might just be the most casual post I've ever posted.
I'm just not sure about it.

I would prefer to develop on Windows. My experiences are very limited, as I have not had any chances to try out Mac OS X or completely developing apps in a Linux environment. It would be beneficial if only schools outside of USA would actually receive fundings, regardless of whether the school is good or bad.

This might be better in the Lounge - anyway, it depends on what I'm doing. If i'm writing low-level C code, definitely Linux, it feels much more comfortable and easier to develop on. However, for mostly anything else, Windows is my first choice, either because the Linux graphics drivers are just not mature enough (although that is rare, but it can happen), or I need Windows-specific tools such as OpenCL shader debuggers, that kind of specialized stuff, which quite simply do not exist for Linux. Although I am probably biased in that I've used Windows for many more years than I've used Linux.

As for overall development flow, it's more or less the same. I mean, the operating system's interface is mostly identical (desktop with icons.. check.. taskbar.. check.. most used applications.. check..) so when it comes to just *using* the OS to accomplish tasks, it's pretty much equivalent. I mean, Code::Blocks is literally identical on both platforms, which makes it awesome when I need to check my code's portability - I can reuse the project file painlessly instead of screwing around with makefiles.

And I like to game and dislike the idea of playing in a virtual machine or having to dualboot every time I want to have a quick round, which makes Windows my primary operating system regardless. And, yes, I admit it, I am not a hardcore tux and do not feel in control when using a Linux box, so I'd rather have my stuff stashed away on my Windows operating system - this is probably just a perceptual bias due to habits, though (inb4 flamewar)

I prefer *nix because it's so easy to install tools, languages, etc. "sudo apt-get install python" and you can program in Python. You get my point. It's also very easy to combine a big range of different technologies into something.
I've been programming a lot on Windows/Visual Studio, but I "switched" to mainly coding on OS X and Linux (when I get a reasonable choice). Thus, my preference is not a product of inexperience.

I guess it's because I've grown up with dos and then windows, that I find the OSX user interface,
file manager and general administration of my projects less comfortable than on windows.
The iOS simulator is great, but i think xcode is a pretty bad IDE. Maybe it's all the more or less useless animations, or perhaps it's default way to manage source files.
I'm not quite sure. But i like eclipse, netbeans and code::blocks way better. And VS, too.
I'm used to batch scripting in windows, and utilize cmd commands, shortcuts and environment variables to a high extent, and that's great.

Everytime i code on a nix machine though, I feel empowered when writing bash scripts. -Is there anything you can't do from within a bash script?
And the fact that my favourite free IDEs are available for linux also, is nice. O agree with patrrr that it's great to just apt-get, when you need to add something new,
but I'm a minimalist, and i quickly lose track of what the different packages do and where they go. I use MSYS, GTK+ and MingW, and i can set it up from scratch with no installers whatsoever.

OSX just feels so prisonish somehow, -like I have rocket powered rollerblades but is presented with a field of sand.

I'm probably pretty similar to Bacterius in terms of platform preference. - But i hope we are not starting a flamewar here, that was'nt the intention.
The intention was to make a statistic... Of sorts.

Because Windows is pretty much the OS I've always used and been accustomed to, I'm going to have to say that I voted for Windows.

However, that's not to say that developing on Mac or Linux is bad.

It's good to explore on different operating systems, and if you become a professional developer you will likely benefit from development experience on all of the top three OSes(okay, Linux is a kernel, not really an "OS" like Mac or Windows, but you get it).

For example, Windows programmers who develop specifically with DirectX software are barring themselves away from Mac and Linux(at least as of now).

Of course, you can develop on one platform for all others, but there will be differences in the API/GDI/GUI/kernel/etc. So adjustments will probably have to be made regardless(how much depends on what program you write).

Desktop/laptops make no real significant difference in development, I'd say. It's what OS you use and the hardware you have that lets you know what's what.

The IDEs usually don't make much difference to me because I really focus on the results more than the experience of development as a goal, but I do think Code::Blocks is okay.

Final thought: try all of them, but you can always stick more with the one you like best for whichever reasons.

I came to think of, most of us must have some sort of bias.

Everyone is biased. What exactly do you hope to get out of this, if everybody just lists their personal preferences?

I think he just wants the statistics for how biased the operating systems were to developers.

[quote name='SuperVGA' timestamp='1348487021' post='4983185']
I came to think of, most of us must have some sort of bias.

Everyone is biased. What exactly do you hope to get out of this, if everybody just lists their personal preferences?
[/quote]
Their personal preferences...

I think he just wants the statistics for how biased the operating systems were to developers.

-Exactly.

Edit: Just discovered how I forgot to change the title when i settled on a "proper" topic.
It's the development platform not the target, - can I change that myself?

OSX just feels so prisonish somehow, -like I have rocket powered rollerblades but is presented with a field of sand.

That's what I feel when I'm in Windows, +1 on everyone's biased.