Boycott Microsoft!

Introduction

Because this website is designed largely for children, I’m hesitant to urge visitors to engage in political activities. Protests and civil disobedience can be dangerous, in a number of respects. Simply criticizing people, ideas and policies can be dangerous, especially with the United States’ federal government evolving towards fascism and America’s public schools controlled by corporations.

But why should adults have all the fun? And how many Americans complained about being forced to fight in Vietnam when they weren’t even old enough to vote?

It’s obviously good for children to study civics, and they should be encouraged to vote when they come of age. Doesn’t it also make sense for children and young adults to learn about other forms of political expression and resistance?

In fact, there are too many adults who dont know how to vote or protest, obviously because they never learned how. Nuff said.

Boycott!

One of the simplest and safest forms of protest is the boycott. Imagine a protest where you don’t have to carry signs or march in the street!

People commonly boycott companies or businesses by refusing to buy their products. For example, people who think cattle ranching contributes to destruction of tropical rainforests may boycott McDonalds, which is known for its hamburgers. However, the word boycott originally suggested a broader ostracism.

It all began with Charles C. Boycott (1832-1897), an English land agent in Ireland. In 1880, Boycott ran afoul of a workers’ rights campaign. In retaliation, the Irish Land League launched a campaign of isolation against him in the local community. Boycott’s neighbors would not talk to him. Shops would not serve him. People would not talk to him or sit near him in church.

Thus was born the word boycott. Boycotting became a standard method of non-violent civic and political disobedience. It was practiced by Mahatma Gandhi in India and by anti-Nazis in World War II Germany. More recently, it was practiced in the 1960s in Northern Ireland and the United States, especially in connection with civil rights campaigns.

Today, it is easier than ever to initiate boycotts with the help of the Internet. However, most boycotts are ineffective, largely due to the comlexity of corporate America, increasing monopolism and deregulation and public apathy.

What?

We have learned that there are two kinds of boycotts. Most modern boycotts target corporations or businesses through economic sanctions (refusing to buy their products or services). But the original boycott was more personal and vicious, directed at an individual.

I advocate the original boycott model, targeting Microsoft and Bill Gates both. We might call it “Total Boycott.”

To make our boycott really effective, you should learn the facts about Microsoft and Bill Gates. It would also help if you learned a little about some of the many alternatives to Microsoft software programs, then help spread the word and encourage others to join our boycott.

We can also turn up the heat with some good old-fashioned name-calling. However, many people find this tactic disagreeable, and it could possibly be dangerous; you certainly want to steer clear of libel.

Young adults and children obviously shouldn’t venture into “combat politics” without adult supervision. Personally, I think it’s good for children to acquire some experience in this arena, and there’s no better place to start than saying, “Bill Gates is an arrogant, corrupt jerk.”

Why Boycott Microsoft?

For anyone who just flew in from another planet, we’re living in an era of extraordinary corporate corruption. Corporations have effectively taken control of the United States’ government, the media and other major institutions. Corporations are behind the phony war on terrorism, which has started a new global arms race. Corporations pose a frightening threat to the environment.

Few, if any, corporations are more powerful and corrupt than Microsoft. Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen are two of the world’s richest people. Both are widely regarded as arrogant, greedy and corrupt.

As time allows, I will chronicle some of the many Bill Gates/Microsoft scandals on Kids’ Politix. For now, here’s a list of ten reasons why Bill Gates & Co. should be boycotted.

There are many more reasons for boycotting Microsoft, including the facts that Microsoft is a surprisingly easy target and the timing couldn’t be better (see When?).

Who?

Just about anyone who can understand what a boycott is can join this total boycott of Microsoft and Bill Gates. Our ranks can include citizens of any nation.

Obviously, people who buy computers and software are best able to boycott Microsoft. However, young adults and children can participate by encouraging their parents to buy alternatives to Microsoft. People who don’t even own computers can still join in criticizing Microsoft and Bill Gates.

When?

Millions of people are already boycotting Microsoft. They include people who have switched to Apple/Mac computers or to the open source Linux operating system. They also include people who still use Microsoft’s Windows operating system but have replaced other Microsoft software programs with the growing number of alternatives that are available.

Microsoft is especially vulnerable now, for a number of reasons. First, its latest Windows upgrade, Vista, is LONG overdue. This is a major embarrassment to Microsoft, one that is also costing it millions of dollars.

Microsoft’s shady past is also catching up with it. Despite the millions of dollars it spends on propaganda, Microsoft is losing its public relations battle. In addition, the European Union and other foreign governments are holding Microsoft accountable.

Perhaps most important, Microsoft now faces stiff competition from open source software and several corporations, notably Apple and Google.

There is no guarantee that Microsoft will be reformed or cut down to size. But the odds have never looked better.

Where?

Everywhere! Since people commonly download software on the Internet, you can boycott Microsoft from your home. You can also spread the word via e-mail and online forums and chatboards.

Warning: If you are not an adult, please do not engage in online activism without parental supervision!

How Do I Boycott Microsoft?

First, remember that we’re boycotting Microsoft and Bill Gates both. Let’s discuss Microsoft first.

Use Alternative Software

People who engage in boycotts may have a hard time finding suitable replacements for the goods or services they’re boycotting. Amazingly, there are many alternatives for Microsoft’s most popular software programs that are even better. Some of them are free to boot. Using non-Microsoft software can also help protect your computer from viruses, spyware and possibly even government snooping.

You might begin your boycott by downloading Firefox ( ) and Thunderbird for surfing the Internet and downloading e-mail. These are both open source software programs that don’t cost one penny, yet are widely hailed as superior to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Outlook Express.

You can replace Microsoft’s Office suite (word processing, spreadsheets, etc. with OpenOffice, again free. If you’re a website designer, use the most popular software combination in cyberspace — Apache, PHP and MySQL. They’re all free, and I believe all are now more popular than their Microsoft equivalents.

Ditch Windows

You can ditch Microsoft completely by switching to an Apple/Mac computer or a Linux operating system. Mac’s have traditionally been expensive, but many people believe they pay themselves several times over. For starters, they’re virtually immune to the viruses that plague Microsoft products. Apple is also known for its tireless innovation, while Microsoft seemingly focuses on political intrigue, lawsuits and continuing attempts to fix its countless software flaws.

Actually, Apple recently introduced a Mac Mini that starts at just $600. It ought to satisfy just about any casual computer user, as well as many professionals.

Linux is generally free, but it isn’t as user friendly as Apple software or Microsoft’s Windows. However, there are versions that are reportedly user friendly. Check out Linspire, which bills itself as “The World’s Easiest Desktop Linux.” You can further support Linspire, which was unfairly (in Politixs opinion) forced to change its name from Lindows by a Microsoft lawsuit, by endowing your webpage with an image link., like the one below.

(You can also help the cause by linking to THIS website, preferably using one of the graphics on the Support page.)

Many people who switch to non-Microsoft operating systems discover that they still need to use Microsoft software programs on occasion. Professional web designers and software developers may need to work with a variety of operating systems.

No worries. Software wizards have created a variety of software that allows people to mix it up. For example, Apple released a Boot Camp software program that allows owners of Macs to boot into Mac software, Windows or Linux. Even better is a new program called Parallels, a very inexpensive program which allows people to use different operating systems simultaneously. Other companies make a variety of Windows “emulation” software.

The Holy Grail is the release of something similar to Parallels that works on a PC (personal computer). That would allow people to use the best operating system (Apple / Mac) on the least expensive hardware.

Support the Competition

Bill Gates has finally discovered some competitors he hasn’t been able to simply buy out or destroy, notably Apple and Google. But Google, in particular, needs your help.

The problem is that Google is too nice. Google focused on creating a better product, while Bill Gates courted America’s most corrupt politicians and supported George W. Bush. There is abundant evidence that the federal government and the media have been siding with Microsoft, at Google’s expense.

This isn’t to say that Google is perfect, or that it shouldn’t be monitored. In fact, Google is one of the world’s most powerful corporations and has tremendous capacity to do evil. But Google’s motto is “Do No Evil,” and any scandals it might be associated with are nothing compared to the crime wave Microsoft wallows in.

So cheer for Google, not Microsoft.

Boycotting Bill Gates

You can boycott Bill Gates by refusing to “buy” the media propaganda that glorifies him. Just say no to their lies and tell your friends the truth about America’s richest gangster. Ask them what Gates has done for Seattle, a very corrupt corporate city that is fast developing into a veritable plutocracy, ruled by by and for the rich.

Dare to critiicize Bill Gates among your friends, in the classroom and on the Internet.

Attention: Web Designers & Publishers!

You have a wonderful opportunity to publicize Microsoft’s crimes and/or competing products and services that are superior and often free to boot. As a free moral agent, you can choose between following Microsoft’s goofy standards or THE standards.

So get with the program! Do your clients and visitors a service by advising them about quality software programs, like Firefox and Thunderbird. Check out any Geobop website for examples you can follow.

Support This Website

See the Support page.

But...

Are you unable to abandon Microsoft for technical or financial reasons? Are you reluctant to criticize a corporation whose de facto is such a wonderful philanthropist?

Read on.

I Can’t Abandon Microsoft

Anyone can download a good browser like Firefox and use it instead of Microsft’s infamously rotten Internet Explorer. But it’s a little harder to scrap Microsoft’s operating system, Windows. Actually, if you’re a casual computer user, there are some simple and inexpensive alternatives, as described above.

But professionals who have invested a small fortune in PC-based software often find it difficult to quit cold turkey. Microsofties often condemn people who criticize Microsoft even while they use Windows as hypocrites. This is baseless propaganda; don’t fall for it!

I criticize the big energy corporations, but I still use electricity, gas and oil. Similarly, I think most major banks, telecommunications companies and media are corrupt. But I still deposit money in a local bank, have a telephone and read newspapers and magazines. I also use Windows.

They key words are monopolies, cartels and deregulation. Most people have to use gas, banks and telephones. Similarly, millions of people use Microsoft software simply because it was installed on the computer they purchased. People are also steered towards Microsoft products by Microsoft’s cutthroat, if not illegal, business practices and propaganda. Bill Gates doesn’t play fair.

I decided to abandon Microsoft several years ago. But I found it difficult for several reasons. So I’ve been escaping one software program at a time. I moved all my websites from a Microsoft server to a server based on the more popular (and more secure) open source equivalent, Apache. Then I began using open source software programs for surfing the Internet (Firefox) and downloading e-mail (Thunderbird). I use other open source programs for website design (PHP and MySQL). I also occasionally use OpenOffice for word processing and spreadsheet operations.

I’m planning on buying an Apple Mac computer soon. But I continue to criticize Microsoft even while I continue using Windows. That’s perfectly fine.

What About Bill Gates’ Philanthropy?

In recent years, even many Microsofties have given up defending Microsoft. Yet they still defend it obliquely by touting Bill Gates as a wonderful humanitarian and philanthropist. In fact, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is nothing more than a public relations campaign. Here’s how it works.

First, Bill Gates began calling himself “Chief Software Architect,” designating someone else CEO. This makes it easier for his disciples to claim that Bill Gates and Microsoft are two different things, and Gates shouldn’t be blamed for Microsoft’s crimes. This frees them to praise Bill Gates’ “philanthropy.”

Next, Gates the corporate media to trumpet his philanthropy. For example, a January issue of Time magazine celebrated Bill and Melinda Gates and corporate rock star Bono as “Persons of the Year.” It’s a fair bet Microsoft paid fot that honor, in one way or another.

This is all baloney. Bill Gates IS Microsoft. He founded Microsoft, and he still runs the show. His father is the same corrupt lawyer who helped establish the infamous lobby-lawfirm Preston, Gates & Ellis.

Bill Gates didn’t even pay fair rent for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s new headquarters!

It would be fairly accurate to say that Bill Gates defrauds the taxpayers of billions of dollars through both Microsoft propaganda and bullying and corporate welfare, then spends a tiny percentage on public relations and bribes, which he calls “philanthropy.” He probably gets some enormous tax write-offs in the process. Just remember: There are always strings attached to Bill Gates’ philanthropy. Just consider all the buildings and rooms named for Bill Gates, especially in Seattle. (My favorite example is the Seattle Public Library’s Microsoft Auditorium. Sheesh.)

It’s interesting to note that Bill Gates’ fortune continues to grow even as he claims to be giving it away. And where do you most frequently hear about Bill Gates’ philanthropy, anyway — in the corporate media! In fact, Bill Gates’ wife, Melinda, sits on the Washington Post’s Board of Directors. So does Gates’ friend and bridge partner, Warren Buffett.

Note, also, that Bill Gates was furious at news of a super cheap computer designed for the world’s poorest citizens. Of course, the world’s richest whiner can’t make money off people living in poverty if they’re using computers that don’t run on Windows.

It seems that just about every day’s news brings us another reason to BOYCOTT MICROSOFT.