I have been using the Cosmic DE for a bit and I really like it. It surprises me everyday in a nice way.
For example since I have a laptop I will close the lid sometimes for my workflow. Then when I open the lid back up I don’t have to strain to see if the Wi-Fi reconnected, it pops up a window that says Wi-Fi reconnected. Normally I don’t like pop ups, but in this case it makes it easier than looking for a small icon. At the very least, it makes it easy for laptop users who may be traveling or moving and need to switch between WiFis. It makes things automatic instead of having to remember to check your Wi-Fi is connected.
Another thing I like is the disappearing dock. One of the things that I always disliked about the mac dock is that it is always present. While that may be helpful for beginner users, for advanced users we would rather have the screen real estate. I think by default the dock should hide itself, and you can choose the dock behavior to hide or show all the time. I choose to hide it and that maximizes my screen real estate.
I know you are saying to yourself, why not just use a mac? That’s fine if you can afford it, or if you don’t already have a PC for other reasons. Many times people might buy a PC and then things like Windows 11 happen that says that you need new hardware to run it. The laptop still works, but running an older OS is a risk. So you think to yourself, how can I still use this laptop safely? You download Fedora and Cosmic DE and you have yourself a great mac.
Other times you may not use a mac for a functional choice. If you are a photographer or videographer or many other specific tasks, the lack of ports are a major problem. PCS do tend to have more ports and while you can buy a dock with a mac and most do, it is another thing you have to manage, update and not travel friendly.
I think Apple would sell a ton of industrial mac computers with all the ports and ruggedized for harsh environments. I think that the PC is becoming a specialty device and that mac focus on consumers is going to eventually shrink its market.
Here is what is currently happening. Companies are using Linux to program and work with hardware and Apple is no where to be seen. Linux market share according to Steam is more than Apple. So if Linux is passing Apple in games, then how much easier will it be to develop and market for everything else?
Anyway I think Apple will see too late that Linux has improved its UI and compatibility. Then as I predicted, Apple/Linux will merge and Windows days will be numbered.