Ever since Apple silicon (Apple’s new,self made computer processors) and the Steam Deck (Valve’s Linux based gaming handheld) came out, recent times have been rough for Windows. The Steam Deck paved the way for gamers to move to Linux, and Apple silicon (and the Macbook Neo) made Windows laptops the inferior choice due to Apple’s new stronger processors. Windows itself has continued to get worse and worse to use as well. In general, Microsoft is losing to its competitors in the operating system market due to its many glaring issues.

One of the worst things about Windows is the screens that appear when users first turn on the computer. At random intervals, Microsoft prompts you to go and opt into Onedrive (Microsoft’s cloud backup) and its many other applications, with the only options for dismissing the prompt being remind later and to accept. Not only is this pop up system annoying, it never stops asking no matter how many times the user says no. No other operating system has constant popups asking users to join a service.

Another awful thing about Windows is its search function. When people are searching for a video game or application, nobody wants one of the files within the game or application, a Microsoft Edge search for it either. Even worse, the search function also has ads built into it. Imagine if every time someone opened iMessage, it had random ads. This is unacceptable for a function as essential to an OS as the search function. Microsoft turned an essential function of an operating system into a hassle.

Another extremely annoying thing about Windows is the forced updates. Anyone who uses Windows knows that Windows randomly decides to update at random times. If you are watching a video, playing a video game, or working, Windows can still randomly decide to update. Even worse, these updates are impossible to stop, and users lose progress in whatever they are doing.

There are many common arguments as to why people must stay with Windows. One alternative to Windows is Linux, an alternate family of operating systems. Modern day Linux distributions make it just as easy as Windows to install apps and even play video games, if not even easier since many come with their own app stores which work better than the built in Windows store. While Linux has many distributions, none of the problems mentioned above apply to any major Linux distribution.

For users frustrated with Windows, the choice is clear: switch your current PC to Linux, or make your next computer a Mac. Both options have their own upsides and downsides, but they are also both significantly better than Windows is. Linux is very easy to switch to, and MacOS offers a clean operating system that is easy to use as well.