It's just a Window(s)

The more I use the ThinkPad, and therefore the Windows platform, the less distinction I perceive between the two "camps".

Productivity on the Mac is fine. There's mail, calendars and reminders. On Windows, it's Outlook. They both work, each platform with its pros, cons and idiosyncrasies. For writing, I eschew both Word and Pages. They're both capable word processors but a bit cluttered for the modern palate. I do use Word for client documentation; it remains the corporate standard. The modern reality is that for the majority of tasks, the platform is entirely irrelevant. Whether I've opened Typora on Mac or Windows, I'm typing into an almost identical interface. If I'm doing client work on my Mac, Word and Excel are so close to their Windows brethren that I'd be hard-pressed to list any differences without looking them up.

Web services are increasingly important. I run Nero's on Shopify, Lime on Teachable and Squarespace and this blog on Ghost. All my banking is through mobile apps and my accounts live on Xero.

I remember moving from Windows to Mac and marvelling at how much cleaner and uncluttered my desktop was. Such elegance! Now - the screen on the ThinkPad has far fewer distractions than the one on my MacBook. Now - that's my fault rather than Apple's. I've downloaded menu bar applications and utilities, not them, but I find the comparison instructive.

As I have built history on a platform, I've allowed more distractions to creep into my computing life. I-Stat menus—a superb utility full of detailed data. What's it for? I have no idea. That data is entirely useless to me, but it's there. I even installed a menu bar utility to manage my menu bar utilities and how they display on my desktop. It's getting Kafka-esque! I have no doubt that I could find similar things with which to bog down the ThinkPad too. It's not a platform issue; it's a Stuart thing. In actual fact, it's a cultural thing. Let me explain.

I descend the stairs each day to work. I place myself in front of one computer or another and do work stuff. What stuff? Well, you know, "stuff". Look at my task manager, my calendar, oh and put on a podcast. Then get a drink. Maybe play with the dogs. Right, time to get into the inboxes...Then, it's lunchtime. I have been working all morning. Sum achievement? Three-fifths of sweet Fanny Annie. But I was working.

Some companies monitor their remote workers - verifying that they're logged in and doing stuff. We've all become obsessed with stuff. Having made the choice to spend at least one third of the day's hours on stuff, I've invested time and money to ensure that my tools for the production and manipulation of stuff are fully optimised for, well, stuff. It's all a nonsense of course. I'd hate to estimate what proportion of my time is actually spent on meaningful output rather than stuff.

When push comes to shove, whatever the platform, whatever the application, it's just a window. Open it, write the post, publish the post then go take the dogs for a walk. Life's too short to spend on doing stuff.