There is so much hate on Windows 11 these days, and I can understand why – especially those using Windows 10 and do not or cannot upgrade to Windows 11. However, when you’re looking at Windows versus Mac or Linux, you might be rather shocked for very different reasons.
On average, Microsoft keeps a current operating system alive and well for 10 years with OS and security updates. That’s pretty good when you consider Apple only offers 6 or maybe 7 years on their hardware, and you’re stuck with what you buy from Apple for the lifetime of your device. No upgrading of any kind.
Do I hate Apple? No, I just think that their business model is catered towards their own profit and nothing more – not to mention illogical and somewhat sneaky. For example, I have a 2019 Macbook Pro (15 in, intel i9, 32GB RAM, Nvidia graphics card and 512GB SSD) and it runs perfectly fine as a basic laptop compared to the powerhouse it once was since Apple doesn’t really focus on user experience of hardware from previous years including and up to end-of-life products. As a matter of fact, it would run Windows 11 or Linux very well, and due to the drop in support for this macbook Pro as of this year and the security chip Apple installed, I cannot install Windows or Linux on it in place of Mac OS directly. But I own it. I paid for it. So, eventually this will become a brick with an original price of over $3000 back in 2019 of wasted money. I honestly feel like I rented it.
Let’s look at Linux. I’ve dabbled in Linux since 2000, and it has become a more user friendly OS (depending on the Distro as well) over the years. Linux can bring an old PC, Mac, or laptop back to life so easily (except if you have a Mac with a security chip installed by Apple like me) and prevent it from becoming waste in a landfill. Linux is probably the only ‘Green’ operating system available to everyone – and it’s free thanks to dedicated people willing to develop and keep the open source project alive. BUT, there is a cost. Linux does not support many applications like Mac and Windows machines do, but there are many MANY alternatives that can take the place of what people use every day. You just have to be willing to learn a little bit.
Just so you’re aware, I am writing this article on a Lenovo Thinkpad T490. It’s an old machine, and like my Macbook Pro, it was released in 2019. I am running Windows 11 Pro on it without any issues, although it has an Intel i7 processor, 32GB of RAM, and it too has a Nvidia graphics card. The difference is that I can open this laptop, which I did, and I upgraded the SSD to 2TB. I have the option to upgrade the memory to 48GB. I also replaced the battery with a new one, and it even installs Linux or Windows 11 flawlessly. You can find videos on YouTube to show you how to do all of these things. Lenovo even has posted videos on YouTube with step-by-step instructions about how to upgrade your machine.
How much did I pay for the laptop on ebay? $250. I paid $150 for the Samsung evo plus 2TB SSD from Best Buy, and the battery was $50 on Amazon. So I basically got a brand new 14 inch laptop with many bells and whistles for less than $500 – that, my friend, is value. Best of all, it didn’t end up in a landfill.
