Don't throw your money away on Microsoft products if you can help it.

[riff]

I know that most of you could give a shit about this because you are just regular people on the go and its a Microsoft world and so long as it works and you know how to use it so you can get on MSN and talk with friends and family then fine.

Stop a second though. Some of you are having to learn to use Microsoft products because you are new to the PC anyway. Why not learn something else?

I am not saying that everyone should go out and become Linux users, but even if your operating system is a Microsoft product, there are alternatives to the applications you will pay out the kazoo for.

First of all. Quit using MSN. Find another ISP. Then, quit using MS Internet Explorer and Outlook for your web and e-mail. Use Netscape or Konqueror.

And why spend hundreds of your hard earned cash on MS Office when you can get Sun Microsystem's Star office at a FRACTION of the cost, if not for free? And Star Office handles MS file formats. No problem.

It is highly unlikely we will ever be free of Bill Gate's "MYcrosoft," and I am not saying we should be. But I am not giving them a dollar unless I have to.

I know I am talking to mostly blank walls here. Just ranting. Fight the good fight.

 

[naudiz]

I quit MSN and switched to a different ISP because MSN was the crappiest excuse for service I'd ever seen. Stopped using Outlook because it's a shit program that kept crashing. I use Eudora. Hell, it's a free download, and the ads are unobtrusive and non-invasive. Just a little ad in the lower corner of your screen -- no pop-ups, no flashing animated graphics.

I still use Exploder because Netscrape kept crashing, plus there are some sites I frequent that can only be viewed with Exploder because they contain page errors that Exploder will auto-correct and Netscrape won't. They're both crappy browsers, IMHO, but Exploder is slightly less crappy. Slightly.

I've divorced myself from a lot of MS products simply because they suck. Especially Outlook. It's like that thing was specifically programmed to suck. Nothing can suck that much on accident.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

Stop a second though. Some of you are having to learn to use Microsoft products because you are new to the PC anyway. Why not learn something else?

I am not using MS products because I am new to PCs - I have been using PCs professionally for over 18 years now, and the first PCs I used were Apples (Apple IIs then the Mac). Why not learn something else? Because I have a million things to learn that I must know for my profession and I don't have time to learn something just for the hell of it. I am a Java programmer - I don't really care what OS I am running as what I write runs on just about anything - but I don't have time to waste switching to something else just to snap my fingers at MS.

Then, quit using MS Internet Explorer and Outlook for your web and e-mail. Use Netscape or Konqueror.

IE and Outlook Express are free. NS is buggy and the reason I switched to IE in the first place. I have at least three different versions of IE and NS on my machine, and I have Opera, Mozilla just to test any web devo work I do - so I have a fairly good feeling for what works and what doesn't. Again, I try to use what works and I don't snub MS products just because they can be assholes from time to time.

And why spend hundreds of your hard earned cash on MS Office when you can get Sun Microsystem's Star office at a FRACTION of the cost, if not for free? And Star Office handles MS file formats. No problem.

Being a Java programmer I am a big fan of Sun and quite opposed to MS since they hate Java and anything having to do with Java - but Star Office pretty much sucks. I tried it. It is slow and buggy.

I know I am talking to mostly blank walls here. Just ranting. Fight the good fight.

Yep you are - because this isn't a war and it isn't a religious or political issue, it is a technical issue, and as much as I hate it, the truth is that MS does quite often make superior products. I know - I have tried all of the alternatives. I switched from Eudora kicking and dragging my feet because I hate switching just because the IT department wants to standardize, but I soon learned that Outlook was superior in a number of ways and I no longer complained. I got tired of NS crashing and locking up my machine (no small feat with NT!), so I tried NeoPlanet and it sucked, so I tried Opera and it sucked, so I tried IE and it worked.

 

[riff]

I understand every point you are making. I will say this though. I have been using Netscape 7 and it is an improvement. It doesn't seem to lock-up the way the old ones do.

I understand you are just looking out for you and MS DOES INDEED have some good stuff because they have the resources. But the fucking hegemony gets me a little paranoid at times and I figure it's a productive way of channelling my rebellious nature.

And money?

I am working on a plan- don't know if it will ever come to fruition and it would be a lot of work, but I would love to convert a school district to a Linux based platform. Most of students could handle it and the money that is being paid to MS yearly could be put into training and development- not only that- students would have greater exposure to other OS's than MS, making them more knowledgable as they enter the world. It will be a tough sell, but I might be able to pull it off.

I am not a programmer. I do WANs.

 

[Purple Haze]

Windows is for sheep.

 

[CarolineOh]

I have been using Macs for about 15 years. I have never had a computer crash, and I have never gotten a virus. Why people insist on using second rate crap, I'll never know.

 

[riff]

I have been using Macs for about 15 years. I have never had a computer crash, and I have never gotten a virus. Why people insist on using second rate crap, I'll never know.

An excellent point. So much of it is marketing.

 

[Ukin]

Windows is for sheep.

baaaaa baaaaa

I use Windows ME...but not MSN..I use AOL and Yahoo..I am not intelligent enough to use any other systems..and Windows and AOL works well enough for me...but then I am a Sheep lol

 

[AzureAngel]

It only costs money if you pay, I hear.

 

[riff]

Ukin-

That is not the point I am trying to make. The point I am trying to make is that there are alternatives to what you are being force-fed. If it works for you, fine... I am not trying to change the world (though I would like too). I am just saying it doesn't HAVE to be the way it is.

And I get off on rebellion. Nothing against sheep. It's your world too.

 

[riff]

It only costs money if you pay, I hear.

Or if your organization gets audited.

 

[AzureAngel]

Or if your organization gets audited.

Hah, fair enough. *Chuckles.* I wasn't suggesting anything ILLEGAL.

 

[miles]

My only gripes about Microsoft are quirks.

I don't know if this has been modified on the new OS, but isn't it a little strange going to "Start" to turn of the machine?

If you surf the net all day with IE open, it's a constant drain on system resources. Unless you reboot, the longer you use it the more of a drag it is on your machine. It's almost always the oly app I have open.

Twice in the past 7 or 8 years I've used Microsoft's per-incident support and paid $35 each time. Hands down the best technical support reps I've ever used.

 

[AzureAngel]

Miles - You don't have the IE issues with XP. Actually, I can't complain much about XP at all. 95/98 was horrible. 98SE was still 98. ME was 98. Windows 2k was unstable on my machine. XP's been rock-solid. I can leave my computer running for ridiculous amounts of time (for a Windows-based machine) and have absolutely no problems before I find myself rebooting next.

 

[AzureAngel]

Not that I care much for Microsoft. I completely support alternatives to MS. I was an avid Netscape user until it got to a point where NS would crash my computer at least 3 times a day and didn't have half of the CSS support that IE did. Granted, that was a year ago. The only NS I had downloaded since then was NS 6, which, at the time, was so horrible I was frightened. That was when it first came out.

Is it any better now?

 

[April]

I use Netscape 6.1. Don't often have problems with it. Occasionally it crashes, but that's usually because of some bizarre conflict with a site. It's faster than the version of IE we have. I simply hate IE anyway.

I'd like to use Net. 7, but I'll wait for the finished version. It takes too long to download for me to do it twice. A couple hours for Net 6.1.

 

[TWB]

I know that most of you could give a shit about this because you are just regular people on the go and its a Microsoft world and so long as it works and you know how to use it so you can get on MSN and talk with friends and family then fine.

Stop a second though. Some of you are having to learn to use Microsoft products because you are new to the PC anyway. Why not learn something else?

I am not saying that everyone should go out and become Linux users, but even if your operating system is a Microsoft product, there are alternatives to the applications you will pay out the kazoo for.

First of all. Quit using MSN. Find another ISP. Then, quit using MS Internet Explorer and Outlook for your web and e-mail. Use Netscape or Konqueror.

And why spend hundreds of your hard earned cash on MS Office when you can get Sun Microsystem's Star office at a FRACTION of the cost, if not for free? And Star Office handles MS file formats. No problem.

It is highly unlikely we will ever be free of Bill Gate's "MYcrosoft," and I am not saying we should be. But I am not giving them a dollar unless I have to.

I know I am talking to mostly blank walls here. Just ranting. Fight the good fight.

I just got rid of Internet Explorer and went to Opera. I like it much better.

Right on Riff

 

[Skibum]

When I lost my PC in a divorce, I bought a used Mac because it was all I could afford. I hate the damn thing. I tried Netscape, and I found that it sucks. I tried ICQ and AIM for messaging. They both suck, especially the Mac versions.

Now I'm back on a PC, using Explorer and MWS Messenger, and I couldn't be happier.

Besides, I admire Bill Gates.

 

[riff]

I use Netscape 6.1. Don't often have problems with it. Occasionally it crashes, but that's usually because of some bizarre conflict with a site. It's faster than the version of IE we have. I simply hate IE anyway.

I'd like to use Net. 7, but I'll wait for the finished version. It takes too long to download for me to do it twice. A couple hours for Net 6.1.

I've been running Netscape 7 beta for 2 weeks without a crash.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

And I get off on rebellion. Nothing against sheep. It's your world too.

You can't get much more rebellious to be a Java programmer in an area where Microsoft is the largest employer by far. If you haven't noticed I live right next door to MS (figuratively, and it used to be literally). I am all for alternatives, but I am not going to cut off my nose to spite my face.

As for NS7, if you haven't noticed, NS is now owned and developed by AOL - a company that in many ways is just as bad as MS. If you want an alternative browser, use Mozilla - it is the same code base (IIRC, they split off at NS6, but the code is probably still very close. I haven't looked at NS7, but IMO Mozilla was superior to NS6.), but it is Open Source.

Which brings up another point - you really want to be rebellious? Use Open Source alternatives like Mozilla and Linux.

 

[riff]

I use XP pro and have to say it is the best thing MS has come out with. Very stable, but like everything else from MS, it's a hog.

On the otherhand, memory is cheap.

These newer products (MS and whomever) aren't gonna run well on an old system though. If you are still using a PII and want the latest greatest graphic intensive software, you will be disappointed. But on the newer machines it rocks.

A word. Maybe I have it personally out for MS because I am in education. Seems to me if we are gonna brainwash students into using it (and they will naturally purchase what they know when they leave school or can afford something) that MS should pay us to use it- it's like free advertising.

 

[sabbathstorm]

In my brief exposure to Linux, I found out that I really liked it. I keep debating putting it on my machine from time to time but haven't had the guts to do it. I'm thinking I may install it on a second drive and give it a try. Hell, I've got three manuals sitting here in front of me and the installation disks

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

In my brief exposure to Linux, I found out that I really liked it. I keep debating putting it on my machine from time to time but haven't had the guts to do it. I'm thinking I may install it on a second drive and give it a try. Hell, I've got three manuals sitting here in front of me and the installation disks

I still don't think Linux is for neophytes. If a person can't handle some of the more complex install tasks in Windoze then Linux is not going to be any easier, and there are fewer people to help. I've got RedHat 6.5 sitting on my bookshelf, and one of these days I am going to install it, but I am an OS agnostic - as long as it works I don't really care who makes it.

 

[sabbathstorm]

I had Windows overdose this year. We worked our way through three versions in two semesters plus Linux. I want something challenging