MikeRoweSoft.com

I just read your article, "Microsoft, The Goliath backs down." I generally like your article, though I'm not in complete agreement.

You present Mike Rowe as an innocent teenager who became an unwitting victim of Microsoft. Though I don't know Rowe personally and haven't followed his case all that closely, my perception is that he knew exactly what he was doing and was probably hoping to get a little money out of Microsoft.

Not that that's a bad thing. Microsoft did over-react - big time. Moreover, I HATE Microsoft - probably far more than Rowe does. In fact, I e-mailed Rowe, told him about my anti-Microsoft crusade and offered to support him. He never even replied.

Also, I read that he was raking in a fortune from E-Bay - more than $100,000. Sounds to me like Bill Gates got beat at his own game - fleecing people.

If Rowe was REALLY a crusader, he would have put more anti-Microsoft material online. (Or maybe I just never checked his website closely enough.)

I ran for public office in Seattle last year and blasted both Bill Gates and George W. Bush - in the Voters Pamphlet. I got no support at all. Of course, the corrupt media (e.g. the Seattle Times, etc.) never even mentioned me. I'm currently developing an anti-Microsoft website at http://www.freedomware.us/ I'm THINKING of acquiring a domain name somewhat similar to MikeRoweSoft.com, partly for the publicity but also to make a stand for free speech and citizen's rights. Bill Gates needs to learn that he doesn't own the whole world. There's such a thing as PARODY sites, and anyone who's too stupid to distinguish them from the real Microsoft is probably too stupid to purchase the competition anyway - they're going to buy Microsoft.

I'm thinking of running for STATE office this year, once again blasting George Bush and Microsoft in the Voters Pamphlet. If I do, I'll probably turn to Canada and other nations for support; I've received little more than criticism here in the U.S.

The open-source community generally doesn't care about politics; they're just looking for a better operating system. People critciize me when I come down too hard on Bill Gates; they think he's basically a nice guy. As a former teacher and a political activist who was given a computer virus by Bill Gates Senior, I beg to differ. I may have lost my job due to Bill Gates, too, but that's another story.

But the Gates clan screwed up when they picked on me. I don't run away - I fight back, and they have a lot more to lose than I do.

I live near Ground Zero, and I can tell you lots of stories about Bill Gates. He's actually WORSE than most people realize. So is he as bad as his partner in crime, Paul Allen? Don't EVEN get me started!

So, you are willing to make it your lifes goal and pursuit to bring down Microsoft? I mean, this is the way I see it now. Politics are already full of nay sayers and negative campaigns.....Why not try to do several positive things rather than contributing to all of the other negatives out there. We coudl really use that. Plenty of people are doing what you are doing, and we really dont need another. Its like trying to topple a mountain with a shovel.

Well what is he if he isn't an innocent teenager? I think the idea behind the registration of the domain was a joke. If Microsoft gets angry because of a joke, Mike Rowe is really innocent.

We can't know if his intention was to get money or not (and I personally don't care), but as long as there is no proof for that, I don't believe it.

I also agree 100% with nawlej. I know, everyone hates something but you should really think if it's worth giving your life to it.

You ran for office in Seattle, your location is Seattle, but you live near Ground Zero. Even if you lived near Ground Zero in 01, that would mean you ran for public office in 03, which means you would not even have been eligible, because you were not a resident of the State of Washington long enough.



I listened to a interview on TechTV with Rowe, and he point blank said he only registered the domain because he thought it would be funny and a good gimick to get interet traffic. At that point of the interview I was guessing he was saying that because of possiable lawsuits if he said the wrong thing. Then he was listing everything he got (MSDN subsription, tour of Redmond, xbox, etc) he then said he is going to install linux on the xbox, which I thought was histerical, and proved the interview was not scripted, as microsoft lawyers probably created cowpies in their pants when they heard it.


Your not a very happy person, are you?

"So, you are willing to make it your lifes goal and pursuit to bring down Microsoft?"

Not at all. Microsoft is just part of the bigger picture. I advocate social and political reform, which ultimately means bringing corporations to bay.

"I mean, this is the way I see it now. Politics are already full of nay sayers and negative campaigns."

Not really. I mean, Republicans are allowed to get away with it, but anyone who criticizes George W. Bush is deemed unpatriotic, and most people quickly clam up. The Seattle establishment goes to extraordinary lengths to promote "civility." In fact, there's even a local law that prohibits candidates from even MENTIONING their opponents in the Voters Pamphlet. I couldn't mention my opponent even if I wanted to compliment him!

Howard Dean had the right idea - people need to get fired up. When people value civility more than they do jobs, democracy, even their own children, that's exactly what they'll get - nothing but phony civility.

"Why not try to do several positive things rather than contributing to all of the other negatives out there."

Attacking corruption IS positive! Would you say a doctor who cuts cancer out of a patient is doing something negative? It's illogical.

"Plenty of people are doing what you are doing, and we really dont need another."

Where are they? When I ran for public office last time, I wanted to network with other candidates who were making Microsoft an issue. There were none in Seattle. There weren't any in Washington State. So I searched for candidates who were holding Microsoft accountable or simply promoting open-source (POSITIVE campaigning at its best) across America. Score? Zip. The ONLY open-source candidate I've learned about to date was a guy in Spain.

"It's like trying to topple a mountain with a shovel."

It is as long as I'm the only one wielding a shovel. In that event, we're doomed anyway. Nothing will change until a large number of people begin to CARE enough to get involved.

It happened before. Read up on the American Socialist and labor movements. Thanks to them, we enjoy the 40-hour work week, overtime pay, fair treatment, labor unions, and child labor laws. Of course, all of these gains are now being rapidly eroded - because no one's fighting back.

Speak for yourself, after the first 8 hours I hate every second.

**The previous was a lame attempt at making a joke, and to show codebear life can be funny**

ME: I live near Ground Zero.

"You ran for office in Seattle, your location is Seattle, but you live near Ground Zero. Even if you lived near Ground Zero in 01, that would mean you ran for public office in 03, which means you would not even have been eligible, because you were not a resident of the State of Washington long enough."

Sorry, I should have specified. By Ground Zero, I mean REDMOND - the home of Microsoft. I live near Redmond. I live just a few blocks from the fast food joint where Bill Gates was interviewed after he got his butt kicked in court. I live even closer to Bill Gates' bizarre K-12 "Leadership Institute." I live near Ground Zero of corporate Seattle.

"You're not a happy person are you?"

Well, I'm certainly not an ignorant person. In America we have a saying: "Ignorance is bliss."

**The previous was a lame attempt at making a joke, and to show codebear life can be funny**

Yes, I know life can be funny. As a matter of fact, "negative campaigning" can even be funny. I could show you some pretty funny stuff I've written if all my websites were online.

I'm in the middle of a lot of stuff - revising webstes, moving websites around, etc.

Remember that pie Bill Gates got in the face? That was funny. Mike Rowe's stunt was funny. There's lots of funny stuff out there.

You know, its pretty simple....If you dont like it, don't use their product. Obviously, enough people use their products to stay in business, so of course you arent going to get much support. It is apparent that you are trying to sway your view on the VAST MAJORITY who do not share it. It is a corporation. There are HUNDREDS just like it. What are you doing about them? Why did you decide to pick on just one? Just because I live in Texas near all of the oil in this country, does not mean I am going to run for office to protest the prices of oil and the injustices of the oil industry. Until the software industry releases a competitive product that 75% of the country knows, dont expect to see a change. And heres the low down on politicians: Very few of them actually believe what they campaign for. The ones who campaign on the truth usually dont win...If you expect to have a future in politics, you should learn to accept that. I would imagine that Microsoft employees quite a lot of people, and has quite a lot of stock holders in the Seattle area. Who is going to elect you knowing you want to take money away from the stocks they are making money off of? Also, who is going to vote for you knowing that you are verbally attacking the company they work for. You say you are for social reform. I think to understand how to reform something, you need to understand the big picture....Capitalism drives America. Microsoft makes money. Get over it.

"You know, its pretty simple....If you dont like it, don't use their product."

That isn't simple - it's simplistic. First, it can be very difficult to avoid using Microsoft products. After all, Microsoft is a MONOPOLY.

Second, it's not just about Microsoft products. I used to work in public education. It was horribly corrupt when I began - and it kept getting worse. When I discovered that Bill Gates was running the school district, I wasn't terribly pleased. I began investigating Microsoft's education ventures and was utterly shocked - they have nothing to do with helping children (or anyone else).

It's also about political corruption. We all know the government works for corporations, and Microsoft is one of the worst.

And it's about national security - on several different levels, from security flaws to Big Brother. Do you want Microsoft controlling the Internet? People who believe that's impossible are delusional. Look at China. Look at George W. Bush - one of Bill Gates' best friends.

"Obviously, enough people use their products to stay in business, so of course you arent going to get much support."

Actually, people who campaign for ANY kind of reform seldom get much support for the simple reason that Americans are frighteningly uninformed and apathetic. That's why we're going downhill. That's why we'll continue going downhill until people wake up.

"It is apparent that you are trying to sway your view on the VAST MAJORITY who do not share it."

I sure am.

"It is a corporation. There are HUNDREDS just like it."

Actually, there's only one corporation that dominates the software industry and is a convicted monopoly that has blackmailed more than 500 public schools that I'm aware of.

"What are you doing about them? Why did you decide to pick on just one?"

Who said I'm picking on just one? I responded to a post about MICROSOFT, not a post about Microsoft, Boeing and Enron.

"Just because I live in Texas near all of the oil in this country, does not mean I am going to run for office to protest the prices of oil and the injustices of the oil industry."

I doubt that more than one Texan in 10,000 has run for office to protest oil industry corruption. Similarly, I'm the only Seattleite who has campaigned against Microsoft. That's what makes people like me so special.

"Until the software industry releases a competitive product that 75% of the country knows, dont expect to see a change."

Actually, the industry HAS released competitive products. Unfortunately, they couldn't survive Microsoft's cutthroat tactics (and monopoly).

"And heres the low down on politicians: Very few of them actually believe what they campaign for. The ones who campaign on the truth usually dont win...If you expect to have a future in politics, you should learn to accept that."

Let me see if I've got this straight: I shouldn't speak the truth, because I won't get elected that way. So I should only run for office if I'm going to, what - LIE?

That would make sense if I was a "politician," but I'm more of an "activist" who uses the political arena to advance the cause. Truth is EVERYTHING. If only five percent of the population listens, that's still better than a campaign where no one speaks the truth at all.

"I would imagine that Microsoft employees quite a lot of people, and has quite a lot of stock holders in the Seattle area."

Right. They employ a lot of people in India, too. It's called OUTSOURCING.

"Who is going to elect you knowing you want to take money away from the stocks they are making money off of?"

Who said I'm going to take money away from them? I want to kick Bill Gates' corrupt butt out of MY schools. If people want to work for him, that's their business. Even if I was able to destroy Microsoft, don't you think other companies would replace it? Come one - we're talking about the SOFTWARE INDUSTRY! Bill Gates is not indispensable.

"Also, who is going to vote for you knowing that you are verbally attacking the company they work for."

Some of my friends who work for companies that Microsoft has attacked.

"You say you are for social reform. I think to understand how to reform something, you need to understand the big picture....Capitalism drives America. Microsoft makes money. Get over it."

Some of will never accept a government run by plutocrats. Get over that.

I agree with nawlej...

I dont like Mcdonalds, so I go to Wendys. I prefer Durex over Trojan, I dont like Via Chipsets so I use Intel Chipsets, I like 100% cotten better then polyester-blend, I like Dell better then Compaq. The point I am trying to make, if you dont like Microsoft or its products, use Macintosh, OpenOffice, Linux, BSD, etc etc etc. There ARE alternatives to everything. Forcing your mind-numbing opinion that 'Microsoft is bad' on the world isnt going get you anywhere.

I cant imagine why the local newspapers didnt give you any spotlight, if you campaigned like you post. *snore*

"You know, its pretty simple....If you dont like it, don't use their product"

Hmmmm... You must not have read my last post. Let me explain again: It isn't just about Microsoft products (which I am indeed moving away from, as time and money allow). My biggest issue is education reform, and one of the biggest culprits is Bill Gates. Now, seriously, do you think Gates is going to stop exploiting children if I simply start using Linux? Obviously, that's absurd.

Government corruption: Is Bill Gates going to butt out of government if I move my websites to Linux servers? In fact, I've already moved my websites - but Gates hasn't budged.

"I dont like Mcdonalds, so I go to Wendys."

I don't eat hamburgers.

"Forcing your mind-numbing opinion that 'Microsoft is bad' on the world isnt going get you anywhere."

If you find my opinion "mind-numbing," then why do you read my posts? Life is full of choices. If you don't like my anti-Microsoft posts, practice what you preach and read other threads. It's really that simple!

"I cant imagine why the local newspapers didnt give you any spotlight, if you campaigned like you post."

You've never heard of the "corporate media"? *snore*

But I'm not suggesting that you take an interest in media corruption. You've made it pretty clear that you really don't care about Microsoft, corporate corruption in general or anything else except hamburgers and Trojans. So it would probably be best if you stuck with hamburgers and Trojans and left the politics to me. That way we can both have fun!

I AM having fun, or atleast attempting to. However I thank my lucky behind that I am a registered voter and that your not running for office in Western Pa

I wish you luck on your crusade versus Microsoft, but... THINK about coming up with your own ideas, get publicity for the right reasons, not because you know how to register a domain.

Thats my .02, and Im done.

"I AM having fun, or atleast attempting to. However I thank my lucky behind that I am a registered voter and that your not running for office in Western Pa "

Wow, you're really intimidated by me, aren't you?

"I wish you luck on your crusade versus Microsoft, but... THINK about coming up with your own ideas, get publicity for the right reasons, not because you know how to register a domain."

No, silly, it isn't about knowing how to register a domain. It's about free speech, the importance of "parody rights," and... oops, I forgot - you don't care about any of that stuff.

Sheez, I'm glad you don't live in Seattle. We're buried in apathy as it is!