Taking in the sites

OF THE THOUSANDS of anti-Microsoft sites out on the Web, perhaps the most impressive is that of the Microsoft Boycott Campaign, or MSBC, located at www.msboycott.com. According to the organization's FAQ ("Frequently Asked Questions"), the MSBC -- a nonprofit group that says it receives no backing from any Microsoft competitor -- was "founded in October 1996 to stop Microsoft from taking over the Internet, push back their control of the desktop and prevent them from monopolizing other industries like television and banking."

The MSBC Web site is loaded with information on non-Microsoft alternatives, news, and florid rants against the company. Why such passion? In an e-mail interview with the Phoenix, MSBC editor Paul Rickard put it this way: "If Microsoft systems are put into too many places, Microsoft could become the perfect example of George Orwell's Big Brother. It may sound like paranoid ranting, but I would prefer to sound paranoid and be wrong than ignore the problem and let Microsoft catch us all by surprise." Remember: just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.

The heart of MSBC is also the most entertaining. The "Superlist of Anti-
Microsoft Web Sites" comprises more than 250 links in a half-dozen languages. Some highlights:

www.bitstorm.org/gates Watch Bill Gates get hit in the face with a pie. Not that this is the only place on the Web to view the pie incident. This site is actually part of something called the "Pie Bill Gates Web Ring."

www.fuckmicrosoft.com "FuckMicrosoft.com was formed essentially to show off the fact that we got this domain name, and the hundreds of other anti-Microsoft sites out there didn't. Petty and stupid, but you'd do it too, given the chance."

www.frankengates.com Bill Gates comic book, from Harpoon magazine. "The ongoing saga of Billy, an unassuming average kid who was transformed into the monster that is . . . FRANKENGATES."

www.well.com/user/vanya Punch Bill Gates in the face. Or John Tesh, Michael Jackson, Captain Kirk, or Martha Stewart. And it seems that Kirk is nearly four times as unpopular as Gates. Who would have guessed?

www.theonion.com/onion3321/windows98.html "Evil Genius Gates Drops Windows 98 into NYC Water Supply." From the Onion.

www.geocities.com/SoHo/2439/empire.htm Download an "Evil Empires" sticker. If you're using Internet Explorer, you'll get this fun message: "Oh no! You are using Microsoft Internet Explorer! If you use Microsoft's browser, you are contributing to letting them dominate the internet. If this happens, they will CONTROL you!"

homepages.enterprise.net/dan/billg_media.shtml Watch a video clip of Windows 98 crashing during a product demo featuring Mr. Bill himself.

www.webho.com/WealthClock "The Bill Gates Personal Wealth Clock." Stare in horror at Gates's net worth. As of last week, Gates was worth only $81.9 billion -- down a few tens of billions since January, when Microsoft stock hit a 12-month high of $119.94 (it closed at $72.56 last Friday). But all the slide has done is cut his lead as the world's richest man.

hotwired.lycos.com/animation/collection/ocr/microsoft Mildly amusing Shockwave 'toon from the Orange County Register starring Janet Reno and Bill Gates. Reno: "We will crush you like an Internet Explorer bug."

www.cgaspesie.qc.ca/~crioux/anti-ms/gallery.htm "The Anti-
Microsoft Picture Gallery." Includes
Microsoft toilet paper, Gates morphing into Satan, and -- my personal favorite -- Michelangelo's God incinerating Gates's head with one blast from the Divine Eyeballs. An angel smiles.

www.boomstick.com/boughtmyballs "Bill Gates Bought Our Balls." Not as funny as it sounds, but it does have a neat audio file of AC/DC singing about having "the biggest balls of all."

www.vegasdeluxe.com/comdex/gatesomatic.html "Gates-O-Matic." A Shockwave animation that lets you dress Gates. And you know what? He looks damn good in heels and a skirt.

-- D.K.

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