I and my family have been using Linux exclusively for the past six years. Aside from coding, I'm an author, editor, typesetter, and graphics designer. I enjoy making videos and music. I've used many DEs, usually on Ubuntu-based systems, and I've watched the UX improve exponentially on Linux in recent years. I haven't missed Windows yet.
I do keep a Mac around for running a synthesizer that doesn't work on Linux—something I blame the vendor for, especially as they're using vst format in a non-standard way. I have VMs of Windows 98, XP, and 7, but the former two are for running old games (I still love 98), and the latter is for testing for Windows deployments. I intend to pick up a budget Windows 10 laptop to make it easier to test and deploy software for that platform, but I'm not eager to make regular use of Windows 10.
Ethics
From an ethical standpoint, I no longer consider Microsoft an active threat. I don't know what the future holds, but I know they've invested a lot of time, money, and intellectual property in Linux and the open source world, and if they were to go rogue again, they'd be unable to recoup the losses from the immediate and cataclysmic fallout. I've also read through their Terms of Service several times: I remember the legal "spyware" loophole in Windows 10's original ToS, and I remember when it was rephrased to eliminate the problematic language.
I'm impressed that Microsoft has been using its lobbyists to push for stricter privacy regulation at a Federal level, including GDPR-level privacy law, net neutrality, and a sweeping ban on facial recognition. Those are not the actions of a Ballmer-minded Microsoft.
Technical
A little relevant background on me, here: I've been fixing WIndows (and Linux) machines for almost two decades: I've replaced nearly every part in a standard computer, removed malware (manually as well as with tools), removed cruft, fixed the registry, diagnosed and installed drivers, repaired the bootloader, reinstalled the operating system, and just about everything in between. I can personally testify to the XP SP3 debacle, the Vista drivers issues, and the Windows 8 backdoor. I've trained users, many of whom were computer illterate, how to use everything from Windows XP to Windows 10 to Ubuntu to Linux Mint to macOS.
From a technical standpoint, I still consider Windows to be inferior to Linux. Its only real user advantage is the vendor support Gates and Ballmer manipulated into existence.
However, I believe their technical inferiority too is something they're trying to correct, as evidenced by the fact that their built-in antivirus is now on par with Kaspersky (the industry leader) according to all independent lab tests.
I think Microsoft's adoption of Clang, increasing support of Linux for their tools, and their WSL, are all moves in the right direction. I used to believe their motives were "Embrace, Extend, Extinguish", but I no longer believe that to be plausible: not only is "Extinguish" inherently impossible in open source, but Microsoft would wind up losing their hard-won trust, with nothing to recoup the loss.
I won't comment on Windows's interface, as UI is always a subjective topic: I don't like it personally, but neither do I like GNOME 3. (I'm a MATE guy.)
Why the Change?
It helps to know the reason Microsoft has done all this: Microsoft wants to compete with Amazon AWS. Personally, I'm glad they do! Amazon is, in my mind, the single most corrupt and malicious corporation in the history of the world, combining the utter lack of ethics inherent to the railroad industry of yesteryear with the technological agenda of a maniacal supervillain in a dystopian nightmare. Amazon opposes privacy, workers rights, marketplace ethics, and human rights on every possible front, whereas Microsoft has shown an interest in supporting all of the above. Someone needs to dethrone Bezos, and it will take a behemoth to do it.
Can a corporation change? Absolutely! Corporations are not "things" in and of themselves, but are the product of their people. Systemic changes come from bringing in people with a different mindset, and giving them the authority to steer the company. Companies, like countries, and like open source projects, can change for the better or the worse by their people alone. The entirety of human history proves that without a doubt.
To that aim, I think it's important we keep a realistic view. I think there are many in the Linux world who are, understandably, bitter against Microsoft. It's reasonable to move slowly and require them to earn our trust, to prove their change...but I believe we have an ethical obligation to let their actions speak for themselves. We need to be as forgiving as we expect others to be of us. Forgiveness does not mean we forget, nor that we blindly trust, but rather that we give them a chance to prove themselves. We can be cautious and protect ourselves, but to assume that they're still and foreer Ballmer's Microsoft is, at best, utterly unfair.
My Conclusion
I still consider Linux to be superior in most regards to Windows. I'm a Linux-only user, and I advocate strongly for that operating system. I've introduced many average computer users to Ubuntu, and most of them are happily using it years later!
But does Windows have a place in the tech world? I believe so.
I welcome a world where Windows and Linux start competing direct with one another on a level playing field, and it looks like Microsoft is actually interested in that now. Ubuntu is gaining measurable market share over Windows, and yet Microsoft continues to add cross-compatibility tools so that software can be built for both operating systems. They're even adding Linux support for their rebuilt Edge browser.
So, come on Microsoft: earn your place! Keep making Windows worth looking at, not because "my software needs Windows", but because it actually has advantages over Linux. From the comments section here, it looks like you're actually doing that for the first time in your history, so keep at it.
As for me, I'll stick with my Linux.
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Here's my own two cents:
My System
I and my family have been using Linux exclusively for the past six years. Aside from coding, I'm an author, editor, typesetter, and graphics designer. I enjoy making videos and music. I've used many DEs, usually on Ubuntu-based systems, and I've watched the UX improve exponentially on Linux in recent years. I haven't missed Windows yet.
I do keep a Mac around for running a synthesizer that doesn't work on Linux—something I blame the vendor for, especially as they're using
vstformat in a non-standard way. I have VMs of Windows 98, XP, and 7, but the former two are for running old games (I still love 98), and the latter is for testing for Windows deployments. I intend to pick up a budget Windows 10 laptop to make it easier to test and deploy software for that platform, but I'm not eager to make regular use of Windows 10.Ethics
From an ethical standpoint, I no longer consider Microsoft an active threat. I don't know what the future holds, but I know they've invested a lot of time, money, and intellectual property in Linux and the open source world, and if they were to go rogue again, they'd be unable to recoup the losses from the immediate and cataclysmic fallout. I've also read through their Terms of Service several times: I remember the legal "spyware" loophole in Windows 10's original ToS, and I remember when it was rephrased to eliminate the problematic language.
I'm impressed that Microsoft has been using its lobbyists to push for stricter privacy regulation at a Federal level, including GDPR-level privacy law, net neutrality, and a sweeping ban on facial recognition. Those are not the actions of a Ballmer-minded Microsoft.
Technical
A little relevant background on me, here: I've been fixing WIndows (and Linux) machines for almost two decades: I've replaced nearly every part in a standard computer, removed malware (manually as well as with tools), removed cruft, fixed the registry, diagnosed and installed drivers, repaired the bootloader, reinstalled the operating system, and just about everything in between. I can personally testify to the XP SP3 debacle, the Vista drivers issues, and the Windows 8 backdoor. I've trained users, many of whom were computer illterate, how to use everything from Windows XP to Windows 10 to Ubuntu to Linux Mint to macOS.
From a technical standpoint, I still consider Windows to be inferior to Linux. Its only real user advantage is the vendor support Gates and Ballmer manipulated into existence.
However, I believe their technical inferiority too is something they're trying to correct, as evidenced by the fact that their built-in antivirus is now on par with Kaspersky (the industry leader) according to all independent lab tests.
I think Microsoft's adoption of Clang, increasing support of Linux for their tools, and their WSL, are all moves in the right direction. I used to believe their motives were "Embrace, Extend, Extinguish", but I no longer believe that to be plausible: not only is "Extinguish" inherently impossible in open source, but Microsoft would wind up losing their hard-won trust, with nothing to recoup the loss.
I won't comment on Windows's interface, as UI is always a subjective topic: I don't like it personally, but neither do I like GNOME 3. (I'm a MATE guy.)
Why the Change?
It helps to know the reason Microsoft has done all this: Microsoft wants to compete with Amazon AWS. Personally, I'm glad they do! Amazon is, in my mind, the single most corrupt and malicious corporation in the history of the world, combining the utter lack of ethics inherent to the railroad industry of yesteryear with the technological agenda of a maniacal supervillain in a dystopian nightmare. Amazon opposes privacy, workers rights, marketplace ethics, and human rights on every possible front, whereas Microsoft has shown an interest in supporting all of the above. Someone needs to dethrone Bezos, and it will take a behemoth to do it.
Can a corporation change? Absolutely! Corporations are not "things" in and of themselves, but are the product of their people. Systemic changes come from bringing in people with a different mindset, and giving them the authority to steer the company. Companies, like countries, and like open source projects, can change for the better or the worse by their people alone. The entirety of human history proves that without a doubt.
To that aim, I think it's important we keep a realistic view. I think there are many in the Linux world who are, understandably, bitter against Microsoft. It's reasonable to move slowly and require them to earn our trust, to prove their change...but I believe we have an ethical obligation to let their actions speak for themselves. We need to be as forgiving as we expect others to be of us. Forgiveness does not mean we forget, nor that we blindly trust, but rather that we give them a chance to prove themselves. We can be cautious and protect ourselves, but to assume that they're still and foreer Ballmer's Microsoft is, at best, utterly unfair.
My Conclusion
I still consider Linux to be superior in most regards to Windows. I'm a Linux-only user, and I advocate strongly for that operating system. I've introduced many average computer users to Ubuntu, and most of them are happily using it years later!
But does Windows have a place in the tech world? I believe so.
I welcome a world where Windows and Linux start competing direct with one another on a level playing field, and it looks like Microsoft is actually interested in that now. Ubuntu is gaining measurable market share over Windows, and yet Microsoft continues to add cross-compatibility tools so that software can be built for both operating systems. They're even adding Linux support for their rebuilt Edge browser.
So, come on Microsoft: earn your place! Keep making Windows worth looking at, not because "my software needs Windows", but because it actually has advantages over Linux. From the comments section here, it looks like you're actually doing that for the first time in your history, so keep at it.
As for me, I'll stick with my Linux.