If I was in charge of GitHub, I would build a team of .NET Programmers and have them built an awesome UI for Git on Windows, bundle it with Git itself as well as other usually needed programs like an SSH client and release it for free. Well, as open source of course.
The reason for that is that almost everybody that I know that’s using Git is also using GitHub and the number one objection I get to Git is Windows support. I myself chosen Mercurial once before just to be able to cooperate with my Windows-using friends. I think it’s time someone fixes that and I think GitHub has the most to win.
I know Git can be installed on Windows and that it works. But you need more than that. You need on amazing user experience and Git on Windows doesn’t provide it.
There are several reasons for that. Running Git in Windows is not as nice as Linux or Mac OS X, period. Even if the support was realyl good, the command line itself in Windows is not on par with Bash… even when you run Bash itself on Windows (which the last time I checked, you had to do to run Git).
Most important than that is that the Windows crowd are just used to UIs, so the most amazing command line tool won’t stand a chance against the crappiest UI. Windows users just search for another tool when no UI is provided. Even myself when using Windows do that. It’s another world with another dynamic and you have to play by their rules to win their game. And I have to admit, if I had to stop using MacOSX I would miss my favorite Git UI a lot, GitX (L).
