These 3 apps make Windows feel like a completely different OS (and they’re free)

I spend a lot of time bouncing between macOS for music production, Linux for reviving older PCs, and Windows, where I get most of my work done. It’s my default environment, and over the years I’ve gotten pretty obsessive about smoothing out the rough edges. Not because Windows is unusable, but because it’s full of little bits of friction that add up fast. Search feels inconsistent, window management is good but not great, and too many things still take more clicks than they should.