(\_/) ( \( \
( •_•) ( -.-)
/ >🥤 o_(")(")
Home
About
Posts
/now
Contact
Archive
I sold my MacBook, along with all my other Apple stuff, earlier on this year. I needed the money due to changing circumstances and I realised I had about as much fun as I was going to have with it, so I wouldn't miss it if I sold it. Many aspects of the Apple ecosystem were holding me back. Don't get me wrong, everything just worked and it looked pristine while doing it but it was unsustainable for me to remain trapped within that very expensive ecosystem.
The Apple Silicon Macs are very impressive and are all still powerhouses compared to other computers on the market. That said, they are fraught with a litany of their own issues. macOS is not immune from bugs and other imperfections, no matter what the fanboys will try and tell you.
I always liked macOS, not least because of its design language, simplicity and Unix lineage - as well as everything it inherited from that family tree: performance, security, efficiency and class. However, it was time to move on.
I could have bought a Chromebook, sure. They aren't bad at all. They're all very efficient and Google's signed boot system is genuinely a work of art. I got to learn a little bit about it while flashing a UEFI BIOS via a SuzyQ. Though, the online-centric experience of Chromebooks as they come, while not as condemning as it used to be without an Internet connection, still isn't ideal for someone like me. By that I mean someone who appreciates a good, old-fashioned desktop binary. I don't want to resort to the Google Play Store and use buggy Android apps on x86 hardware, and the thought of doing everything in-browser is a kind of newfangled heresy I am just not willing to wrap my head around. I do not want to be forever at the mercy of weak and often very sketchy HTML5 applets.
I am trying to spend less time online, not more!
There’s a kind of serenity in letting the operating system take care of itself. I am inclined to trust the defaults. I'm not interesting enough to be paranoid about privacy, nor think there is some elaborate conspiracy to control what I do on my computer. I'm mindful about privacy, that's only sensible, but I resist the paranoia many 'experts' and enthusiasts like to provoke online. I also enjoy not having to rebuild my workflow every six months because a package changed or a repo vanished. Linux distros, I am looking at you. Calm, stable computing is underrated.
My logic was to buy a middle of the road Windows computer. Despite its disastrous reputation, I actually quite like Windows 11 and I missed it during the time I was using a MacBook.
For all of the criticisms of Windows, you have to appreciate the impressive repertoire of high-quality software it boasts, spanning over the last forty years or so. There are so many free - as in freeware - applications for just about any task you can imagine. I feel as if Mac software is still scant, even today while Apple's market share is still steadily growing. If you want a good app for something, chances are there are only one or two and they will cost you. Otherwise, you can install something like 'homebrew' or 'macports' and build yourself some FOSS software. Only downsides are that it's time consuming, buggy, ugly and you run the risk of being a Linux LARPer. Those of us who buy a Mac, Chromebook or Windows laptop do so exactly because they don't want (or more likely don't know about) the pain of 'daily-driving' a Linux desktop. I'll go more into it another time because I think it warrants its own post.
Windows has accumulated a software culture over forty years. It’s the only platform where you can find a tiny, elegant freeware utility written in 2003 (that still works!!!) sitting comfortably beside a modern UWP app. That breadth is unmatched. But it also means you can drown in choice. S mode trims the excess without erasing any of its heritage.
I am happy enough with my new Windows laptop. So why on Earth would I then go and spoil it all by activating Window's 'S mode'?
Hear me out.
S mode has been lambasted as a sort of training-wheels mode for people who know little about computers and can't be trusted to navigate the Internet without clicking every sketchy link they come across, thus exposing their machine to all sorts of nasty malware. I guess it is true this demographic of computer user exists and such a mode mitigates the kinds of security issues that demographic will likely face. Yet I think there is a lot to be said in favour of S mode. There's a security and performance angle, however I think there is a strong philosophy behind it too - one that aligns with my own.
I think the main issue is that it is deeply misunderstood. People think it’s a crippled version of Windows but really it's just Windows with fewer moving parts. It removes the old ecosystem of unsigned installers, legacy drivers, and opportunistic background updaters and instead replaces them with a tightly‑controlled, sandboxed app model. You still get a full Windows experience: the file system, the desktop, the multitasking and the same, familiar workflow most of us grew up with. If anything it has just removed the historical baggage that has infamously made Windows chaotic for so many people. I don't see it as a restriction but a deliberate narrowing of the attack surface, as well as the 'temptation surface' in my case.
There was a time when Windows' own software wasn't spectacular. Its attempts at an antivirus, for example, went through many shameful iterations from its early days as a simple anti-spyware tool in the mid-2000s, all the way to its paltry debut as a fully-fledged but shoddy antivirus in Windows 8. However, the antivirus that ships with Windows 11, Windows Defender, is actually incredibly competent and many cyber security experts have come out and said it is good enough on its own to keep you safe online.
It simply isn't the same product people remember from 2012. It utilises cloud‑based machine learning, real-time behavioural analysis and a series of pretty sophisticated exploit mitigation systems. I don't need to fork out for a third-party antivirus solution anymore, which would come with bloat and excess cruft of its own.
In fact, introducing an antivirus onto your system increases your attack surface because of the AV's system-level privileges. Modern exploits are designed to leverage precisely this. It all ends up being counterproductive. The irony is not lost on me that the more ‘security suites’ you install, the less secure you in fact become. Every additional agent adds these new kernel drivers, new highly privileged services, new update channels and new telemetry endpoints.
S mode conveniently sidesteps this theatre by leaning on the security architecture that is both already there and already enough. It is lean, native and impressively integrated, so much so you don’t even notice it half the time.
One of the clearest examples I can think of that demonstrates its maturity is how Microsoft handles vulnerabilities within the Defender engine itself:
Take a gander at CVE‑2021‑1647.
For context, CVE‑2021‑1647 was a remote code execution flaw in Defender’s malware protection engine which was patched automatically and silently. Every single Windows machine received the fix without any user intervention. Not a single third‑party AV that I’m aware of has yet matched that level of integration or response time. Defender updates its scanning engine several times a day, independently of Windows Update, which means that even its weakest moments prove to be stronger than the average third‑party suite’s best.
Anyway, have you taken a look at the state of other antivirus software these days? They are all glorified VPNs and password managers. McAfee even has some sort of rudimentary data broker deletion request service baked into it now. It is clear that McAfee, and many companies like it, are ostensibly selling you peace of mind but, really, it is all a mirage.
I know McAfee is a low-hanging fruit but Bitdefender, ESET, Malwarebytes, or whatever else you pick, all amount to the same waste of time and money. Though some AVs come in a sort of primary colour, Fisher‑Price® My First™ Computer branding and others come in vaguely terminal-styled 1337 haxx0r skins, they consist of the same snake oil underneath the veneer.
In my experience, it isn't just Windows' own antivirus that is ‘good enough’ these days. Windows comes preloaded with so much efficient, simple software to complete all sorts of tasks. Less and less do I feel the need to reach for the usual suspects: IrfanView, WinRAR, VLC, Notepad++, Audacity, etc. when the in-house stuff is just as good, if not better. It’s far simpler and, as a result, less overwhelming but that is not to say inferior by any means. Windows even handles far more archive types by default now. The new media player doesn't suck, although it won't play your DVDs, which I don't suppose is such a tremendous issue for most people nowadays. PDFs load gracefully in Edge. Word looks good, it runs fast, and works well. It is as intuitive as ever and doesn't baffle you with nonsense.
I think that Windows’ own apps have modestly become rather good in the last few years. Microsoft has clearly been quietly sharpening their axe before striking. They may not be flashy but they are not bloated and just competent enough. I feel as if, at the risk of offending the entire FOSS community, Windows is more in step with the Unix principles than most Linux software. Predominantly 1) do one thing and do it well and 2) write programmes to work together. It's an admirable kind of competence where the software doesn’t demand fiddly configuration, nor shady plugins in order to work properly. When the defaults are good enough, the temptation to wander disappears. For me that is more liberating than, say, analysing every process, painstakingly replacing all of the default software and using my computer in a constant state of misguided vigilance.
You don't even need to install a third-party browser. Edge really is good enough and, in fact, I find it more useful and convenient than Google Chrome. I promise this is not some sort of sick joke. If you ignore the fact it isn't in vogue to like Windows 11, resisting the pressure to be like everyone else, you are left with a fairly competent OS with some damn good software. I stopped letting the memes and haxx0r posers cloud my perception.
Gaming is, by default, better on Windows. This is not exactly news to anyone. It has always had this advantage. Gaming on Mac is better nowadays but still not incredible. Gaming on Linux is just a humiliation ritual like always. I am not by any means a serious gamer, since the games I like to play are quite casual, lightweight and not particularly taxing on my hardware. Windows Store gives me access to the kinds of games I like to play and it installs them quickly and efficiently.
Windows gaming doesn’t require esoteric knowledge that is gatekept by nerds. There are no, nonsensical compatibility layers, no experimental system-breaking drivers and no last resort to a Faustian bargain with Vulkan, as if it were some sort of pagan deity. Even for casual gaming, the Store gives me exactly what I want without dragging me into the recursive launcher‑hell that PC gaming has become. A launcher is a launcher is a launcher. I don't need to or especially want to download three independent launchers to simply run games. It is all just unnecessary stress. Especially when it proves to be a lot of effort for an often very clunky experience. It just isn't worth it for me anymore.
I know I don't 'need' S mode when I have a modicum of discipline and awareness about what I am installing on my machine. Though, having it switched on serves as a gentle reminder to myself to not overcomplicate things, when I pretty much have everything I need from a computer already there at my fingertips. It feels as if my computing experience flows better and comes with less frustration from troubleshooting absolute nonsense. The security benefits of S mode just come as an additional bonus.
Turning on S mode via ‘regedit’ is a boundary I set for myself, not a boundary set for me by Microsoft. I don’t need to turn my computer into a shoddy DIY project of endless tweaks and experiments. I need it to be a reliable tool that doesn’t demand my attention nor tempt me into tinkering. I have been there and I’ve wasted my precious time off from work doing it. Fair enough if you do this sort of thing for a living, but I don’t. I don’t want it taking up any more of my time.
It turns out, after all these years, my Dad was right. Some things do not need to be interfered with and are best left as they were.
It all subtly reinforces my inclination towards simplicity and security. I can still muck about in VMs if I really have to with Hyper-V or toy around and code in a Linux environment with WSL. It all runs cleanly and doesn't interfere with anything else. I don't have to fill my hard drive with mismatched crap that leaves all kinds of cruft behind even after it has been uninstalled. I don't need to have multiple applications on my computer that do similar things. It is just distracting, annoying and has me more caught up thinking about which software to use, than actually just doing the work.
The less I notice the operating system, the better, and when the in-house apps all work together in flux, it makes for a seamless and pleasant experience. I’m way more productive on Windows 11 in S mode than I have ever been on any other operating system.
There's this whole subculture built around a logical fallacy that your computer isn’t truly yours until you’ve cracked it open, replaced half its internals, rewritten its bootloader and compiled your own drivers. You’ll have to forgive me for taking the path of least resistance and opting for peace. I think there’s an air of elitism within the tinkering community. It doesn't give you an edge over anyone else. If anything, it's just a burden. Maybe you could argue it gives you bragging rights to the two other people in your weird Discord server that vaguely know what you are talking about but that's about it.
I don't even want to see what the BIOS looks like on my new computer. I do not have to, and politely decline to, burden myself with this weird and almost Promethean plight of 'liberating' my computer. The kind that seems to be promoted by every Linux enthusiast with a YouTube channel.
Where does it all get you? Trying in vain to compile Nvidia drivers late at night and questioning your life choices, only for the system to refuse to boot at all the next morning. Then, instead of learning your lesson, you do it all again, thus repeating the fruitless, self-flagellating cycle of samsara.
I honestly thought that all this tinkering was helping me realise my freedom but I have realised it is all unnecessary noise. I am now mindfully and deliberately choosing the peace of flowing with my machine instead of constantly struggling against it.
That is why I am using and will continue to use Windows 11 in S mode.
---
© 2026 Daniel C. Bush