Back in the Reviewsauarus days, I wrote a blog post, which became popular thanks to Digg (anyone remembers it?). The post was about Windows Vs Linux and in it, I had to defend Windows even though it was the most popular desktop OS at the time with more than 98% market share. At the time, you’d find Windows Vs Mac, Windows Vs Linux – phrases like: “Windows su¢ks”, forums will be filled with both the sides trying to one-up each other and proving that their preferred OS is better than the others. Thanks to cross platform software and of course, cloud computing I think this debate is more or less useless. I guess, browser war became big and took over the OS war.
Today, I spent a few hours (Mostly to wait for Mac OS updates) to move from Windows 11 to an old Mac (2019, Intel based one) and it was one of the easiest moves that I had to do. , I didn’t feel any friction in the move! In fact, if you’d watch few videos on Windows Vs Mac – you’ll find people are not comparing the OSes rather they are comparing the laptops that they came with and the experience.
1. Resetting Mac to factory settings
My machine was on Big Sur and needed the update, it was running sluggish. So after making the backups on BackBlaze B2, I decided to reset the Mac. Steps were –
- Shutdown computer
- Boot it again and press Command + R
- Go to Disk Utility
- Erase all the data
- Go back and install Mac again.
2. Update Mac to Version 12 instead of updating to latest version
It may sound odd, and it wasn’t my choice, I was kind of forced. When I tried to update to the latest version (Sonoma 14.5 – at the time of writing this post), it gave me error, so I decided to update it to (Monetery) first and then decided to update it to Sonoma. Overall, this was one of the most time consuming tasks!
3. Install the software that I require
I’ve already listed my preferred software – I’d suggest to refer to those to understand what I used. The only software that I installed that were not listed on the uses page (it’s been updated now) –
- OrbStack -> This is now recommended for DDEV as compared to Colima.
- KeePassXC -> This fork of KeePass seems to have better UI and works the same way.
4. Add open tabs in Microsoft Edge Workspace
Yes, I wanted to specifically talk about this!
I didn’t realize that how useful this feature was until now. As soon as I moved all the open tabs as a workspace in MS edge on my windows machine. It became available on my Mac as well. All the tabs were availabe as if I didn’t even switch the whole OS!
5. Connect Logitech MX Master 3S instead of Apple Mouse
Again, more of a user preference and a strong opinion – however, once you start using MX Master 3S – you’ll never want to look at Apple’s mouse ever again. I’ll post a detailed review later – but for now, take my words and use this mouse asap!
Conculsion
The fact that I could just shutdown and close the lid of my Windows laptop as if nothing has changed was one of the delightful user experience that I’ve felt in a long time. The whole experience made me appreciate the journey that we all have taken and how cloud computing has truly reformed how we use computers is nothing short of magical.