All things on this earth come to an end at some point.. Microsoft had a long reign in the sun but it sounds like its dominance on the desktop is coming to an end.

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Microsoft for a long time – we have to give them credit.. there has been a lot of great hardworking developers at Microsoft that gave blood and sweat towards making Windows a great product. We wouldn’t have all the advances in computing and a desktop in every home if it wasn’t for the vision of Bill Gates.

But Microsoft has made some very poor decisions – I think it started when they stopped listening to IT professionals and end user input. Back in the day they used to have Tech Days in Winnipeg that IT Pros could go and see keynote speakers and listen to the latest offerings from Microsoft.

Microsoft starting making decisions such as trying to force Internet Explorer down people’s throats, later on they started to try and set the default browser in Outlook client to Edge instead of the Default System Browser as per group policy. So they override group policy and say its an end user decision – that’s a load of hot bullshit right there… it’s stupid stuff like that, is what makes people say “screw you” to MS.

I’ve thought for years that Linux was a bit thick in the head for not improving the desktop experience, I’m not that kind of developer but we needed massive improvement in the performance at that time in the desktop experience in Linux. But over the years, the installations are easier, everything is more bullet proof. The GUI and application installers, everything is much more mature than it was back in the day.. I remember a time when your average Joe would have lost their mind trying to install Linux and configure it afterwards.

But pushing Windows 11 at the exclusion of Windows 10 is what is going to be Microsoft’s undoing in the desktop space in 2026 and beyond. Windows recall (saves desktop screenshots in a SQLite database for later perusal and as an input to Copilot for queries) is a massive security risk and a big joke, Copilot is next to useless – who needs their AI to tell them how to do something (like reformat my documents a specific way) – the AI has access to the documents – it should be taking the initiative and create a sample of the change and ask if you want it implemented – its of no use to explain to me how to do it, I already know how to do it, I want AI to make some changes on my behalf, not explain something back to me.

Microsoft pushed these advertisements in Windows 11, forced updates, forcing Edge browser, forcing Copilot – not allowing you to remove it… you own your computer, but you have no control on your operating system… if you have a Windows 11 PC – Microsoft owns your ass – believe it. Windows 11 is a data collection platform masquerading as an operating system. There is no privacy, there is no respect for your personal data decisions or what application(s) you want or don’t want on your PC. The OS might seem like its free but in reality – you are in a gilded cage, make no mistake.

But good things are happening, there is a mass exodus of desktop users moving to Zorin OS, and Lenovo, (the world’s largest PC vendor) have certified Ubuntu powered workstations, laptops, etc… this is a huge deal as Lenovo upstreams drivers directly into the Linux kernel. These vendors will realize a huge savings in shipping an OS that is open source instead of paying Microsoft $40 – $60 dollars for shipping PCs requiring a Windows 11 license.

What can you do to take back your computer and run it your way? Linux is a wonderful and powerful alternative… I’m using Kubuntu 25.10 which features the KDE Plasma 6.4 desktop and the Linux 6.17 kernel.

I encrypted the hard drive during the installation, installed Steam (for gaming), and I’ve been loving it. Linux is faster, easier on the CPU, and is a real breath of fresh air. Now with Linux – you get control of your desktop back, your privacy back, and you control what apps are installed on your system and you choose when you want to update your OS and restart your system.

There are a multitude of options for Linux – Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Linux Mint, Zorin OS and more. Many of these OS’s let you burn an ISO image to a USB drive and try the Linux OS before you commit to it.

Jason