True! I do run MATLAB for living. I also use proprietary Intel compilers and GPU drivers to run CUDA (Deep learning).
...
I have used computers running Windows on few occasions since its inception in early 90s of last centry but my reaction was always the same. Without lack of native scripting language (sh/ksh93, awk, Perl) renders it useless. Hack even editing ASCII file as a major pain in the rear end not to say doing something with network stack. Now I will be the first one to admit that I don't know anything about PowerShell.
With all due respect your experience with FreeBSD/Windows is irrelevant.
WINE is useless peace of crap. Have you ever tried to run the latest MS Office (my boss needs it to edit government contracts) on WINE? Please don't bother.
In my experience with it on BSD - it is worse than just crap, but I talked with people on #winehq channel in irc and generally they said that it's probably due to I use WINE on BSD (which no one else there does) that I have such poor experience and they share stories that they even manage to play quite modern games with quite decent quality, just as an example.
Man, I can't make a damn firefoxportable (by portableapps) open a single site in WINE under BSD.
What Linux has is a large eco system powered by billions of dollars from companies like IBM, HP, RedHat and similar which made it defacto standard for scientific computing and SOHO server.
Exactly. Also, billions of dollars means millions of users and thousands of developers.
The developers from time to time want some comfort and organize it for themselves.
As a result - this is probably the reason why linux is closer to being desktop-ready than BSDs are.
Linux on the desktop is a statistical error.
Ha-ha, if even linux on the desktop is a statistical error then what is a BSD on desktop?
FreeBSD target user group are professionals (mostly servers) or a serious hobbies. Based on your posts you are in neither of those two groups. Declaring FreeBSD useless as a desktop because Skype is non functional is laughable. Just install Skype app on your smart phone.
We probably mean different things by 'desktop OS': in my opinion an OS is desktop-ready when most of the popular apps mostly work on it and when that's all accessible to an average Joe.
You may laugh all you like, but in fact I am a professional. A recently started one, quite a newbie, lacking much knowledge, but I still am, by definition (my profession requires working with servers, this is what I get paid for).
I work with servers, all of them are linux-based. I use XUbuntu at work on my desktop. I have a fully working Skype at work.
Since I have experience with both FreeBSD and XUbuntu - I can compare.