Switcher 2026: Some Thoughts on the Alternatives ⭐️

We live in trying times, obviously, but we also live in a time of wonder when it comes to personal technology and the choices we have. My April focus month on potentially switching platforms from Windows has been an eye-opening experience, not because I'm unfamiliar with the alternatives, but because they keep getting so much better.

But it's May now, and this is a busy month between us returning to Pennsylvania and some other travel and events, and I've decided to extend the switcher focus into this month. That isn't entirely unexpected given the volume of choice out there, but I'm also going to expand beyond OS platforms to including crucial software and services. So there will be a web browser article soon to kick off that little side quest.

Before that, however, I'd like to provide a mid-focus check-in and see where things are at. This is some commentary and then a series of checklists with notes about the work I've done over the past few months examining alternatives. And maybe it will help me–and you–level set on how these choices all compare at a high-ish level.
What's the intent?
Switching platforms is a bit like decluttering your home. It may feel daunting if you start thinking about how much there is to do if this is the route you choose. But if you take it a day at a time and tackle small projects first, you can see what works and what doesn't to some degree. First up, of course, you have to ask yourself an important question: What is it that you're trying to accomplish here?

If the goal is to just remove Windows from your life, I guess I get that, but—spoiler alert–I also still personally prefer Windows 11 to the alternatives. And I know, because I wrote a book and an article series about it, that it's possible to de-enshittify Windows 11 such that all the offensive behaviors are removed or, in a few edge cases, at least minimized.

If your goal is broader than that, to lessen the impact of Big Tech, then I get that, too. Here, I've started writing extensively about what I call Little Tech and, to a lesser degree, something I call Little AI as well. And I don't just get it, I'm onboard: This is an ongoing concern for me as well and something I'm working on myself.

There is just one problem. Ridding ourselves of Big Tech is literally impossible unless you see a Unabomber-like future for yourself--minus the terrorism, hopefully--in which you live the life of an ascetic in a cabin in the woods. Minimizing one's exposure to Big Tech, however, is both desirable and healthy, and that, to me, is the real goal here.

And on that note, one might argue that trading Windows 11 for the Mac, or trading Microsoft for Apple, is like being cured of one kind of cancer only to succumb to another. You can't escape Big Tech truly unless you switch to Linux and that's just not for everyone.
Overcoming your aversion to change
One of the theories I've seen suggests that we should simply not expect anything to work the same on...