Why I moved away from Windows 15 years ago?

Since I can remember, I have always used Windows and never had a reason to switch away. Honestly, I didn't even think that there may be viable alternatives. However, in 2010, I bought my very first Mac and that started an epic decade long journey where Apple became my favourite tech company.

We tell ourselves stories. It is funny, actually. I always thought, I bought my Mac because I got an iPhone and fell into the hype that MacBooks work better with iPhone compared to Windows. This narrative is often referred to within the Apple centric media and I suppose, unintentionally, that became my narrative as well.

However, I recently found my first iPhone, and it was an iPhone 5 which I got as a wedding gift in 2013. Therefore, I couldn't possibly be motivated by the iPhone to get a Mac in 2010.

This begs the question, why did I get a Mac in the first place?

This has been on my mind especially since I started my "without Apple" experiment.

Within a couple of days, the answer was apparent. In 2010, I started working full time and was in front of a Windows PC all day. After spending the whole day working on Windows, I didn't want to use my personal Toshiba Windows laptop. This is precisely what happened when I started using my Surface Pro for work all day.

I didn't switch to Mac because it was superior, but because it offered a distinct experience. It created a separation between my personal and work computing. Using a Mac was a refreshing change, breaking the monotony of using Windows for eight hours a day, five days a week.

Many individuals use Windows for both their professional and personal tasks. Similarly, some people use Macs throughout the workday and then continue using them for personal computing at home. In 2010, I preferred not to, and that's why I bought my first Mac. I probably bought it using funds from my first full-time job.

So, now, I have documented Why I moved away from Windows, 15 years ago. My future self may forget and this blog post will be a useful reminder.