Finally made the switch to Linux

After being a MacOS user, I started using Windows in 2012 (yes, I fell victim to Microsoft’s alluring ads for Windows 8). I actually fell head over heels and went all in with a Windows phone to boot. I loved the Microsoft ecosystem until it started rubbing me the wrong way with, e.g., consumer product extinctions and the practice of shoving OneDrive and CoPilot down my throat. This brings to mind Satya Nadella’s statement from years ago of wanting people “to love using Windows”, which now seems disingenuous. After doing a fair amount of research into Linux and finding that LibreOffice, CherryTree notes, GIMP, and Inkscape are great replacements for Office and Adobe apps, I made the intrepid decision to wipe Windows from my only computer (a 2024 HP Spectre x360 16 inch), which I use for both work and personal stuff. I installed Linux Mint and am having a very pleasant time with it so far. I am really impressed with how mature this OS is, and by how straightforward it has been for me to find and use apps for my work (genetics/genomics)–the same apps I was using in Windows. I was really scared to abandon Windows, but I have definitely hit the ground running with Mint. It helped that I had done my homework, first learning about Linux and different distros and actually using the apps on Windows that I would eventually replace Office, etc. with. I am now feeling relieved. My relationship with Microsoft was for years based on happy mutualism, but they kept pushing themselves into parasitic territory. I am so glad there is a viable alternative, and that it is free and open source makes it all the better.