Does the P in PC, still mean personal?

Hello all.

I don't know what to do anymore regarding an operating system. I am someone that would be more than happy running Win 7 Pro. Although I admit I have a virtual machine setup with Win 7 and well, it doesn't look quite as nice as I remember.

For me, there have been PCs, personal computers, and MACs. Now with Windows 11 out there, I only see two of the same, we had oranges and apples, now we have apples and apples.

I grew up with Windows, I understand it, even on the inside. Since a few years ago, I had been using an iMac on OSX for ten years as my personal machine. Work always Windows. The iMac just worked, I cannot remember a single time when it didn't. Until the GPU wore out. I never did manage to understand OSX and its inner workings.

I am now running Windows 10 on the iMac machine, it works fine, it's a 2011 model and to me, its years are not showing in the performance I get from it.

BUT, the personal is being eroded away. Small things like, My Computer is defaulted to This PC. The personal touches are being removed. Unless of course you have a laptop with a battery, "you might want to charge your battery", for example. They like the battery not being theirs.

Windows 11 looks to me to be a carbon copy of OSX, without the system stability. Did we need the Microsoft Store? Or did Apple have one, so we want one to, happen? What is wrong with Control Panel? Or did Apple have settings, and so...? Do we need an online account to use our local machines? Or did Apple do that, so...?

What do I do when Windows 10 stops working? I've used Ubuntu in the past, but that for me is more OSX than Windows. Can I survive the next 40 years of my personal computing on a 2011 iMac running Windows 10? Are there any alternative operating systems more like Windows I am not aware of?

Hoping for some help for someone stuck in their ways.

Cheers

Sean

Thanks @dalchina, yes "stops working" was not the correct term. I suppose Win 11 will be the same as Win 10, Win 10 has with 95 stuff deep down, from what I have seen, icons sets and things. Computing is becoming something you use, something you work on, but something that doesn't feel like it's yours.

I have made the changes I want to Window 10, I have had MS Support connected and argued with them about the OS, they all think it's Win 8. I am getting a bit fed-up of a few weeks work to make the changes I want.

cereberus said:

Without change, we are doomed to obsolesence.

Perhaps, but change needs to offer an improvement. I don't think it does anymore. One thing I noticed is icons are getting larger, the ribbon switch to a tabbed ribbon for that reason. The tools available in software and OS used to all be shown, small, but all shown, not hidden behind each other. Everything for me takes longer, so I switch everything back. I use Classic Office Menu in MS Office, brings back the 2003 menu. I often work with two docs, side by side, the tabbed ribbon changes when I do that and the icons move. 2003 menu is smaller than half the display, I can see every tool for both documents.

I am all for change, but Windows stopped changing for the better in the early 2000s or so. Other than super simple driver updates, what actual benefits have been added? I get what they are doing, making a super simple computer, easy to use, for anyone, so more people buy them.

I think Control Panel is great.

cereberus said:

The world has moved on. Either accept or or not - your choice.

You are correct, that is my reason for this post. I do not accept it, I will not accept it, I have never accepted it. I was attempting to find an alternative route, if there was one. A change, if you will.

Compumind said:

My 103 year old Uncle always said, "Adapt or die." He did just that at 104.

I agree with your uncle's sentiment (in a way), adapt, your OS and software so it works with your workflow, or die. I was hoping to find something that doesn’t require adapting.