Memes

Hostile UX design. The "yes, make this change I don't want" is often highlighted in a brightly colored button, meanwhile the "no thanks" is often grey or a simple link looking option, not dissimilar to what you would find for help.

They make it seem like you don't have a choice when you absolutely do.

Having a choice in what software does is actually a big highlight for me with Windows, apart from being aggressively persuasive in getting people to do whatever they want you to do, in the end, you are given a choice.

They're slowly eroding this away though, starting with local accounts, and I'm sure much, much more will follow.

With Linux, the only option you get is to customize your experience. Often defaults are either not apparent or not given, so you kind of stumble around trying to figure out what to do, unless you really know what you want, it can be a terrible experience.

Mac is customizable.... With one big asterisk on that. You basically need to be a very advanced user to really customize anything beyond whatever the mighty blue Apple wants you to be able to do. You're given a short list of "options" and if you want anything beyond whatever is sanctioned by Apple, here's the command prompt, good luck 👍

Windows has been in this middle ground for a very long time. Not as free as Linux, with recommended settings across pretty much every piece of software, and defaults that generally work and provide a good experience in general. They might not be optimal, but they work. You have the option of basically doing whatever the hell you want, within reason, without having to get a PhD in computer science to do it.

With Mac, you either fit into the Apple ecosystem box, or we'll make you fit.

Linux has no box. No walls, no limits, no rules, not even a guideline. Figure it out yourself.

.... At least, that's my take on it. I've used all three to some extent for various purposes. Mac is awesome when doing everyday things, a lot of what you need is abstracted away and "just works" (tm), so thinking is at an all time low. Windows is very meh, it does what you want, but it's like a moody teenager at times. It'll just go to hell and you'll be left to figure out wtf is going to fix it. I use Linux mainly for servers, but the UI/UX for it is essentially the aesthetic of Windows 9x/2000, but after you've taken LSD. When you need to get anything fixed, here's your console, good luck. Don't forget to sudo.