Node.js offers multiplatform support, making it seamless to develop applications across Mac, Linux, and Windows, though subtle platform differences exist. For Windows developers aiming to run Node.js applications on Linux, two primary options are Hyper-V virtual machines and Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2). Both systems allow the setup of an Ubuntu environment with Node.js to test applications like the Image Compressor, a Node.js web app that compresses images. Hyper-V provides a full Linux OS experience with GUI support, making it suitable for continuous deployment setups and broader Linux distribution support, whereas WSL2 offers faster file-system performance and lightweight operations, appealing for running multiple Linux environments simultaneously. The article compares both options, noting Hyper-V's suitability for persistent background processes and GUI needs against WSL2's speed and simplicity for accessing Linux from within Windows.