2025 End of year personal computing check-in
2025-12-26
Part 1: The GNU/Linux Experience
As I start this post in early November 2025 it’s been nine months since I first installed GNU/Linux on this 2012 MacMini. I had no idea at the beginning of the year that I would completely flip the table of my 30+ years of Apple-based computing. I had no idea that by the end of my first year of using GNU/Linux and Free Software that I would not only be using an entirely different computing ecosystem but that I would be so delighted with it.
Before installing the Mint distribution of GNU/Linux on this Mac I expected I would just be trying it out and feared that a real transition would be difficult to impossible. If not impossible, I assumed it would prove difficult and that the final experience would be one of settling on something I didn’t really enjoy.
But let me tell you, when I booted Mint from thumb drive the first time I actually giggled. My initial fear evaporated. After ten minutes of testing the OS from the thumb drive I’d begun the install and a mere 15 minutes later I was booting GNU/Linux from the Mac’s SSD and the deal was done. In the days and weeks that followed I moved my entire workflow over and transitioned all of my computing from iCloud services and storage to a mix of local files and a Norway-based company for email/contacts/calendaring. My enthusiasm led me to purchase a used 2018 ThinkPad from Ebay for my mobile computing in place of my beloved iPad which was reduced to use only for jobs that required delivery of Affinity files for one particular client.
Part 2: Apple: Capitalist doing Capitalism (and fascism)
In early June Apple held it’s annual WWDC and for the first time in many years I had no interest. In the days and weeks that followed the details of the new Apple OS features filtered into my Mastodon feed along with news of Tim Cook’s capitulations and demonstrations of loyalty to the Trump regime affirmed and reaffirmed my decision to migrate away from Apple’s ecosystem.
Jumping forward to the fall and my disdain and distrust of the company has deepened into disgust. As an antifascist I cannot imagine continued reliance on the company’s offerings. As an antifascist I’m dismayed in my observation of so many users who claim opposition to Trump’s growing fascism who still enthusiastically discuss Apple news. But that’s another post for another time. I’m really thankful I spent a few weeks disentangling myself from Apple Services.
Part 3: Apple devices without iCloud
I’m still using several Apple devices because I already “own” them and they still work with years of use ahead of them. But, where possible I’ve logged out of iCloud. I have a client that still relies on shared iCloud documents and so I had to log my iPad back into iCloud for that but I’ve got everything turned off except access to iCloud drive for those documents. None of my important personal data remains in iCloud. I’m doing the same with my old, original Google account. I can live with this. I’m not relying on either company and not paying for their services.
I expect that the M2 iPad Pro and iPhone 13 Pro will continue working for many years and I intend to fully use them for the things they remain useful for, but I’ll never again purchase a new Apple device nor subscribe to iCloud services. This feels like a practical approach that remains inline with an ethical approach.
Part 4: A new emphasis on privacy
Late in the year I took a deep dive into digital privacy. It had been on my mind as an after effect of thinking more about computing in the context of ever increasing surveillence capitalism in a country that is moving further into fascism. It was long overdue. The result was a further change in my computing and how I thought about privacy generally. I wrote about the goals and progress I made here.
Part 5: A different take on computing
The result of all this is that at the end of 2025 I have a very different take on computing from the one I held at the end of last year. Really, that’s an understatement. I flipped the table over and started over. The resulting progress comes with both deep satisfaction as well as a kind of relief. Satisfaction in terms of the work that I accomplished getting everything transitioned. It wasn’t all that difficult but it did take some time in that first month or so. After that it was all pretty easy and just a matter of settling into the new normal.
The relief comes in that I feel far more secure and private in terms of my data. When I see stories like the recent one in which a Mac user had his iCloud account turned off by Apple because he had purchased and attempted to use an iTunes gift card that had been tampered with, well, it reminds me that all the power rests with Apple. It’s not a partnership, not a relationship and at the end of the day the average customer, as an individual has no power over their data or account. I never have to worry about that. Nor do I have to worry about the privacy or security of my data because all of it, 100% now resides in the confines of my home. Secure on my local storage. Now my computing is local. I save money every month and still have easy access to my data.
Also, I now feel freed of the financial burden of expensive hardware which is another relief. I’ve always lived on a constrained budget because I’ve chosen to live in a way that attempts a lower carbon footprint. I don’t want to waste resources or use more than my share. Those of us in the Global North consume far more than our share and this is especially true of our consumption of computing hardware. From iPhones to iPads to laptops, many of us have replaced too often. I know I certainly have. Allowing myself to go along with Apple marketing for the latest, greatest iPad or iPhone was an expensive, selfish mistake and I’m happy to have walked away from that.
I’m smilling as I write these words, I relish the fact that I know all of my computing now happens on old hardware and that the resulting experience is actually on par or better than the experience I’d have if I were still buying Apple’s expensive stuff. That I’ll never again be tempted to spend $1,000 or more on a computing device. Over the last year I’ve learned that almost any old computer is all I need to make a living and that is a remarkable thing to have learned. Stepping off of the new tech treadmill is a fantastic relief. There’s a word for this kind of change-up to a commitment to long-term use of more open software running on older computing hardware with the notion of making do for as long as possible: Permacomputing. And I’m digging it.
I don't have comments but I love email or you can find me on Mastodon.
Share this post 
