Slashdot Mirror
Your Chance to Meet Bill Gates
tcak writes "From the CNET article: "You could meet the chairman of Microsoft, but you'll have to profess a passion for Windows first. Microsoft is looking for true stories about people using Windows computers to pursue a passion or hobby. The company plans to use them in a marketing blitz tied to the 20th anniversary of Windows' debut. ""
You could meet the chairman of Microsoft, but you'll have to profess a passion for Windows first.
How many of us will pretend to love windows just to get a chance to relive some fond memories?
Microsoft is looking for true stories about people using Windows computers to pursue a passion or hobby.
So now they have to bribe Windows users for positive reviews, eh? Seems about right.
The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
...will they pat me down first before i meet him?
who is she? leave a comment!
Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be like Apple's Switch ads?
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I use windows for... well, I'm sure I could use windows for... no wait I have wine. I'm sure it could be used for something...
Oh yes... making neat internet worms!
And guns. Lots of guns.
An employee suggested to me that we buy Windows for few offices here as an evaluation. I was skeptical at first but he explained the benefits of using it for our employee's day-to-day notekeeping and organization. So I decided to let him install Windows (Windows 95 I think) into 5 offices to see how the employees got on. Besides, our IT manager had been using Windows in his office and it seemed to work fine, why not try it on the client offices?
Once he'd got Windows up and running we let the users try it out. It all seemed fine to start with: Windows was a pretty good replacement for DOS and the users could still do their work as normal.
Alas it did not stay that way. After a few days, I had lost count of the number of complaints received from users who could not find things they were used to (like the command line) or tasks they could not perform that they previously could with the DOS. The constant crashing began to make using Windows a burden on our office supplies. The final straw came when one employee lost several hours work when Windows suddenly had an error reading from our network and corrupted his pr0n collection.
Needless to say, the Windows team offered no support whatsoever. I made the employee remove Windows from the offices and lets just say he's not with us anymore.
Two meetings with Bill Gates
Dear Bill,
Thanks to Windows, my kitchen table doesn't stain.
Yours forever,
Steve Jobs
When I'm at work, I use a Dell PC running Windows XP to open my VNC sessions on the linux grid to write new simulators as well as check on the progress of currently executing ones, as well as pulling up my VNC terminal from my iMacG5 at home to peruse personal email.
Do I get to meet Bill now?
Bill Gates: Buy him out, boys! Oh, you don't think I became the richest man in the world by writing checks, do you?
I remember when I passionately threw my windows 98 laptop at the ground... does that count?
Rich Gentlemen Hide - The Existential Comic
A lot of people seem to be passionate about Macs, Linux and some Unix variants. But I've never known anyone who is really passionate about windows, some people prefer it to other operating systems but nobody really seems to love it. I could understand apple doing this, but I think Microsoft might have difficulty finding people who really love windows.
I'd like to thank Mr Bill Gates for his product because it does drive my passion: to be involved with a hobby project that provides better software than his professional company does.
Do I win?
Profess a love for Windows. No one here is eligible, well 90% anyway.
Well sure, someone could lie just to meet him and then tell them what they really thing, but I'm sure the vetting process would weed those folks out.
The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination
- Douglas Adams
I have used Windows for many years and now have a huge collection of porn/spyware. Does this count as an obsession/hobby?
...and he grinned, like a fox eating shit out of a wire brush.
Anyone here old enought to remember Death Race 2000? Remember why Frankenstein (David Carradine) wanted so badly to win the race?
^_^
____
~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
I want to win just to pull the old Chris Farley interview from SNL.
Me: Remember that time you released windows?
Bill: Yeah
Me: That was awesome!
/. ++
Hi There Bill, please consider me !
:-
I use Windows to persue my hobbies, which include
phishing, spamming, cracking and distributing illegal files via p2p !
I have a real passion for windows !
A slashdotting - you get the stick first and then the carrot !
So if I tell my story of how failures with Win98 pushed me to proficient at Solaris at work and switch to Linux at home....how tinkering with Linux based computers became my main hobby...that's what they're looking for, right?
. Quit playing Monopoly with Bill. Switch to one of many non-Microsoft products today.
This story brings about images of the end prison planet scene of the Jet Li movie 'The One'. With Jet Li's character being Bill Gates and the the marauding mongol prison hordes being /.'ers.
if they asked for Terror Storys they would get a lot more of feedback.
This is my chance to finally get to meet The Man. Perhaps he will make me kiss his ring. But, I'll have my loaded sock ready...
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
Sounds like Uncle Bill is taking a page from Nature Boy's playbook. Filter those who have access to you so you never have to hear an opposing opinion.
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act!" -- George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair)
now you just have to learn the 10-foot-unblockable-move
I got a picture of bill and some lady on the beech, who wants it, no one!
Oh goody
*Loads his riffle and dawns camoflage gear* um im just going duck hunting
The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
If it weren't for windows, all my plants would die. Therefore, I love windows. PS You should try Debian, it is teh better...
Wonder who he could be taking a cue from? Is Carl Rove advising Microsoft in the fine art of the "favourable crowd"?
Newsfollow.com
Perhaps people could bombard Microsoft with stories of how windows has made their life easier and then end it with something like "oh wait, I was using (a Mac|Linux|Specturum 48k|...)".
;)
It'd keep a few people in a job having to go through all those
I use mine to prop the door open. Put me on the telly, Bill!
Slashdotters bash windows with a passion, some do it so much it could be considered a hobby, does that count?
East Coast Brewers
I don't think you have to be a professed Catholic just to meet the pope do you? Or profess undying allegiance? How is BillG different?
Bill Gates is still a mortal like everyone else.
- E
A friend of mine is very much suicidal, and has a passion for running into life-threatening troubles. I guess I can suggest this to him.
It may give him some purpose in life.
Thank you very much, CNET.
"Microsoft is looking for true stories about people using Windows computers to pursue a passion or hobby." Dear Bill Gates, I have a passion for computer security, part of this passion involves finding exploits in software - thank you ever so much for making my hobby so frickin easy! Yours, Script Kiddie
Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so. - Douglas Adams
I use windows to watch porn. You AIN'T SEEN more passion than that!
Send email from the afterlife! Write your e-will at Dead Man's Switch.
...this would be it.
Seriously, what is the point of posting this to Slashdot? No, REALLY? Is this some kind of group anger management therapy?
Dear Bill -
I have often persued Windows for many hours. Sometimes it is very difficult to remember where I left my burned Windows XP CD.
Also, whenever you release a new version of Windows, I am at my computer trying to get the 0 day FTP sites so that I can have my pirated copy of windows before anyone else. Torrents have made this much simpler to accomplish.
So, thanks for being you!
Love, me
Like sex? Read and write about it! Indecent Blogging
...someone who has a passion for Windows.
He's a window cleaner.
Tubby or not tubby. Fat is the question
Hell yeah I have a passion for Windows...
A passion rebooting them!
www.lemonodor.com A mostly Lisp weblog
I use my windows XP box and DS3 connection at work to download all of my linux ISOs.
Well, here's one.
CS nerds are good at lying through our teeth - all we need to do is get close enough, and BANG! One less problem.
Isn't it strange, that every major player in any business has at least on product many people feel passionate about, and that are undoubtely admired by all in the know? I will stick to IT for now, but HP had the pocket calculators and really good printers. IBM has the mainframes and ThinkPads and more. Apple has so many strongly felt for products that it gets sappy...
But can for any sake not think of any Microsoft product that gives me or anyone I know the dreamy eyes...
Just because I can imagine doing a hippopotamus, doesn't mean I'd like to do it.
Microsoft is looking for true stories about people using Windows computers to pursue a passion or hobby.
Does masochism count?
Because of your Windows software, it's progession from "operating environment" to "operating system", it's continued cycle of upgrades and MS-driven support, it's wonderful array of virus software, and the closed nature of the source preventing me from ever learning anything about computers, I have been able to follow of dream of understanding computers by switching to Linux. Something that I would never had considered before using Windows.
Hello, MircoSoft Windows is teh best! Before MircoSoft Windows, I was addicted to crack and lived on the street. Now, I am teh most successful persons on da planet. Thanks MircoSoft!
Even although I run linux myself, I spend almost all of my free time fixing Microsoft Windows for friends and family. Thanks Bill, your OS really changed my fucking life and I'm _really_ looking forward to meeting you.
Hugs & Kisses,
Slashdot
but I wouldn't mind being in his will.
Real_men_don't_need_spacebars.
Does that mean "Sell your soul, Meet the Devil?"
*ducks*
You would think, as a real incentive, they would throw "boobies" in there somewhere..Darn!
Rapid Nirvana
... to hit my Windows machine. May I join?
I'd sell my soul for that cool national geographic prize. Only problem is I'll need to make up something cool I use windows for.
You know playing video games and looking up pr0n isn't really ground breaking or exciting use of Windows....
When I see the reaction I get everytime I post on French Clubic.com on why people use Windows when they could do what they do free with Linux or other, I can tell you that some people are fanatic about Windows, if I'm not called troll I got something like "You bloody OpenSource freak, why would I not use Windows when it is free and I can get tons of warez game on it..." Does using pirated Windows qualify?
My passion is helpdesk support and helping people with their Windows woes. I get first dibs.... think they'll let me play....?
my security career of finding Windows vulnerabilities. Talk about job security. =)
In my line of business, without my far-reaching botnet of zombified Windows(C) machines I simply couldn't pursue my favourite hobby - depriving suckas of their hard earned cash. Yes, thanks to Windows, I can continue to spam the entirety of all the Internets, launch DDOS attacks unless they pay up, securely release new virii and circumvent law enforcement.
BTW, I'd prefer to meet him through a proxy, should I win.
Balmer hawking Windows when it was first released.
...slamming Microsoft on /. (and a fine recipie for pies)... do I win? :-)
your stake, mallet and holy water.
I used to love Windows for... six years ago? Ten years ago I thought that the alternatives for Windows did suck. Boy how I grown up now. The last time I was impressed by Microsoft was with Win XP, but now later on I realised how indiffrent it was to Win2K.
:)
Boy, I regret bashing Macintosh in elementary school years...
And oh, there is alot of Windows fans. I know, becuse I seen them. And most of the time, they're really aren't a nerd, or they're a hardcore gamer. Which is a type of nerd too infact...
I would gladly meet Bill gates thought, even if Steve Ballmer would be a more funny guy.
Especially if he let me take a ride in the 10-man submarine attached to this baby.
Here's my submission. Do you think it will win?
Maybe we could get a phisher to write about how he loves Windows for it's ease of use in ripping off people's personal information.
An ode to Outlook Express...
How I turned 100 hotmail accounts into a spam powerhouse?
Or, why I really like Windows. I get to billg@microsoft.com in the email line for all those annoying registration forms.
--- I wish I could hear the soundtrack to my life. That way I'd know when to duck.
So that at the News Conference in front of all the world media, with Bill at your side, you say, "Actually, I always use [Insert favorite Distro here] for actually doing work."
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
Kill Bill
No one here is eligible, well 90% anyway
ok slashdot, time to come clean with those web logs. Are 90% of your readers really using win32?
Not many do profess a passion for windows, but it gets the job done for most. Move along.
Mongrel News all the news that fits and froths
Yeah, good luck with that Bill. No wonder they have to conduct a nationwide search!
hoe
I use Microsoft Windows to power my world domination efforts. Does that count?
http://www.deflektor.com/
Dear Bill,
Thank you for making an operating system that is infected with viruses and spyware. And simple enough that any idiot can use and fill up with so many viruses and spyware in only a month that the computer is unusable. So these people have to pay me frequently to clean out their systems for them. $$$
Get a free Mac Mini - It really works
I love the way Windows crashes
When Apple or Google come up, Microsoft bashes
The viruses and spyware I love to hate
for the next upgrade serve as bait
Oh for longhorn I cannot wait
But without walls or fences
the world needs no windows or gates
I've seen him. He's rubbish.
I am sure all windows admins are lined up for this already =)
Never learn by your mistakes, if you do you may never dare to try again
I had just reinstalled Windows XP on an old computer that we had reformated to sell, and was installing the software that came with it, and explorer was crashing because it didn't want to open zip files. And every time explorer had to be started again, it popped up a bubble asking me to take a tour of the "exciting new features of Windows XP", because that is what it does when it has just been installed.
Windows was reminding me how new and innovative it was every time it crashed. Brilliant.
# cat
Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
Is this another April Fool's joke horribly late? If it isn't, I have to start making some pies and figuring out a way to slip them past security.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
...it gave us the world's first example of -35 day warez.
When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
Why do I have this vision of Gates dressed as Santa and a line of geeks is waiting to sit on his lap?
"Hi, um, Bill, er, um, Mr. Gates. I love Windows so much, I have the logo tattoed on my heiny. Want to see it?"
"What?? That's copyright infringement!! Guards, place this manboy under arrest!!"
I use to highlight the virtues of Linux.
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
Steve Ballmer wins, hands down.
The thing that really bugs me about Microsoft's products is how they'll fuck over paying customers.
Here's an old by great example. Back when Win95 was released you could not natively use long file names with 16-bit apps. However, there was a product called "Name-It!" which did allow that function. In other words it was possible, but Microsoft chose NOT to implement it. Why? Because long file names was a great feature and it would give incentive to users to upgrade to new 32-bit programs.
Another great example is Messenger, the chat program not the service. Microsoft has made it nearly impossible to get rid of. Even if you edit your sysoc.inf file and uninstall Messenger, it'll suddenly come back. Even if you delete the subfolder under Program Files, it'll mysteriously come back. Obviously Microsoft considers its chat war against AOL more important than ease of use for users.
And of course there's product activation. We were told it was to stop piracy, but that was bull-shit. You can easy obtain pirated copies of XP. Let's face it, if it product activation really worked, then why is Microsoft implementing its anti-piracy feature for people downloading software? And even more importantly, if piracy has been decreased, then why is XP Microsoft's most expensive OS? Why aren't they passing the savings back to use? Once again, the real purpose of product activation is to screw over the paying customer who wants to install XP on both of his systems.
And lets not forget out Microsoft's Office products are constantly screwing with file formats to make the later versions incompatible with earlier versions. Once again, this is NOT done to make it easier for paying customers. It's merely leverage to get those customer paying again and again.
It'd be really hard to be passionate FOR Microsoft's products. It's hard to be passionate for anything that nickel and dimes you at every turn. That treats you like a criminal. And sees you merely as a cash cow to be milked at every chance.
If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
From now on, I'll follow your guidance, o wise four-digit slashdot user!
How about true stories of people driven to distraction from using Windows computers. There should be a lot more of those kind.
strider writes "An independant study has just been released showing that Microsoft Windows has a 99% approval rating amoungst IT professionals. Laura Didio claims 'This is a true heartfelt response to the huge leaps Microsoft has made in security over the past years.' Linux enthusiasts have accused the study of drawing from a sample that is slightly biased."
Probably throw a cream pie at him...
"The more prohibitions there are, The poorer the people will be" -- Lao Tse
From the article:
Extra points are given to essays that demonstrate the positive impact Windows has made on someone's life.
Dear BillG,
Windows has had a big positive impact on my life!
First of all, it made me learn the inner bits of C/C++ really well, because I couldn't do a decent program on Win32 without debugging the hell out of it! That led me to pursue programming as a profession, since I was one of the few persons that knew how to program the damn thing!
Secondly, it saved me a fortune from buying condoms or other expenses. You see, with the design that Win32/MFC has, it took me hours to do even the simplest things, so I had no time to sleep, and my girlfriend dumped me since she couldn't see me at all. Windows is such a money saver!
Thirdly (and despite the above), Windows helped my social life tremendously. Before Windows, no one paid attention to me. With Windows, me and my colleagues came closer, spending large amounts of time trying to find out why the Exchange Server is down, or why IIS was hacked again, or why the network suddently stopped working.
Finally, Windows made me learn typing, because for every character I type I have to press Ctrl+S so as that I don't loose my file!.
BillG, thank you so much for the 20 years of Windows!
- the one published in the FW Star Telegram seems to go with Mr. Gates' proposal quite well.
Can we /. this with negative stories?
What made you start using Firefox? What made you switch to Linux/OSX/BSD? What stopped working when they crippled the TCP system in SP2? Enter all the catagories with disposable emails.
# cat
Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
I like long walks in the park and warm summer days. My hobbies include blue screens of death, collecting viruses and/or spyware, and rooting IIS servers.
As others pointed out...
The utter failings of windows for serious work [re: software development] has led me to seek alternative sources [re: OSS] and eventually to GNU/Linux and GNU toolchains.
Thanks Microsoft! Your ineptitude led me to where I am now!
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
frankly have no interest to meet the creator.
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It seems like windows isn't the only POS they love...
So i can get inspired enough to pretend that Windows makes me feel creative and I get to meet Bill Gates. Add New Device - BS.
A lot of us got our start with non-MS OS's, but we all owe Billy a thank-you for making PC's available to non-business's.
If it wasn't for MS, IBM would prolly still be stong-arming the MainFrame Only sales pitch. Yes Apple was first, but it just didn't catch on the way that Windows did.
I don't like his products (although Outlook2003 is damn spiffy), I don't like his embrace/engulf style, but I do love the fact that without him I wouldn't have the career that I do today. I owe him thanks.
C64 -> WFWG 3.11 -> OS/2 v3 & v4 -> Linux
I believe that MS-DOS 6.22 was the best OS that Microsoft has ever made.
Without the millions of home PC's running Windows, we would still be using 486's running at 100MHz.
Thank-you Bill. Now please just go away.
"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." ~Plato (427-347 BC)
"I'm writing to share a tragic little story.
My Dad has a PC that my sister and I used to use for our homework assignments. One night, I was writing a paper on it, when all of a sudden it went berserk, the screen started flashing, and the whole paper just disappeared. All of it. And it was a good paper! I had to cram and rewrite it really quickly. Needless to say, my rushed paper wasn't nearly as good, and I blame that PC for the grade I got.
I'm happy to report that my sister and I now share an Apple PowerBook. It's a lot nicer to work on than my dad's PC was, it hasn't let me down once, and my grades have all been really good.
Thanks, Apple.
Ellen Feiss"
Circumcision is child abuse.
"I didn't get rich by writing a lot of checks!"
Bill if your gonna buy reviews, use cash like the the hardware and gaming industries. Stop being a cheapass!
Dear Microsoft, I am very passionate about using Windows. When I heard about this opportunity to meet big Bill I went to my favorite warez site and downloaded the latest version of Windows xp. I nearly shit my pants when I saw how large the download was. Only a very passionate user like me would be willing to sacrifice so much bandwidth to download your OS. Only a passionate user such as myself would be willing to type this message for a 3rd time since the first two times I got a blue screen while performing the complex operation of typing in a Slashdot message. Only the most passionate user would be willing to wait the 10 minutes it took windows to boot after those blue screens. Indeed there are few more passionate about windows than me. I truly look forward to meeting you Bill. It's been a dream of mine ever since... Crap I give up.
THE GRENADE IS LIVE!
A computer makes it possible to do, in half an hour, tasks which were completely unnecessary to do before.
And all the various p2p and bittorrent software it takes to accumulate a good collection without spending cash for it.
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
I have a windows server box at home that does a remarkable job of acting like a big hard drive for my Dual G5. It stores my music, files, and even has a tape backup system. That's how windows helps me be creative. I want to meet Bill! Choose me! http://www.jonfritsch.com/
This is just fertilizing the Astroturf - think of it as fanservice for all the MicroTurfers who contribute so many clicks to /. trying to talk up Windows.
You may consider the moderation history of this comment as a demonstration....
www.eFax.com are spammers
Check out the bottom of my home page.
Assuming passionate hatred burning like a thousand suns was an acceptable "passion"
How can I read this thread at +1 Not-Uselessly-Hating-Microsoft? Oh, right, this is Slashdot...
Stasis is death. Embrace change.
I find screens fascinating. Just by looking at a screen, you can learn anything in the realm of human knowledge. There is no limit to the things one can learn by applying yourself to screens.
When writing, I find the word "of" to be a significant help in stringing together words into coherent sentences. I am so grateful to my elementary school teachers for introducing me to this wonderful word.
I cannot get the idea of death out of my mind. It haunts me, it consumes me, it puzzles me. I think about it endlessly.
Is there any wonder why I have a deep and abiding love for Windows?
Peace
assasination attempts will he have this time?
And are there any interviews with 'potential' winners before they are chosen just so he doesn't get stuck with an Linux, Apple or Amiga junkie for an hour that only really awnts to piss him off rather than ask intelligent questions?
Whatever anybody says.. get your tinfoil hats ready because I'm sure evertyhing will be staged as usual and turned into a marketing gimmick!
Nuff said.. thats what MS usually do anyway.
This is great (and it has sound)!!!
Religion and politics, without the flame. godgab.org
I suppose I could express my passion for Windows by stating the following.
If it wasn't for Windows, I'd have never realized just how shitty the PC has become when it's paired with a Microsoft product. In that, I have realized just how insanely great my new iMac is, when I can come home and not have to worry about spending an hour keeping my operating system tidy. Where upgrades to the OS actually enhance the stability of the OS instead of providing more script kiddies to take over my computer for no reason.
I suppose I should also thank Microsoft, for Windows is pretty great for gaming. It's about all my XP machine is useful for. Makes me wonder what will happen to it when the Playstation 3 comes out...
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
Would using Windows to connect to my at-home RedHat boxes via PuTTY be considered a hobby?
Mr Bill Gates,
I use Microsoft Windows 98 in a community centre's cybercaf, teaching people who are complete newbies how to use computers. You could say I am using MS Win98 to pursue what is both a passion - seeing peoples' eyes light up when they finally get the hang of something us longterm computer-users take for granted; and a hobby - getting my hands dirty with the innards of an Operating System that reminds me of the Bloodhound Gang's One Fierce Beer Coaster album, in particular the song "Why is everybody always picking on me?"
It's unlikely that I'll win this competition of course - for one thing I don't live in the USA. Another reason - which you are not ever likely to use as a reason - is that if I ever did met you, I would probably spend my time grousing about MS Win98, and how much easier my life would be if you would open the source under a suitable Free/Libre Open Source license - so I could get my Community Centre's cybercaf running far, far smoother than it has ever run without the worry that Microsoft lawyers could be breathing down my back for any number of silly, pointless reasons.
Wesley Parish
It's funny that Microsoft has to try a phony contest to prove that people are passionate about Windows. I've not met many people in the Windows world who are that passionate about the Windows Operating System. I've met some who passionately hate it. Even people that only use Windows and wouldn't think of using a Mac or Linux aren't really all that passionate about the product. Having dealt with Mac loyalists before, I have never come across anyone with that sort of loyalty to Windows.
Oh...and don't get me all hot and tingly thinking about worms, trojans, viruses.
Excuse me, I need to beat off now.
For ReactOS and Wine development.
Windows did help me pursue a passion: downloading Linux .iso files.
I have gas, but my car uses petrol.
Let's face it...Windows keeps us employed. If computers were easy to use and did'nt crash that much we'd all be in MUCH less demand.
My passion is for Microsoft to continue to design windows exactly the way it's been doing for the last 20 years. I've probably made over a million dollars in salary "fixing" windows problems and applications so my passion is pretty high to keep windows right on the same track it's on.
Sounds similar to GWB's town hall events. :/
You have a shot at talking to the president, but first you have to pledge support.
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
Microsoft is looking for true stories about people using Windows computers to pursue a passion or hobby
So one day, I was using Windows, and after it locked up on me for the 8th time after trying to install a video driver, so began my passion for Linux...
Oh yeah, Bill Gates is teh bomb.
Of course you really need a strong passion for Windows, if you are to meet Bill Gates and do not want to do something that would cost you a huge fine.
Or some time in jail, perhaps.
My other post is a First.
Second Prize: Two meetings with Bill Gates.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
Dear Bill
Thanks to Windows, I have a new hobby. Cleaning up borked machines for friends and family members. Without Windows, and your enlightened guidance, that would not be possible.
Signed
A near suicidal geek
Well, whatever floats your boat, I guess...
...I'd rather Touch Paul Belini.
/painfully/ obvious what a better product Linux was, you're pockets were so deep you were able to market that crap to ultimate success. It showed me how important FULL DISCLOSURE (having INFORMED CONSUMERS) is to the success and stability of a free-market system, and how powerful you've become by breaking that rule and taking advantage of the market's technical ignorance.
I love windows because in the Windows 98 years, when it was
Kudos to you, you treasonous prick!
Why stick up for big business?
they should more carefully define "passion or hobby"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signature_bloc
...can I bring a pie? To... eat?
Power to the Peaceful
I love to hate Windows
I don't feel like it...
Dear Bill, I am a virus/spyware engineer, and without your Windows(R)(TM) product, I would not be able to survive. The ease in which your product allows me to zombify other computers is simply amazing. A small investment in a cheap computer allows me access to many fast computers around the world. In fact, I'm writing this letter from a 4-way opteron setup right now, even though I'm on an old PII 400 that I found in the trash. It even had an iso of Longhorn on it! One word of advice though, don't use blue so much! Thanks! I wonder what the sig is for this account I hacked into...
today is spelling optional day.
cue cheezy music here
"I love Microsoft products! Unlike all of my friends, I have almost no problems. I rarely have to reinstall, everytime i get a virus they patch it before I lose too much of my information, which isn't really valuable anyways. Window's works so well for me, that I can leave it on for several hours without having to reboot. Don't listen to all of my friends who are having problems, their biased against windows and exagerate. I am the typical customer, and it almost always works at least halfway decently."
http://illhostit.com/ - Webhosting
...won't work.
.... skeet shooting.
"PULL!"
*BLAM*
*satisfying explosion of Windows disc into a zillion teeny shards*
N4st0r, trixx0r h0bb1tz0rz! Th3y st0l3 0ur pr3c10uzz!
I had a mouse pad made from another photo in that sequence so I could run a mouse all over Bill's pie face all day long. Everyone in the IT shop division where I worked at the time was green with envy (we were an all UNIX group). I came to this article wanting to post that pic but you beat me to it.
Too lazy to create a sig...
Gotta love Google Adsense, i got 3 links to Steve job's websites and articles about him for this page =)
But seriously, Is Mr. Gates so insecure about himself he has to surround himself with people who 'love' him? Its intersting, throughout history, people in positions of great power, sooner or later surround themselfs with pure yes-men who belive everything they say. Such as this and This example. Could this be a sign? Probably not, but it is an intersting move for this idea to even come out of redmond.. Only time will tell.
Yeah, I'm passionate about Windows. After using it for 10 years I came to so passionately hate it that I stopped using it. And then I watched as all my friends and family got passionate about Windows and buy Macs.
The Your Potential. Our Passion campaign has always bothered me (again, passionately) because Microsoft doesn't make any products that have anything to do with any of the things shown in their ads. They can't make you an astronaut, fashion designer, or bass player. Clearly they're just selling an image--but it's Apple's image that they're selling and they're not even doing a good job at it.
If they really want to find people who love Windows they should just look for cars with Windows stickers on them. I see Apple and Tux stickers all over the place and with a million percent more market share there should be a million times more people so passionate about their OS that they celebrate it with a sticker on their car. No, I've never seen one either, but you figure they've got to exist somewhere.
20 years of copying other people badly
20 years of lock in
20 years of crimal actions
20 years of lousy browsers
20 years of filling Bill's bank account in the forlorn hope that the next release will be better
15 years of being conned
5 years of Linux
5 years of getting my work done
5 years of freedom
Thanks, Bill. The door's the wooden thing in the wall.
TWW
"Encyclopedia" is to "Wikipedia" what "Library" is to "Some people at a bus stop"
And I thought all my Christmases had come at once when i got this poster stuck up on my wall!
You mean I could actually meet him?!
Seriously, what kind of a prize is "HEY YOU CAN SAY HELLO TO ME!"
Zorge: Bill, I'm developing automated humanless nuclear reactor controller software on Windows using Visual Studio.NET
Gates: Yikes!
Zorge: Front End is IE and back end is.... hey why you run away....
Gates: I'm moving to N-Korea where it is saferrr.......
And that's how my meeting ended...
I'll sell out my girlfriend. She plays solitaire.
Do you think they'd grade my entry down if I formatted it using TeX?
is masochism.
Windows does it for me every time.
Thank you Windows.
cyn, free software and *nix operating systems enthusiast.
Windows is a great thing....
wait for it....
For me to poop on!
Windows isn't the answer... it's the question. NO is the answer!
do you think it might qualify as a hobby?
Just think -- a chance to meet the least charismatic business leader of the late 20th century. Just standing next to that much credit must be like walking under major electric distribution line.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
I'm passionate about gaming. Like, berserk soccer fan passionate.
The only non-console platform I can really get my gaming fix for is Windows. I've got a box running FC3 that I use for stuff like being productive and for some games (Cedega isn't half bad, though I do have to muck about more than I'd like to get things working more often than not) but for gaming, my XP box is what I use 99.99% of the time, and it works really well for that.
Do I *like* Windows? No. But it does let me do what I want to do - play games.
Really, the platform is irrelevant - I'll use whatever the right tool is for a given job, and for gaming, Windows is currently the right tool.
ANYWAY - if my story were to be used for this thing, I have no doubt that it would come out like this:
"I'm passionate about games... [edit] Windows lets me to what I really want to do: play games."
I doubt anyone would ever say "I love windows and want to have XP's love-child!" but people would say "I love th at Windows lets me do blah-de-blah."
Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
Shoddy hardware. "Unmountable boot volume" errors and broken registries. Malware and viruses.
"These are a few of my faaaavorite things"
Are they going to search people for cream pies?
They enable me to see the world outside still exists without actually having to go there.
I wonder what they would want the view of a 13-year-old American? Hell, I know a-plenty-o adults that can't make Windows work. This sounds desperate for Microsoft.
Anybody see the survey add on above this thread?
"Bill Gates
Is he the Greatest American? Tune in and cast your vote!"
No, forget Lincoln and Washington, Franklin and Eddison, Gates is the greatest ever!!
"Mr. Gates, I use the BSOD on my monitor to make my day-glo poster collection iridesce."
Oh wait, Paul Allen is the one who likes Jimi Hendrix...
Then this shouldn't come as a surprise(first paragraph):
Inside the Beltway
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be yourself no matter what they say
Spelling Karl with a C instead of a K is forgivable, especially when the language is english.
However, not recognizing that favourable is the British (thus original) spelling of the word is not exactly very bright
Check out my PHP Url Validator
Just like Dear Leader's Social Security phaseout road show. Bill should maybe think again.
Anyone still using Windows 3 (or even older) for a project? Microsoft would just looove that sort of publicity. Or even better to embarass MS, use a legacy Windows 3 app running under emulation on a modern Mac. Bonus points if the Mac is running Linux :)
I can see the ad campaign now:
"I use it to play games, because - um - there is no other choice."
"I use it because I thought it was slightly cheaper than buying an Apple. Plus it can play games."
"All my friends use it to play games and exchange pr0n."
"It would take too much effort to switch."
I may be passionate about cars but that doesn't mean that I want to meet Henry Ford, well mostly because he is dead and probably smells a bit funky. I think Bill should be scared what kind of freak this twisted talent show produces as its winner. I know I certainly wouldn't want to meet him/her.
You know... The ones where someone we could care less about tells us how their Mac has changed their lives.
Those commercials annoyed me more than anything (although as I recall, there was a cute girl in one...). I imagine that MS's will be rather comical though.
"Windows is so stable, it allows me to get all of my work done quickly and easily..."
Hahahahaa.... They should be amusing.
Using Firefox 1.0.4 with latest flash player plugin. The video plays just fine for me and is pretty funny to see a young Ballmer (was bald back then too) carrying on and ranting so much about Windows like is was some kind of kitchen appliance.
My hobby is vulnerability research. Windows definitely helps me in pursuing my passion :-)
Cheers,
Ult0r
Does tiling my bathroom with old Windows OEM CDs count?
Here's to losing my Karma Bonus again....
Windows allowed me to pursue my passion for writing viruses because they make it so darned easy.
Rather it's about using windows for things that you are passionate about, your interests, hobbies and such.
My hobby is free software ... I will say no more.
or else!
In other words, you could actualy see Bill Gates, provided that you like Microsoft Windows and are willing to prove your allegiance to Microsoft by signing a contract that strictly forbids you to splatter a cream pie in Bill's, to insult his ego, or to make him feel uncomfortable in any possible manner.
This contract will also insure that you wish to sell your soul to the devil and dedicate the rest of your life to the cause of promoting the holy Microsoft Windows to the open source heretics.
Please note that when you meet Bill Gates, if you do, it will be strictly forbidden to wear a tuxedo, or any black and white clothes that could possibly remind one of a penguin.
Finally, a few restrictions will be imposed on the candidates. Candidates must:
1. Be caucasian
2. Be between 25 and 30 years old
3. Be physically attractive (at our discretion)
4. Be currently employed
5. Earn a yearly salary that is between 50000$ and 60000$ per year
6. Be married
7. Intend to have children
8. Respect American values (at our discretion)
You might also get paid, if we like you.
I don't think it was a good idea to put this up at slashdot. Not all of us are open about how much we dislike Bill Gates. Gates thinks his call for unlimited h-1b visas is just a business move or political posture -- that the social environment for technologists who built the civilization that protects his property rights isn't leaving many of them with nothing to lose.
Seastead this.
... yes I'm very passionate about M$ products, the amount of my time and money I've wasted on them certainly makes me passionate... don't even get me started on IE... f**king waste of space pile of shit... it's a good job they give it away cause no-one would use it otherwise...
The "Windows 98" scene from the South Park movie comes to mind... I'm that passionate...
I'm nearly passionate enough to do some hard-time for strangling the dickhead...
Microsoft is looking for true stories about people using Windows computers to pursue a passion or hobby.
I used Windows to download Linux once. Does that count?
Nothing particular about Nebraska. It's just a joke about a "Except in X" disclaimer that used to commonly appear in commercials. (Most states didn't like getting singled out in commercials, so they've changed their consumer protection laws.)
Hmm... surfing for porn - passion or hobby?
This is like satan trying to get a testimonial from the damned about how great hell is. And, as a prerequisite, you need to be passionate about fire.
I use Windows instruction manual pages to wipe my a$$ everyday!
How's that for passion and pain with M$ products?!!
... meet his money! Maybe even make a TV show of it :-) 'Meet Bill Gates Money' ... now that sounds familiar....
i love windows so much because it is such a POS that i kicked it to the curb and switched to Linux, so if it was not for windows i would have never learned of Linux :^)
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
I have seen many who prefer Windows over other OS because of interoperability concerns but i cant draw to mind a single person who really likes everything about Windows. Except a rare nutcase who thinks Clippy is da bomb its all because everyone else does it.
HTTP/1.1 400
Bill I'm your biggest fan, I downloaded all of your company's products
my passion is screwing up people's computers with viruses, spyware, and trojans. You're software has helped me immensely.
thanks.
My problem? I was perfectly gruntled, until some numbnuts came by and dissed me.
NT
Windows is a front for DOS.
I HATE IT!
XP is worse, WTF is with you stupid people?
So XP seems a little better to win95 people, and now DOS is hidden so you don't know it's still a front for DOS.
Stupid f-ing cows all herd together because it's the "safe" thing to do, you don't have to try a little harder to CHANGE the way you do things so you stick with whatever everyone else is doing, mooo mooo.
I really hate windos!!!!
Do I need to submit a Windows XP CD Key with my essay for verification??
Dear Microsoft, I do enjoy windows. When the day is nice and warm i open them to let the wind come into my house. It makes me feel nice and cool. I love my windows.
Most of the post I've read so far seem to dwell on how Microsoft products suck, which I'll pretty much have to agree with. But I think we're missing out on another point.
In the late '80s and early '90s there was a lot of hobbiest using Microsoft operating systems to do cool things. The system was open and hackable. You could access BIOS routines and DOS interrupts.
Over time Microsoft built more and more cruft on top of the system, most of it buggy, and all of it constantly changing. The lower stuff kept getting harder to get to. A quick hack kept getting harder unless you were willing to worship at the Microsoft alter daily to learn the latest technique, language, interface, API, etc.
My hobby is airplanes, not programming APIs du jour. If I won't to do something on the computer for my hobby, it must be quick and easy or I'll go back to welding or something, and just run the numbers I need with pencil and paper (vs writing a program that I would distribute to other builders). Linux lets me do that, mostly because all distributions have a C compiler included.
Microsoft is looking for hobbiest that are using their system, because they know that it is the hobbiest who got them where they are and that those hobbiest have moved to Linux.
Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
Oh wait, no I didn't. I used SunOS. I guess I don't get to meet Bill. All of my questions about why MS keeps designing new security holes into it's products will go forever unanswered.
remember the tooth.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion, It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, The hands acqui
People are making much of Revenge of the Sith having political commentary, but I find it far more thought provoking that Windows has now lasted about as long as the Empire bwteen EP III and IV.
Is Longhorn Bill Gates' Death Star?
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Microsoft is looking for true stories about people using Windows computers to pursue a passion or hobby.
I use my Windows box to pursue my hobby:
Running Linux
cause every time i boot into windows...
@#$%!!!!!
You did legally obtain the licenses for XP, Office, and VS didn't you? Not that i disagree, I use the MS suite because it 'just works' but the trade off is that it costs a fair amount, probably more than the hardware it runs on. I would consider myself a 'fan' of anything that can do the particular job the best. For a home desktop I don't have to think about, you bet I'm a fan of Windows.
Since the two rivals (Linux and Mac) seem to have fanatical followers who really have passion for the product, Microsoft is trying to do the same.
If anyone recalls teh late 80s and early 90s, before Microsoft became so dominant, there were indeed fanatical followers for it as well. These are the people who saw the PC as a liberator from the IBM monopoly in mainframes, the people who ran BBSs on DOS systems, edit boot sectors, ...etc.
Now MS is seen only as a corporate product of a greedy monopoly that is expensive for the consumer, insecure, buggy, bloated, ...etc.
So, they are trying to counter that image by having some fans come forward ...
2bits.com, Inc: Drupal, WordPress, and LAMP performance tuning.
What is second prize? Two weeks in Philadelphia?
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
A lunch with Steve Balmer
Hello, I first started using DOS in 1992 at the age of 12. I had originally used it before then at my best friend's house. I was facinated by "gwbasic" and began programming with it the very day I got my new computer.
I went on to learn more about BASIC and eventually went on to write my first "Door module" for a BBS at age 14. I also became obsessed with online culture, and the radical spirit of using DOS by the renegade Microsoft Corporation, that was working to fight the establishment of corporate UNIX.
At age 16, I got a Compaq computer with Windows 95 and I wrote my first real useful program. It was an automated program, created in ASIC, that consulted a credit card database, freely available on multiple BBS's at the time, and proceded dial into a local BBS and create free accounts with Internet access. For the next 3 years, I would never pay for dialup Internet access.
I graduated at age 17 and realized the true power of this "Internet". Gaming. Massive amounts of gaming. There were a few programmers in 1997 that were hard at work using different distributions of a powerful operating system called "Linux" that was designed from the ground up to be totally free and modifiable.
But it wasn't DOS. And Windows had already won my heart. So I began to delve even deeper. I started to learn Visual Basic Scripting, looked into creating VxDs to do whatever I wanted with my computer. Then I started to realize I could do whatever I wanted with other individuals computers. In 1998, I released instructions on how to design code for Windows that would allow virus writers to bypass CRC checks altogether and just take control of a workstation.
In 2000, I wrote modifications to macro and VBS viruses that allowed for massive deployment in a short time span. I theorized, along with others, about mail engines being developed inside the viruses themselves, and the possibilities of using IRC as a propagation engine.
Around 2002, I was approached with the idea of creating a network of compromised "subseven workstations" to use for extortion of online gambling enterprises. I created such a network with a custom-made IRC bot that used get requests to bog down a website. The original requestor disappeared, and ultimately, due to the ease in which the bots could be avoided, the attempt failed.
I connected with two Candian teenagers revisiting the prospect. One of which was later arrested, caught mainly due to his involvement in the "scene". The other has went on to create XP rootkits and his whereabouts are currently unknown to me, and most likely those dedicated on pursuing him.
I have anonymously disclosed 3 IE vulnerabilities since 2001; some privately to those willing to pay for exploits. One of which was used by a spyware distributor in early 2004.
I myself have scaled back considerably on my exploit, trojan, and virus development, and it is because of this that I feel I am worthy of an interview with Bill Gates. By simply stopping my activities, I have done a great service to Microsoft and the Windows community.
I love Windows. I use it for three main things.
1) My 1st person shooter games (great for honing mental skills)
2) Maintaining my inventory of long range hunting and sniping weapons
3) Maintaining my hunts database. Which is almost complete. Now I just need to take out a filthy rich CEO of a software company that thrives on evil practices.
Sounds like a good match to me!
8^) [smily face added for Homeland Security Squad for Watching out for Filthy Rich Evil Company CEOs benefit]
Only the faithful are allowed in, and possible dissenters are given the boot...
9 .html
http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/05/05/int0501
"People" using "unnecessary" quotes should be "shot".
Do I smell a rip off of apple advertising?
Could Jesus microwave a burrito so hot that he himself cou
...and won! It was at a bridge tournament.
Now if only Bill had wagered all his Microsoft stock...
Windows Zelots push the fact that they put in a lot of time and effort into it, and they just can't turn back now.
I think you're right:
Me at Work: I just installed Messenger Plus on 6.2 instead of installing 7.0, now I can turn off the ads. ...
Actual MS Zealot at Work: That's full of spyware, why not make a request to MS for that feature in the next version of MSN and wait for that?
Me:
At least zealots will try to defend their position, or kill you when you argue with them. I was provided no such relief.
I read Slashdot for the articles.
Pardon me but this seems dead in it's infancy (unless Steve Balmer is not exempt from the "competition").
Passionate about Windows? There's an oxymoron if I ever saw one...
Torrent here http://home.btconnect.com/chrisandcarolyn/torrents /freeduc-games-1.6-qemu-0.6.1-2.iso.torrent
Pile more torrents here http://home.btconnect.com/chrisandcarolyn/torrents /in the same vein.
Runs without Windows, if you boot the CD, of course.
Have fun!
Snacks will include pie and, hopefully, pretzels.
But Officer, I DID read the f**king article!
I hear they distribute golden tickets to win a factory tour. Perhaps when the individual who gets to meet Bill Gates is of pure enough heart, and brings his grandfather, he will tour the magical MS factory and not be tempted by the mysterious things he is told not to touch. Against Bill's wishes, all of the other children will be tempted, leaving the winner. Thusly this winner will get to take over the company. One proper noun: Umpa Lumpas
All children left unattended will be sold as slaves.
"Vouchers will be mailed to class members shortly after any appeals have been resolved. Several appeals have been filed. We cannot estimate how long it will take to resolve the appeals, but it will probably not happen during your lifetime. However, Microsoft would like to thank everyone for sending in all of their CD-Keys as they can now be used in the fight against piracy."
I've got boxed copies of everything I mentioned. My circumstances are probably not typical though :)
[check user info if you're curious]
My opinions are my own, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.
If it were not for Windows, I never would have been pushed to using Open Source software. I never would have become a Linux developer for Gentoo. I never would have landed a career working on Linux machines and making more than double what my Windows Administrator peers make.
I applaud Bill Gates and Windows. If it were not for them, so many more people might have been forced to learn more about their computers, and jobs such as mine would be much more competitive and harder to come by today.
Windows truly has done a wonderful job of bringing computing to the masses of technophobic individuals who want things to be dumbed down for them so much that their 4-year-old nephew can run circles around them. It really is a strong platform, capable of providing everything you need all at your fingertips.
Hey! You aren't registered with Windows Messenger! Click here! Click here!
Hey! You aren't using Internet Explorer! Shame on you! Click here to fix that!
Long live Windows!
Long live Bill Gates!
Reading this, I wondered: does occasionally emulating m$ windows (in FreeBSD and Linux using wine, or in Darwin using Virtual PC) * count as professing a passion??
* = so to show my most often desperate clients the unstability and easy breeching of their hopelessly cracked, trojaned and wormed Windows PCs.
Naturally, I do appreciate Windows: thanks to Billy's screw-ups, I earn money!!
Often asked to fix what MS have ruined, my company offers remedy through UNIX/Unix-like Free Software alternatives that need no Service Packs or defective, force-sold Plug-ins.
BUT so likely I'd miss out on the lifetime opportunity of Meeting MSFT's Chairman... Appreciation isn't quite the same as passion.
And I wondered, what is passion, then? I decided to look it up in wikipedia.org.
The online encyclopedia's definition of passion is unequivocal and crystal-clear. According to the first paragraph of "The Passion is the technical term for the suffering and Agony of Jesus that led directly to the Crucifixion, a central Christian event. The "Passion narratives" tell this story in the Gospels. The etymological origins of this meaning of the word lie in the Latin passio that first appears in the 2nd century, precisely to describe the travails and suffering of Jesus in this present context."
In other words, to profess a passion for Windows is to suffer and Agonize and be crucified (sic) . I deduct from this that the road to martyrdom is marred by cloudy skies with Flying Windows hovering over one's head, and daily listening to The Microsoft Sound is equivalent to listening to the thunder over Mount Golgotha and the wailing of one's sad followers, as heard by Jesus of Nazareth when he hung at the cross, 4 nails tearing at his flesh and blood gushing out of his ribs where a lance had struck him. What an ordeal!
Well, our man J.C. already made his Sacrifice, some W2k years ago - the Gospels say he did it for All of us.
So please forgive me, Bill, for not wanting to repeat that experience and preferring to save myself the agony of Passion. And forgive me, Bill, for rendering cult to Other Icons, such as the pagan Solar symbols of Sun and that foul Prince, FreeBSD's merry Daemon...
* Signal 15... "Ceterum censeo Microsoftem esse delendam." Cheers cq. BRgds: DrS aka UNIXmafia@ribeco.net
Brainwashed sheep, meet the cult leader. You'll feel happy and he'll get even more popular.
Hey I love writting Linux apps in Windows. Do you think he would accept that?
and it sounds like "I used Windows to learn the hard way why Linux is better".
I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I can think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
using Windows computers to pursue a passion or hobby
does masochism count?
Like god's reward to Jesus, after demonstrating his passion? Your chance to be immortalized in Windows!
--
make install -not war
Why not give him a T-shirt with the FIREFOX logo (just keep it hidden until he unfolds it), in "gratitude for his efforts to make this a better world"?
Now *THAT* would be ingenious.
that's an interesting way to look at it but im not buying it.
.98. I spent a lot of time back then. I quickly "graduated" to Solaris 2.4 on a sparc ipx, and then shortly thereafter, solaris 2.5.1 on an SS10, with both machines running 2.6 eventually. (2.6 being the last release for sun4c, iirc). I also picked up an Indigo^2 and did a whole bunch of work with irix.
Firstly, i started using linux at home with TAMU and kernel
This is all at home mind you. At work i was doing admin and development work on irix 5.3, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, and 6.5. A little NT 4.0. A little Solaris "7" (2.7). I switched jobs and did a bunch of work on linux, freebsd, more solaris, more irix.
I lived and breathed Solaris, IRIX, and Linux for many years. I stopped using Windows at 3.1 and ran unix only at home until Windows 2000 release candidates started coming out, at which point i had a W2k server machine as "the windows box".
My mac experience _does_ go back somewhat.. - my wife got her G3 i 1998 and was running OS8 and OS9. Frankly those both ran "ok" for what they were - (garbage). I was the one that instaslled OS 10 on it (i forgot to mention that at home i ALSO had NextStep 2.x, 3.3, and 4.2 black hardware that i had also invested in heavily, time wise).
Part of the Aironet problem is bad cisco software, but part of it is apple just plain doing a poor job on older hardware support with OS X.
I would say that "At home", i've invested the least amount of time in windows, because it works to straightforwardly for the things i ask it to do.
Now, since i work with windows every day at work in a very low-level way, it's hard to suggest that i dont "succeed by osmosis" at home... but my point remains.. i've got a lot of research and learning time in all of the platforms i've listed above. The continual incremental investment in windows seems to be the least of all of them i keep around.
My opinions are my own, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.
Reading this, I wondered: does occasionally emulating m$ windows (in FreeBSD and Linux using wine, or in Darwin using Virtual PC) * count as professing a passion??
* = so to show my most often desperate clients the unstability and easy breeching of their hopelessly cracked, trojaned and wormed Windows PCs.
Naturally, I do appreciate Windows: thanks to Billy's screw-ups, I earn money!!
Often asked to fix what MS have ruined, my company offers remedy through UNIX/Unix-like Free Software alternatives that need no Service Packs or defective, force-sold Plug-ins.
BUT so likely I'd miss out on the lifetime opportunity of Meeting MSFT's Chairman... Appreciation isn't quite the same as passion.
And I wondered, what is passion, then? I decided to look it up in wikipedia.org.
The online encyclopedia's definition of passion is unequivocal and crystal-clear. According to the first paragraph of "The Passion is the technical term for the suffering and Agony of Jesus that led directly to the Crucifixion, a central Christian event. The "Passion narratives" tell this story in the Gospels. The etymological origins of this meaning of the word lie in the Latin passio that first appears in the 2nd century, precisely to describe the travails and suffering of Jesus in this present context."
In other words, to profess a passion for Windows is to suffer and Agonize and be crucified (sic) . I deduct from this that the road to martyrdom is marred by cloudy skies with Flying Windows hovering over one's head, and daily listening to The Microsoft Sound is equivalent to listening to the thunder over Mount Golgotha and the wailing of one's sad followers, as heard by Jesus of Nazareth when he hung at the cross, 4 nails tearing at his flesh and blood gushing out of his ribs where a lance had struck him. What an ordeal!
Well, our man J.C. already made his Sacrifice, some W2k years ago - the Gospels say he did it for All of us.
So please forgive me, Bill, for not wanting to repeat that experience and preferring to save myself the agony of Passion. And forgive me, Bill, for rendering cult to Other Icons, such as the pagan Solar symbols of Sun, the Antarctic animal god Tux and that foul Prince, FreeBSD's merry Daemon...
* Signal 15... "Ceterum censeo Microsoftem esse delendam." Cheers cq. BRgds: DrS aka UNIXmafia@ribeco.net
Windows allows me to make a living. 1 part insecure OS, 2 parts dumbass end user. Step 3- PROFIT!.
I can now read ./ without fear. If someone peeks at my screen, I just tell them my Windows machine is rebooting due to a security update / spyware fix... It a great excuse and can work multiple times a day, every day.
Where's my chance to meet Steve? I'd be happy to babble on endlessly about how iMovie, iPhoto and the iPod have changed my life, hobbies, etc. or what a thing of beauty my G4 Cube is.
I actually would enjoy talking with Bill, but I can't generate the same amount of enthusiasm when talking about Office or the TabletPC I use at work.
Sigh.
Once you lick the lollipop of mediocrity, you'll suck forever!
Who is Bill Gates?
Do I get troll points now?
http://illhostit.com/ - Webhosting
Thanks to you and your products, I have a job in a technical support position where the calls never end.
Seriously. Thanks.
-RT
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
I'm surprised no one's done this yet, but anyway...
My hobby is computer security. Windows has been amazing for helping me understand all the ways that an attacker can break in and gain access to my bank records. I tried using FreeBSD as a target before, but my research was dismal, as I had to do so much to it in order for the attacker to have a path in. With Windows, I was compromized in under a minte. Thank you Bill Gates!
...especially those built into Angelina Jolie's house.
--- Yx3 = Delilah ---
I really hate Windows with a passion. Does that count?
Why O-why should a meeting with Gates be considered a prize? Does this have something to do with the American worship of the rich?
Gee...I'm not that good of an actor...
Let's somebody else do it
Several years ago I had a coworker that said something along the lines of:
What is it with you Mac people? You always seem to LOVE your Macs!
My answer:
Gee, I wonder why.
"That's so plausible, I can't believe it!" - Leela
Yes, the latest versions of Linux are very stable, but so were the earlier versions. The stability of the kernel has been one of the strong points of Linux from the very start.
XP is, IMHO, rock-solid
Either your opinion is *extremely* humble or you have a different opinion of what constitutes "rock solid". Of course, the way they eliminated the BSOD in XP was to make it reboot automatically at each crash. Maybe that's the reason why you don't see it crash so often.
I've had one or two boot failures due to bad hardware, but never because of XP itself.
Aha, now we aren't so perfect anymore! How do you know it's faulty hardware? Have you tested the same hardware on a Linux machine? I have at least two equipment that crash XP every ten minutes or so: a Genius scanner with SCSI interface and a JVC camcorder with USB and Firewire interfaces. Both work flawlessly on the same dual-boot computer under Linux. So, once hardware failures are eliminated, what's the excuse for the XP crashes? "Broken device drivers", maybe?
Microsoft operating systems have always been very unstable, only the lame excuses change. Perhaps XP crashes less often than w98, but that's the same as saying a Jaguar catches fire less often than a Pinto.
... if sucking up can just get me within 10 paces of him.....
Perhaps they will pick Valerie Mallinson. She has to be the most passionate Windows user I ever saw! Maybe we can help her win the contest; that would be the ultimate joke.
1. The Windows User is condemned to edit the Registry just to get a program to work.
2. The software lock-in is laid upon him.
3. His first Blue Screen Of Death.
4. He meets his confounded smart-ass know-it-all nephew, who uses Linux.
5. Irving his neighbour is called in to try to fix the damned computer.
6. Windows User's hard disk is wiped by a virus written in VB Script.
7. His second Blue Screen Of Death.
8. He meets the women of P2P pr0n but cannot see them because Windows Media Player will not enable him to play files with DRM content.
9. His third Blue Screen Of Death.
10. He is stripped of his money upgrading to the latest version of Microsoft Office.
11. He is mortified by Clippy.
12. He distributes a Word doc without realizing that "hidden" text can be made visible; he loses his job.
13. He visits a site with MS Internet Explorer and hackers in Vladivostok change his local settings.
14. He is laid to rest waiting for Longhorn.
Rich And Stupid is not so bad as Working For Rich And Stupid.
Thank you Bill Gates,
You have allowed me the opportunity to make thousands of dollars by removing spyware from computers running your insecure operating system. I am truly in debit to you.
http://slashdot.org/comments.
It's easy.
First, learn to play bridge. Well.
Second, enter an open event at one of the three North American Bridge Championships.
Chances are good that you'll sit down and play a few boards against the Great One Himself.
the IT people in mcgill's engineering are huge microsoft fans. especially electrical engineering.
same goes with university of waterloo - in electrical engineering.
same goes with my highschool.
what a shame.
"profess a passion for Windows" - that makes it sound like a Republican town meeting.
I could understand apple doing this, but I think Microsoft might have difficulty finding people who really love windows.
This is their genius marketing twist, though. They're looking for people, in the face of Apple's dominance in marketing and Linux' dominance in the server room, who *haven't* switched. It's the UnSwitcher campaign, designed to find people, who for whatever reason have stuck with Microsoft. The contest could be otherwise worded, "What reasons could people possibly have for continuing to use Windows?"
This tells me that they can't think of those reasons themselves. And it shows, have you seen the latest Microsoft commercials? They're a jumble of every-color-of-the-rainbow with 8billion different symbols for who knows what, flying around and surrounding people as they go about their daily lives. It says to me, "We're a fog of confusion and distraction that people are unable to escape, yet these people still have smiles on their faces." They don't know why the people in their own commercials are smiling, so they're going out into the field/mall to find them. Go Microsoft!
When I was a kid, we only had one Darth.
that is the funniest thing I have seen all day!! Thank you!
Actually, I love my tablet PC.
While it does have a few flaws (digitizer.exe sometimes displays an error when it shuts down), no OS that I know of has bothered with this format.
And while you may laugh that tablet PCs havn't taken off, it's increasing slowly in the medical profession, and I predict it will soon blast off as the HEPA electronic requirements come closer.
The tablet PC is great for centralizing chart notes and billing, creating a paperless office environement and records ease of use.
If MS really wanted to monopolize this market, a great idea is for them to get into programming an EMR (electronic medical records) program.
Post something like the parent.
I really love Winders. My passion is sending spam email for prescriptions, fake watches, mortgages, and pron sites.
Winders "security" makes it so easy to add new zombies to my smtp proxy network so I can send spam virtually untraceable. Since most users are too ignorant or oblivious to care, I can compromise unpatched Winders hosts within minutes.
Thanks a lot also for making it so easy to spam Hotmail accounts with that shotgun regex account-matching system. I can just make up random email addresses and Hotmail delivers it to the closes matching accounts.
Thanks for all the good work Microsoft. Thanks for continuing to expand your product and service line in all areas rather than focusing on fixing bugs and critical security issues in current products. Without you, I'd be out of business.
I make so much money I'd like to share some with you. I'm going to send $500K, but I only have a cashiers check for $1M. Could you go ahead and send me a check for the difference now.
if is wasn't for a little prefrontal brain damage I had a while back, I would be more than ready to explain how much I love Windows.
Sounds like Bush's townhall meetings.
I have been forced into using MS technologies over and over after escaping happily to MacOS or FreeBSD and I wish more people realized there are great alternatives. We should create a coordinated campaign as a unified Switch Campaign focused on highlighting alternatives to MS and Windows.
It seems to me that MacOS X, OpenOffice, Firefox and several other viable alternatives provide plenty of examples of what you can use as an alternative to MS technologies. We simply need to create a blogging blitz to counter Microsoft's efforts to win support for their next generation of vendor lock-in.
If you have been watching at all lately, you will notice that MS has slowly opened up their formats a little only to start promoting MS Office integration so you are still going to be locked into MS licensing and fees. We have to get organized and inform the masses.
Brennan Stehling - http://brennan.offwhite.net/blog/
Windows XP has opened up new horizons for me. The NTFS file system allows me to store more tahn 40 GB of PoRn on each disk partition. Thank you! Wanna shake my hand?
Well wether this counts as a hobby or an feat worthy of sisiphus himself is up to yea who read it :p
:), without spyware removal tools (till the last 4 months when they became part of my life support toolkit ;) ) with the IE 5.5 shell parasite attached. And to top it off My dear sweet mother was always fond of just reaching round and turning the big switch at the back off while it was running without a thought to shut down or even close the programs. Her answer to any thing was to flip it off and try again pretty much.
:p
I quite fondly kept my familys windows 95 A ! compaq pressario 2200 with 133 Mhz cyrix fanless cpu bolted in under the most non standard heatsink ive ever seen alive and kicking for 6 years, without a Reinstall, with out antivirus, without firewall, without security or other MS updates bar the Winsock 2 one
But i persevered and kept it alive without a reinstall for 6 years. I personaly challenge anyone to beat that (and factor in the abusive work enviroment). I watched it meltdown catasrophicaly till DOS failed to boot after nearly 6 and a half years of use. And then as the very machine itself was dying i proceded to coax its 4x CD ROM drive to make one last boot and was able to get the recovery cd to install again. And it still works at the moment (though sits unused thank god)
RIP
Monolith
First personal experience with windows.
1997 - 2003
~To great feats of personal distinction.
~Anything is a good thing in the hands of the right person.
~May the binary gods take mercy on the personality Monolith developed over those 6 years through bit rot and hard shutdowns.
I miss ya old girl!
XML - A clever joke would be here if
a gold wrapper in my windows XP CD case!!!
:)
wee i get to meet
bill gates and the microsoft factory
back in the day we didnt have no old school
I live in Seattle, where the likelihood of getting T-boned by Chairman Bill when he runs a red light is far too great anyway.
This is WAY COOL!
I don't want to read
I pretty..uhhhh...passionate about my porn.
coming soon to a theatre near you... Jesus uses Windows in... The Passion of the Christ II!
Rome, IT - With the apocalypse just around the corner, where does the Savior of All Mankind turn to meet His IT needs? With the Lamb's Book of Life getting larger every year due to the conservative groundswell manifest in Bush's re-election this year, the Christ decided He needed to upgrade to a platform that was state of the art, utilizing the latest technologies.
(Register to read the full story...)
I'm not a journalist, but I play one on slashdot
How about if I just send a pie?
You must be the change you wish to see in the world - Ghandi
Windows is easier because it is the market leader and almost every bit of hardware or commercial software that you find is designed for it. Chances are that you also "grew up" using it and the knowledge that you gained was bit by bit and mostly painless. The windows environment comparable to the American system of weights and measures -- everyone (in the US) uses it, everyone has some knowledge about it, and everything is designed for it. I know by looking at a bolt if it is 5/16 of an inch, if you asked me how many milimeters, I'd have to think. Even if metric "makes more sense" it won't "just work" for me unless I retrain myself. Linux has made things easier and with some of the Live CDs things mostly just work, but there is usually some retraining and tinkering for me at least.
This is my favorite for Windows.
Eternity: will that be smoking, or non-smoking? I Corinthians 6:9-10
If you profess your passion for Jeebus (Windows), you will get to meet God (Gates).
I'd like to sell tomatoes and cream pies.
Instant profit!
If so then sign me up!
I take a computer with Windows on it and use it to anchor my boat while fishing.
Does that count?
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Dear Mr. Gates. My hobby is skeet shooting, but a number of years ago I began to feel sorry for the poor innocent skeets. They had done nothing to deserve being flung in the air and being shot to pieces. For a while I was worried that I would have to give up my beloved hobby, but Windows solved my problems.
Pull!
But I really have to stop my masochistic ways.
"It takes many nails to build a crib, but one screw to fill it."
Lots of Lusers with modpoints today it seems...
Dear Mr. Gates,
My experience with Windows inspired to learn about the x86 architecture and create my own competing OS. Perhaps you have heard of it? I look forward to meeting you.
Sincerely,
Linus Torvalds
Microsoft is looking for true stories about people using Windows computers to pursue a passion or hobby.
I don't know anyone using a PC for non-business purposes whose software is all legitimately purchased. No one I know can afford to fork out hundreds of dollars for programs like SoundForge or PhotoShop just to use them for personal interests. Even gamers can't afford to shell out $60 a pop (and monthly subscription fees) for all the games they like to play.
If Microsoft is looking for people who use Windows computers to pursue a "passion or a hobby", then chances are they're not going to get many responses, because most people that meet that description are using pirated software to do it and are smart enough to not write into Microsoft and turn themselves in.
Moderator hint: a comment is neither "Flamebait" nor "Troll" if it is true.
I used windows to persue my passion ... downloading Ubuntu Linux :)
> Now they're doing an Apple style campaign
Ummm, wasn't there some bs over a year ago using stock photos? As I recall, they had the equivelent of a master's thesis supposedly written by a 12 year old?
To the winders' fanboys: Yeah, I'm sure the specifics above are wrong. The 'tactics', though, did.
a good chance to kill him.
Can I meet Balmer too?
MS-DOS 5.0 is the best system - it has all the cool features and runs Star Control II with less fiddling with EMB/HMA
...how to exterminate that piece of junk from any PC I see it on...
Like everything, use Windows you have to pay for your zealots, use Linux and get thousands of them for FREE!!!!!
Hmmmmmm..... Deep fried and look like Squirrel.
Somehow I don't think that will qualify me for this promotion, though.
One morning last year I woke up from a dream in which I met Bill Gates at a conference, and we had a nice chat, though I don't remember the details. Although I do think it would be interesting to meet him in real life, I'm not sure what I'd want to say or ask.
Aside perhaps from deliberately misquoting the song "Steven Spielberg, Give Me Some of Your Money" by Moe Moskowitz and the Punsters.
I always said if I met Bill gates I would kick him in the balls!
Finding workarounds for its terrible design shortcomings has kept me employed for most of my career.
can have a most excellent chance to get on the shitlists of *millions* people all over the world! Be hated just like Bill! Be properly scorned by open-source activists! Go down in shame! Huzzah!
Steve Magruder, Metro Foodist
My Windows XP box
Is the most powerful terminal
I have ever used
To ssh into my FreeBSD box
So that I can avoid Windows XP
When I have work to do
And I am too lazy to get up
And sit in front of it.
perl -e "eval pack(q{H*},join q{},qw{70 72696e74207061636b28717b482a7d2c717b343 637323635363534323533343430617d293b})"
"You could meet the chairman of Microsoft, but you'll have to profess a passion for Windows first." I knew there was a catch. Is there truly a "Passion for Windows" Profession?
that is passion.
"I don't think it's selfish, to eat defenseless shellfish." -NOFX
I don't see why everyone is always so hostile towards MS. I mean, a project as big as Windows XP is bound to have some bugs. I've used Windows for a while, but now have been using Linux for the past few months
What MS needs is a tv show, with Bill Gates.
If Trump can do it, Gates should be able to do it, too.
They just have to figure out two things for Bill: the haircut and the equalent of "You are fired".
It could be a fun show, on how Windows (or any other MS product for that matter) affects the everyday life of real people. From powerpointing CEOs to msning teenagers. It could be a high rated eyeopener, how we don't even realize the depth MS is embedded into our life.
The show should have guest stars, of course: in an episode Paris Hilton could have an appearence, with the mission of hecking into Bill's system.
The American Idol could sing in the background and they could hire Lisa from Simpsons to make socially loaded, geek comments, as the voice of the plebs in ancient Greek dramas.
P.S.: This is not an OpenSource idea, this is Just An Other Random Idea(tm) by Random Nick, should MS or Bill Gates launch the above mentioned - or similar - show they are expeted to pay big bucks to Random.Nick for the use of the idea. In real money - not with free MS software, please.
Should Bill have finished the uniform login-system as promised long time ago, I would not have forgotten my password, and now I could be Random.Nick, instead of this ugly Anonymous Coward. Danm you, Bill. Hm... How about this, as the slogan for the show?
I will skip this opportunitie.
Love beta software
> Microsoft is looking for true stories about
> people using Windows computers to pursue a
> passion or hobby.
I'd make a logical, sound comment about the most common use of Windows, far and away, for this purpose, but I'm still digging out of my -1 hole the Slashdot gods put me in for similar, fully relevant comments.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Microsoft never met a bug it didn't fix, after charging you for the update. Sort of like finding out the hooker who gave you the clap moonlights as an M.D. at the free clinic, only in reverse.
The Empire is soliciting essays about people using the Force (Dark Side only) to pursue a passion or hobby, prizes include meeting the Emperor (formerly known as senator Palpatine). Extra points will be given to cases where bolt lightning is used or a loved one is betrayed "for its own good". Other prizes include a visit to a slave mine in Tattooine, a laser sable designed by Darth Vader, and a complete make over substituting any missing parts in your body.
1/ gaming
2/ virii writing
3/ finding flaws to bash it on slashdot
4/ ???
5/ profit
i would ask bill to take off the drm on the xbox360 and convince sony and nintendo to do the same.
imagine, the possibility of us having access to our own hardware which we bought with our hard earned money.
then i'd wake up.
Science : Proprietary , Knowledge : Open Source
I actually met him once when I was in visiting my then girlfriends parents in Seattle, and I found him to be very snobby in my humble opinion. He had the nerve to run into me and when he almost lost control of the cup in his hands he was very rude, and said some rather insulting things. Of course the fact that I was wearing a linux based T-shirt at the time probably didn't help his opinion of me either, as also he sneered and called me a Linux Zealot. Thats right, I like linux so that I can have a multi-billionaire too full of himself to give somebody right of way trip on his own feet and almost spill what had to be scalding hot coffee on me. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact I'm not restricted to one man or companies whim, can see the source whenever I want and edit them as I please, the fact that it costs me nothing so I can actually afford to install it on hundreds of computers and still retain my morality if I so wish, or the fact that I pay my bills supporting it as part of my day job. I personally hope the person who does get to meet him is not so blinded by the glitter he will throw in there eyes that they do not see the type of person I saw him to be. Then again I'm sure even Ray Charles could see that truth, so I have hope the person who 'wins' just whips it out and pimp slaps the man.
- d
trying to put together a script for a animated film and looking for a standard format (svg???) so that the film can be produced by an open group using an open licence to develop the production
:-)
...
so here's the first draft of some script ideas for the opening scene
SOFTWARS
A TALE OF OUR TIME
FOR THE INNER GEEK IN EVERYBODY
------BEGIN SCRIPT--------
enough...
proclaimed the emperor
there will be no software freedom for them
the jar is a gift from the sun, he will fight first against us, then will greatly assist us
go forth! make the hardware merchants aware of the greater price that awaits those that do not bow to our wishes
ignore or disrupt councils and courts
remind rulers and states of the great dangers that will confront them
if they forsake our bounties for the elusive benefits of software freedom
embrace, extend and disrupt
the efforts of contemporaries
and always
be
the emperor paused, looking around the table
glancing first to his right as if to reassure himself
SINTEL THE CLONER
master of designs that favoured the empire
the base upon which the foundations of the empire were built
these annoying free software creators had developed a surprisingly capable threat
impudently using the master of clones creations
but the soon to be completed plan to restrict hardware to trusted imperial systems
together with the convoluted eulas that bound the populace
and the hidden iceberg of patents
would eventually crush all resistance
MICHA THE HELL-FIEND
aah, the mighty demon that fuelled the empire from below
providing the population with a never ceasing flow of hardware bearing the imperial software
not one of his subjects was equal to this hell-fiend, or more useful
looking at him the emperor saw faint tinges of the software freedom anomaly flaring up in the folds between the hardware demons mighty muscles
the demon dared to provide a few dicerning citizens with the loathsome collaborative software
once this softwar was over the hell-fiend would humbly toe the line, his massive logistic neck bowed with sintels help
SIR HUGH PACKED THE THRALL
a glance at the once mighty soft and hard-ware wizard brought a supercilious sneer to the emperors lips
to think that this wizard had once threatened the budding empire with his well engineered core systems
hughs cloak could not hide the tell-tale traces of anti-imperial flames that reflected feeble dreams of escape
but alas sir hugh was rendered decrepid with the sheer power of the emperors implacable resolve
MARIAA THE BANSHEE
this litigous being of unknown gender laughed hideously as she boldly met the emperors eyes
the spirits of the enslaved masters of illusion chained to its throne howled in misery
so did the vast sea of wretches addicted to the exquisite fantasies woven by these fettered adepts
the banshees grip on the populace was dangerous as the wretches could not live without illusion to mask the misery of existence
this one will have to be ensared and tamed,
thought the emperor to himself
or destroyed once the last free entities were dispensed with
but at least this one did not show any signs of the enemy as yet
he mused as his eye fell on the newcomer to his court
SOL THE SUN-KING
having recently submitted openly to the emperors will, this arrogant blustering janus was a sorry sight
with one eye tightly closed and and the other widely open
the rest of his person minutely mirrored his dual nature
one hand clutched powerful core systems that were in appearance as tightly closed as the imperial systems
the other brazenly wielded a shockingly open threat to the emperors flagship
imps redolent with the aroma of coffee guarded their master from the active ex-chimps surrounding the emperor
who somberely regarded his latest ally with feelings as mixed as the face of the janus
IBEEM THE GIANT
hates windows the most.
The prize: pie throwing....
I love my Windows XP Professional workstation!
My hobby and passion is porn, and I use my Microsoft Windows to download pictures of nude women doing hardcore sex scenes. I spend hours doing it.
I know of some people who use windows to pursue their hobby. They reverse-engineer it and write samba or wine.
AccountKiller
step 1:
say: Windows saved my life!!
step 2:
~insert rediculous story here~ step 3:
denounce microsoft infront of cameras
i wonder if it will ever happen...
.... I bet he has some cool stories about Steve Jobs!
...we may get a new candidate for the top "stoned chick".
If one of their candidates did denounce MS on live broadcast, the server would be totally hosed within ten minutes of anyone posting a video clip of it.
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
...lusrmgr.msc earlier today....
...no. You don't need Microsoft for that.
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
sorry.....HAHAHAHAHA! Ok, now what were we talking
about?
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
In this case it means that they have somewhere to point the finger, but not someone to solve the problem. It would seem to me that having some way of solving the problem (or better yet, of never having the problem in the first place) would be considerably more valuable to them.
Unless, of course, they want to think of all of those poor starving people in India... who probably get to see two fifths of three eighths of sweet Fanny Adams out of that $100/hr.
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
It will probably serve them well because they are going to try and make it look like Windows can do everything. The more I look at this whole Microsoft Windows vs. Everything Else mentality, the more it becomes clear to me that there are really two broad groups at war here:
The first group of people are the technological wannabees. They are the people who can assemble a PC fairly well from components they bought at the store. The system might be a little glitchy but it works well enough for them to consider it a success. They throw on Windows XP and every driver and utilitiy known to man. Burn a CD? Easy. Just pop it in the drive and Nero Burning ROM or Roxio will automatically determine the kind of disc and start doign it's thing. Check the weather? Easy. Just download and install Weatherbug or any of a large variety of weather apps that sit in the task tray. Don't forget to install Ad-Aware and Spybot Search and Destroy as well! (While forgetting to upgrade to SP2) This kind of person considers themselves pretty knowledgable about Windows. They have "passion". They also have very little ability to do much else with their machines in the way of writing their own apps, or even scripting something more complex than a BAT file for copying files and folders around. This person is NOT "into computers" no matter how much they think they are. They also might try a few alternative OSes, and save for the live CD versions, they conclude that the OSes are too hard to deal with and therefore "suck". They might actually get something like SuSE or Redhat installed, but when they can't find the same abundance of utilities that pop up tons of splash screens at boot/login, they assume the OS sucks because no one writes software for it. They are usually really into pirated software or elese they spend a ton of money on every app they can get their hands on. This is their "passion". There are LOTS of this type of person out there.
The other group is the group of people who actually know computers extremely well. They know that *IF* you must run Windows, you're better off doing it plain vanilla with only the addition of the latest SP and all critical updates. They can also build a PC, but they know to research the combination of hardware they are going to get for the application that box will serve (video editing, music production, web serving, etc...). If required, their hardware set up will usually work well with ANY OS because they are going to be smart enough to choose hardware that works with alternate OSes. If the system is going to be running Windows, they will know how to tweak the OS for the purpose the system was built for. They also tend to know how to write their own apps and are highly frustrated by Microsoft's omission of a built-in compiler since all OSes should allow the users to write apps. They also know CMD and VBscript inside and out so that many tasks can be automated and dumbed down for the other users in the house. They also know how to use alternate OSes to fix the problems that Windows may run into. One way you can tell this kind of person apart from the one above, is that he's going to have a lot more hardware because he knows that there is no point in spending much money on software. Especially if you run an alternet OS. He'll have more RAM, HD space and a faster CPU because he didn't need to spend thousands of dollars on all the extra software. And his systems will always be virus/trojan/malware free. He won't get his system infected with trojans or viruses from pirated apps.
Microsoft prefers the first kind of user to the second one. The second one is rarely a fan of Windows or has the kind of "passion" that Microsoft is looking for. This is simply more of the major wave of dumb that is sweeping over the entire world. Take the fools and morons that abound and make them feel like they are the cream of the crop and visionary. Make those who are more intelligent/knowledgeable/experienced out to be the villians or "stuck in the past". Expect to see a lot
-"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o
for being a cunt with only 3 posts to his name.
What a jerk!