Some people may be shocked to see this post from me, as I am known as a pro-open source advocate.
After a few years of many different Linux distros under my belt, I decided to go back to Windows.
Why?
It’s pretty simple. No matter what OS you use, there is always going to be problems. Solutions are created to handle these problems, but the timeline of resolution and type of problem that interrupts your workflow is the biggest issue of them all.
Windows just worked better when it came to software integration, hardware working as its supposed to, and a valued ecosystem of products and services for my workflow. It may not be the best for yours, and that’s for you to decide.
But doesn’t Windows / Microsoft scrape too much data? Yes, by default. You can adjust Windows to work for you as the tool it once was before all of this A.I. integration. You simply have to do the work and research about how to turn them off.
To me this was easier than a failed open source driver messing with my GPU or an application that requires additional codecs – just to name some of the most common Linux frustrations that I personally had.
But Microsoft still collects data about your computer. Yes. Yes, they do. How do you think Windows updates code are written? If you use Microsoft 365, you can either set up sync or choose not to. Better yet, buy a one time purchase of Office 2024 and keep everything to yourself, if you so desire.
So is Windows invasive compared to Linux? It depends on what access you allow Microsoft to have on your machine, and the same goes for Linux. If you allow Ubuntu or another distro to collect information about your computer during set up, then it’s no different.
So, make your own decision about what works for you.
It may be the Year of Linux desktops. Good for Linux.