Boycott Microsoft

Boycott Microsoft.
Protect the future of computing technology.

Matt Welsh, mdw@cs.berkeley.edu
Last updated 5 April 2000

Translations: [ Deutsch ] [ Italiano ]

Newsflash: (June 7, 2000)
Microsoft ordered to split into two companies
Full text of ruling here

"Viewed together, three main facts indicate that Microsoft enjoys monopoly power. First, Microsoft's share of the market for Intel-compatible PC operating systems is extremely large and stable. Second, Microsoft's dominant market share is protected by a high barrier to entry. Third, and largely as a result of that barrier, Microsoft's customers lack a commercially viable alternative to Windows."
"The ultimate result is that some innovations that would truly benefit consumers never occur for the sole reason that they do not coincide with Microsoft's self-interest."
-- from Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's Findings of Fact (United States of America v. Microsoft Corporation, C.A. 98-1232; State of New York, ex rel. Eliot Spitzer, et al., v. Microsoft Corporation, C.A. 98-1233), November 5, 1999.

I believe that Microsoft Corporation represents a serious threat to the future development of computing technology, and perhaps to society at large. While anti-Microsoft sentiment is widespread, that there are many important issues which are unrelated to the Department of Justice lawsuit. As Computer Scientists and computer professionals, that we have a duty to support alternatives to Microsoft technology, to ensure the continued openness of Computer Science research and teaching, as well as the growth of the Internet and related technologies.

We must boycott Microsoft to prevent any single corporation from dictating the role of computer technology in education, research, and commerce.

We have all seen examples of how Microsoft has worked towards gaining a monopoly on computing technology in everything ranging from our desktop PCs to the largest database servers, to the protocols used on the Internet to the software which runs in our hand-held Personal Digital Assistants --- and even our automobiles and microwave ovens. I believe that the pervasive nature of Microsoft's technology is inherently dangerous in that it does not leave room for alternatives or improvements; rather, it constrains the ways in which we use, build upon, and think about computing technology at all levels.

To this end I personally boycott Microsoft and all related technology in my personal and professional computer usage. This site is devoted to outlining the issues surrounding the impending Microsoft monopoly and what you can do about it.

What you can find on this site:

Latest news and developments related to this page.
A Quick Summary of the arguments on this site, for those short on time.
Background information on the dangers of Microsoft technology.
Here are some Good Reasons to Boycott Microsoft.
Find out about Alternatives to Microsoft Technology and what you can do to support them.
The philosophy behind Open Source Systems as an effective weapon against the Microsoft monopoly.
Related Sites and Links for further information.
Who are you? Background on the author.
Contact Information and how you can get involved.

Comments and corrections for this site are always appreciated; see the contact page.