Can You Live Without Microsoft? One expert evaluates the necessity of Microsoft software.

When my computer comes on in the morning, there it is: theMicrosoft logo signaling Windows 98 kicking into action. SoonMicrosoft icons cover my desktop-Word, Excel, Internet Explorer andmore. But with Microsoft judged a certified villain by the federalgovernment, am I guilty by association with all my use of Microsoftstuff? Are you? For any entrepreneur, these are more than academicquestions because if there's anything we should be against,it's big guys who deny oxygen to little companies.

Hold your snickers, Mac users, because you're in no bettershape when it comes to using Microsoft software. If you don'tbelieve that, click here.

Can we purge ourselves of complicity by ridding our computers ofMicrosoft software? This morning that question gnawed at my brainand I set off to find the facts for homebased entrepreneurs whodon't have much time or technical expertise. For starters, whatabout Linux, the so-called "open source" operating systemthat's winning fans and offers from the Windows operatingsystem?

The bad news: Linux, even in its more consumer-friendly guises,isn't an open-the-box-and-off-we-go piece of software. I'veread the reviews, talked with friends who've installed it, and,yeah, it's a viable option...but not for homebased users whodon't have lots of patience or computer expertise. Linux mayeven offer more stability than Windows 98 (meaning it doesn'tcrash often), but it also offers little of the ease-of-use ofWindows 98-an operating system that's admirably simple, visualand polished. A few years from now, maybe Linux will offer a realoption because it keeps evolving, but I know I'm nowhere nearyanking Windows 98 off my computer.

At least I could zap Microsoft application software, right?Let's find out, program by program. Here, I'll go over theimportant apps I use every day and you can do likewise. At the end,we'll know how easy it is to exorcise this devil from our harddrives.

• Microsoft Word. It's the office mainstay, but asturdy, good alternative exists: Corel's WordPerfect. WordPerfect maynot have quite so many features, but Word long ago became sofeature rich, it's doubtful anybody could ever use all itsenhancements.

• Microsoft Excel. Microsoft owns the spreadsheet market,too, but there is a decent alternative: Lotus 1-2-3, once the category killer inits niche, is now an also-ran but it's still fine code.

• Microsoft Outlook. The premier business e-mail app has agood alternative-the free Outlook Express-but that, too, is fromMicrosoft. Are there other apps? Poco is good shareware, but itisn't free. Verdict: Most users are stuck with using aMicrosoft e-mail app.

• Microsoft PowerPoint. It's the standard presentationsoftware application. Nothing rivals it.

• Microsoft Money. Breathe easily because Quicken is every bit as good-maybebetter-for tracking personal finance.

• Microsoft Internet Explorer. There's no rival toMSIE. AOL, which owns Netscape, has demoed a new, updatedversion, but until it's on lots of desktops and shows it works,Netscape can no longer be counted as a viable alternative to thefar slicker and more stable MSIE.

Are you getting the picture? We could cut Microsoft out of dailyroutines-at least on the application side-but it wouldn't beeasy or fun, In some cases, we'd have to resort to decidedlyinferior software just to make a statement that we won't abidethis Charlie Manson of software makers. For every instance where aQuicken is hands-down better than the Microsoft product,there's a counter-instance of MSIE, where, honestly, thecompetition long ago left the field.

No matter what the courts decide, here's my verdict:Microsoft may have done unkind things to competitors in its racefor monopoly power, but for now, it sure makes some dandy softwareand I know I'm not going to delete it all from my machine. Howabout you?

Robert McGarvey covers the Web-and plays with the latest coolgadgets-from his home office in Santa Rosa, California. Visit hisWeb page at www.mcgarvey.net.

Microsoft Rules The Mac

A Powerbook 3400 is my traveling companion, and surely, when Iboot up that Apple, I am purged of Microsoft's villainy. Hah!Yes, the operating system-Mac OS 9-is free of anyMicrosoft connection. But when I write a document, it's inMicrosoft Word-and for Mac users, there is no real competitivesoftware aimed at business users. When I manipulate spreadsheets,it's with Microsoft Excel. When I browse the Net, it's withMicrosoft Internet Explorer. As for e-mail, I use Microsoft'sOutlook Express. In each case, this is the best software there isthat runs on the Mac platform.

Determined Microsoft bashers could use Apple Works, anall-in-one application with a word processor, spreadsheet, etc.,but that's more suited to personal use than business use.Netscape could replace IE, but IE is much slicker. And no e-mailpackage written for the Mac comes close to matching Microsoft'sOutlook Express. Jettisoning this software in a search for acomputer freed from Microsoft's rule would be a bigmistake-at least I won't do it.

Incidentally, Microsoft's role on the Mac platform is notaccidental. In 1997, Microsoft stunningly invested $150 million inan Apple Computer that was on its deathbed. When Microsoftannounced this infusion of cash, it rocked the computer world, aspundits searched for a "why." Microsoft also promised tocontinue developing Mac software, and this was at a time when otherdevelopers were looking askance at the then-shrinking Mac market.At the end of the day, no one really knows why Microsoft did this,but it's indisputable that the money pumped new life intoApple. In retrospect, the Microsoft investment looks brilliant, asApple has made quite a turnaround. But an ironic upshot is thatMicrosoft may now have more decisive rule over Apple users thanover PC users, given the federal ruling.