Yes. I have been using Windows that long.

I started at Windows 3.1 (ok, so it's 29 years, I was approximating) and have used Windows ever since. I've skipped a few versions along the way and, in the first few years, ran MS DOS in parallel, but in all those years, I never felt the need to jump ship to Mac OS or Linux (I have played with Linux on numerous occasions but never tried Mac OS).

I've always had a soft spot for Apple hardware, especially the MacBook line up and, more recently, the Mac Mini. However, I have never been able to justify the higher price over an equivalent Windows based setup.

Windows just works and it works well. It is familiar, intuitive and does everything I need. That is, until fairly recently.

I've dabbled with the Apple ecosystem numerous times over the last 12 years. My Apple journey started in 2009 with the iPhone 3GS. I loved it and I stayed with Apple until the 5S in 2013. At that time I was getting frustrated seeing just how customisable friend's Android phones were and started to feel that the Apple approach was too repressive, too restricted and so I jumped ship (not to return until the iPhone 11).

Those 6 years away from the Apple ecosystem cemented my relationship with Windows and I was happy enough that it, and my Android phones, did everything I needed. And they did.

However, something drew me back to the iPhone (maybe as I've always had an iPad on the go, from the original in 2010 to my current Air 3). Shortly after the iPhone 11 I picked up the Apple Watch Series 5 and AirPods Pro.

The iPhone, iPad, Watch and Airpods Pro just work seamlessly together. Ultimately, it is that frictionless experience that started me thinking about Mac OS. The computer OS was the only point of friction left in my workflow. It wasn't causing me significant issues but I knew it could be better, and I knew tying Mac OS into my other Apple devices would just make everything that little bit easier.

So, I decided to go the Mac OS route and, after 29 years with Windows, I picked up the M1 Mac Mini (a couple of weeks ago as I publish this).

The transition has been easy, and I genuinely don't miss anything. Navigating around Mac OS is intuitive and, once I had broken the muscle memory habit of CTRL-C and CTRL-V, everything soon felt completely natural.