WHY?

The Microsoft Publisher Story and the Problem with Letting Somebody Else Control Your Digital Life

I’ve got a question. Actually, I’ve got a lot of questions. But today, we’re going to start with one.

WHY?

Why do we keep allowing technology companies to make decisions that turn our perfectly functioning software into something we suddenly have to replace? Why do we spend years learning programs, creating documents, developing workflows, and building entire processes around applications, only to wake up one morning and discover that somebody in a corporate conference room has decided it’s time for us to move on?

And perhaps the biggest question of all is this: Why have we become so comfortable with the idea that somebody else gets to decide when the tools we use are no longer useful? Let me give you a perfect example.

The Microsoft Publisher Problem

Remember Microsoft Publisher? Of course you do. For years, Publisher has been one of those applications that just quietly did its job. It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t particularly exciting. Nobody was standing in line at midnight waiting for the next version of Microsoft Publisher. But it worked.

Churches used it to create bulletins and newsletters. Small businesses used it for brochures, advertisements, and flyers. Schools used it for programs and announcements. Families used it for invitations, calendars, and all sorts of projects. People learned how to use it, created templates, and accumulated years of documents that they could open, edit, and print whenever they needed them.

I know because I’ve used it myself. When you work with church bulletins, flyers, labels, and other printed materials, you appreciate software that lets you put things exactly where you want them. Sometimes you don’t need artificial intelligence, cloud collaboration, or a revolutionary new user experience. Sometimes you just need to move a text box half an inch to the left and print the thing.

Then Microsoft announced that Publisher would reach the end of its life in October 2026. After that, Microsoft would no longer support Publisher, and the application would no longer be available through Microsoft 365. Microsoft has provided advance notice and guidance for moving to other applications, and that’s certainly better than shutting something down without warning.

But that isn’t really my point. My point is that Publisher didn’t suddenly stop being useful. People didn’t wake up one morning and decide they no longer needed newsletters, bulletins, brochures, or invitations. The documents didn’t become obsolete. The need didn’t disappear.

The company simply decided the product was finished.

And everybody who depended on it now has a decision to make.

But Wait, Steve Has a Solution!

Now, I can already hear Steve coming down the hallway. You know Steve. He’s the guy with the clipboard, the company polo shirt, and an almost supernatural ability to recommend another subscription.

“Well, Microsoft has other applications you can use.”

Thanks, Steve. That’s helpful.

“You could move some of those projects into Word or PowerPoint.”

Wonderful. Except I wasn’t looking for a word processor or a presentation program. I was using a desktop publishing application because I needed to do desktop publishing.

“Well, perhaps you should consider upgrading your workflow.”

And there it is.

Steve, I don’t WANT to upgrade my workflow. I want to print the church bulletin. The same bulletin I’ve been printing for years. The one that was working perfectly fine before somebody decided I needed a new workflow.

PUT THE CLIPBOARD DOWN, STEVE.

Now, before anybody gets upset, let me say something. Microsoft has every right to discontinue Publisher. It’s their product. They developed it, maintained it, and sold it. Companies make decisions about which products to support all the time. Sometimes those decisions make good business sense, even when customers don’t particularly like them.

But just because a company has the right to make a decision doesn’t mean we have to keep putting ourselves in a position where that decision becomes our problem.

And that brings me back to my original question.

WHY?

When Did We Stop Owning Our Tools?

There was a time when you purchased software, installed it on your computer, and used it. You might eventually buy an upgrade because it offered something you wanted, but the decision was largely yours. If the old version did everything you needed, you could often keep using it as long as your computer and operating system supported it.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. That wasn’t a perfect system either. Software still became obsolete. Operating systems changed. Hardware failed. Companies went out of business. And proprietary file formats have always created problems.

But something has fundamentally changed in the relationship between customers and software companies.

Increasingly, we don’t buy software. We subscribe to access it. We don’t necessarily decide when it changes. Updates arrive whether we want them or not. Features appear, disappear, or move behind different subscription levels. And if we stop paying, our ability to use the software may be reduced or eliminated.

We’ve traded a great deal of control for convenience.

Sometimes that’s a perfectly reasonable trade. But I wonder how often we’ve stopped to consider what we’re giving up.

Think about the documents you’ve created over the years. Think about the photographs, music, videos, spreadsheets, newsletters, and other files that represent hundreds or even thousands of hours of work.

Now imagine discovering that the only application you know how to use to work with some of those files is being discontinued.

The files might still belong to you. But what good are they if you no longer have a practical way to use them?

Owning your data and controlling your ability to access it are two very different things.

That’s the part that concerns me.

So I Went Looking for Another Way

When I started looking for an alternative to Publisher, I discovered Scribus. It’s a free, open-source desktop publishing application that runs on Linux, Windows, and macOS.

Now, I’m not going to tell you that Scribus is exactly like Publisher. It isn’t. I’m not going to tell you that every Publisher document will magically open in Scribus and look perfect. That’s not how this works. Moving existing projects can require some effort, and sometimes rebuilding a template is the most practical approach.

And I’m certainly not going to pretend there wasn’t a learning curve.

There was.

But here’s what I discovered. Scribus could do the things I actually needed to do. I could create layouts, work with text and images, design printed materials, and export finished projects. I could create the labels and other documents I needed without waiting for somebody to tell me which Microsoft application I should move to next.

And once I learned how it worked, something interesting happened.

I stopped worrying about Publisher.

Not because Scribus was perfect. No software is. But because I had found another way to accomplish the job.

Better yet, Scribus is an open-source project. Its source code is available, its native document format is openly documented, and its future isn’t tied to the subscription strategy of one commercial software vendor. That doesn’t guarantee it will exist forever, but it gives users and developers more options.

And the price?

Free.

Somewhere, Steve just dropped his coffee.

This Isn’t Really About Publisher

Here’s what I want you to understand. This article isn’t really about Microsoft Publisher. Publisher just happens to be a particularly good example of a much larger problem.

We’ve become accustomed to building our digital lives around services and applications that we don’t control. We store our pictures in somebody else’s cloud. We stream music from somebody else’s library. We create documents using somebody else’s software. We organize our lives around platforms that can change their prices, features, and policies whenever their business needs change.

And then we’re surprised when they do exactly that.

A streaming service loses the rights to a favorite movie. A software company discontinues an application. A cloud storage provider raises its prices. A feature that used to be included suddenly requires a more expensive subscription.

And what do we do?

Usually, we complain for a few days, pull out the credit card, and move along.

But what if we didn’t?

What if, instead of immediately asking what we’re supposed to buy next, we started asking whether we needed to keep depending on that company in the first place?

What if we explored alternatives before we were forced to?

What if we made a conscious decision to keep more control over the things that matter to us?

That’s where the whole Open Source Outlaw idea comes from.

I’m Not Against Big Tech. I’m Against Having No Choice.

Let me be perfectly clear about something. I don’t hate Microsoft. I don’t hate Apple. I don’t hate Google. I use products and services from all three, and some of them are excellent.

I’m not suggesting that everybody should throw away their Windows computers, cancel every subscription, and build a Linux server in the garage.

Although, I have to admit, building the Linux server can be a lot of fun.

What I am suggesting is that we ought to think a little more carefully about the technology we depend on.

Before signing up for another subscription, ask whether there’s an alternative. Before moving every family photograph to a cloud service, think about how you’ll retrieve those pictures if you decide to leave. Before creating hundreds of documents in a proprietary format, consider whether you’ll still be able to work with them years from now.

And when you discover a useful open-source application, give it a try.

You might be surprised.

I’ve replaced applications that I once considered essential. I’ve built services on inexpensive computers that do exactly what I need. I’ve moved music, photographs, and documents onto equipment I own. And I’ve discovered that some of the best software available doesn’t come with a monthly bill.

Have I broken things along the way?

Absolutely.

Have I spent more time troubleshooting something than I would have spent simply paying for a commercial service?

Oh, you better believe it.

But I’ve also learned something every single time. And the more I learn, the less dependent I become on somebody else’s decisions.

That’s a pretty good trade in my book.

The Question We Should Have Been Asking All Along

Microsoft Publisher is reaching the end of its life. For some people, that will be a minor inconvenience. They’ll move their projects to another application and never think about it again. For others, it means rebuilding templates, learning new software, and figuring out what to do with years of accumulated work.

But I hope it also causes a few people to stop and think.

Because the real question isn’t whether Microsoft should have discontinued Publisher. That’s Microsoft’s decision.

The real question is why we’ve become so comfortable allowing somebody else’s business decisions to determine what happens to the tools we depend on.

And maybe, just maybe, it’s time to change that.

I’m not promising that open-source software will solve every problem. It won’t. I’m not promising that self-hosting will always be easier or cheaper. Sometimes it won’t be either.

But I am suggesting that having choices matters. Owning your data matters. Understanding your technology matters. And being able to decide when and how you change the tools you use matters.

So the next time a company announces that an application you’ve used for years is going away, don’t just ask what they’re replacing it with.

Ask whether you really need to follow them.

Ask whether there’s another way.

And most importantly, ask the question that started this whole conversation.

WHY?

Because technology should work for us. We shouldn’t spend our lives rearranging everything we do to accommodate somebody else’s product roadmap.

And if you happen to discover a better solution along the way, share it with somebody. That’s how we all get a little more independent.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a church bulletin to finish.

In Scribus.

And it’s going to print just fine.

STEVE: “But have you considered our new cloud-based publishing subscription?”

OUTLAW: “Steve, I swear, if you don’t put that clipboard down…”

Breaking the rules of Big Tech, one subscription at a time.

The Open Source Outlaw 🤠