Follow Slashdot stories on Twitter

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Microsoft

Your Chance to Meet Bill Gates 529

Posted by CmdrTaco from the i'd-love-to-interview-him dept.
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. ""
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Your Chance to Meet Bill Gates More

Your Chance to Meet Bill Gates

Comments Filter:

  • Wonderful (Score:5, Funny)

    by mfh ( 56 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:02AM (#12633109) Homepage Journal
    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 [zpub.com]?

    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.

    • Re:Wonderful (Score:5, Insightful)

      by DoraLives ( 622001 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:12AM (#12633232)
      How many of us will pretend to love windows just to get a chance to relive some fond memories?

      How many of us want to see OUR names splashed around the world by the marketeers as somebody delirously in love with windows?

    • Re:Wonderful (Score:3, Insightful)

      by soloport ( 312487 )
      but you'll have to profess a passion for Windows

      Isn't hatred one of the seven passions [commspeed.net]?

    • Re:Wonderful (Score:4, Funny)

      by DS_User ( 874465 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:16AM (#12633272)
      Dear Bill; I have idolized you ever sinec I was a child. Now I plan to start my own computer business that will be based on things that already exist. However I will give everything a bloated gui to brainwash noobs into buying. Afterwards our software will turn to OS and then become so huge and bloated that it devours your own. Then I will be the master and you will be no more. Afterwards I will buy the senate and have them force my software to every government facility known to man. I will also send ultra buggy beta versions to Iraq which will destory everything with pure explosions from poor code. Then the US will love me, Britian will knight me, and then, and then. I shall be the emperor of the world. (Your master Sedious would be proud)Such is the way of the Sith.

    • You fake it (Score:4, Funny)

      by Alien54 ( 180860 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:19AM (#12633298) Journal
      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."

      • Re:You fake it (Score:4, Funny)

        by Jester998 ( 156179 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:47AM (#12633573) Homepage
        Microsoft is looking for true stories about people using Windows computers to pursue a passion or hobby. (Emphasis mine)

        I guess they were afraid to ask for stories about people who use Windows in a critical environment. I think I should put an entry in:

        "My passion is screaming at my computer when it blue screens in the middle of a deathmatch. Late-night REGEDIT sessions whenever Windows hoses itself is an amusing hobby too. For everything else, there's FreeBSD."

        Damn, I wish writing all contest entry essays were that easy.

        • Re:You fake it (Score:3, Insightful)

          by zCyl ( 14362 )
          Microsoft is looking for true stories about people using Windows computers to pursue a passion or hobby. (Emphasis mine)

          It sounds like they're looking for people who have been motivated by the experience of Microsoft products to participate in open source development.

    • Re:Wonderful (Score:2, Funny)

      by kfg ( 145172 )
      So now they have to bribe Windows users for positive reviews, eh?

      So I guess my essay on how I use Windows to pursue my passion because I can't get the shit to run right under WINE yet is right out?

      KFG

    • Re:Wonderful (Score:4, Funny)

      by Speare ( 84249 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:34AM (#12633456) Homepage Journal
      Microsoft is looking for true stories about people using Windows computers to pursue a passion or hobby.

      "It was a good paper, too." --Ellen Feiss

    • "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!

    • Re:Wonderful (Score:4, Funny)

      by pintomp3 ( 882811 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @10:11AM (#12633834)
      I love using windows. i have the double paned ones that fold in for easy cleaning. i love to look through them to check the weather, see who's knocking, and bird watching. Windows provide me tons of information and couldn't be easier to use. They are great for security and I never worry about getting bugs inside. They illuminate my otherwise dreary life. I even love using windows in the car. I will never buy a car without windows. Using windows is such a pleasure, more than I can say for my computer running XP.

  • my only question is... (Score:5, Funny)

    by whoisshe ( 878220 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:02AM (#12633114) Journal
    ...will they pat me down first before i meet him?

  • Apple's Switch (Score:3, Interesting)

    by varmittang ( 849469 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:03AM (#12633116)
    Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be like Apple's Switch ads?

    • Re:Apple's Switch (Score:5, Funny)

      by Golias ( 176380 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:04AM (#12633131)
      Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be like Apple's Switch ads?

      That's the whole idea.

      Another Microsoft innovation!

      • Re:Apple's Switch (Score:5, Interesting)

        by linuxci ( 3530 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:18AM (#12633285)
        It's good to see Microsoft are worried on all fronts at the moment, they must be spending more than they ever have on improving products and advertising. You can't visit a tech site (even slashdot) without seeing ads that are saying that Windows is cheaper than Linux (unless you block ads*). Now they're doing an Apple style campaign to respond to people switching to Mac or maybe Linux on the desktop. They've revived the IE team and spending a fortune trying to patch the security holes in their swiss chesse products.


        *I'd never block Microsoft's ads, sometimes I even click them in order to give the site some free money from Microsoft.

    • Ellen Fleiss for Windows (Score:4, Funny)

      by FunWithHeadlines ( 644929 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:47AM (#12633570) Homepage
      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! But man, that flashing screen was totally kewl, and made my drugs that much more fun. OK, so I totally got a bad grade for my paper, but it was fine cuz I met this totally great guy who also screwed up his paper.

      Oh yeah, Bill Gates is teh bomb.

  • haha (Score:2, Funny)

    by Mongoose ( 8480 )
    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!

  • We tried working with Windows... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    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 o
  • Dear Bill,

    Thanks to Windows, my kitchen table doesn't stain.

    Yours forever,
    Steve Jobs

  • I use Windows at work! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Boone^ ( 151057 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:05AM (#12633133)
    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?

  • ObSimpsons (Score:2, Funny)

    by antiphoton ( 821735 )
    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?

  • Passion (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:05AM (#12633141)
    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.

    • Re:Passion (Score:3, Interesting)

      by shibbie ( 619359 )
      You need to speak to my last boss... he was a Microsoft ISV. The passion came from seeing the money roll in.

    • Re:Passion (Score:5, Interesting)

      by xtracto ( 837672 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:18AM (#12633291) Journal
      Oh man, that is because you did not worked in this place [oz.com.mx] where I used to work, they are trying to be Microsoft Gold partners or something like that and the Chief is certainly a Microsoft Windows Fanboy (tm).

      So yup, I have had the chance to work with two or three MS and Windows fanboys/zealots, whatever
      • If I were you I wouldn't say I'd had anything to do with them, let alone give their URL. What a truly horrific web site, annoying music and all.

        • Re:Passion (Score:5, Insightful)

          by jellomizer ( 103300 ) * on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:39AM (#12633505)
          Unix/Linux Zealots push technical superiority.

          Mac Xealots push design superiority.

          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.

          • Re:Passion (Score:5, Insightful)

            by bmajik ( 96670 ) <matt@mattevans.org> on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @10:46AM (#12634258) Homepage Journal
            That's entirely false for me.

            I like windows because i have _no_ time invested in it, and i dont need to invest time in it.

            When i come home from work, the last thing i want to do is spend more time screwing with cantankerous computers. I wave the mouse, the screen lights up, and i am doing whatever i want to be doing with the computer. The web browser renders every page correctly. The email program is perfectly fast even though i have thousands of messages. My terminal emulator running a text-mode irc client hasn't spun out of control consuming all my ram. Visual Studio has been minimized for days and i breifly restore it to see what i was last "working on" at home in my hobbyist coding hours.

            This is windows xp for me. I spent about 2 hours assembling this machine from parts that newegg sent me and about another 2 hours getting xp, office 2003, and a few other apps installed on it. I haven't had to do a single thing to it sense.

            I'd say my time investment is pretty low. That's precisely how i like it.

            I've spent much more time trying to get an Aironet 352 working smoothly on OS X. I've spent a bunch more time trying to help my wife troubleshoot her ibook G4's sleep-of-death problem. (her powerbook G3 had it also, and i've spent a bunch of time on _that_ thing)

            I suppose thta i haven't spent much time on my OpenBSD machine.. i put in "the time" on that thing a few years ago and i mostly forget i even have it apart from every few months wanting to do something or other with it. Which requires 2-4 hours of reading and mucking.

            Of course, im not a "zealot" for any of these platforms. I use all of them at home, but the machine with me physically sitting at it the most is windows, yet it requires the least "effort" by far.

            • Re:Passion (Score:4, Insightful)

              by jellomizer ( 103300 ) * on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @11:19AM (#12634721)
              It seems like you have a lot of time invested into it. You got your system to run the way you wanted it. You know windows you know how it works. That didn't come naturally. When you were younger you probably used older versions of windows and you learned how to use different bits and peaces over time.

              While it may not be good meaurable time learning windows it is still an investment in your time. And you combine all your experice using windows you find that you have a Lot of time invested into it. And switching to a different type of working will require you to start over from scratch again.

              The same things happen to me when I was using Linux as my primary OS (I am now using OS X) going back to a windows system was very fustrating because all my command I knew by heart wasn't there. Having windows do a simple job like downloading a webpage once an hour and check for important change and notifiy me by email when the change was mad is a large task which can be easilly done with Linux. I have been using Linux sience 1994 and I know how to get around the system much like you probably have been using windows sience 1995 or earlier with 3.1 and DOS.

              SO the truth is that you have invested a lot of time in windows and know how to deal with its problems. Vs. Fixing your Aironet working on OS X. I am sure if you were using OS X for years and OS 9 before that you will have a better understanding on how to get it to work on the ibook.

              So the statement is true for you except for the fact your time was spreadout so your investment is hard to quantify.
            • 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 m
      • From your link:

        Esta página ha sido diseñada para utilizar la tecnología Flash 7 o posterior de Macromedia. Haga click aqui si está seguro de que tiene el plug-in instalado, de otra manera haga click aqui para bajar e instalar el plug-in de Flash.

        This page was designed to use Flash 7 or up technology by macromedia. Click here if you are sure you have Flash
        plug-in installed. Otherwise, click here to download Flash Player plug-in.

        It seems like windows isn't the only POS they love...

      • Re:Passion (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Shaper_pmp ( 825142 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @10:57AM (#12634452)
        Yeah, same where I work, too (no link, because I still have to work here for a while). We're a Microsoft Gold Partner, but The MD has taken this to mean we aren't even allowed to run a single Linux server or FLOSS app, in case MS (somehow) find out and decide to withdraw our MSGP status in a fit of pique. Not, of course, that they've ever even vaguely indicated they would do so, but there you go....

        So, here I am, forced to develop dynamic web content in (hackcoughspit) ASP.NET, re-inventing the wheel each time because you Just Don't Get the equivalent of CPAN for proprietary MS-culture languages, on my local machine, to be deployed on servers currently too old to run the .NET platform until they get a hardware upgrade, which was scheduled for six months ago but still won't happen for at least the next six months because we simply don't have the budget for it, doing nothing that couldn't be done in a fraction of the time, with a fraction of the resources and a fraction of the fucking about in Perl or PHP.

        Typical Quote: Our "Director of Innovation" (that's "innovation" in the Microsoft sense, too) once noticed FileZilla on my machine. His reaction? "Get that dirty free software off my machines right now". Oh yes, and every project anyone undertakes has to be done in a language he can speak, just in case they ever decide to leave and he decides to start managing it directly himself.

        He only can only code in VB.

        Apparently he once tried to learn C for three weeks, but gave up "because it was too hard".

        Oh yeah, and this is a multi-million-GPB company.

    • Re:Passion (Score:5, Funny)

      by maxwell demon ( 590494 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:20AM (#12633311) Journal
      I've never known anyone who is really passionate about windows

      You don't know any passionate Windows hater?

    • Re:Passion (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Gumshoe ( 191490 )
      But I've never known anyone who is really passionate about windows
      I knew someone once who threatened to punch me if I didn't retract an innocent assertion that OS/2 was a pretty good Operating System. Really. He was adamant that OS/2 was somehow a threat to Windows 95 and is holding the computing world back. Yes, he was a wanker.

      I realise this guy is an aberration but whenever I read a complaint about "Open Source Zealots" or whomever, I remember this guy.

    • Re:Passion (Score:3, Informative)

      by Cylix ( 55374 ) *
      Yeah...

      They don't come around me anymore...

      One of my friends was basically touting the "new and improved" tcp stack in 2k. He didn't quite say it like that, but that's the gist of it.

      He had been going over and over features at this point and I assurred him everything he mentioned we already had.

      However, I couldn't forgive the tcp stack mad loving...

      So I stopped while we were walking...

      Turned to him and informed him... it was a very nice stack... quite nice... one of the best...

      Oh yes... it was also t
    • Yo chance ta meet bizzy gates

      you could meet tha chairman of microsoft, but youll have ta profess a passion fo` windows first . Fo'-fo' desert eagle to your motherfuckin' dome. microsoft is look'n fo` true stories `bout thugz using windows baller ta pursue a passion or hobby motha fucka. tha company plans ta use tizzy in a market'n blitz tied ta tha 20th anniversary of windows debut. ta entice essay submissions, microsoft is offer'n a poser of prizes, includ'n tha chance ta mizzle gates in seattle n appear in tha ad campaign. otha prizes include an overseas T-R-to-tha-izzip wit national geographic expedition, vip access ta a major movie premiere n a home makeova wittan hgtv designa.

      Essays mizzle be 300 words or less. Extra points is given ta essays tizzle demonstrate tha positive impact Windows has made on someones life like a tru playa'. Microsoft will select winna in fizzle categizzles ridin' in mah double R: culture n communizzle music, memories, home n lifestizzle n sports n games aww nah. To win, you must be at least 13 years old, live in tha United States, n enta by Siznept puttin tha smack down. 30. Microsoft plans ta select shot calla in Wanna Be Gangsta.

    • Re:Passion (Score:4, Insightful)

      by bheer ( 633842 ) <rbheer&gmail,com> on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:53AM (#12633629)
      Not to be trollish, but -- IMHO -- Macs and Linux are loved because they're used mostly by committed users who have made an active choice to use what they do.

      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.

      You make a very interesting point: most non-corporate buyers today will not be able to tell you why they chose Windows, beyond a "It's what I'm familiar with" or "Everyone else uses it" or "My bottle-carving program runs on it". Windows is an externally enforced choice for most people. So far so good, and by now the slashbots would be frothing about how great it'd be if only the evil M$ was broken up so that people could finally Choose(tm).

      Problem: if MS were to go away, something else would take its place, say Linux. When that happens, when Linux is mandated across broad swathes of business, you can be quite sure that the crowd of lusers that you now have would bring the inevitable kvetching about how The Computer Ate My Work(tm). No amount of telling them '..but Linux is stable!' will help: they'd sooner believe that the computer is a piece of shit than admit a mistake.

      And oh: this is already happening today: We have a CRM app that runs crossplatform on Moz and IE, and quite a few of our customers (call centers who want their IT as lean-and-mean as possible) have standardized on Linux/OO.o because their users don't need much more. I've been to a few of these places, and FWIW the IT staff at at these places are happy as clams but user satisfaction has not gone up (it has actually dipped in a couple of places but I'm willing to pin that on poor retraining). Of course, none of this means anything except anecdotally but your post made me wonder how passionate a user in these companies would be about Linux.
  • 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.
    • I thought about that, but the odds are against, even if you sound sincere in your deceptions.

      Just imagine - twenty thousand slashdot linux fanatics all striving mightily to outdo one another in praising windows, in the hope that one of them might get a a chance to spit in the great man's eye.

      Then MS awards it to some staffer's pretty daughter in law who is known to hate Linux and proceedes to launch an ad campaign fuelled largely by those who hate MS. And Bill and Steve laugh all the way to the bank!

  • Dear Bill, (Score:2, Funny)

    by hplasm ( 576983 )
    I have used Windows for many years and now have a huge collection of porn/spyware. Does this count as an obsession/hobby?

  • Suddenly I feel like David Carradine... (Score:5, Funny)

    by TripMaster Monkey ( 862126 ) * on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:05AM (#12633147)

    ...Microsoft is offering a number of prizes, including the chance to meet Gates in Seattle...

    Anyone here old enought to remember Death Race 2000 [imdb.com]? Remember why Frankenstein (David Carradine) wanted so badly to win the race?

    ^_^

  • That was awesome! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Nytewynd ( 829901 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:06AM (#12633148)
    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!

  • pursue a passion or hobby (Score:5, Funny)

    by bushboy ( 112290 ) <lttc@lefthandedmonkeys.org> on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:06AM (#12633151) Homepage
    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 !
  • 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?
  • Sounds like Uncle Bill is taking a page from Nature Boy's playbook. Filter [washingtonpost.com] those [spiegel.de] who have access to you [hillnews.com] so you never have to hear an opposing opinion.
  • Oh goody
    *Loads his riffle and dawns camoflage gear* um im just going duck hunting
  • Wonder who he could be taking a cue from? Is Carl Rove advising Microsoft in the fine art of the "favourable crowd"?
  • 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 ;)
  • Slashdotters bash windows with a passion, some do it so much it could be considered a hobby, does that count?

  • Porn (Score:2, Funny)

    by Poromenos1 ( 830658 )
    I use windows to watch porn. You AIN'T SEEN more passion than that!

  • If a story could ever be marked as Flamebait... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Enoch Root ( 57473 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:10AM (#12633203)
    ...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

  • Download ISOs (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I use my windows XP box and DS3 connection at work to download all of my linux ISOs.
  • 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...
  • but I wouldn't mind being in his will.
  • 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!
  • 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?
  • ...slamming Microsoft on /. (and a fine recipie for pies)... do I win? :-)

  • Don't forget to bring (Score:5, Funny)

    by DrXym ( 126579 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:17AM (#12633282)
    your stake, mallet and holy water.

  • Too late Bill (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Ailure ( 853833 )
    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
  • Especially if he let me take a ride in the 10-man submarine attached to this baby [yachtcrew-cv.com].
  • 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.
  • Yeah, good luck with that Bill. No wonder they have to conduct a nationwide search!
  • I am sure all windows admins are lined up for this already =)
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • ...it gave us the world's first example of -35 day warez [tiscali.be].

  • OOH! OOH! PICK ME! PICK ME!!! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Electric Eye ( 5518 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:24AM (#12633358)
    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.

  • Passion FOR Microsoft's products?! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anita Coney ( 648748 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:25AM (#12633371) Homepage
    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.
  • 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...

  • 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 b

  • 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.
  • 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

  • Passion = yes, gratefull = yes, Annoyed = HELL YES (Score:5, Interesting)

    by B5_geek ( 638928 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:33AM (#12633448)
    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.
  • "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 Power
  • And all the various p2p and bittorrent software it takes to accumulate a good collection without spending cash for it.

  • My deep abiding love for Windows (Score:5, Funny)

    by FunWithHeadlines ( 644929 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:39AM (#12633512) Homepage
    I have a passion for the color blue. I see it and I swoon in ecstasy. How beautiful it is to my eyes! How evocative of the sky and the sea and everything life-giving!

    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?

  • Sounds similar to GWB's town hall events (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Aqua OS X ( 458522 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:46AM (#12633567)
    Sounds similar to GWB's town hall events.
    You have a shot at talking to the president, but first you have to pledge support. :/

  • First Prize, a meeting with Bill Gates... (Score:5, Funny)

    by jpellino ( 202698 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @09:48AM (#12633585)
    Second Prize: Two meetings with Bill Gates.

  • My hobby and passion... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Cyn ( 50070 ) <cyn.cyn@org> on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @10:04AM (#12633755) Homepage
    is masochism.

    Windows does it for me every time.

    Thank you Windows.

  • samba or wine (Score:3, Funny)

    by lahvak ( 69490 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2005 @07:06PM (#12639648) Homepage Journal
    I know of some people who use windows to pursue their hobby. They reverse-engineer it and write samba or wine.

Slashdot Top Deals

What is research but a blind date with knowledge? -- Will Harvey

Close