Why I Refuse to Buy Another Windows PC

I grew up using Windows and laptops. Now, both of those feel like things of the past. While I can’t say for sure that I’m done with laptops, if I do get another one someday, I know it won’t come with Windows.

Windows Feels Like Stepping Back In Time

Until I was 18, Windows was practically the only operating system I knew. I had encountered Linux, but that was isolated to a live CD and an old PC to play around with. There were no smartphones or tablets at the time. Windows is where I lived.

I switched to using Linux full-time around 2009, when I was in college. Aside from a brief flirtation with Windows 7, I’ve been away from Windows ever since.

Whenever I do sit down at a Windows computer, I’m surprised by how much hasn’t changed. It’s prettier now, don’t get me wrong, and some of the apps are better, but it feels like an illusion that’s only surface level.

Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek

The fact that so much software is still installed by searching the web and downloading EXE files feels downright archaic. When I go to install Steam and see a good old-fashioned install wizard, it has the same effect on me as sitting in a car from the 90s. It works, and I know there are many people who drive these every day, but man technology has come a long way.

So Much Now Feels Confusing and Unfamiliar

Any Linux user will know how often people tell you that they use Windows because it’s easy and just works. Step away from Windows, and there’s a good chance you’ll see how much this has to do with familiarity than ease of use.

After all, what intuitive sense does it make to refer to the SSD your OS is installed on as the C drive? What part of “flash drive” or “USB stick” implies D drive, and why is it the same letter that might be given to a DVD drive?

Likewise, even though there’s over a dozen different ways to open the new settings app, the old control panel remained a thing in Windows 10, and it’s still around in Windows 11. Plus, while it does take time to set up a new phone and remove unwanted apps, it’s nothing compared to all you need to do to make a fresh Windows install stop being annoying.

I could mention the Windows registry and managing drivers, but that leads to my next point, so let’s move on.

Windows Comes With Too Much Maintenance Overhead

Windows is part of the reason many people are intimidated by PCs. There’s so much you need to remember to do. Be sure to run a virus scanner, because there are so many ways to infect Windows computers. Remember to defrag your hard drive, so it doesn’t slow down (but only if it’s not an SSD). Make sure you don’t click anything that will lock your computer down and subject you to a ransomware attack.

It has been decades, and people still talk about the blue, or black, screen of death.

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End of an era.

Smartphones and tablets have their issues, but they just work. That’s why so many more people have gravitated towards them. Many haven’t replaced their PCs with phones—their phones are just the first computers they’ve been able to understand.

I know that by the end of a week using Windows as my primary PC again, I’d understand how to use it just fine. I just don’t feel like doing that extra work anymore. After all, I haven’t had to for well over a decade. It’s like asking me to deal with oil changes, spark plugs, engine belts, catalytic converters, and exhaust pipes again after driving an EV for almost ten years now. Windows is a large pickup truck that does far more than I need, guzzles up way too much energy, and requires too much maintenance to keep on the road.

There Are More Alternative Desktop OSes Than Ever

When I was a kid, Windows was almost synonymous with computers, and Macs had a small share of the market. Linux was barely a viable option even for those who had the knowledge and patience to tinker with it.

Today, the story is completely different. MacBooks are still a minority, but they dominate many creative fields. Many school children are growing up using Chromebooks, not Windows machines. Linux’s biggest challenge is that it doesn’t come pre-installed on any PCs you see in big box stores, since it’s very easy to learn once you have it up and running.

Samsung has long shipped a desktop mode on many of its phones and tablets by the name of Samsung DeX, and it isn’t the only smartphone company with such a feature. Now Google is working on baking this feature directly into Android.

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I forgot how big a difference hardware can make.

Windows simply has too much competition. There’s little reason for me to return to it when I’ve been doing just fine without

I’m Not Sure I’ll Buy Another Laptop or Desktop, Period

Honestly, the traditional PC form factor doesn’t do much for me. I have not been willing to confine myself to one spot to purchase a desktop, and I have never been a big fan of my posture when using a laptop.

These days I do all of my work from my book-style foldable phone, a Galaxy Z Fold 6. I don’t even use Samsung Dex most of the time—I just work directly on my phone’s inner screen.

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My stylus has replaced a keyboard and mouse as my primary way of interacting with a computer. I’ve been exposed to an entirely different way of computing that adapts and shapes to whichever form factor I am in the mood for. Meanwhile, Windows is only suited to a traditional PC, and it feels like it’s doing an aging job at even that.

When it comes to considering my next computer, I’m not looking at what Microsoft is doing, and I’ve never been particularly interested in Apple. Instead, I am keeping an eye on phones with great interest as they expand into being even more powerful, adaptable, and capable personal computers.