With the recent release of Windows 8 Pro, I find myself at a cross road. This may be the first Microsoft OS that I do not install as a desktop OS for my own personal use at home. I dislike much of the usability feature so much, and I find myself using my Macbook so often, that my next OS is most likely to be Apple OS X.

My current OS boots my computer, runs my apps, and has a web browser. You would expect Windows 8 would do the exact same thing, but it does things in a convoluted new way. While Metro may add some usability improvements, once you get accustom to the interface, the fact that many the new architecture breaks some of my most trusted graphics applications means I have no choice but to hold back.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve have no issues with Widows 7. It has been fast, stable, and reliable for a desktop OS. However, my testing of Windows 8 for work, in my lab, and on a virtual desktop have proven to me that Microsoft has lost the ability to add value to an operating system. Even for a $39 upgrade, there is no value I gain over my current Windows 7 desktop OS. Metro itself requires reworking workflows, updating apps, and changing the way you think about a desktop computer. Metro itself is written for the media consumption side of computing. It is made for a touch interface and tablet computing, bit the traditional workstation.

As with any new OS Version, incompatibility is to be expected, but if I am going to go out and upgrade software, I might as well change platforms at the same time. So, with this, I bid good-bye to Windows as I start the process to make the final migration from a Microsoft user to a Apple OS X user.

That new Quad-Core Mac Mini is starting to look more and more appealing each day. Instead of using the new devices for VMware vSphere 5.1 servers, I may keep one as a desktop.