Buy a New Mac with macOS or an Old Mac with Linux
And Stop Using Microsoft or Any Devices Built for It
There’s a point in every Windows user’s life when we look at our laptop and whisper, “Why are we like this?”
Windows 11 launched that moment into orbit.
The OS feels like it was designed by a committee that never met...
And the hardware built for it, well… was never really good.
So let’s talk about the escape route.
Because there is one. Actually, there are two. And both involve leaving Microsoft behind and never looking back.
Option 1, Buy a new Mac and enjoy macOS
macOS isn’t perfect. Nothing is. It has its issues and bugs. But it is one thing. User-friendly.
It feels like someone actually designed it, intentionally. For users.
It’s smooth, predictable, consistent. You open the lid, it wakes up. You close the lid, it sleeps. It doesn’t pause to update 5 times for 3 hours. While you’re at work. True story…
The experience on a modern Mac is just… cleaner. It always has been, and still is, even though it did add many features that are neither needed nor particularly useful.
On Mac, there’s no reinstall dance every six months to keep it functional. No fans taking off mid-Zoom call. No Start Menu ads. No hiding the ability to set default apps behind sixteen submenus.
Sure, macOS does lack some options. But sometimes, less is truly more.
We get a machine that works with us, not against us. Usually. I haven’t had any Mac break down on me in 15 years. Not even a real issue.
And we get to avoid the parade of preinstalled nonsense manufacturers love to shove onto Windows laptops like they’re being paid per icon. Because they are.
macOS is as close to what “computing should feel like” as we can get.
Option 2, Get an old MacBook and install Linux
My dad has a MacBook Pro from 2012. Runs like a charm. Never broke down. No slowness. Everything works. With ports for everything. The only issue: No software updates anymore for a machine this old.
The solution: Linux.
Older Intel Macs are incredible Linux machines. And Linux in 2025 is a hell of an operating system, nothing like the old days.
Macs were already built like tanks, and Linux make an old MacBook feel brand-new.
An eight 13-year-old MacBook running Linux is smoother than a brand-new Windows laptop running Windows 11… and I wish this was a joke.
Part of it is Mac hardware being solid.
The trackpads, screens, keyboards are still better than most Windows laptops today. And Linux on it is… nice. Predictable. Quiet. Clean.
Depending on the distribution, it feels made for Mac.
The bigger part is that Windows 11 feels heavier than it should. The OS throws telemetry, trackers, extra processes, background tasks, widgets, plus constant IO at the system, so even a new machine gets bogged down.
Install Linux on an old Mac (which is very easy for many distros these days, basically download and go) and the laptop suddenly breathes again.
We get the full performance of the machine without losing software updates.
Even better, Linux doesn’t try to sell anything to us. It doesn’t interrupt us. It doesn’t force us into a Microsoft account. It doesn’t hide basic features behind online logins.
Microsoft’s hardware ecosystem is part of the problem
Most Windows laptops, even today, still ship with 8GB RAM and a spinning fan that sounds like a hair dryer.
Then Windows 11 jumps in and eats half the performance anyway.
Meanwhile, an old MacBook from 2012 handles Linux Ubuntu or Elementary OS like it was made for it. Silent. Smooth. Stable.
Microsoft doesn’t just make a bad OS experience, it creates a bad ecosystem.
Why staying on Windows is becoming harder to justify
I tried to be fair.
We’ve all waited for the updates that “fix everything”. We tried the troubleshooting, the registry hacks, the clean installs, the hidden settings toggles.
At some point it stops being a system we use and becomes one we maintain.
Windows 11 keeps shifting, adding new UI elements, removing old ones, breaking workflows we’ve had for years. The Settings app still fights with Control Panel.
And we’re supposed to deal with that while seeing ads in the start menu. In the start menu. On a laptop and system we paid for. A lot.
Making the jump
The good news, leaving Windows is easier than ever.
A new MacBook Air is reasonable priced and goes a long way for most people.
An old Mac plus Linux gets us the best budget laptop on earth. Most of these old Macs are dirt-cheap or even free sometimes.
And both options give us great systems.
It’s wild, but the cheapest path to a good experience is not a new Windows laptop, it’s a used MacBook from eBay plus an hour installing Linux.
We get a streamlined OS. We get better battery life. We get rid of the chaos. And we suddenly remember that computers can feel fun again when the OS isn’t getting in the way.
Now, sure, not everyone can do everything on macOS or Linux. Gamers. Specialty software. Enterprise stuff. But for much, there are great alternatives. And to most people, it’s irrelevant anyway.
Microsoft could fix this, but it won’t
The direction is clear, more lock in, more online requirements, more changes nobody asked for, more ads, more confusion.
Microsoft wants Windows to be a service for enterprise and B2B and make a boatload of money. They don’t care about private users.
It’s no coincidence that more people are switching to macOS and Linux than ever before. Hell, even Chrome OS.
Not because they’re trendy, but because they’re… somewhat sane.
Which option should we pick
If we have the money, a new Mac is the smoothest experience by far.
If we’re budget conscious, a used Mac with Linux is nearly perfect. Both beat any Windows laptop in reliability, stability, and overall sanity.
Macs, old or new, give us a better foundation.
Linux gives us freedom without chaos.