IJMC - Microsoft Announces Improved BSOD

Ladies and gentlemen, fellow subscribers and readers...I have returned. 
It's been a good week but in many ways, it's good to be home. Air 
conditioning is a wonderful thing. Anyway, short messages tonight...I'm 
needing some sleep. So what else is new...                        -dave







Microsoft Announces Improved BSOD

	In a surprise announcement today, Microsoft President Steve Balmer
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."