Vulpix
12-15-2009, 08:49 AM
Biggest Windows bloopers (http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/technology/0910/gallery.microsoft_windows_gaffes/index.html)
CNN: Microsoft Windows is by far the most widely used operating system in the world, but there were a few big bumps in the road on the way to global domination.
1. Windows 98 is plug and ... oops
<!-- /galTitleNav -->http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2009/technology/0910/gallery.microsoft_windows_gaffes/images/windows_98.home.jpg
<!-- /imgRelatedsContainer* --><!-- DATA FIELDS --><!-- /DATA FIELDS -->Windows 98 was designed to be "plug and play" ready, meaning users could simply plug devices like printers and scanners into their computers and use them right away, without installing any software.
But Microsoft's demonstration of that function at the Computer Dealers Exposition in Las Vegas on April 20, 1998, didn't go so smoothly.
When former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates and his assistant Chris Capossela plugged a scanner into the computer, instead of loading the scanner's software, the computer encountered a fatal error and displayed one of Windows' infamous "blue screens of death."
"Just plug it in," Capossela said. "It's going to say, 'Hey, I see you've plugged in a new device,' and it's going to load in the appropriate drivers. You'll notice that this scanner, Bill ... whoa."
The audience roared with laughter and applause. Even Gates began to laugh, eventually chiming in with, "That must be why we're not shipping Windows 98 yet."
CNN carried the event live, and the YouTube clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgriTO8UHvs) of the crash has been viewed 1.4 million times.
2. Clippy
<!-- /galTitleNav -->http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2009/technology/0910/gallery.microsoft_windows_gaffes/images/clippy.jpg
<!-- /imgRelatedsContainer* --><!-- DATA FIELDS --><!-- /DATA FIELDS -->The despised talking paper clip is best known for interrupting virtually every task in Microsoft Office, but Clippy actually got his start in a much-forgotten version of Windows, Microsoft Bob.
In Bob, which debuted a few months before Windows 95, the animated assistant helped guide users through their computer tasks. Bob was a massive failure, but Clippy lived on to bug the hell out of everyone who ever wanted to type a letter using Microsoft Word.
In Office versions 97 and 2000, if a user typed, "Dear" at the beginning of a document, Clippy would appear in the bottom right corner of the screen with a text bubble that read, "It looks like you're writing a letter. Would you like help?"
Clippy would also interrupt countless other tasks, making the Office Assistant one of the most reviled Microsoft features ever.
Microsoft got the message loud and clear by the time of its Office XP release. In an online ad for Office XP, Microsoft staged a mock firing of Clippy, who said, "Know anyone who's hiring? Office XP works so easily that it's made Office Assistants like me useless. Obsolete. And, I'm told, hideously unattractive."
3. Windows Me
<!-- /galTitleNav -->http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2009/technology/0910/gallery.microsoft_windows_gaffes/images/windows_me.jpg
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Windows Millennium Edition was Microsoft's flagship operating system for consumers for just 13 months ... too long, if you ask people who used it.
The operating system debuted in September 2000. Users reported problems upgrading their computers to Windows Me and when they were able to, Me frequently froze and crashed. There were numerous compatibility issues with hardware and software, and Me didn't always like to wake up from sleep mode.
Even the good features ended up screwing over Me users. For instance, Me debuted a new tool called System Restore that allowed people to bring back files they had accidentally deleted. But System Restore also brought back files that were purposefully deleted, like viruses that users definitely wanted to get rid of.
PC World in 2006 named the 25 worst tech products of all time -- Windows Me was fourth. But keep in mind, that list came out one year before Vista was released.
"This might be the worst version of Windows ever released," the magazine said. "Forget Y2K; this was the real millennium bug."
4. Windows Media Center works ... trust me
<!-- /galTitleNav -->http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2009/technology/0910/gallery.microsoft_windows_gaffes/images/windows_media_server.jpg
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Maybe Bill Gates should just avoid Vegas altogether.
At the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Gates was interviewed on stage by Conan O'Brien, who hosted the event. Gates unveiled the new Windows Media Center, which featured the ability to play your computer's media files on your home television.
O'Brien took some photos of Gates, which the former Microsoft CEO said would be synced with the computer and available on the TV, with a click of a button on a remote control. Gates then clicked the button on the remote and got ... nothing!
"Just incredible. I don't know who's running things here," said O'Brien. "Who's in charge of Microsoft? Oh."
Later in the presentation, the TV's program guide wouldn't open, and Microsoft program manager Garrett Young's demonstration of a racing car video game caused a system failure.
"I'm out of system memory apparently," said Young. "Yeah, so just imagine, if you will, that I was customizing my car and doing some really cool stuff."
5. Windows Vista
<!-- /galTitleNav -->http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2009/technology/0910/gallery.microsoft_windows_gaffes/images/microsoft_vista.jpg
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For all of the Windows-related debacles, Vista was by far the worst for Microsoft.
Vista was released in 2007 to much fanfare, since it was the first new operating system that Microsoft had unveiled since XP in 2001.
But that's where the excitement ended. Vista was plagued by bugs, software and hardware incompatibilities, sluggishness and annoying security alerts (to name a few common complaints).
The operating system was so badly received that the majority of businesses opted to stick with the eight-year-old Windows XP rather than upgrade. XP still has four times as many users as Microsoft Vista.
Rival Apple cashed in on Vista's annoyances with its popular "Mac vs. PC" ad campaign. One featured a Secret Service guard asking PC if he would like to cancel or allow any comment he made on Vista's security alerts. Since Vista's release, Macintosh's market share nearly doubled.
But there were less tangible effects of Vista, including a loss of Microsoft's credibility with consumers. Many experts think consumers will hold off their purchases of Windows 7, which debuts Oct. 22, until the operating system has been sufficiently tested.
CNN: Microsoft Windows is by far the most widely used operating system in the world, but there were a few big bumps in the road on the way to global domination.
1. Windows 98 is plug and ... oops
<!-- /galTitleNav -->http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2009/technology/0910/gallery.microsoft_windows_gaffes/images/windows_98.home.jpg
<!-- /imgRelatedsContainer* --><!-- DATA FIELDS --><!-- /DATA FIELDS -->Windows 98 was designed to be "plug and play" ready, meaning users could simply plug devices like printers and scanners into their computers and use them right away, without installing any software.
But Microsoft's demonstration of that function at the Computer Dealers Exposition in Las Vegas on April 20, 1998, didn't go so smoothly.
When former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates and his assistant Chris Capossela plugged a scanner into the computer, instead of loading the scanner's software, the computer encountered a fatal error and displayed one of Windows' infamous "blue screens of death."
"Just plug it in," Capossela said. "It's going to say, 'Hey, I see you've plugged in a new device,' and it's going to load in the appropriate drivers. You'll notice that this scanner, Bill ... whoa."
The audience roared with laughter and applause. Even Gates began to laugh, eventually chiming in with, "That must be why we're not shipping Windows 98 yet."
CNN carried the event live, and the YouTube clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgriTO8UHvs) of the crash has been viewed 1.4 million times.
2. Clippy
<!-- /galTitleNav -->http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2009/technology/0910/gallery.microsoft_windows_gaffes/images/clippy.jpg
<!-- /imgRelatedsContainer* --><!-- DATA FIELDS --><!-- /DATA FIELDS -->The despised talking paper clip is best known for interrupting virtually every task in Microsoft Office, but Clippy actually got his start in a much-forgotten version of Windows, Microsoft Bob.
In Bob, which debuted a few months before Windows 95, the animated assistant helped guide users through their computer tasks. Bob was a massive failure, but Clippy lived on to bug the hell out of everyone who ever wanted to type a letter using Microsoft Word.
In Office versions 97 and 2000, if a user typed, "Dear" at the beginning of a document, Clippy would appear in the bottom right corner of the screen with a text bubble that read, "It looks like you're writing a letter. Would you like help?"
Clippy would also interrupt countless other tasks, making the Office Assistant one of the most reviled Microsoft features ever.
Microsoft got the message loud and clear by the time of its Office XP release. In an online ad for Office XP, Microsoft staged a mock firing of Clippy, who said, "Know anyone who's hiring? Office XP works so easily that it's made Office Assistants like me useless. Obsolete. And, I'm told, hideously unattractive."
3. Windows Me
<!-- /galTitleNav -->http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2009/technology/0910/gallery.microsoft_windows_gaffes/images/windows_me.jpg
<!-- /imgRelatedsContainer* --><!-- DATA FIELDS --><!-- /DATA FIELDS -->
Windows Millennium Edition was Microsoft's flagship operating system for consumers for just 13 months ... too long, if you ask people who used it.
The operating system debuted in September 2000. Users reported problems upgrading their computers to Windows Me and when they were able to, Me frequently froze and crashed. There were numerous compatibility issues with hardware and software, and Me didn't always like to wake up from sleep mode.
Even the good features ended up screwing over Me users. For instance, Me debuted a new tool called System Restore that allowed people to bring back files they had accidentally deleted. But System Restore also brought back files that were purposefully deleted, like viruses that users definitely wanted to get rid of.
PC World in 2006 named the 25 worst tech products of all time -- Windows Me was fourth. But keep in mind, that list came out one year before Vista was released.
"This might be the worst version of Windows ever released," the magazine said. "Forget Y2K; this was the real millennium bug."
4. Windows Media Center works ... trust me
<!-- /galTitleNav -->http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2009/technology/0910/gallery.microsoft_windows_gaffes/images/windows_media_server.jpg
<!-- /imgRelatedsContainer* --><!-- DATA FIELDS --><!-- /DATA FIELDS -->
Maybe Bill Gates should just avoid Vegas altogether.
At the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Gates was interviewed on stage by Conan O'Brien, who hosted the event. Gates unveiled the new Windows Media Center, which featured the ability to play your computer's media files on your home television.
O'Brien took some photos of Gates, which the former Microsoft CEO said would be synced with the computer and available on the TV, with a click of a button on a remote control. Gates then clicked the button on the remote and got ... nothing!
"Just incredible. I don't know who's running things here," said O'Brien. "Who's in charge of Microsoft? Oh."
Later in the presentation, the TV's program guide wouldn't open, and Microsoft program manager Garrett Young's demonstration of a racing car video game caused a system failure.
"I'm out of system memory apparently," said Young. "Yeah, so just imagine, if you will, that I was customizing my car and doing some really cool stuff."
5. Windows Vista
<!-- /galTitleNav -->http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galleries/2009/technology/0910/gallery.microsoft_windows_gaffes/images/microsoft_vista.jpg
<!-- /imgRelatedsContainer* --><!-- DATA FIELDS --><!-- /DATA FIELDS -->
For all of the Windows-related debacles, Vista was by far the worst for Microsoft.
Vista was released in 2007 to much fanfare, since it was the first new operating system that Microsoft had unveiled since XP in 2001.
But that's where the excitement ended. Vista was plagued by bugs, software and hardware incompatibilities, sluggishness and annoying security alerts (to name a few common complaints).
The operating system was so badly received that the majority of businesses opted to stick with the eight-year-old Windows XP rather than upgrade. XP still has four times as many users as Microsoft Vista.
Rival Apple cashed in on Vista's annoyances with its popular "Mac vs. PC" ad campaign. One featured a Secret Service guard asking PC if he would like to cancel or allow any comment he made on Vista's security alerts. Since Vista's release, Macintosh's market share nearly doubled.
But there were less tangible effects of Vista, including a loss of Microsoft's credibility with consumers. Many experts think consumers will hold off their purchases of Windows 7, which debuts Oct. 22, until the operating system has been sufficiently tested.