Thinkpad x120e + Gentoo is the only development machine I run (still looking for a newer 12" thinkpad to replace this one). There is also ubuntu installed in the chroot (for android firmware builds) and a few docker containers with various OSes.
In theory I can survive with any OS/platform, since my primary tools are tmux+vim+zsh. I use them for android development (Java, Kotlin), for web (JavaScript, Golang), for embedded systems (C, Lua).
So the only two apps that I keep always open is a full-screen terminal and a browser. Probably even Chrome OS would be comfortable for me :)
> Probably even Chrome OS would be comfortable for me
I have one of those Asus Chromeboxes, can't praise them highly enough. I have it dual booting ChromeOS and OpenELEC as a media center and never really intended it to be used as a PC, but I still rather like ChromeOS. With Crouton installed, it's a pretty capable little machine. I occasionally run Steam in Crouton to use the machine as a terminal for in home streaming to my bigger TV.
Nice! I'm trying the ChromeOS browser + terminal experiment myself. Just bought a 2015 Chromebook Pixel LS and outside the local storage issue it's a glorious machine.
Given that I use vim + bash + go + ruby / python + js + tmux...well, everything seems to work. And it's easily the fastest web browser I've ever used. I tried installing Gentoo Prefix but couldn't get it up and running...think that would be better than Linuxbrew, but for now this seems to suffice. If I run into any roadblocks I'll probably wind up doing the whole crouton/chroot thing, but for now I'm a happy camper.
In theory I can survive with any OS/platform, since my primary tools are tmux+vim+zsh. I use them for android development (Java, Kotlin), for web (JavaScript, Golang), for embedded systems (C, Lua).
So the only two apps that I keep always open is a full-screen terminal and a browser. Probably even Chrome OS would be comfortable for me :)