CreepingNet's World

WHY I NO LONGER EVANGELIZE/SUPPORT/ENJOY/USE MICROSOFT WINDOWS
Why Should I Torture Myself for Free.....Want me to use Windows, PAY ME to use it then!

It's 2025, and I've been using Linux now for about six years. I have tried Apple, seems better than Windows, but not by much, and I don't like that Google turned an open-source Linux-based OS for phones into a closed-source, closed-architecture nightmare on the same level as Apple's "iPhone". As far as I'm concerned, Microsoft, Google, and Apple can all get f***ed. I'm not using, supporting, or promoting their use, unless there's a paycheck at the other end of that corporate tech bro rainbow.

That's why it's taken me so long to write the "modern" computing section of the site. My O/S usage has been in massive flux since 2019. I decided in 2023 to make a "triple boot iMac" and then try ALL THREE major desktop OSes for myself. And out of the three, Linux Mint won hands down. Here's why.

Windows 10	Mac OS Monterey	Linux Mint
Costs between $47 and $300 for a license and a stupid product key that won't work after I use it 5x because the OS breaks after awhile if you're a heavy "power user" I constantly have to tweak Microsoft Windows to suit my taste because every bloody update sets certain settings back that I have to change back. No Microsoft, I don't want Microsoft Edge! No Microsoft, I do not want to "sync my settings"! No Microsoft, I'm not paying a monthly fee to use Microsoft Office when I can use Libre Office for free! No Microsoft, I do not want the Photos App, IrfanView does the job just fine. Takes about 45 minutes or more to install, especially on any PC over three years old The new version is trying to artificially kill off older hardware in the name of "capitalism", I will buy a new computer when I WANT TO BUY A NEW COMPUTER!! BCD sometimes breaks, and it's a nightmare to get fixed, comparable to a broken GRUB bootloader Microsoft Bitlocker sometimes gets triggered requiring a 48-digit recovery key to get into your computer for something as simple or stupid as replacing a bloody GPU, and in Windows 11, they REQUIRE you to use Bitlocker. I have to constantly disable/remove things I don't want on my computer, see the big about Updates and settings changes Microsoft likes to remove features and packages that I still deem useful that others deem "obsolete". Remember when they removed MS Paint. Apparently I'm not alone in this plight with these people. Similar to above, the constant "dead end" forks off of a particular obsolete service, program, or feature - I'm talking about things like the "new style UI" the "microsoft store" or "Paint 3D", or PowerShell vs CMD for example, breaks things even further, and adds needless complication. Either decide to use powershell or keep with your MS-DOS roots with CMD. Either decide to be a touch-enabled lamestreamer O/S like Android and iOS, or choose to be a DESKTOP O/S like MacOS and Linux. You can't be everything. That's why nobody has a phone that docks in a tablet, laptop, and desktop docking station yet. Everything being so highly reliant on the Cloud causes you to be unable to work. They love talking a blue streak in their ads about productivity (hence I share the same view with Marketing that Bill Hicks did, may he rest in peace), but when push comes to shove, shit breaks, and you have to get it fixed. It'd be less bothersome if this was a "toy" but Microsoft is the most used ecosystem in all of Business all over the world. Yes, gaming is native, but is there really a point to it anymore with things like Proton and Lutrix around anymore? I'm running Drive Beyond Horizons on a computer that's 5+ years old and has a GPU under spec and yet I'm getting a full 60fps most of the time. Yet I see constant whining from Windows users about their crap framerates and crappy experiences with the game on native O/S - why? Maybe it's time we leave this old junk behind. Much like I feel about FreeDOS vs. MS-DOS - why should I use an outdated, gimped "commercial" copy of an O/S stolen from Tim Patterson in 1978 and turned into a gimped version of CP/M. Every piece of software is going to SaaS. Office, Windows itself probably will if it has not already, and all thes other companies are. This is no different than all that pay-wall ridden crap for your cell phone. This is very inconvenient and another roadblock to productivity should I say. Windows doesn't recognize Apple Hardware either, and without a prayer of it happening, which is hilarious because Apple offers Parallels and/or Bootcamp for the purpose of running Windows on their Intel Macs, sometimes THROUGH MacOS. So somehow Windows 10 can't recognize the webcam on my late 2015 iMac 21.5, but it has no problem with a 15 year old Logitech that people on YouTube call a "Potato Cam" - go figure. Windows is kind of the basis of where I found most of my "OpenSource" or "Freeware" or "donationware" software originally. OBS, OpenShot, REAPER, Ardour, SNES9X, FCEUX, and others are all found on Windows originally, except now since loyalties have shifted towards Linux, I'm using their Linux Ports instead. Of course most Windows apps run natively, problem is, older Windows Apps like to act up on newer versions, and sometimes the minimum system requirements are a lie and I could use an older version of Windows for a newer version of software, and so on. It's all engineered to get you to part with more money. I can run most games natively I can run most music device editor software natively Updates are fuggin' irritating! They either are not found on Patch Tuesday, found on Patch Tuesday with a zero day vulnerability, or something that will brick my computer, or they don't appear at all, or they appear, and decide to reboot in the middle of something important, like a document or a music production. And they are so bloody frequent at this point that unlike Linux, it's a wonder I can run my PC at all. Upgrading is a major pain in the ass. First off, Microsoft might offer the new version free, or not. Depends on the computer (did it have a previous license that can be grandfathered?), or do I need to fork over $49-400 for a goddamn new key to use the latest windows. Installing an upgrade feels wonky and totally unstable when doing it over the internet. If it fails, it can "brick" the system, leading you to need to do a full install (and possibly spend MORE money on another key). I like having enterprise and/or pro level features, so it's not cheap for me. I use things like RDP and might even setup a Domain, so why the hell do I want to be stuck with "home" and no File Sharing? Meanwhile, Linux does this out of the box, and so does Apple. Security on Windows is still absolute shit. There's constant securty stack updates. The "new" people blame it on "legacy code" while the "legacy code" people blame it on the new stuff's complexity. I think it's a mix of both. I'm one of the better examples of a Windows "power user" and even I have had some kind of hacking bullshit going on twice in 20 years - that's once per decade. I have been using Macintosh for six years, nary a problem with security, ditto Linux. Security problems are something Windows is known for! That's why your average coporate office needs a pile of security stuf to keep the company safe: a firewall, a DMZ firewall, maybe some kind of asset management, hi-flex and low-flex EPM solutions, randomized passwords, Multi-Factor Authentication, full time encryption on internet sites even for basic shit like reading a website from 1996, protection for the mass stupids out there who think they really are getting a free Playstation 5, see attractive people without clothes, download the latest AAA title for free, or can grow their hair back with a bottle with a syringe! This is why Network Administrators are pissed off all the time. The amount of crap required to keep Windows a safe platform is bloody ridiculous. I've spent less time programming an Atari 2600 game in Batari BASIC.	It's free if you have a Apple computer, including if the old computer is a $12.99 Mac Mini you bought from goodwill. However, without the Apple, you're not running MacOS without a lot of f**ery, or a lot of moolah for one of their computers that costs 2x-10x the cost of a regular PC from Wal-Mart. It takes for blooding EVER to install. MacOS takes 100x the time Microsoft Windows does to install, and 1000x the time Linux takes to do....anything. Tweaking anything in Apple is tricky because of the GUI, even for a seasoned user like me, and even after I've gotten used to it. At least in Windows I can use a powershell command or something else command-line to unlock a task, but Apple is kind of like if Linux Mint all of a sudden decided you NEED to do everything from that goddamn GUI. This is the whole basis of why "nerds" think "Apple Users" are technically challenged, because they think because using the GUI is intuitive and faster for them, it's going to be intuitive and faster for the average Linux or DOS command line junkie like myself - which is simply not true. You're comparing Apples to Oranges (pun not intended), are you clearning your DNS Resolver Cache or setting up Internet Sharing with a long IP Lease for your old 486 to connect to the internet over WiFi? No, most likely you're paying bills and looking at Lolcats on Facebook. So stop telling me "Apple is Better" it's not, it's an Apple, and it does what Apple does well, and doesn't do well. Apple artificially kills off their hardware after 5-10 years depending on how well regarded the hardware is, and if they feel threatened that it's not obsolete enough. They then try to scare you from keeping your Mac and putting Linux on it by claiming that blasted 100 yard long page of tiny leglease nobody reads called an "EULA" means THEY own the $3000 shiny silver object in your house that you've been typing and tapping on for years. HAH! Being a rebel is so much fun! I'll give the Apple fans this, MacOS Doesn't break often, but when it does, sometimes it's a real pain in the rear because whatever sub-version of your O/S might not match the sub-version used in the online tutorial to fix it if you don't have a clue how to fix it yourself. Sort of a Mix of the Microsoft and Linux issues. Apple too is pushing the encryption. Not susrprised. But why do I get the "feels" of Ransomware out of these sorts of things from billion dollar companies? Drivers are a PITA, never had an OS Nag me about lack of support for drivers before Apple. They basically bugged me for years about my Line6 HD500 guitar effects modeler every time I booted up because the "drivers were out of date" and "contact the (most likely doesn't care anyway) OEM for new drivers". Apple seems far less reliant on the cloud than Microsoft is, as my computer continues to work when I stopped using my iCloud account and doesn't nag me about it nearly as often. That's good. Of course, this is about 4-5 OS versions ago that I'm talking about so I have no clue what the current MacOS install does. Apple software is so bloody exclusive. GarageBand only works on Apple, and a lot of the other software costs friggin money, making Apple a more expensive O/S to use than any of the three if you don't want to spend hours diging in the Apple store, or learning nix commands -w hich at that point I might as well start using Linux anyway. Apple can run Windows within a Parallel's or Bootcamp window, and natively, but the problem is, by doing so, you have a whole second operating system with a boatload of updates and internet connectivity needs to deal with...a fuggin' nightmare. Apple can run some Linux software natively, mostly the same stuff that has ports for Windows, but some stuff you need to install a secondary service that allows running it on Apple's on proprietary nix operating system. Gaming on Apple is the most limited of the lot. MOST of my Steam Games don't work on it....so you'll need to stream from a Linux or Windows enabled PC. Irritating if I want to play something like Drive Beyond Horizons or Five nights at Freddy's, and there's no goddamn proton available on it. EA Games have the best compatibility, but guess how I feel about their company, huh? I've had printer support break for me on Apple, so thumbsdown for that one. Printers are cantankerous enough without the software being a PITA too. I can't upgrade my RAM, and I require a pizza-cutter to take the screen off to replace the SSD...the adhesive in the aftermarket is shit...so packing tape it is to hold the screen on! At least it's not very visible. :P Another problem is newer Apples are severly lacking in USB ports...that's why I have a foamed on bar of 7 USB ports with on/off switches on my MAC. Apple Keyboards are expensive to replace, It cost me $300 to get a Logitech MX keyboard and mouse, and after I got those, they still weren't as happy with the Apple's default Bluetooth as they were the dongle they came with. I'm never going to an Apple store....those places are like some kind of EDM aesthetic hell, and there's always 40 people in there waiting to get their iPhone upgraded or fixed :P OpenShot Video Editor is buggy on Apple, Apple Movie Maker is kind of lacking, and I'm not spending $249 for Final Cut Pro! I don't like how the filesystem is sort of this mysterious thing in the background. I know for a fact it's going to be nix derived - ie / is root, /opt is optional stuff, /home is where the user folders are, /etc is where some stuff is, etc.... BUT, Apple tries to make it "user friendly" by hiding it in the background, so you have no foggy frickin' clue where stuff is. Finder is kind of like a Marketing person, friendly to the face, but only to hide the truth behind pretty scenery. C'mon Finder, go listen to Bill hicks...I already know the truth. Most music equipment works great with Apple. Everyone has software for it, Line6, BOSS/Roland, Fender, and little surprise because it IS a "music" platform Music has to be still the best option because I can sit in the garage, plug a guitar into the headphone jack, and then record all my guitar parts to the MAC without any outboard equipment. Basically, I can use my MAC as a Practice Amplifier! GarageBand has some pretty good effects and amps, if a bit feedbacky for my high gain world of high speed, angry rock music, but it works. And the A.i. Drummer is magnifique. If only we had something like this on Linux. We do....except the drums part, which is really the biggest draw of the whole thing. About the closest I've had to having a "real human drummer" without having an actual real human drummer in the room. Apple's security is fairly decent, though most of it I think comes through Apples assumption everyone using it is a fucking moron. Seriously, the amount of hoops required to sideload an application - through the slow-ass GUI - is probably one reason Apple has never gotten hacked. That and the closed architecture. So it's a great platform for Kids, the Elderly, and people who are scared of technology - that's Apple's core audience.....rich boomers and their grandchildren who can't figure out how to change a browser setting, but can somehow build a rube goldberg device in Minecraft or assemble a ultralight Aircraft from the back of a Magazine ad section.	Linux is 100% free for home users in 99.9% of all cases and distributions. I just download an ISO on a working internet connected device, write it to a USB flash drive with Etcher, and I'm done. Linux takes me 45 minutes or less to install, even on a 10 year old PC or iMac. Even with extended drivers, and extra bells and whistles. Linux takes, at most, a minute and a half to boot, and that's LOOOONG to all the nerds with a silver spoon who have some Ryzen Threadripper device with 2 NVIDIA Cards in it with Windows 11, but to me, it's ripping fast. For once, my FreeDOS 486 with a 128GB SSD in PIO Mode 4 on a VLB controller has some competition from a modern computer. That PC takes 10-15 seconds to boot on it's worst day, and it's a 30 year old Pre-Pentium 32-bit, single core, single thread, in-order execution PC with a (mostly) Write Through 8K L2 Cache at 100MHz. Once setup, I don't need to login to some stupid cloud account to have an account on the PC. So all my data is mine, all mine, and therefore, I don't run amok the "bait-n-switch" scheme of a data cloud provider like Microsoft OneDrive or Apple iCloud. I also don't have some company constantly monitoring my PC. They do that at work, that's understandable, but in my own fucking house, only I am the one who should be allowed to monitor the PCs....not some corporate Zeitgeist. It's my damn computer, get the fuck off. The hardware is not artificially killed off...strangely I have a 11 year old Dell that still runs Mint like a new PC. My server is the same age, with the exception of Centos because they decided a 4th gen XEON or whatever was out of date, the server really doesn't seem to care running Ubuntu. By the time the hardware is truly obsolete and useless...it's old enough to be considered "vintage". Removing extra crap I don't need is easy using software manager or just sudo apt remove/purge commands in terminal REALLY remaving extra crap, usually from the background is also easy via Sudo Apt Autoremove when my PC breaks I don't need to deal with a Bitlocker Key every time I swap hardware, and Apple's don't whine either because Linux doesn't give a crap how original your PC is or if you've being doing things to "their" device Linux just asks about encryption during install time, then leaves you alone about it the rest of the time My updates come to a little shield in the lower right corner of the screen and install when I WANT THEM TO Updates actually work, and I don't need to click "refresh" 300x to get the needed update to be found somewhere in the "ring" of updates like Microsoft's crap does Also, Updates don't require me to wait 4 1/2 hours like Apple does Drivers are mostly great for the most part, actually, ,most PC's run just fine on whatever is default. However, some things, like this Dell Latitude 7285 2-in-1 I'm typing this on, or my iMac 21.5, are a real PITA because the developers were designing a "consumer" device....so kind of afringe benefit to find some ex-enterprise hardware for the job. You're not reliant on the cloud at all....all my shit is my shit, on my PC, or home server (that also runs Linux) if I like. Nobody's telling me where to store my crap because of a crash. Printing can be a pain in the ass, though it seems more recently they have started supporting HP over WiFi automatically, and my CAnnon isn't a pain to install either since it's just a ShellScript ie sudo ./installdrivers.sh and then be done with it. On my big-ass Linux setup on my ThinkCentre, I can actually run Microsoft Office in a 4GB Windows 7 machine if I'm really in need of a on-hardware Office for "professional" purposes. I'm sure they really don't care that I use an ancient copy of Office that's not SaaS (I hate SaaS). Otherwise, I just use the cloud in the browser, and Libre-Office for everything else that doesn't require some guy in a suit whose only ever used Windows his whole life to read it (or their Microsoft CoPilot AI resume reader program). Running Apple Software is a pain but I don't really run any Apple Specific software except GarageBand, so I replaced it with Ardour, and Drum Gizmo. Sure, the "AI" drummer in GarageBand is awesome, but I have more control and more uniqueness doing MIDI notes in DrumGizmo. Gaming is surprisingly better than Windows IMHO. I can run Linux native, Windows over Proton, and even EA works through things like Lutris. Heck, I can run DOSBOX for DOS, VMs for any version of Windows I want, Wine works great for simple stuff. The drawback is the amount of tweaking some things require compared to others. You can spend HOURS tuning and tweaking Linux to run things, and this isn't just limited to games. But at least you have that option. Mac doesn't, and windows doesn't need to. Music Production can be a bit of a pain with a huge learning curve. You have only two major DAW options, REAPER, and Ardour. REAPER is easier to use, but Ardour is more versitile once you get past it's high learning curve. There's tons of open-source plugins, such as Surge XT (which also works as a standalone Linux App to make presets for it), Guitarix for a guitar modeler, and Drum Gizmo which is pretty good but I need to get better at setting EQ's and using VSTS and other stuff with it. Still a lot of paid stuff. You have to PRAY that your musical doodads all have Linux ports, or some musician in Linux decided to WRITE a piece of software to act as a patch librarian/editor for your device. Otherwise, you're going to be using USB Support in VirtualBox on a Win7 client like I do for most of my equipment outside Apple/Windows. Security with Linux has been a no-brainer so far, because as touted, it's built into the O/S in the way it works. I haven't been hacked, had spyware, or malware, in Linux. I also have not had any problems with linux related to security, except certain Corporations refusing to let me login to web portals to pay my bills because it's not a "mainstream O/S" or they deem "Firefox isn't safe because it's not a Chromium based browser" hoopolah. I have been elaring how to create my own private keys and other things to lock down the O/S even further in ways I wouldn't dream of even googling for Windows (because it'd probably somehow end up there).