Saturday, December 17, 2005

Delete Windows?
(Yes/No/[HELL YES!])

I'm going to do something I've never done before, and probably never do again: recommend a book I have no intention of reading, much less buying.

The book is Just Say No to Microsoft: How to Ditch Microsoft and Why It's Not as Hard as You Think, by Tony Bove, "Writer, producer, market-messaging consultant, musician, and book author." (His words, and his link to Amazon. The man is nothing if not commercial.)

I'm recommending the book because of a Washington Post webchat, Bove's page Get Off Microsoft, and his Get Off Microsoft Blog, now listed in the sidebar. All have useful information on ways to do things with a computer that don't involve bowing in the general direction of Redmond. There's a lot on Linux alternatives, but just as much on Macs, and he's not adverse to recommending Open Source or other non-MS software on Windows machines.

So why won't I read it? Well, if it showed up under the Christmas tree (Kids: this is not a hint) I'd read it, but I know most of the stuff in the book, so I don't need to buy it for myself. My bosses are Mac-centric and Linux friendly, so I don't need to convince them.

I guess it would be a good stocking stuffer for friends using Windows, except the only friends that would appreciate it are fellow geeks, and geeks who use Windows aren't really geeks.

So I'll just recommend it to the 50+ per cent of you that read this blog and still, for whatever reason, use Windows.

There's an alternative!

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