macOS is free only when you bought Apple's computer hardware which comes at some serious markups. Unlike WIndows and Linux I can't legally downloads it and install it on the PC hardware I already own.

That's like saying the SW ruining on your car's entertainment unit is free. Sure, that SW didn't cost you anything extra, but you paid for it through the car's purchase price.

Same goes for Windows tho. You need to work to get rid of the windows install in the PC.

That makes no logical sense unless you're trolling or never used a computer in your life

Where have you lived for the past 20 years? Almost all PC laptops and desktops (from Dell, HP, IBM, Lenovo and others) have had Windows installed as the default option for that time. Sometimes you can uncheck it and save a little money, sometimes is won't save anything and most of the time you don't have the option to remove it.

The innovation has been to install vendor garbage in addition to Microsoft garbage. So it takes even more effort to get a clean system.

Only in the last few years has some distro of Linux started being an option.

Linux is by far the most expensive OS, because I need to spend time tinkering with it before I can even pretend to get anything done.

And you know what they always say about time: Time is money.

This is changing goal posts. In windows you need to spend time to work past ads, annoyances, shit not working as well. If you don’t you get bombarded with ads in which case you either run the risk of spending money buying garbage advertised or constantly need to expend energy to not be distracted.

If my sole interest was to just get shit done on Windows, I can just go and do it. Immediately. No setup time required. Yes, I could spend time tuning Windows to my liking (and I do as a power user), but it's optional.

On Linux, I have to tinker with it before I can get shit done with it. It's not optional.

$100~200 USD spent on a Windows license, or $0 by either not activating or using an old 7/8/8.1/10 license, is cheaper than the time-converted-to-money spent on Linux.

> If my sole interest was to just get shit done on Windows, I can just go and do it.

That works, unless Windows decides it needs to do a Windows Update before it'll finish booting. Sometimes, which can last several hours. :(

Saying that because one of my close friends was beside himself after staying up all night to get some paper written, ready for submission... only to be screwed over by Windows Update then pulling this shit on him.

Moved him to Linux after that :), though his new job then provided him with a Windows laptop (very locked down) that he's forced to use. And which the MS applications on it keep crashing on a lot (several times a day). :(

Fair point, it takes a bit of power user sorcery (and maybe a Pro license for Group Policy) to make Windows behave in that regard.

It's still far less time (read: money) wasted than needing to tinker with Linux, though. Gods know how much of my life I've wasted there...

Ahhh. Personally I tend to use the long-term/stable Linux distros eg CentOS (before Red Hat killed it), Ubuntu LTS, and similar.

Mainly due to my having better things to do in a day than screw with OS settings. With these stable distro's, it tends to be a case of "set the thing once, don't need to touch it again for years". Works for me anyway. :)