Hello! For context, I’m just starting out in web development with TOP. I’ve tried VMs in past and have found them to be clunky and slow compared to running an OS natively, so I’m looking into dual booting.
Booting Linux, or any distro really, off an external SSD is very attractive to me as I’ll have to switch between my desktop PC (Legacy BIOS if that matters) and laptop very frequently due to my current circumstances. I assume this would work in a very “plug and play” manner. As in, I can do some work on my PC and then plug into my laptop on a whim, and everything (files, directories, etc) will remain identical and work seamlessly when I switch. Please let me know if I’m mistaken here!
If this is true, the only thing that concerns me is performance. Both my PC and laptop support USB 3.0. I’m aware there is quite a difference in speed between running internally with SATA and externally through USB 3.0, but is this noticeable in practice? I want to avoid a slow or laggy feel at all costs. For peace of mind and general organisation, I also like that Linux and my dev work would be completely separate from anything else internally in this case.
On the other hand, I can install Linux internally on both computers. Obviously this means that their storage won’t be shared, but how much of an inconvenience is this? How do developers go about working across multiple computers? Do you just clone your repo off GitHub and call it a day? What if you have to switch before you’ve completed a commit? And then there a things like installing dependencies, keeping programs updated across both computers, etc.
I just really like the idea of both computers sharing identical workspaces, but I definitely value smooth performance more. Especially if switching between two seperate storages isn’t as big of a headache as I think. What would you guys recommend
