Why You Should Stop Using Microsoft Windows



What is Windows?

For the uninformed, Microsoft Windows is an operating system installed on most desktops and laptops. It is the #1 operating system in the world, with a 68.41% market share (as of 15/10/23). It is so popular their logo is printed on almost every modern keyboard and we often use the term "windows key" to refer to it. Almost all hardware works out of the box with Windows like NVIDIA and Razer products. Most software is written for Windows in mind making software real easy to find. That's about where the good things end.

Who is Microsoft?

I am going to assume you know what Microsoft is, but if you dont, Microsoft is a corporation worth billions of dollars founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. They are most known for their operating system, Microsoft Windows. They are also known for their line of gaming consoles, Xbox. Microsoft has made countless projects. They have also killed a lot of projects too.

Why is Microsoft Windows bad?

Price

A Windows 11 licence key can set you back by $130 if you do not upgrade from Windows 10. This is giving money to a business that doesn't respect you. You're giving money to use an operating system that does not respect your privacy.

Freedom

For an operating system you're paying to use, you're not getting much freedom out of it. In order to customize your computer or use basic features you must purchase a key. Windows is highly anti-competitive. When you search "Google Chrome" or "Firefox" on Bing, it will display an advertisment for Microsoft Edge encouraging you to not download said browser. The graphical installer for the operating system contains ads for Microsoft procducts like Microsoft 365 and PC Game Pass. The entire OS is riddled with advertisements for Microsoft products. In order to install Windows 11, you require a Microsoft account and an internet connection. You also need a special TPM module to even use the OS. A TPM module is quite literally physical DRM, or "hardware handcuffs". Windows also installs software when making system updates.

Privacy

M i c r o s o f t h a s a n a s t y h i s t o r y o f t h i s . Every letter including the period in that sentence is a different link. I would have made the sentence longer, but it took a long time to make even a seven word sentence. You can read the summaries of all of these links and more here.
It all boils down to this:
Privacy with Microsoft Windows is horrible. The operating system itself is spyware. No matter what settings you enable or disable, when you are using Windows, your data is being sent to Microsoft.
If you think you have nothing to hide, you are wrong.
Edward Snowden remarked "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say."

Alternatives

You probably know what I'm about to say... GNU/Linux is the best for price, freedom, and privacy. And that's because it's usually true. Most GNU/Linux operating systems are both free of charge and free as in freedom. Free software (software that is free as in freedom, not as in price) is inherently spyware-free because you are able to view the source code and audit it yourself. Once you learn how to read the various programming languages used in the code of these operating systems, you'll probably pick up some of it and be able to write your own software to contribute to the free software community.

Why not MacOS?

  Because MacOS is just as bad if not worse than Microsoft because of their extremely locked down ecosystem and the requirement that you own Apple hardware to use their operating system. Apple hardware is extremely overpriced and you can get a better computer than their most expensive Mac Pro model for thousands cheaper. No, I'm not kidding:

Note: Most people do not need a PC like this.

Overkill PC

Prices are rounded up. The final price does not include the case or any other components. Prices are obtained from Newegg, Amazon and the companies websites

Total Price: $7,730

+ The added bonus of being able to install a GNU/Linux operating system on it.

Most expensive Mac Pro Tower

Prices are obtained from apple.com. This price does not include Pre-Installed software, case modifications, peripherals or tax. This price has not been rounded up.

Base price: $6,999

Total Price: $11,799.00

+ The added bonus of it being hard to install your own operaing system on it
Also, the fact that MacOS is mostly proprietary should be reason enough to not use it.


If you want to buy laptops, Framework Laptops aren't cheap, however you can customize the hardware to your needs.

Which GNU/Linux distribution should I use?

This question is one you should answer.


There are a lot of factors in choosing a distribution. Do you want to spend (an) hour(s) configuring a system for your hardware, or do you want to click "next" a couple of times to get it installed? Do you want a terminal based system or a UI based system? You may not be used to the extreme customizability of any GNU/Linux distribution. If you want to click "Next" a few times and get a system installed, you should look into distributions like Pop!_OS. It is a distribution that works for both people who want to customize their system and people who just want to install Steam, Firefox, Discord from a button. If you want a more in-depth UI installer, you should look at Debian GNU/Linux. (Note: Debian does not make it easy to install proprietary packages like NVIDIA drivers.) I recommend NOT using Ubuntu. Ubuntu is created by a company called Canonical and is a Microsoft partner who are only in it for profit. You also should check this page out as it has some good information. The page will use terms like "Linux", but they are referring to GNU/Linux.

Return to Top