Windows 11 Is Subtly Evil
Poor management can increase software costs more rapidly than any other factor.
In the last month or so, I switched to a new Microsoft Surface 7 laptop running Windows 11 ARM. I was a big Windows guy many years ago and spent most of my time then developing .NET applications for Windows Server. I switched to Mac around 2010, programmed in Python, deployed to Google, and used a MacBook Air for travel and a Mac Mini desktop. One Mac or another has been my daily driver ever since. In November 2020 I bought an 13" MacBook Air M1 (16GB / 1 TB) and a M1 Mac Mini (16Gb / 1 TB) and loved both. Excellent performance including with Autodesk Fusion and JetBrains Rider (even in 2025).
I have to also maintain a Windows 11 laptop at work for various tasks like occasionally programming PLCs. For the last month I have used a Microsoft Surface 7 laptop, experimenting with switching back to Windows full time. This time on a Qualcom Snapdragon Arm processor. I spent a recent weekend on the Surface in PyCharm on a Python Flask app and compared it to my nearly 5 year old Mac experience. I switched back Mac.
Why? The next day my productivity soared.
It turns out Windows 11 is subtly evil. It is a gateway drug to MSN news and even my lock screen right now shows: the current weather, the Daily Wonder, The Lion King quiz and lets me know that It's World Chimpanzee Day.
I really don't care. I'm a professional and I'm here to work. I booted up the Surface just now and found:
And clicked on this solar notification:
10 minutes later I was still clicking on random crap, lost in the insipid shallows of MSN.
This is why I don't have an iPad and have removed social media from my iPhone.
This is the (poor / derided / lacking) Internet advertising model of services baked into my business operating system. No bueno.
Addendum: Windows 11 in Parallels
I just installed Windows 11 Professional in Parallels. I clicked on a link in Parallels to buy a Windows key and am still mired in the worst online customer support experience I've had to date. Suffice to say they charged me but sent the key into a black hole. Here is my current lock screen:
And so - What is the real name of Batman? Take the quiz.