Five years ago, I made the big switch from Windows to Mac, and I absolutely loved the experience! Everything felt smooth, sleek, and well-integrated—like stepping into a perfectly curated tech bubble. But, if there’s one thing about me, it’s my constant urge to try something new. And for a while, I’d been toying with the idea of giving Linux a shot.

Then one day, I finally took the plunge—ordered a laptop, installed Ubuntu, and here I am. 😄

First Impressions: Not Quite Love at First Sight ✋💻

Things weren’t perfect out of the box. Unlike MacOS, Linux doesn’t just roll out the red carpet for you. I had to tweak… a lot. Adjust configurations, install drivers, customize shortcuts—you name it. It felt messy at first, but then it hit me…

That’s the beauty of Linux.
Every single thing is customizable. You’re in complete control. It forces you to get your hands dirty and make the system yours. In fact, the process of tweaking, configuring, and breaking things (then fixing them again) made me feel like a better developer. And once everything started coming together, it was so worth it. The end result was not just a functional system—it was a system that felt like home.

Escaping the Apple Ecosystem 🕊️🍎

Another big reason for my switch was the growing pressure to be locked into the Apple ecosystem. The more I used my Mac, the more I felt I was being nudged towards buying an iPhone, AirPods, and who knows what else.

I didn’t want that. I wanted freedom—freedom to choose my hardware, my apps, and my workflow. So, when I switched to Linux, I felt like a free bird. 🐦

Now I could buy any laptop that suited my needs and just install Linux on top of it. And that’s exactly what I did. I picked up an HP Aero 13 with an AMD processor, and I’ve been pretty happy with it so far! 🖤

The Power of Ubuntu 💪

Choosing Ubuntu was almost a no-brainer for me. I’d played around with it in the past and was familiar with the basics. But this time, it wasn’t just a fun experiment—I made it my daily driver.

I even switched to Neovim as my IDE (bye, VSCode!), paired with Alacritty—a blazing-fast terminal emulator that looks gorgeous on Linux.
My setup became beautifully minimal: open terminal, open browser—done. I barely even need a file explorer anymore!

Personalizing EVERYTHING 🔧🎨

This is where the magic happened. The thing about Linux is that nothing feels truly yours until you build it yourself.

I customized everything.

Default screencapture wasn’t good enough? I built my own with custom shortcuts.
Default terminal? Nope—switched to Alacritty.
50+ other tweaks to make my workflow seamless and tailored.

Now, every time I open my laptop, I feel connected to it in a way I never did with MacOS. Every pixel, every shortcut, every tool is handpicked by me. It’s not just a laptop—it’s my creation. ❤️

Not Everything is Perfect… and That’s Okay 😊

Let’s be honest—Linux isn’t flawless.

Battery life? Mac wins.
Screen resolution? Mac again.
But… does it matter? For me, it really doesn’t.

I’ve got a great monitor, a productivity mouse, and a mechanical keyboard. My laptop stays docked most of the time anyway. And when it’s not, it’s just good enough. Sometimes, that’s all you need.

My Next Move: Goodbye iPhone, Hello Android 📱

Now that I’ve tasted freedom, there’s no going back. My next step?
Ditching my iPhone for Android.

Why? For the same reason I switched to Linux—it might not be perfect, but it’ll be mine. I’ll have the freedom to customize, automate, and tinker to my heart’s content. That’s where the fun begins! 🎉

Building My Own Notes App 📒✨

One thing I loved about Mac was the Apple Notes app. So naturally, when I switched to Linux, I built my own!

Using Markdown files and GitDoc in VSCode, I created a custom Notes setup with automatic syncing to a private GitHub repo. Every time I save a note, it commits automatically with AI-generated commit messages. Pretty cool, right? 😎

Final Thoughts: Give Linux a Try 🚀🐧

If you’re a developer, you owe it to yourself to try Linux at least once.

And if you’re still on Windows, I strongly recommend switching to either MacOS or Linux. Windows isn’t really built for developers. Trust me—I’ve used it for years in school, at work, and throughout my childhood. Mac and Linux offer a far superior developer experience.

Linux isn’t perfect. But it gives you something much better—the freedom to make it yours. So, give it a shot! You might just fall in love with it like I did.

That’s my journey from MacOS to Linux. I’ll keep sharing my experiences as I continue this adventure. Stay tuned!

🚀 My Journey from MacOS to Linux: Freedom, Tweaks, and the Joy of Making It Mine 🐧

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