BSOD (fwd)

[Steven Pritchard <steve@osiris.silug.org>]

*** Microsoft Announces Improved BSOD ***

In a surprise announcement today, Microsoft President Steve Ballmer
revealed that the Redmond based company will allow computer resellers
and end-users to customize the appearance of the Blue Screen of Death
(abbreviated BSOD), the screen that displays when the Windows operating
system crashes.

The move comes as the result of numerous focus groups and customer
surveys done by Microsoft. Thousands of Microsoft customers were asked,
"What do you spend the most time doing on your computer?" A surprising
number of respondents said, "Staring at a Blue Screen of Death". At 54
percent, it was the top answer, beating the second place answer
"Downloading Pornography" by an easy 12 points.

"We immediately recognized this as a great opportunity for ourselves,
our channel partners, and especially our customers." explained the
excited Ballmer to a room full of reporters.

Immense video displays were used to show images of the new customizable
BSOD screen side-by-side with the older static version.  Users can
select from a collection of "BSOD Themes", allowing them to instead have
a Mauve Screen of Death or even a Paisley Screen of Death. Graphics and
multimedia content can now be incorporated into the screen, making the
BSOD the perfect conduit for delivering product information and
entertainment to Windows users.

The Blue Screen of Death is by far the most recognized feature of the
Windows (tm) operating system, and as a result, Microsoft has historically
insisted on total control over its look-and-feel. This recent departure
from that policy reflects Microsoft's recognition of the Windows desktop
itself as the "ultimate information portal." By default, the new BSOD
will be configured to show a random selection of Microsoft product
information whenever the system crashes. Microsoft channel partners can
negotiate with Microsoft for the right to customize the BSOD on
systems they ship.

Major computer resellers such as Compaq, Gateway, and Dell are already
lining up for premier placement on the new and improved BSOD.

Balmer concluded by getting a dig in against the Open Source community.
"This just goes to show that Microsoft continues to innovate at a much
faster pace than open source. I have yet to see any evidence that Linux
or OpenBSD even have a BSOD, let alone a customizable one."

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