It's . There are better alternatives for literally everything Microsoft makes. Let's explore them.
Microsoft has systematically acquired and monopolized every aspect of our digital infrastructure. From GitHub's acquisition destroying open-source independence, to Teams being forced upon organizations, to Windows telemetry treating users as products - enough is enough. Better alternatives exist for EVERYTHING.
Every Microsoft product and its superior alternatives
The privacy nightmare OS
Linux distributions offer true ownership of your computer. No telemetry, no forced updates, no ads. macOS provides a polished ecosystem with actual privacy respect.
The overpriced subscription trap
LibreOffice does everything Office does, for free, forever. Google Workspace offers superior collaboration. For developers, Markdown with Pandoc is infinitely more powerful.
The inferior cloud platform
AWS offers 3x more services and better reliability. GCP has superior AI/ML capabilities. OCI provides better price-performance. DigitalOcean is simpler and developer-friendly.
Once great, now Microsoft-ified
GitLab offers complete DevOps platform with self-hosting. Gitea is lightweight and fast. Codeberg is truly open-source focused. Own your code, don't let Microsoft own it.
The enterprise money drain
Linux servers power 96.3% of the world's top million servers. They're more secure, more efficient, completely free, and don't need reboots for months. Windows Server is literally choosing the worst option for 10x the price.
The forced collaboration disaster
Slack invented modern team communication. Discord has superior voice/video. Matrix offers federated, encrypted communication. All better than Teams.
The overpriced database
PostgreSQL is free and outperforms SQL Server in most benchmarks. It has better JSON support, better extensions, and runs everywhere. Why pay thousands for inferior tech?
The desperate Chrome clone
Firefox respects privacy. Brave blocks ads natively. Safari is more efficient. Literally any browser is better than Edge's desperate attempts at relevance.
The legacy authentication mess
Modern identity providers offer cloud-native SSO, better security, and work with everything. Keycloak is open-source and superior. Why stick with 90s technology?
The bloated IDE
JetBrains IDEs are superior for every language. VSCode (ironically) is lighter and better. Neovim for the enlightened. All cross-platform, all better.
Specific recommendations for your use case
Escape the Windows prison
Code in freedom
Save millions, gain control
Build on solid foundations
Learn with open tools
Gaming beyond Windows
You're paying for inferior products. LibreOffice is free and does everything Office does. Linux is free and respects your privacy. Firefox doesn't spy on you. You have zero reason to stay with Microsoft.
You're coding on an OS that fights you. Linux is what servers run. Git was made for Linux. Every tool works better on Unix. WSL is Microsoft admitting Windows is wrong for development.
You're burning money on licenses. PostgreSQL beats SQL Server. Linux servers are more stable. Slack is better than Teams. You could save millions annually and get better technology.
Microsoft's monopoly exists only because of inertia and ignorance. Every single product they make has a superior alternative. Every. Single. One.
This isn't about ideology. It's about using the best tools for the job.
And Microsoft hasn't made the best tool for any job since the 1990s.