I've never met anyone who genuinely liked Microsoft as a company, or felt that Windows was the best operating system on the market. I'm sure that such people exist somewhere, but for the most part, PC users seem more like they are stuck using Windows and MS Office and other Microsoft software programs. They feel like they have no choice. The explosive growth of desktop GNU/Linux software distributions and affordable GNU/Linux-based desktop computers has begun to change all that. And of course, for as long as there have been personal computers, there has been Apple. On the surface, Tony Bove's Just Say No to Microsoft seems to be a book that both points out Microsoft's problems and downsides, and suggests viable alternatives. Unfortunately it's poorly researched and appears to spread at least as much misinformation as it tries to debunk.

Writing analysis

The general trend of Just Say No to Microsoft is to bash Microsoft and all of its software products, and push competing Apple products. Much of the claims made by Bove are not cited, so readers can't really tell whether he's offering his opinions or repeating facts. Much of the Microsoft history he relates would be better served with some sources listed.

There are several factual errors in this book, and many things that the author has misinterpreted or misunderstood. The first and most egregious is the author's amateurish lack of understanding of the terms "open source" and "free software," which is strange considering both the Open Source Initiative and the Free Software Foundation offer very clear, detailed, quotable, and easy to find definitions of these terms. In the book, the author claims that open source software is given away for free and maintained by volunteers, both of which are untrue as statements of fact. Two of the largest open source programs in the world -- the Linux kernel and the OpenOffice.org suite -- are maintained at the top by professional, full-time programmers who are paid to work on them. The largest open source software vendors -- Red Hat and Sun Microsystems -- profitably charge for open source and open source-based software. This basic misrepresentation of free software and the GNU/Linux operating system ruins the author's credibility throughout the rest of the book. How can readers trust Tony Bove to recommend alternative solutions when he has such an elementary misunderstanding of what can reasonably be said to be the top Microsoft Windows and Office replacements?

All of the non-Windows example screen shots are clearly taken on a Macintosh computer, and the author consistently pushes Apple systems as the primary alternative to Microsoft Windows-based computers, leaving GNU/Linux as an afterthought despite the fact that it works on the same hardware that Windows does. He says at one point that "Only the brave might try Linux on the desktop," without providing clear reasons as to why a user must be brave; he then goes on to say that Apple computers are easier to use, again without providing any evidence. The only screen shots of GNU/Linux that readers see are of ancient versions of the GNOME and KDE desktop environments with blocky and unattractive themes -- almost as if to show that the only attractive desktop environment in the author's world is OS X. The book also misrepresents KDE by getting its acronym wrong. Microsoft-bashing aside, I'd say that Just Say No to Microsoft is less of a book about Microsoft alternatives and more of a volunteer advertisement for buying Apple computers. There's nothing wrong with that if it is the stated purpose of the book, but Just Say No to Microsoft claims to present alternatives to Windows and Office, and it doesn't objectively do that. Instead it offers opinion interspersed with occasional cited fact, misrepresentation of GNU/Linux, and information that is just plain incorrect. Where were Tony Bove's editors?

Putting the book to the test

The gist of Just Say No to Microsoft is to switch to Apple, or if you are "brave," to switch to GNU/Linux; and to switch from MS Office to OpenOffice.org or AbiWord. There are other books by No Starch Press and competing publishers that better accomplish the task of helping readers migrate data and program settings from Windows to either GNU/Linux or OS X. Just Say No to Microsoft is light on migration details and heavy on anti-Microsoft fervor. That Microsoft has done unethical things is provable and undeniable, but the book makes many allegations that aren't backed up by verifiable facts. Someday I hope to see a good biography on Microsoft, but Just Say No to Microsoft isn't it.

Copyright 2006 Jem Matzan.