It's been 19 years since I started using computers. 2007 was probably the earliest time I remember using a computer, and back then Windows XP was the real deal everywhere.
Computers were an amazing piece of tech back then and I used to spend all of my time on that computer whenever I used to go to my grandparents'. I used to play a lot of classic video games, like Road Rash. I eventually became a bit tech-savvy and started tinkering around the internet when I had an internet connection in 2008.
Eventually, Windows Vista came, then Windows 7 (which was probably the operating system that a lot of Indians first used). I was one of those rare people who liked Windows 8. Then came Windows 10 in 2015, which was probably the last good release of Windows. It fixed everything wrong with Windows 8 and brought Windows back to its feet.
Then Windows 11 got released. I honestly didn't like Windows 11 for a lot of things. Firstly, it removed that good-looking start menu live tiles in Windows 10 and secondly, it was incredibly bloated. Then Microsoft started shoving AI into every single thing. They axed off Xbox and diluted the brand with Game Pass. To add more fuel to the fire, they once deducted money for my OneDrive subscription and immediately denied access to my own files. This was the last straw for me. They violated my right to access my own computer.
Why not use Linux?
I have a love-hate relationship with Linux. Linux is an amazing operating system and Debian is my go-to Linux Distro, but I often tend to fall into rabbit holes of distro hopping or ricing that make me waste too much time. Not to mention that some stuff isn't natively built for Linux and I gotta go through a heap load of terminal commands to fix something at times.
Sure, Linux is free and focuses on giving the user a lot of power but often at times I don't need that kind of power. I just need to get my work done and not focus on making my GNOME look like MacOS.
My move to MacOS
There was a time when I used to be a critic of Apple products because they're very expensive compared to their Android and Windows counterparts. But things slowly changed as both of my Windows/Android devices had issues within just a year or two.
I purchased a ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 back in 2023 but last year, I suddenly noticed slowdowns. With me being fed up with Windows, the next best option was MacOS. I never used MacOS in the past and I have no clue how it even works but I thought it'd be a good pick with it being a Unix-like environment with the ability to use proprietary software.
Then there was this RAM and SSD shortage due to the AI slop industry and I knew that I shouldn't delay buying the Mac. I decided to get it a few days ago -- MacBook Air M4.
My Experience with MacOS so far
Contrary to popular belief, MacOS isn't really that restrictive. It feels as tinkerable as Windows but you have better support for Linux-based tools that got ported to MacOS. My prediction was right; MacOS takes the best out of both Linux and Windows -- a Unix-like system with the ability to run proprietary software.
The best part is how good the free software support is on MacOS. Homebrew was the first thing I installed on Mac and it really fills up the gap left by the App Store.
My future of computing
The ThinkPad that I currently own will be the last device that I use to run Windows. It already has a dual boot with Debian. I will continue to use Debian and Linux for any kind of research environments as well as Debian packaging.
MacOS will be my main PC operating system going forward, with Linux as a supplement.