Unfortunately I was born at the time when nobody used Commodore 64 anymore. I did not have a chance to write a Temple OS from scratch. So, I had to stick with the traditional operating systems. I had access to the first Personal Computer when I was 6. It wasn't my PC, I had 2 other sisters at the time. So it was more like Common Computer (CC).

Obviously, our CC ran Windows. Windows 95 as well as I can remember. As ugly as the Operating System was, there was one great think about our CC. It did not have an internet connection. It is hard to imagine that in 2024, but that left me with quite limited options of what to do with that monstrosity.

There were games, but also somehow there was the Californication music video by Red Hot Chili Peppers. So, at least it introduced me to a good music. Still majority of the time, I was playing video games on it with my friends. Maybe I would be a champion in CS by now if it wasn't for my parents limiting my computer interaction to 30 minutes per day. And it was for better, 30 minutes was barely enough to start getting a flow in a game. So, I enjoyed playing with LEGO more.

Time passed and I never really was interested in computers until my late teens. My ugly cheap Lenovo laptop did not help with that much. I just had that axiom in my had that all computers are ugly. Until I got my 2015 MacBook Pro. It was so nice compared to everything else I have seen before. I really wanted to spend more time with computers now. But what to do with them if there are no games on Mac.

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but there was a potential. Sometimes there were problems with hardware, but Apple repaired everything for free. There were few programs missing, but I did not really need them most of the time. Or I convinced myself that I did not need them. At least I did not see too many downsides.

Right at that time I had a friend that showed me a bit of programming and he actually helped me to install some cool software on Mac. He motivated me to learn a bit of Python. And that is how my programming journey started. It was purely a coincidence and the newfound love for a great piece of hardware. If it wasn't for that I would still be ignorant when it comes to programming. That opened a lot of doors for me later. So, at least for that I am grateful to Mac.

At that time I also stopped practicing crazy amount of hours on guitar. So, it was my new hobby: programming. Also, I liked to improve my productivity. Jumping quickly between programs, writing scripts. Few years later I started using vim. So, probably you see where I am heading. It was inevitable that earlier or later I will start hitting the wall. And switch to Linux or as some call it, GNU/Linux. Now that Richard Stallman is happy, I will just call it Linux for the rest for the post. I was already an extensive user of command line. But Mac always invites you to do everything more in a graphical way.

When I started my PhD, I decided that now I really want to switch to Linux for good. Not only for the fun reasons, but also for more practical ones. Since, most of the scientific programs are written with Linux as the primary deployment target.

Going from Windows to Mac was an easy win from all sides around. However, going from Mac to Linux had some problems. Most of the non-apple laptops were much worse. It was hard to read something on those computers. I was very much invested in Apple ecosystem and finding even a simple note-taking alternative to Apple Notes was difficult.

I continue jumping back and force between OS's thus creating a little bit of anxiety for myself. Something was clearly better on Linux, something on Mac. So, it was hard to choose a primary machine. Honestly, it is still hard for me. However, it is becoming more and more obvious to me that Linux is the way to go. Especially if I manage to find a good Linux laptop.