Many of you will be surprised to see a title like that, especially
coming from a Christian web site. You are probably asking, why would
it matter whether or not I use Microsoft Windows or Microsoft
Word or PowerPoint? In fact, a lot of congregations
are now using PowerPoint during worship service. Perhaps you
are new to computers and you don't have any idea what this is about.
Some might even ask, 'What about Microsoft? What does this have to
do with me?'.
Dealing with this subject will be a challenge, but it is time to raise
our awareness in the Body of Christ about the Windows and Microsoft
monopoly and its impact on us as servants of God. It goes somewhat
like this. You had a job or task to accomplish, so you wanted a use
a computer. Great. Now, what were your options? You traveled
to the local computer retailer or shopped Dell's
web site or Bestbuy
and what did you see? Mostly Intel Pentium computers running
Windows. You wouldn't even have known there were other options
available because the market is so dominated by the software of one
company. Microsoft®. You chose your speed and your
memory and took home or to the office a PC with a Microsoft Windows
license. And what is so bad about that? Next, you thought
about what you wanted to do with it and you needed a word processor
and spreadsheet, so you also purchased Microsoft Office. You
wanted to connect to the internet so you might have registered for
a Microsoft Network ISP account (MSN) and you most certainly used
Microsoft® Internet Explorer to access the Internet.
Do you see a pattern emerging? Were you ever informed there might
be another way
or alternative
that is better suited to your needs? There are. And because you were
not told, that is one of the purposes of this article.
Then, usually, you proceed to set up your email using Microsoft®
Outlook Express and soon someone sends you a virus in an email attachment
that exploits the ActiveX controls (read that as security holes) that
are built in to most Microsoft® applications, including the one
that talks directly to the internet, Outlook Express, your email application.
Someone tells you to purchase a copy of Mcaffee or Norton anti-virus
and you install this on your system. No more viruses. At
least for now, until one is written that your anti-virus program does
not recognize.
Take a look for yourself. Visit the Microsoft
News groups and read about what other Microsoft users are experiencing.
Pay particular attention to the Internet applications category, here
is where you will read about everyday
users like yourself that are having their computers "high jacked"
by Internet Pornography Sites. Malicious viruses, security
holes, system crashes, blue screens, lockups email worms and even
reformatting your hard drive are an ordinary part of life for Windows
users. It is common. But you don't have to put up with it.
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Where to Buy PC's without Windows.
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Did anyone ever inform you that if you had a Macintosh or ran Linux
or Lindows on your PC you would never catch Windows viruses? There
are no Linux viruses, nor Mac OSX viruses. The marketplace in this
world is *very* insensitive to your needs. It only cares about what
it wants. Always remember this. The Scripture says that
Satan is the god of this world. And, that the love of money
is the root of all evil. Just think of the last time you dealt
with purchasing an auto, or negotiating most anything, and you will
recall the world is insensitive to your needs, and is rather interested
in only its own agenda.
After this, you may wish to get some music on the internet, or play
some video or internet radio. You will naturally use the Microsoft
Windows Media player. Then you may wish to create a web site
for your home or business, so you use Microsoft Frontpage.
Do you see a pattern emerging? Microsoft owns everything you do. Or,
I should say, everything you're using. :)
You really should examine the products by Apple
Computer.
They are better designed, easier to use, more reliable and much more
dependable
than Windows PC's
Here is the problem. This is called a monopoly, or a near monopoly.
When a monopoly occurs, how could it benefit the interests and
needs of you, the customer? Are you getting the most for your
money? Is there an issue of stewardship here? Many of
you are now on your second or third computer. Now that you are
becoming more experienced and savvy with computers, are you going
to continue to go down the easy and broad path that everybody else
is? Aren't we supposed to be shrewd and examine all the options
before spending our money? Isn't that part of being wise as
serpents but harmless as doves? Is the majority ever right in
the Bible? Is anything wrong with this picture? You need
to put forth some effort to understand the alternatives to what the
marketplace seems to be pushing at 'eye level'. Againm like home schooling,
it does require a decision. And if more people would think,
there would already be more choices than we have now. But I
am asking you more to discern because remember spending of money is
a spiritual decision. Lifeline
Communications has built its entire business model on this premise.
I have some personal first hand experiences with the ruthless
business practices of Microsoft and how it oppresses users while
stamping out competition. Yet I will not enumerate the things
I have seen, except to say what you will find in these
links I have personally witnessed during my career in working
with computers for the last two decades. If what I have in this article
is not convincing enough for you then study thoroughly the content
of the site in the previous link.
We have to start asking ourselves, are there any long-term consequences
of just using Microsoft products without applying any effort into
looking at alternatives? Some of the alternatives are superior
in terms of how well, how reliably and how inexpensively they will
serve your needs better than the ones the marketplace is pushing.
Have you ever noticed that bargains are usually not at eye-level
in grocery stores, or at least the best values are not? Have
you ever shopped for anything and struck a better deal that didn't
require some effort on your part? These principles apply here.
Don't be fearful of trying Microsoft alternatives. I
am a twenty year veteran computer user and everything I use has no
Microsoft software in it, except for a Mac OS X computer that has
Internet Explorer which I don't use. (I use Mozilla)
We jokingly refer to these as Microsoft-free zones!
Back to the point. Why should I switch? If I haven't raised
enough already, let me throw the big one at you. We should be
asking these questions if we are discerning people. First, of
course you know that Microsoft's Chairman and largest stockholder
and its leader has the distinction of being the wealthiest man on
earth? Now think about the Scriptures for a moment. Ponder
Matthew the fourth chapter where our Savior was tempted three times
by the deceiver culminating with an offer to give Him mastery over
all the wealth of this earth if He would but bow down. Think
about the principles that are in operation in that passage, and while
you are at it think of this. Could someone become the world's
richest man in this present world without abusing or exploiting others?
If the answer is yes, should we patronize it? I pray that
you will get this. I believe that the time has come for the
Lord's people to come of out bondage to this world's system, and part
of it will be re-evaluating what the world's marketplace is trying
to sell us for our computers. Incidentally, the same thing
applies for banking and finance, and for people to become debt-free,
and to become more proactive about their health and nutrition and
many other areas besides computers.
First of all, I am not saying the righteous cannot become wealthy.
I am saying the righteous will in all probability not become
the world's wealthiest due to Satan's current control of this world.
And computers are becoming more and more integrated into our
lives. For example, I used to be able to listen to sermons on this site until
they recently changed it to a Windows-only streaming audio format.
I love and have supported this ministry but I think this is
a grave error on their part. Please visit their site and ask
them to give you alternatives (RealAudio, MP3, etc.) so you can
to try a non-Windows operating system like Mac OS or Linux.
Again, could someone become the world's richest man in this present
world without abusing or exploiting others? I believe is the
Holy Spirit will guide you that it is not possible to reach that level
of riches without resorting to tactics that are unscriptural. Ponder
this. The facts are that there has been a tremendous, long history
of exploitation. This
is an extremely good article with facts going back to the 1970's.
And you will have to decide for yourself where shrewdness ends
and sin begins.
So the problem is that by patronizing Microsoft and not really looking
into alternatives, you are allowing choices to be taken from
you in the long run and you are being sold inferior products in the
short run. Don't buy the rhetoric that there are no suitable
alternatives. At this point I am going to include
a link to a site that everyone contemplating doing anything with a
computer should study with diligence.
Alternatives
You may be saying, I would gladly switch from Windows but I don't
see how I could.
Let's examine this by categories.
1. Internet
Most ISP's work fine on the Mac and on Linux. Only a handful,
such as Netzero.net only work on Windows. And if more of you will
switch to Mac, they will support Mac OS. And, it works the same for
Linux. AOL works on Mac OS but not Linux. For browsing,
get Mozilla. It is the
same source code as Netscape 7. You could also use Netscape
7 which supports email and browsing as does Mozilla.
2. Operating System
There are two immense forces at work influencing your options for
Operating Systems. The first is Open
Source software; the second is, and we've already mentioned it,
the Internet. The reason open source is so powerful and provides so
much in the way of benefits to you is very simple: When programmers
can read, redistribute, and modify the source code for a piece of
software, the software improves automatically. People enhance it,
people adapt it, people fix bugs. And this can happen at a speed that,
if one is used to the slow pace of conventional software development,
seems astonishing.
3. Office Applications
I have to exchange Microsoft Word documents! I cannot leave
Windows. This is a myth. There are at this time many office
suites that are document-compatible with Office 97 and 2000. StarOffice,
OpenOffice, Corel Office and if you're on a Mac, Appleworks. Actually,
most of these applications are much simpler to use and will save files
that ANY computer can open.
4. Other Applications and Games
You can run a lot of Windows applications directly on Linux. There
are some great games for Linux and the Mac. There are not as
many games as there are under Windows, but again there are ways around
this. One common practice is to set up a partition with Windows and
games and another partition you use for everything else as Linux.
A lot of people say that they would try a Mac but there isn't any
software available for it. Well, if you think about it, how much extra
software do you really use? A game or two, maybe an occasional greeting
card. When it comes down to it, the average user has all the software
he needs when he first plugs his computer in and turns it on.
5. Laptops
Right now laptops are the hardest to buy without Windows, unless
you purchase a Mac Titanium. We have seen and are in the process of
searching for links of OEM's that will sell you a laptop either without
an operating system, or with Linux pre-installed. If you are looking
for a laptop, please use the contact form below and we will get you
some kind of purchase options that are Microsoft-free.
Summary and Conclusion
Don't be a Microserf. Don't be lazy or fearful concerning this.
Reseach. Read. Study in depth the alternatives. Apple is really making
some nice systems nowdays. Many businesses are saving thousands each
year by switching from Microsoft Windows and Office. Each time you
purchase a PC with Windows on it you fork over about $100-150 in licensing
fees for Microsoft. And, as we have seen that is only the beginning.
You can buy a new PC from Wal-mart running Lindows, or a similar
one from tigerdirect.com. Insidelinux.net
sells systems with Linux pre-installed. I have been running Redhat
8.0 as my primary system. It includes a world-class browser
which is the same code exactly as Netscape 7, and an Office suite
compatible with Microsoft Office called OpenOffice.
