tl;dr: you should happen to the computer; the computer shouldn’t happen to you
I recently made two seemingly unrelated decisions: switching to Linux and building my own keyboard. While the exact motivations behind these changes vary, at their core, both were prompted by a desire for greater agency.
not my windows or macOS #
Microsoft seems hell-bent on making Windows a service that only exists to support the company’s goals instead of an operating system that allows people to do the stuff they want to do in the way they want to do it. See:
- Pre-installing shovelware on Windows 11
- Making it more difficult to set up local accounts on Windows 11
- Considering additional ads within the Start menu
- Looking to move Windows to the cloud
Microsoft also collects a gobsmacking amount of information about Windows users and pushes OneDrive subscriptions via Defender. (Which I find particularly egregious–companies shouldn’t be able to say that not signing up for their cloud sync-and-store services is a security problem.)
Apple is slightly better in this regard, and I generally prefer macOS to Windows anyway, but it also has a history of abusing its ability to make unilateral decisions about the kinds of things people want on their devices. See:
- The U2 incident
- The addition of Freeform to every supported device
I found the latter particularly annoying because Freeform was set to remain in my Dock by default. It took all of two seconds to change that, but it still drove home the idea that I was using someone else’s computer, not my own.
yes my arch (btw) #
Contrast that with my Linux setup based on, yes, Arch. Pretty much everything on this system is here because I want it to be. No Spotify, no Chess, no Solitaire, no any of the other apps I’ve ignored or uninstalled over the years.
With the exception of Discord’s broken-ass Electron app, if something on this system doesn’t behave the way I want it to, I can either configure it to do so or install an alternative solution. All it takes is a willingness to read through documentation and experiment with various settings and software.
Nothing checks in with Microsoft to populate a news widget that I never want to use. Apple can’t decide I’m a U2 fan, pre-install the effing Stocks app, or pin things to my Dock upon release. This setup feels more like it’s “mine” than anything I’ve used in the last decade-plus of Windows and macOS.
building a keyboard #
Of course, I don’t need to worry about Logitech moving the keys on my keyboard, either. So why build a keyboard instead of using the same one as before?
Easy: I want more freedom and control. There’s nothing I can do about the shape of Logitech’s offering, the switches it uses, or the keycaps it features. Building my own keyboard afforded me those options–and, because I chose a hotswap-compatible PCB, I’m free to change my mind whenever my wallet starts to feel heavy enough to handle the purchase of new parts.
I’ve already taken advantage of this freedom by remapping keys, replacing keycaps, and experimenting with varying distances between the two halves of my keyboard. (Oh, yeah, I went for a split build. More on that here.) All it takes is–you guessed it–a willingness to read documentation and experiment.
listen, choir, as i preach #
I understand that none of this is particularly revelatory. There’s a reason why every year since I started paying attention has been proclaimed the “year of the Linux desktop”–many people are sick of having their computers be something that happens to them rather than something they happen to. I know.
But I wanted to share my experience so anyone considering a move to Linux–or even just investigating ways to personalize their Windows or macOS systems–knows that it’s not nearly as complicated as it might seem at first. The same goes for assembling the keyboard; it was much easier than I thought it’d be.
This won’t prove true for everyone. Some people spend their entire workday in Word, Excel, or some other Microsoft product. Some have to use Xcode to write software for Apple’s platforms. I’m lucky enough to be able to accomplish everything I need to with a text editor, browser, and some convenience apps.
The biggest difference is that I now enjoy doing those things rather than feeling like I have to grapple with someone else’s idea of what using a computer implies. I’m a person; this is my computer. Neat.