What's New

Welcome to the KMFMS "What's New" page. The goal of this page is to keep you up to date on what has changed on the KMFMS website so that you can very easily check back from time to time. Incremental improvements have been made to all the pages on KMFMS since the site's introduction, particularly the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page, but we realized that most of these changes would not be obvious to repeat visitors and the site would appear stagnant, despite the fact that the content is indeed growing. This "changelog" page is the first attempt to remedy this situation. As various pages on KMFMS are changed, the changes will be listed here so that you have instant access to a list of what has changed since your last visit.

For your added convenience, you can be notified by email when this page changes using the ChangeDetection service below.

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KMFMS News and Changelog

• August 22, 2021
  • Removed the KMFMS bookstore. Amazon has discontinued the offering.
• August 12, 2011
  • Removed link for Belorussian translation after discovering it was juice farming.
• June 3, 2011
  • Added a link for a new Belorussian translation to the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page.
• February 5, 2010
  • Updated quite a few stale links on the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page with fresh references and added a few new references.
• February 28, 2006
  • Expanded the description of office suite alternatives on the Microsoft Alternatives page to better match what people are searching for when they come to this site from web searches.
  • Expanded the email server alternatives on the Microsoft Alternatives page to include appropriate links to the KMFMS discussion forums.
  • Added Cafe Press' "make your own stuff" service to the list of possible sources for stickers on The KMFMS Sticker Initiative page.
• February 7, 2006
  • Expanded the section on Outlook alternatives on the Microsoft Alternatives page. A lot of people have been coming to this site searching for this recently.
  • Noted pending reconsideration of recommendation status for the Sony PlayStation on the Microsoft Alternatives page.
  • Emphasized the KMFMS forums more on the the KMFMS FAQ contact section.
  • Removed "new" classification from the KMFMS discussion forums.
• July 21, 2005
  • Resurrected the KMFMS discussion forums. The forums were previously hosted by Everyone.net, but they discontinued this service around a year and a half ago and our forum links have been dead ever since. Now the forums are back in an entirely new way (hence the "new" images) - we're hosting them on-site now so we have much better control over them and hope to make them substantially more useful than before. The good folks at Everyone.net were kind enough to send us an archive of the old forums, so the old messages are back as well.
  • Overhauled the Microsoft Alternatives page in order to bring it into this millennium. Everything was reviewed in order remove dead links/products/services and to update the recommendations with today's best of breed solutions.
  • Thoroughly cleaned the KMFMS Links page. Stale links and items were removed and the recommended reading improved.
  • Brought the Linux section of the KMFMS FAQ up to date and noted the presence of applicable forums in various portions of the KMFMS FAQ.
  • Updated the KMFMS email page to reflect new pricing and to remove a dead link.
  • Discontinued additions to the list of reciprocal links. The old links are still there for the time being, and if you have already submitted a reciprocal link for consideration it might be added to the list at some point (that is not guaranteed, though).
• May 20, 2005
  • Posted a warning about recent scam emails sent to steal PayPal login information and using a forged kmfms.com email address.
• March 4, 2005
  • Replaced the KMFMS mailing lists with the change notification system on the "News and Changelog" page. If you previously signed up for a mailing list, you will need to sign up using the notification system to continue receiving updates.
  • Discontinued the Content Contribution Program. For those who have already submitted content, we haven't reviewed all the submissions yet so you may still qualify for a free t-shirt (we will contact you if you do).
  • Clarified relationship with 2CheckOut, both in the store and in the previous "Changelog" entry.
• April 17, 2004
  • Added a new site to the reciprocal links section.
• January 28, 2004
  • We have unfortunately been forced to discontinue the free email service (for new accounts at kmfms.com). Unfortunately, spammers ruined the service by signing up for free email accounts which they then used in the "From" address of spam that they sent. They did not use the KMFMS network or the Everyone.net network to send spam - they sent the spam from their own servers and forged the "From" address. But they were creating these junk accounts for some reason (perhaps to gather responses), so as of today, all new KMFMS accounts must be paid accounts. After offering free email for many years, it is sad that it had to end this way - the spammers can be thanked for killing the service.
• January 23, 2004
  • Added some new sites to the reciprocal links section.
• March 6, 2003
  • Discovered a gem of an article (from the MSDN website of all places) describing the ill effects of Microsoft's bugs and backward incompatibilities. Added descriptions of and links to this article to the "Backward Incompatibility" and "Bugs" sections of the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page.
  • Updated the name of Netscape's communication suite and email client on the Microsoft Alternatives page.
  • Added some new sites to the reciprocal links section.
• January 23, 2003
  • Added a prominent feature promoting the new GNU Win CD on the Microsoft Alternatives page and also added a link to the web page for the CD on the KMFMS Links page.
  • Added a new article submitted by one of our readers to the "Perpetual Upgrading" section of the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page.
  • Clarified the reference to "doublespeak" on the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page.
• December 6, 2002
  • Added a description of the Code Red virus to the "insecurity" section of page "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page.
  • Updated the links to Speakeasy on the Microsoft alternatives page and removed the disclaimer associated with the links as it is no longer pertinent.
  • Re-enabled the ability to order Large t-shirts from the KMFMS Store.
• November 20, 2002
  • Added a notice to the KMFMS store about the credit card processing company as required by new credit card company regulations.
• November 11, 2002
  • Expanded the "Perpetual Upgrading" section of the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page and added some examples and references.
  • Temporarily disabled the ability to order Large t-shirts due to delays from our supplier. Other sizes may still be ordered (for now).
• October 28, 2002
  • Added a description of Microsoft's predatory practices against Blue Mountain Arts to the "Predatory Practices" section of the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page.
  • Replaced broken links to Spyglass.com on the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page with appropriate placeholders.
  • Added an alternative link for the Google Directory listing in the recommended reading section.
• September 26, 2002
  • Updated the mailing address for KMFMS on all applicable pages.
  • Re-enabled the option for ordering KMFMS products via mail order.
  • Updated the link on the KMFMS Download Page to the KMFMS-X theme for Windowmaker. Also updated the associated author.
• August 14, 2002
  • Added a description of the recent SSL security hole in Internet Explorer to the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page.
  • Added a description of the FTC inquiry into Microsoft's deceptive practices to the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page.
  • Added links to mirrored copies for two articles on the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page whose links had died.
  • Added a new, potential sticker provider to The KMFMS Sticker Initiative page.
  • Temporarily disabled the option for ordering KMFMS products via mail order while KMFMS physically relocates.
  • Fixed some typos on the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page.
• July 25, 2002
  • Added a Spanish translation of the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page.
  • Replaced all known dead links on the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page with links to a explanation of the links' status and recommendations on how to track down the original content.
  • Added a new sites to the recommended reading section.
• July 16, 2002
  • Added new listings to both the "Email Client" and "Email Server" sections on the Microsoft alternatives page.
  • Added some new sites to the reciprocal links section.
• April 5, 2002
  • Fixed a typo on the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page.
• March 26, 2002
  • Added a new link to the "Vaporware" section of the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page.
  • Replaced some dead links with working mirrors in the "Vaporware" section of the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page.
  • Added a new link to the "Predatory Practices" section of the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page.
  • Changed the email address of a contributor on the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page.
  • Added a new site to the reciprocal links section.
• March 21, 2002
  • Added an "Email Client" section to the Microsoft alternatives page.
  • Changed recommended office suite from StarOffice to OpenOffice on the Microsoft alternatives page. Sun Microsystems recently announced that they will be charging a nominal fee for StarOffice, which is their prerogative, but this makes OpenOffice a more attractive lure for those using MS Office because it is still free and it has nearly identical functionality to StarOffice.
  • Updated the URLs on the Microsoft alternatives page for downloading Netscape and clarified that Netscape Navigator is part of Netscape Communicator for those wishing to download Navigator.
  • Fixed a typo on the Microsoft alternatives page.
  • Updated the KMFMS copyright notice to acknowledge the technical support being provided to KMFMS.
• March 13, 2002
  • Replaced a dead link to some intro-to-Linux material on the Linux section of the KMFMS FAQ with a working link. Also added another website to the list of sites with information on Linux.
  • Fixed a typo on the main page.
• February 13, 2002
  • Switched the way that credit card orders for KMFMS products are handled. Ended the use of the credit card processing service from Cardservice/Authorizenet and because using 2CheckOut as an authorized retailer of products. In the process, redesigned the order form for t-shirts and mouespads to (hopefully) be much simpler.
  • Changed the base shipping and handling charge on orders.
  • Added a new site to the reciprocal links section.
  • Reverted The KMFMS Sticker Initiative page to its previous form - whatIsay.com has run into delays in printing their KMFMS stickers, but you can still contact them to express interest.
• January 14, 2002
  • Switched the email alert system from URLy Warning to ChangeDetection.com. We have been unable to reach the URLy Warning website for awhile now and we fear that it has gone the way of the dodo.
  • We received an ad in the mail today from Microsoft addressed to "KMSMS" [sic]. Microsoft apparently wanted to commend us for running Linux. The ad was to sent to inform software users that Microsoft wanted to "help" the users make sure that their software is appropriately licensed. The top of the page reads:

    Certain you're properly licensed? If so, you're to be commended.

    We are, in fact, certain that the software we are using (Linux, et al) is properly licensed because it is free under various open source licenses, and we gladly accept Microsoft's commendation for using open source.
• December 11, 2001
  • Added a new site to the reciprocal links section.
  • Updated the links to Speakeasy on the Microsoft alternatives page and added a notice about the updated links.
• December 4, 2001
  • KMFMS stickers are being printed! The KMFMS Sticker Initiative page has been updated to reflect their availability for ordering.
  • Corrected the description of Steltor's Outlook Connector on the Microsoft alternatives page.
• November 28, 2001
  • Added HTML to most pages to take advantage of some of Mozilla's excellent new features. This includes a per page icon, a bookmark icon, and the excellent <LINK> toolbar.
  • Added an "Email Server" section to the Microsoft alternatives page.
  • Added a new site to the reciprocal links section and removed a dead link.
  • Added a humor section to the KMFMS links page.
• November 11, 2001
  • Added a paragraph about .NET and a paragraph about the recent hole in Passport (which exposed users' financial information) to the "Insecurity" section of the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page.
  • Fixed a problem with the mail-order form for KMFMS t-shirts and mousepads.
  • Added a new site to the reciprocal links section.
• November 2, 2001
  • Finally added descriptive text for all the categories on the Microsoft alternatives page. This page is now at the point that it was originally intended to be.
  • Added a ton of new links to the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page thanks to feedback from Franklen Choi. Of particular interest, a description of Microsoft's recent Kerberos fiasco was added. Also added a link to a Chinese summary of the page.
  • Added a link to an extensive, external listing of more alternatives to the Microsoft alternatives page. Also, clarified that the ISP recommendations are only applicable within the United States.
  • Beefed up the description of the book The Control Revolution -- How the Internet is Putting Individuals in Charge and Changing the World We Know at the KMFMS bookstore.
  • Revised the list of suggestions on the The Content Contribution Program page to reflect recently added material.
• October 30, 2001
  • A little bit of happy news to start off this update - last week for the first time in what seems like an eternity, Microsoft's IE 5 browser accounted for less than 50% of the traffic to the KMFMS website. The bad news is that this is due in part to IE 6 gaining in its own share of the traffic, but it is nonetheless good news no that single browser version from Microsoft represents a majority of the traffic any longer.
  • Changed this section from the "Changelog" section into the "News and Changelog" section.
  • Added a nice headline scroller to the main page along with some new headlines.
  • Added StarOffice as the recommended office suite in the list of Microsoft alternatives.
  • Added the "Game Console" and "ISP" categories to the list of Microsoft alternatives along with recommended alternatives within these categories.
  • Added the book The Control Revolution -- How the Internet is Putting Individuals in Charge and Changing the World We Know to the KMFMS bookstore.
  • Added a note in the FAQ about the content contribution program in the section addressing requests for t-shirts in other countries.
  • Added some new reciprocal links to the reciprocal links section, updated some dead and changed links, and added a new recommended reading link.
• October 2, 2001
  • Added a printer friendly version of the "What Alternatives Are There to Microsoft?" page.
• September 25, 2001
  • Updated the KMFMS email page to announce the availability of an advertisement free, enhanced email service.
  • Added a link from the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page to the newly created discussion forum on the topic.
  • Added a link from the "What Alternatives Are There to Microsoft?" page to the newly created discussion forum on the topic.
  • Removed newsflash from the main page.
• August 17, 2001
  • Made a prominent note of the whatIsay.com KMFMS sticker survey on the The KMFMS Sticker Initiative page.
• July 25, 2001
  • Added a newsflash to the main page about KMFDM's triumphant return to the music scene.
  • Added an image prominently featuring the KMFMS store to various pages.
  • Added a new reciprocal link to the reciprocal links section.
• July 18, 2001
  • Updated some CNet News links on the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page which were broken due to URL changes.
  • Declassified The Content Contribution Program page as "new", removing the headline advertising it from the main page and removing the "new" icon next to its entry in the site menu.
  • Added a new reciprocal link to the reciprocal links section.
  • Added an editor's note to the alternatives page indicating that the Mac OS description is out of date.
• July 8, 2001
  • Added the new "Hostile treatment of customers" section to the "What's So Bad About Microsoft?" page.
  • Added several references to the What's Bad >> Hostile Treatment Of Customers section including the very first user contributed essay from the recently introduced content contribution program.
  • Added another suggestion for content to The Content Contribution Program page.
• June 7, 2001
  • Added The Content Contribution Program. Also replaced the headline link on the main page for The KMFMS Sticker Initiative with a headline link to The Content Contribution Program.
  • Added OpenOffice to the list of alternatives for Microsoft Office.
  • Added whatIsay.com to the list of stores which make custom stickers presented inside The KMFMS Sticker Initiative.
  • Added a new reciprocal link to the reciprocal links section.
• May 10, 2001
  • Created The KMFMS Sticker Initiative.
• May 1, 2001
  • Changed the look and feel of the front page.
  • Moved the Anti-Microsoft Network link to the reciprocal links section.
  • Added a new reciprocal link to the reciprocal links section.
  • Removed the "New" and "Update" icons from the site guide.
• March 14, 2001
  • Switched the email reminder service from Netmind to URLy Warning. Netmind recently decided to start charging a couple hundred dollars per year (to webmasters) for use of their service and this did not fit within the KMFMS budget.
  • Added several new sites to the reciprocal links section.
  • Changed the reference on the KMFMS FAQ which stated that the KMFMS webserver is run on OpenBSD. The KMFMS webserver was run on OpenBSD when it was co-located, but now it is run on Linux because we have switched to a third party hosting service which uses Linux.
  • Changed the reference on the KMFMS main page which stated that you could forward your KMFMS email account to an existing account. This was true when we were using Linuxstart as our email provider, but our new provider, Everyone.net, provides a notification service instead.
• February 5, 2001
  • Re-introduced KMFMS Email
  • Added a few new sites to the reciprocal links section.
  • Updated the link in the link in the What's Bad >> Backward Incompatibility to the article on "'Forced upgrading,' in the World of Word."
• January 17, 2001
  • Resurrected the KMFMS website. For the past few months, KMFMS has been a skeleton website run off of our personal DSL connection. We were waiting for the place that we were using for co-location to get their network service restored, but now we have been recently informed that they will not continue to pursue the fixes from their ISP that would be required to restore the network. KMFMS will be switching to a hosting service very shortly - the site has been fully restored on the existing DSL connection as a means of testing the changes that will be necessary when the migration to the hosting service takes place.
  • Temporarily disabled the KMFMS Email section due to Linuxstart's discontinuation of their email service. We are actively seeking new email providers.
  • Updated the Copyright notice on the web pages to include 2001.
• September 19, 2000
  • Added the KMFMS Links section.
• September 12, 2000
  • Added a supporting reference link to the What's Bad >> Bundling of inferior products section and enhanced the section explanation.
  • Restored the KMFMS mail order service with the updated mailing address.
• August 5, 2000
  • Added supporting reference links to the What's Bad >> Vaporware section.
  • Added a prominent link from the "What's Bad" section to the Changelog page for visitors who are interested in changes to the "What's Bad" section.
  • Posted a notice that the KMFMS mail order service is temporarily unavailable due to our upcoming mailing address change.
• July 24, 2000
  • Added the "What's New"/"Changelog" page to provide readers with an easy means of monitoring the KMFMS website.
  • Moved some entries in the site guide (the menu at the top of each page) around to accommodate the "What's New" page and to accommodate an upcoming "Mailbag" page.
  • Removed the "New" label from the free webmail notice on the main page.