BILL GATES VS GENERAL MOTORS
Discussion
For all who drive cars or use computers: this is too good to pass up.
For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives:
At a recent computer exposition (COMDEX) Bill Gates reportedly compared
the computer industry with the auto industry and stated:
"If General Motors had kept up with the technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon!"
(15 Love)
In response to Bill's comments, GM issued a press release stating:
"If General Motors had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:
1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.
3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull over to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue.For some reason, you would simply accept this.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have
to reinstall the engine.
5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive-but would run on only five percent of the roads.
6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "General Protection Fault" warning light.
7. The airbag system would ask "are you sure?" before deploying.
8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
9. Every time GM introduced a new car, car buyers would have to learn to drive all over again, because none of the controls would operate in
the same manner as the old car.
10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.
(Game, set and match)
For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives:
At a recent computer exposition (COMDEX) Bill Gates reportedly compared
the computer industry with the auto industry and stated:
"If General Motors had kept up with the technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon!"
(15 Love)
In response to Bill's comments, GM issued a press release stating:
"If General Motors had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:
1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.
3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull over to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue.For some reason, you would simply accept this.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have
to reinstall the engine.
5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive-but would run on only five percent of the roads.
6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "General Protection Fault" warning light.
7. The airbag system would ask "are you sure?" before deploying.
8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
9. Every time GM introduced a new car, car buyers would have to learn to drive all over again, because none of the controls would operate in
the same manner as the old car.
10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.
(Game, set and match)
Funny isnt it, buy a bit of software at any price, including those priced way in excess of £1 million and if there are bugs we just accept it, wait for a patch etc.
Now, if you bought shoes that blew up for no reason we'd be back like a shot.
Gates set our expectations low, and failed to exceed them...
Matt.
Now, if you bought shoes that blew up for no reason we'd be back like a shot.
Gates set our expectations low, and failed to exceed them...
Matt.
Top quote on TV last night, no idea how true it would be though I'm sure someone with a maths degree and lots of spare time will prove it wrong.....
If Bill Gates put all his money under his matress if he fell out of bed it would be 18 years before he hit the ground and if someone was at the bottom stuffing the interest in he'd never hit the floor
If Bill Gates put all his money under his matress if he fell out of bed it would be 18 years before he hit the ground and if someone was at the bottom stuffing the interest in he'd never hit the floor
It's not like us to slag a successful person off is it? I'm sure Monsieur Gates was more than a bit peed off when IBM rejected his MS-DOS in '83.
Still, with our great health service and crime figures and asylum laws and general good feelings running through this country at the moment, there's little else to moan about. May aswell get at Bill. Again.
Still, with our great health service and crime figures and asylum laws and general good feelings running through this country at the moment, there's little else to moan about. May aswell get at Bill. Again.
Spooky said: It's not like us to slag a successful person off is it? I'm sure Monsieur Gates was more than a bit peed off when IBM rejected his MS-DOS in '83.
If you ever got a chance to read the text of the judge's summary in the anti-trust trial a few years ago you wouldn't have much respect for him.
Oh and since you mention it, Gates didfall out with IBM in the early 90's. His retribution resulted in Microsoft effectivly putting IBM out of the PC business for years, by blocking thier access to OEM copies of Windows 95.
>> Edited by corozin on Sunday 2nd February 00:41
The thing is I remember to have read this MS versus GM story allready a few years ago
The sad thing is it's still very true What makes me even more sad is what I've heard yesterday on dutch radio: In an interview with a dutch newspaper Bill G has alledgedly stated that it will take MS at least another 10 years before they will be able to come up with a foolproof and faultless Operating System.
Levensnevel
The sad thing is it's still very true What makes me even more sad is what I've heard yesterday on dutch radio: In an interview with a dutch newspaper Bill G has alledgedly stated that it will take MS at least another 10 years before they will be able to come up with a foolproof and faultless Operating System.
Levensnevel
In an interview with a dutch newspaper Bill G has alledgedly stated that it will take MS at least another 10 years before they will be able to come up with a foolproof and faultless Operating System.
This will never happen. There are a lot of fools in the world,
and Microsoft have comprehensively demonstrated
over the last fifteen years that they can't deliver
a faultless operating system, in lots of tries.
Table top Ladas, in some folks view.
I stopped buying their products a long time ago.
This
www.euronet.nl/users/frankvw/IhateMS.html
is nice reading though for all MS bashers, when you can spare the time anyway.
Levensnevel
www.euronet.nl/users/frankvw/IhateMS.html
is nice reading though for all MS bashers, when you can spare the time anyway.
Levensnevel
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