... and Moncton
Stephen Downes,
Jan 22, 2003
CRLFCosts aside (and there have been many costs over the years), I am frankly simply tired of fighting with Microsoft products. I am tired of Outlook especially - this following the unreliable and slow access to email, its many usability issues, its vulnerability to pests. But also the other stuff: Word, which simply wouldn't stop scrolling today. Internet Exporer, which chokes on non-Microsoft websites. PowerPoint, which resolutely won't let me remove the outdent that results when you remove the bullet-list format. I'm tired of Windows XP, which wouldn't let me run my legally acquired software on a new machine (I have always paid full price for my Microsoft software; I have never pirated so much as a mouse driver - hard to believe, but when you work in public service you have to follow the rules). I don't want media players that create 'protected areas' in my computer. I don't want Passport. I don't want Hotmail crashing my network via Microsoft Messenger. No more!
CRLFSo: starting today, I vow to remove Microsoft from my life. I want it off my desktop in my office, I want it off my laptops (personal and professional), I want it off the three computers in my home network, I want it off my iPaq. I want it out of my life. I will happily take the several thousands of dollars I have personally spent on Microsoft software and junk it (since, after all, it's illegal to donate it to charity). No longer will I accept the argument that says, "everyone else uses it." I won't be using it. Incompatibility will become their problem (as it always should have been, when you use software that doesn't play well with others).
CRLFFor those of you with an inclination to do the same, I will keep OLDaily readers posted with regular updates on my conversion. I'll talk about what I had to do in the office, on my wireless network, on my laptops. I'll keep track of the work I did and the total cost.
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