Don’t Bet on Windows

Wednesday, Oct. 20 2004 | Author: MacGeek

Sometimes in a shopping center or mall, I’ll come across a kiosk that obviously runs some version of Windows, obvious from the fact that it’s crashed and all that’s visible is the BSOD or an error dialog and a familiar cursor. Certainly it’s not everyday, but when I do, I can’t help but chuckle at the statement that makes. Not just about the operating system, but also about the maintenance, or lack thereof, of the system. Maybe it’s only been down for a few minutes when I’ve seen it, but whether it’s been a few minutes or a few days, the end-user has seen something they shouldn’t.

Here’s an interesting image of what appears to be a crash in the display system for the video billboard at the Paris casino in Las Vegas. You can just make out some sort of dialog, but what really tickled me was the Windows cursor, larger than life, for all the world to see.

Except they shouldn’t.

Via MacMerc.

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5 Responses for "Don’t Bet on Windows"

Paul

October 20th, 2004 at 4:43 pm
1

And once more jealous Mac users grimmace in agony at the fact that their little system isn’t as prolific.

No software is bullet proof.
Norgus

October 20th, 2004 at 6:05 pm
2

I use windows and experiment with linux.
Generally windows CAN be fairly stable if treated right, but it does seem rather unreliable compared with the competition.

Just because less people use Mac I wouldn’t call it ‘their little system’, as all I ever hear about Mac’s is ‘it works, easily’.

I use windows out of familiarity and some programs/games I am fond of. I experiment with linux because its great and I want to learn more about it. Also both windows and linux run on my architecture of choice, X86.
I also won’t ever consider a Mac, just out of my current familiarities & preference for an architecture you can truly customise the hardware and software of from the ground up.

Eh I have wondered offtopic a little.
MacGeek

October 20th, 2004 at 6:37 pm
3

Jealous Mac users? Jealous of what? Jealous of being so prolific that you’re prone to viruses and trojans every time you browse a web page or read an email?

I’ll give you the super-cheap hardware. I’ll give you the games that haven’t yet or won’t ever be released for the Mac. I’ll even give you the “customization” (though I’ve seen modded G3/G4 systems, so this is a freebie).

But aside from a few hardcore gamers, I doubt you’ll find many Mac users jealous of anything Windows.
mmj

October 20th, 2004 at 8:48 pm
4

In Melbourne there is a giant television screen in the centre of the city (Bourke and Swanston). Some years ago, for nearly a day, it showed a Windows-98 style BSOD.

The reaction to it was interesting – by this time people had already associated computers with the blue screen of death so it must have come as no surprise that even this giant screen would display a blue screen of death sometimes. People accepted it as an inevitable fact of life.

I also used to see the Win98 BSOD on ‘information’ panels sometimes around the city (these panels are mainly for tourists).

Sadly, I miss the old Windows-98 style BSOD. You don’t see it as much any more.
Jack

October 21st, 2004 at 7:00 am
5

I’m a fan of error messages in the wild too – I was in Zagreb for a week recently, and a giant screen in Trg Bana Jelacica, the city’s main square, bore a Windows error message for most of my stay – by the end of the holiday, we were starting to wonder if it was some kind of art installation. (Photo here.)