After more or less using Windows exclusively for nearly two decades, I switched to macOS. My current work-from-home machine is a tiny M4 Mac Mini, and I love it. Here’s why I’ll never work on Windows again.

I Got Fed Up With Windows Bugs and Glitches

As a long-time Windows user, I got used to bugs, glitches, and constant Windows shenanigans. To be honest, they didn’t bother me that much back when I used my PC mostly for gaming. But ever since I started using it for work, I’ve gradually grown tired of the random crashes, new bugs that appear in every other update, updates failing, and apps that worked great for years suddenly becoming unusable.

The two incidents that broke the camel’s back happened this year and made me finally decide enough is enough; it’s time for a change. The first one happened when I tried to install Adobe Creative Cloud, which triggered the infamous Error 206.

I had tried everything to install the app. Cleaned my registry and the whole PC of every trace of Adobe, changed router settings, deleted apps I suspected might trigger the error, but no dice.

In the end, I had to create a new local account on my PC, on which I managed to install Adobe Creative Cloud, Photoshop, and Lightroom Classic without any issues. A frustrating predicament that ended as a slight nuisance since switching to another Windows account and back only takes a couple of seconds.

But the second incident was far more severe and remains one of the weirdest issues I’ve ever had with Windows. After turning on my PC in the morning, I opened Firefox and played a YouTube video, only to see that none of my sound outputs worked. The problem was that, somehow, Windows Audio Service had stopped working. Simply re-enabling it didn’t work. Go figure.

Okay, not a big deal, I’ll find a solution, right? After a quick search, I had managed to launch the service in a roundabout way, and I thought that was it. But it was far from over. Even though Windows Audio Service was now working, my audio output devices were still silent. Then, I noticed that AIMP refused to play MP3 files. Even Spotify refused to play music, which was super weird. And VLC simply crashed upon launch.

After about eight hours of troubleshooting, installing and deleting apps, media codecs, and drivers, pulling my hair out, and shouting a worrying amount of obscenities at my monitor, the best I could do was manage to play videos and music via Media Player Classic. But I still didn’t have any sound output.

So, I backed up important files and reinstalled Windows. And surprise, surprise, everything returned to normal, except I just wasted two workdays doing practically nothing. Thanks, Microsoft.

That did it; it was time to switch to another OS, at least for work purposes. For better or worse, Windows is still the best platform for PC gaming, but I hope Valve and SteamOS will dethrone it sooner or later.

I Wanted to Get a Separate, Work-Only Machine

The second reason for the switch was that I’d been contemplating getting a work-only machine for a long while. Being a chronic procrastinator who’s also a full-time freelancer isn’t the most productive combination.

I often get distracted watching YouTube, playing just one round of Balatro before work, or watching one episode of It’s Always Sunny during lunch break, only to end up binging an entire season for the 29th time.

When your only PC is used both for work and fun, there will be issues. For sure, I can stay focused and in the work element for weeks at a time, but sooner or later, I’ll break, and start falling behind with my assignments yet again.

So, I thought, why not get a second computer and use it just for work? Let’s see if having a machine I use only during work hours would improve my habits. If I consider it a business-only, zero-fun-allowed computer, would that make me more productive?

And what do you know, the M4 Mac Mini was released just a few days after the great Windows reinstalling incident, and I knew I had to get one and commence this experiment.

I Wanted to Try Out macOS

The third reason is far more simple: I wanted to fully road-test macOS. I’ve used Windows for decades and now I’m also a long-term Linux user. I own a Steam Deck and spend much more time in Desktop mode with a keyboard and a mouse attached than in Game mode.

Apple’s poor gaming reputation is a bonus—it’s getting better, but still. The cherry on the cake was the release of the M4 Mac Mini, which coincided with Apple finally deciding to put 16GB of RAM into the base model. I had wanted to get a Mac for years but didn’t want to spend a fortune on a beefed-up Mac Mini or a MacBook only to bounce off macOS after a month or two.

The $599 machine was the perfect candidate, so I had to get one.

My Mac Mini has a beefy CPU, but the GPU isn’t great for gaming, which is fine if you ask me. On the other hand, the machine is perfect for my workflow, which includes typing in Google Docs and editing photos in Lightroom (and occasionally Photoshop).

Only 256GB of storage is enough for me since I don’t use many apps and the only local files I keep on my Mac Mini are photos. Besides, if I ever need more storage, external SSDs are more affordable than ever. Last but not least, the Mac Mini’s tiny footprint is perfect since I already have a massive desktop next to my desk.

About a month has passed since I made the switch, and I’m very happy with how it all turned out. I’m more focused now because my brain goes “Okay, time to get productive,” when I see the macOS desktop in the morning instead of “Hey, look at this new game you installed just last night!”

The Mac Mini is a beast of a machine and more than powerful enough for the tasks I put it through. While there are still things I miss from Windows, macOS is a fair replacement. Sure, it’s got quirks of its own, but they are UI and UX-related, not random crashes, bizarre issues, and post-update shenanigans.

The machine is also super stable. I’ve had zero crashes or restarts; I don’t even turn it off; I just switch to my Windows PC once I want to game or mess about. The only Windows app I truly miss, and still use occasionally, is Paint 3D. It’s a perfect tool for lightweight image editing but, sadly, I haven’t found a macOS replacement yet (Preview and Photos are fine, but their image-resizing tools aren’t up to snuff).

Thinking of making the jump from Windows to macOS? It pays to know the differences between Finder and Windows Explorer. You should also check out our round-ups of the best apps to install on a new Mac.