Moved from Windows PCs to a MacBook Air. I hate it.

Perhaps running Windows on your Mac would make sense for your needs?

https://www.cultofmac.com/788405/m2-macbook-air-runs-windows-11-faster-than-pricier-dell-laptop/

If it is a silcon Mac there is no production version of Windows that will run on it. You would have to be a member of the Microsoft Insider Program to get a pre-release version of Windows that will run on your silicon Mac. I would not use a pre-release/beta version of an operating system in other than a strictly test environment.

My advice is to learn the MacOS and the Mac environment. If this does not meet your needs, go back to Windows.

I totally agree with you. I recently switched from a dell to a MacPro and so regret it!! Nowhere near as user friendly as Windows and like you I am told to hang in there I will love the Apple computer. Maybe so that is yet to be seen but it is not worth the aggravation and stress of trying to figure everything out. The keyboard commands/shortcuts are ridiculous, just adding more clutter to the brain. One thing I will give credit - apple support is far exceeds Windows support..

So far I am with you!!!

SusanStry56 wrote:

I totally agree with you. I recently switched from a dell to a MacPro and so regret it!! Nowhere near as user friendly as Windows and like you I am told to hang in there I will love the Apple computer. Maybe so that is yet to be seen but it is not worth the aggravation and stress of trying to figure everything out. The keyboard commands/shortcuts are ridiculous, just adding more clutter to the brain. One thing I will give credit - apple support is far exceeds Windows support..

So far I am with you!!!

Change is hard for some.

Stick with what works for you.

OldGuyInLJ wrote:

First off, Finder in no way measures up to File Explorer. At times it makes it impossible to find documents in locations other than iCloud. Finder wants to direct my searches to "Favorites" or restrict me to recent documents. File Explorer opens up easy paths to every area/folder/file on a computer.

I've never been restricted from searching in Finder. The spotlight search (magnifying glass in menu bar) provides a more user-friendly compilation that is by no means exhaustive but also includes web, etc. But the traditional Finder search in the finder window will find everything. If it doesn't, select "this Mac" to search instead of just the folder that you are presently browsing.

iCloud wants to keep all files there instead of on hard drive. The workarounds I've found are clumsy and time consuming. Having things in the cloud is great until you no longer have Internet access, and I sometimes travel out of the country where that is the case for days or weeks.

Every file in iCloud is also on your computer as icloud is primarily a synchronization service, not offline storage. The only exception is if you choose to optimize files. Optimization moves your least accessed/largest files to the cloud only and only if your system needs space.

Programs I have literally used for decades in Windows do not perform as well on the Mac, and some important features are missing. Yes, that is because they are Mac versions, but it is not clear to me why Mac versions should be less useful.

Yes, that's an issue for developers and for users. Although, I haven't noticed many issues except in Excel.

I am often restricted from editing my own documents and have to save them under a different name in order to work on them. The same thing happens with downloaded (public domain) image files--mostly jpegs. I supposedly have not been given authorization to edit them.

You would have to describe that experience or provide images. I've never experienced that.

While I expected a bit of a learning curve in moving to a different operating system, I find that keyboard shortcuts are often cumbersome, requiring the use of more keys than is the case in a Windows machine. I can deal with it, but really?

Most popular shortcuts are identical (copy, past, etc.) Otherwise, this is just a learning curve. Mac keyboard shortcuts - Apple Support

When I attempt to clean the non-touch screen with the MacBook off, it often spontaneously starts. One needs a darkened screen to clean properly, and so I must allow it to boot and then shut it down again in order to finish the task.

The Mac will start when you open the lid or touch a key by design. You can still gently wipe your screen.

When I download items from the Internet, there generally appears to be no way to download to the folder of my choice. And moving things from the Downloads area to the folder where I want the files to be permanently located sometimes is a pain--drag and drop doesn't always work well.

You can change your default download location in most browsers. you can also two-finger click on many links to invoke the menu to save wherever you would like. By default, everything downloads to downloads. I've also never had an issue with drag and drop; you would need to explain that more.